soldier’s fingers when the javelin was hurled. Rapid unwinding of the cord caused it to spin, which resulted in steadier flight. In some cases the javelin had a metal point at the base, enabling it to be stuck in the ground during rest periods and adding to its speed and balance in flight. The javelin was apparently also employed in the hunt, being thrown at the prey from a safe distance. At Job 41:29 Leviathan is said to laugh “at the rattling of a javelin.” The Babylonians ravaging Judah and Jerusalem brandished javelins (Jer. 6:22, 23), and Medo-Persian forces also wielded the javelin when they, in turn, mercilessly overran Babylon.—Jer. 50:41, 42.

Darts and shafts

The dart, possibly designated by more than one Hebrew word (i.e., mas·saʽʹ, sheʹlahh), was evidently a short pointed missile similar to the arrow. There were various types. Jehovah informed Job that the dart (mas·saʽʹ) is ineffective against Leviathan.—Job 41:26.

Among the Romans darts were made of hollow reeds, and on the lower part, under the point, there was an iron receptacle that could be filled with burning naphtha. The dart was then shot from a slack bow, as projecting it from a taut bow would put out the fire. Endeavoring to extinguish such a missile with water would just increase the flame, and the only way to put it out was by covering the destructive projectile with earth. The Hebrews may also have used flaming darts in battle. The apostle Paul was evidently acquainted with fiery darts, and may have alluded to them when admonishing Christians: “Above all things, take up the large shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the wicked one’s burning missiles [fiery darts, AV].”—Eph. 6:16.

The account at 2 Samuel 18:14 states that Joab “took three shafts in his palm and proceeded to drive them through the heart of Absalom while he was yet alive in the heart of the big tree.” The Hebrew word sheʹvet, used for these implements, carries the thought of a rod, staff or shaft.

Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek and Roman spears and lances

The Egyptian spear had a wooden shaft, five to six feet (c. 1.5 to 1.8 meters) long, tipped with a head of bronze or iron, generally double-edged. Egyptian javelins were lighter and shorter, with two-edged metal heads usually of elongated diamond or leaf shape. At the butt end was a bronze knob with a ball to which two tassels or thongs were attached, evidently as ornaments and to counterbalance the heavy point. At times, the Egyptian javelin was used as a spear for thrusting, and the knob prevented the weapon from slipping from the warrior’s grasp. Through Jeremiah, Jehovah told the Egyptians under Pharaoh Necho: “Polish the lances.” (Jer. 46:4) A relief from Medinet Habu, near Thebes, depicts an Egyptian attack on a fortified Syrian town. Within battlements on the walls stand numerous defending soldiers wielding lances and ready for the fray.

Assyrian foot soldiers used spears the length of which hardly exceeded the height of the soldier; the horseman’s spear seems to have been considerably longer. A relief from Nineveh depicts the assault of Assyrian King Sennacherib’s forces on the city of Lachish and behind the besieging archers are Assyrian spearmen carrying large round shields and holding the spear in hand, poised for action.

The spear (Gr., logʹkhe) is mentioned only once in the Christian Greek Scriptures. After Jesus Christ died, “one of the soldiers jabbed his side with a spear.” (John 19:33, 34) Since this was a Roman soldier, the Roman pilum was probably used. Such a weapon was about six feet (c. 1.8 meters) long, with a barbed iron head extending halfway down the length of the wooden shaft. It is interesting to note that two hundred spearmen initially formed part of the formidable escort taking the apostle Paul from Jerusalem to Governor Felix in Caesarea.—Acts 23:23, 24; see SPEARMEN.

Figurative and prophetic usage

David, speaking of his devouring adversaries, figuratively describes their teeth as “spears and arrows, and whose tongue is a sharp sword.” (Ps. 57:4) Nineveh, “the city of bloodshed,” in its doom was to see “the lightning of the spear, and the multitude of slain ones” at the hands of the Medes and Chaldeans. (Nah. 3:1, 3) Habakkuk associated the effects of God’s wrath with “the lightning of your spear,” saying further: “With denunciation you went marching through the earth. In anger you went threshing the nations.”—Hab. 3:11, 12.

Yet, the spear is also used Biblically with respect to divine protection.—Ps. 35:3.

To the nations who have scattered his people, God throws down the challenge: “Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning shears into lances.” (Joel 3:9-12) Lances are listed among the weapons remaining with which “to light fires seven years” after “Gog and all his crowd” meet their end.—Ezek. 39:1-11.

SWORD, DAGGER, SHEATH

The Bible first refers to the sword (Heb., hheʹrev) at Genesis 3:24, in the account about the posting of cherubs at the east of the garden of Eden along with “the flaming blade of a sword.” The sword was used in patriarchal times (Gen. 27:40; 31:26; 34:25) and was employed by the Israelites during the conquest of Canaan.—Josh. 6:21; 8:24; 10:28, 30-39; 11:10-14.

In the Scriptures the sword is the most frequently mentioned weapon of offense and defense. It had a handle and a metal blade, which might be made of brass, copper, iron or steel. Swords were employed for cutting (1 Sam. 17:51; 1 Ki. 3:24, 25) and thrusting or running through. (1 Sam. 31:4) Some swords were short, others long, being single- or double-edged. The two basic kinds in the Near East were the straight, thrusting or stabbing sword, sharp at the edges and at the point (thus serving equally well for cutting and stabbing), and the striking sword with just one sharp edge (used for cutting or hacking). The latter sometimes had a slight curve; in other cases it curved considerably and is often called the sickle sword because of its appearance. However, these implements are dissimilar in that the sickle’s inner edge is sharp, whereas it was the outer edge of the sickle sword that was sharpened. The Bible itself furnishes no detailed description of Hebrew or other swords, though this weapon was widely used by nations of antiquity.

Archaeologists separate daggers from swords by length, the point of differentiation being about 16 inches (40 centimeters). However, it is not known whether the Hebrews made a similar distinction. During the fire test atop Mount Carmel, prophets of Baal cut themselves with daggers in a futile attempt to elicit action on the part of their false god. (1 Ki. 18:28, 29) Ehud’s double-edged sword was a cubit long, which may mean that it was about 17.5 inches (44.5 centimeters) in length. Though it may have been relatively short, it was no mere dagger and is appropriately called a “sword.”—Judg. 3:16, 17, 21, 22.

It has been suggested, partly on the basis of the length of Ehud’s sword and because David was able to wield the sword of the giant Goliath (1 Sam. 17:51), that the weapon designated by the Hebrew word hheʹrev was lighter and shorter than common swords of more recent times. Nonetheless, it was a formidable weapon in the hand of a skilled swordsman. When Joab struck Amasa in the abdomen with his sword, Amasa’s “intestines spilled out to the earth, and he did not have to do it to him again.”—2 Sam. 20:10.

Generally the sword was suspended on the left side from the girdle (1 Sam. 25:13) and was worn in a sheath, a leather case or covering for the sword or the dagger. Specific Biblical reference is made to sheaths worn by Goliath, Joab, and the apostle Peter. (1 Sam. 17:51; 2 Sam. 20:8; John 18:11) Second Samuel 20:8 allows for the possibility that Joab deliberately adjusted his sword so that it fell from its sheath and then merely held the weapon in his hand instead of sheathing it once again. Unsuspecting Amasa perhaps thought it had fallen accidentally, and he was unconcerned. That proved fatal.

Jesus’ words at Luke 22:36, “let the one having no sword sell his outer garment and buy one,” have been explained by some as indicating that his disciples were about to enter into a hazardous life. It is true that the country of Palestine was even then infested with robbers as well as wild beasts. Paul spoke of experiencing “dangers from highwaymen” and “dangers in the wilderness” in his travels there and in other surrounding lands (2 Cor. 11:26), although there is nothing to show that he relied upon a sword to frighten off would-be attackers. The fact that two swords were available among the disciples on that night of Jesus’ betrayal, therefore, was certainly not unusual for those times (Luke 22:38), and there is evidence that for Galileans in particular it was not uncommon to carry arms. (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book III, chap. III, par. 2) Additionally, it should be realized that a sword can be utilitarian, serving similarly to an ax or a large knife when necessary.

However, in view of the subsequent Christian teaching regarding weapons, showing that the “weapons of our warfare are not fleshly” but spiritual, it seems very probable that Christ was desirous of having a sword available among his followers on that night in order to demonstrate clearly that, though they would come into circumstances that could easily provoke armed resistance, he did not intend to resort to the sword but would give himself up voluntarily in harmony with God’s will. (2 Cor. 10:4) Thus, when Peter did react and try to put up armed resistance, lopping off the ear of Malchus, Jesus ordered him: “Return your sword to its place, for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matt. 26:52; John 18:10, 11) Certainly, Peter’s sword and the other one at hand would have availed little against such a large group of armed men, and by trying to use them they would undoubtedly have ‘perished by the sword.’ (Matt. 26:47) More importantly, such attempted delivery of Jesus would have failed, being completely contrary to Jehovah God’s purpose. (Matt. 26:53, 54) As it was, later that day Jesus could plainly state to Pilate: “If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But, as it is, my kingdom is not from this source.”—John 18:36

The Greek word maʹkhai·ra is usually used for the sword in the Christian Scriptures (Matt. 26:47), though hrom·phaiʹa, denoting a large, broad sword, is also employed. (Rev. 1:16) In both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures the sword is used in a literal and a figurative sense. When employed figuratively, it may symbolize war (Lev. 26:25; Ezek. 7:15), divisions (Matt. 10:34, 35), wicked speech (Ps. 55:21; 59:7), sharp words thoughtlessly spoken (Prov. 12:18), executional authority (Rom. 13:4), divine judgment (Deut. 32:41; Isa. 34:5, 6), God’s protection (Deut. 33:29), and so forth. Whereas drawing the sword denotes war and destruction (Lev. 26:33; Ezek. 21:3, 4), sheathing it indicates peace.—Jer. 47:6.

The word of God is said to be “sharper than any two-edged sword.” (Heb. 4:12) Christian spiritual armor includes “the sword of the spirit, that is, God’s word.” (Eph. 6:17) A “great sword” was given to the second horseman of the Apocalypse, who was foretold to take peace away from the earth. (Rev. 6:3, 4; compare Matthew 24:7.) According to the apocalyptic vision, from the mouth of the one called “Faithful and True,” who wages righteous war and is also named “The Word of God,” “there protrudes a sharp long sword, that he may strike the nations with it.” (Rev. 19:11-15; compare Psalm 45:3-5.) As for persons taught by Jehovah, even now they “beat their swords into plowshares,” employing resources formerly used in war for purposes of peace.—Mic. 4:3.

WAR CLUB

The “war club” was evidently a heavy club or mace, sometimes studded with metal. At Proverbs 25:18 a false witness is likened to a “war club” (“maul,” AV), a sword and an arrow. The same Hebrew word (me·phitsʹ, literally meaning “shatterer, disperser”) may also apply to a hammer, such as that used by a coppersmith, and to a club carried by shepherds in the Middle East today.

The Hebrew word map·petsʹ, derived from another root, appears at Jeremiah 51:20 and is rendered “club” (“battle ax,” AV). There Nebuchadnezzar in particular, as head of the Babylonian forces, is referred to as a “club” and as war weapons whereby God would “dash nations to pieces” and “bring kingdoms to ruin.” A similar Hebrew word (map·patsʹ) is employed at Ezekiel 9:2, where divinely appointed executioners are said to be equipped with a “weapon for smashing.”

Jehovah told Job that a club has been regarded as mere stubble by Leviathan. (Job 41:29) And the club (Gr., xyʹlon) was among the weapons carried by those who came to arrest Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.—Matt. 26:47, 55; Mark 14:43, 48; Luke 22:52.

In addition, there was the more elaborate mace that generally consisted of a heavy socketed stone or metal head into which a relatively short handle was fitted. Sometimes the handle was bound with cord where it was gripped, probably to prevent its slipping from the wielder’s grasp. The mace was used to beat and smash during hand-to-hand combat. Its head might be pear- or saucer-shaped, or spherical. With the development and use of the helmet and other armor, the mace nearly disappeared from the battlefield.

The mace is frequently represented on Egyptian monuments. One type consisted of a wooden handle to which a bronze ball was attached. Egyptian maces were about two and a half feet (c. 0.8 meter) long and were carried by the heavy-armed infantry and charioteers. Egyptian heavy- and light-armed troops and archers also used a curved stick, which was probably hurled at the enemy or employed in hand-to-hand fighting. This device is represented on both Egyptian and Assyrian monuments. According to Herodotus (Book VII, sec. 63), Assyrians in Xerxes’ army “had wooden clubs knotted with iron.”

Maceheads of various kinds have been discovered. For example, excavations near Beer-sheba have yielded round copper maceheads considered to be of the time before Abraham. Pear-shaped and fluted Mesopotamian limestone maceheads, held to be of the same period, have also been found.

In smashing enemy nations the Messianic king was foretold to wield a figurative “iron scepter” with telling effect.—Ps. 2:6-9; compare Revelation 19:15.

ARMY

A large body of men organized and trained for warfare on land. From the time of Abraham, Jehovah’s pre-Christian servants engaged in armed warfare. After the Elamite Chedorlaomer and his allies carried off Abraham’s nephew Lot and his household, Abraham mustered his army of “trained men, three hundred and eighteen slaves,” and with his neighboring confederates went in pursuit up to