Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SPEAR

Originally a blade with a thin tail inserted in a wooden shaft and held with binding. In the 2nd millennium the socketed head was introduced. At this time metal butts also appeared, which enabled the end of the spear to be used as a club or stuck in the ground when not in use (1 Sam. 26:7; 2 Sam. 2:23). The average spear was 2-3 m. (6.5-10 ft.) long. It was a basic weapon of the infantry, and later the chariotry. Spears were used to defend against cavalry attack, in hand-to-hand combat, and in defense of a city under siege. Used in a thrusting motion, the spear was capable of producing a lethal wound. It remained in the hands of the warrior throughout the battle and is therefore classified as a short-range weapon. In comparison, the javelin, which was both shorter and lighter, was designed primarily for throwing (1 Sam. 17:6-7, 45). The major improvement in these weapons involved the material from which the blade was constructed (first stone, then copper, bronze, and iron).

Originating in prehistoric times as a device for hunting, the spear was adapted for use in war at least as early as the 4th millennium. It made its appearance in Israel at the end of the 3rd millennium by means of nomadic wanderers from the north. The metal-bladed spear and other technologically advanced weapons were in short supply in the early history of Israel (1 Sam. 13:19-20). From the United Monarchy onward, however, the spear appeared with greater frequency. Initially it was found only in the hands of the elite (1 Sam. 13:22). In the later monarchial period it became a primary armament of the military forces (1 Chr. 12:8, 24, 34; 2 Chr. 11:12; 14:8; 26:14).

Bibliography. T. R. Hobbs, A Time for War. OTS 3 (Wilmington, 1989); Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 2 vols. (Jerusalem, 1963).

W. E. Nunnally

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SPEAR

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)