armed men, armour(-y), battle, harness, weapon

Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:

Hebrew offensive weapons were the sword (1 Sam. 17:51; 25:13⁵¹Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. (1 Samuel 17:51)
¹³And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men; and two hundred abode by the stuff. (1 Samuel 25:13); 2 Sam. 20:8⁸When they were at the great stone which is in Gibeon, Amasa went before them. And Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out. (2 Samuel 20:8); Judg. 3:16¹⁶But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh. (Judges 3:16)); spear (1 Sam. 17:7⁷And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. (1 Samuel 17:7); 2 Sam. 2:23; 23:8²³Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the spear came out behind him; and he fell down there, and died in the same place: and it came to pass, that as many as came to the place where Asahel fell down and died stood still. (2 Samuel 2:23)
⁸These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time. (2 Samuel 23:8)); bow and arrow [ARCHERY]; sling (2 Kings 3:25²⁵And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kir-haraseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it. (2 Kings 3:25)); battle-ax (Jer. 51:20²⁰Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; (Jeremiah 51:20)). Among defensive armor were breastplates, cuirasses, coats of mail, helmets, greaves, habergeons, shields, bucklers (1 Sam. 17:5-7⁵And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. ⁶And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. ⁷And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. (1 Samuel 17:5‑7); 2 Chron. 26:14¹⁴And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones. (2 Chronicles 26:14)).

Download (774.9 KB)

“Harness” From Concise Bible Dictionary:

Armor. Ahab was wounded by an arrow that entered at the joints of his armor (1 Kings 22:34³⁴And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. (1 Kings 22:34); 2 Chron. 9:24²⁴And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. (2 Chronicles 9:24); 2 Chron. 18:33³³And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. (2 Chronicles 18:33)).

“Armor” From Concise Bible Dictionary:

Download (892.2 KB)

None of the Hebrew words translated “armor” refer definitely to what is understood now by armor worn on the person. Saul armed David with his “armor” (1 Sam. 17:38³⁸And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. (1 Samuel 17:38)), but the word used is also translated “clothes,” and it may refer to Saul’s warrior-dress. The articles named are somewhat more definite.

1. Saul put on David a HELMET of “brass.” These were raised a little above the head, as may be seen by some of the sculptures from Nineveh (1 Sam. 17:38³⁸And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. (1 Samuel 17:38); Ezek. 23:24²⁴And they shall come against thee with chariots, wagons, and wheels, and with an assembly of people, which shall set against thee buckler and shield and helmet round about: and I will set judgment before them, and they shall judge thee according to their judgments. (Ezekiel 23:24)); the word is goba. Another word, koba, meaning the same, is found in 1 Samuel 17:5⁵And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. (1 Samuel 17:5); 2 Chronicles 26:14¹⁴And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones. (2 Chronicles 26:14); Isaiah 59:17¹⁷For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. (Isaiah 59:17); Jeremiah 46:4⁴Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines. (Jeremiah 46:4); Ezek. 27:10¹⁰They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness. (Ezekiel 27:10); and Ezekiel 38:5⁵Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet: (Ezekiel 38:5).

2. COAT OF MAIL. Saul put on David a “Coat of Mail,” shiryon (1 Sam. 17:5, 38⁵And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. (1 Samuel 17:5)
³⁸And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. (1 Samuel 17:38)). This word is translated HABERGEON in 2 Chronicles 26:14¹⁴And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones. (2 Chronicles 26:14) and Nehemiah 4:16,¹⁶And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. (Nehemiah 4:16) which also signifies “coat of mail,” and there is a similar word in Job 41:26²⁶The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon. (Job 41:26). It was made of brass scales fastened together. The weight of Goliath’s coat of mail was 5,000 shekels.

3. GREAVES. The giant wore Greaves of brass upon his legs (1 Sam. 17:6⁶And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. (1 Samuel 17:6)). The word is mitschah, and occurs nowhere else.

4. TARGET. He had a target of brass between his shoulders (1 Sam. 17:6⁶And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. (1 Samuel 17:6)): the word is kidon, and is elsewhere translated both “shield” and “spear.” In this case it was probably a small spear carried between the shoulders.