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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
Hebrew
offensive weapons were the
sword
(
1 Sam. 17:51; 25:13
51
Therefore 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)
13
And 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. 20:8
8
When 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. 3:16
16
But 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. 17:7
7
And 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; 23:8
23
Howbeit 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)
8
These 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 3:25
25
And 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. 51:20
20
Thou 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. 17:5-7
5
And 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.
6
And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
7
And 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. 26:14
14
And 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)
).
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Concise Bible Dictionary
:
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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. 17:38
38
And 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. 17:38
38
And 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. 23:24
24
And 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 17:5
5
And 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 26:14
14
And 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 59:17
17
For 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 46:4
4
Harness 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. 27:10
10
They 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 38:5
5
Persia, 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, 38
5
And 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)
38
And 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 26:14
14
And 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,
16
And 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 41:26
26
The 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. 17:6
6
And 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. 17:6
6
And 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.
5.
SHIELD. A shield was carried before
him
. This was a tsinnah, a shield of large size to protect the whole body, with a large
boss
in the center rising to a point which could be used as a
weapon
. It is employed figuratively
for
God
’s protecting care of His people (
Psa. 5:12
12
For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield. (Psalm 5:12)
;
Psa. 91:4
4
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. (Psalm 91:4)
). The same word is translated
BUCKLER
(
Psa. 35:2
2
Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help. (Psalm 35:2)
;
Ezek. 23:24
24
And 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)
;
Ezek. 26:8
8
He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against thee, and lift up the buckler against thee. (Ezekiel 26:8)
).
Another word is used for a smaller shield,
magen
, and this is the word which occurs most commonly in the
Old
Testament
, especially in the
Psalms
, referring to God’s protection (
Psa. 28:7
7
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him. (Psalm 28:7)
;
Psa. 33:20
20
Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. (Psalm 33:20)
;
Psa. 84:11
11
For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)
;
Psa. 119:114
114
Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word. (Psalm 119:114)
). The same word is translated BUCKLER (
2 Sam. 22:31
31
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. (2 Samuel 22:31)
;
1 Chron. 5:18
18
The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war. (1 Chronicles 5:18)
;
Song of Sol. 4:4
4
Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armory, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. (Song of Solomon 4:4)
;
Jer. 46:3
3
Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle. (Jeremiah 46:3)
).
The word
shelet
is translated “shield,” but is also applied to shields of
gold
(
2 Sam. 8:7
7
And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 8:7)
), and those suspended for
ornament
(
Ezek. 27:11
11
The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect. (Ezekiel 27:11)
). It occurs also in
2 Kings 11:10
10
And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the Lord. (2 Kings 11:10)
;
1 Chronicles 18:7
7
And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. (1 Chronicles 18:7)
;
2 Chronicles 23:9
9
Moreover Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David's, which were in the house of God. (2 Chronicles 23:9)
;
Song of
Solomon
4:4
4
Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armory, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men. (Song of Solomon 4:4)
and
Jeremiah 51:11
11
Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple. (Jeremiah 51:11)
.
In the
New
Testament “armor” is used symbolically.
1.
ὅπλα, in contrast to “the
works
of
darkness
” we are exhorted to put on “the armor of
light
” (
Rom. 13:12
12
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12)
).
Paul
and his
fellow
-laborers commended themselves as God’s ministers by the “armor, or
arms
, of
righteousness
on the
right
hand and on the left” (
2 Cor. 6:7
7
By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, (2 Corinthians 6:7)
).
2.
παναπλἰα, “whole armor.” One stronger than
Satan
takes away
all
his “armor” (
Luke 11:22
22
But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. (Luke 11:22)
). The
Christian
is exhorted to put on the “whole armor of God,” the panoply, that he may stand in the
evil
day
in his conflict with the
spiritual
powers of
wickedness
in the heavenlies (
Eph. 6:11, 13
11
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11)
13
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)
). See
BREASTPLATE
, HELMET, etc.
Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew Words:
Number:
2185
(
find all occurrences in KJV Bible
)
Transliteration:
zonowth
Phonic:
zo-noth’
Meaning:
regarded by some as if from
2109
or an unused root, and applied to military equipments; but evidently the feminine plural active participle of
2181
; harlots
KJV Usage:
armour
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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