Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:
The weapons of shepherds and light troops
It consisted of leather or sinew strings with a pouch at the end for the missile (Judg. 20:16; 1 Sam. 17:40).
Concise Bible Dictionary:
Crotched sling made in Peru.
A simple weapon with which stones were thrown. It could easily be formed of a piece of leather with a small hole in the center, and having two strings attached. A stone was placed in the hole in the leather, and swung round forcibly, when, by releasing one of the strings, the stone would fly away. It was used by shepherds to keep off such animals as wolves; David had one with which he smote Goliath. We read of some who were so skilled in its use as to throw a stone to a hair’s breadth. It is mentioned among the weapons of war (Judg. 20:16; 1 Sam. 17:40,50; 2 Kings 3:25; 2 Chron. 26:14). On the Egyptian monuments men are portrayed using the sling.
Shepherd Boy Slinging
Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew Words:
Meaning:
intensive from 7049; a slinger