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During the encampment of the Israelites in the wilderness, Moses made various salutary enactments, which are recorded in Deut. xxiii. 10-15., for guarding against the vice and uncleanness that might otherwise have prevailed among so large a body of people, forming an aggregate of upwards of three millions. The following was the order of their march, which is not much unlike that in which the caravans or assemblages of oriental travellers still continue to move.When they were to remove (which was only when the cloud was taken off the tabernacle) the trumpet was sounded, and upon the first alarm the standard of Judah being raised, the three tribes which belonged to it set forward; then the tabernacle being taken down, which was the proper office of the Levites, the Gershonites and the Merarites (two families of that order) attended the waggons with the boards, staves, &c. When these were on their march a second alarm was sounded, upon which the standard of Reuben's camp with the three tribes under it. After them followed the Kohathites (the third family of the Levites) bearing the sanctuary, that is, the Holy of Holies and the utensils thereto belonging; and because this was less cumbersome than the boards, pillars, and other parts of the tabernacle, and more holy, it was on that account not put into a 26

VOL, III.

waggon, but carried on their shoulders. Next followed the standard of Ephraim's camp with the tribes belonging to it; and last of all the other three tribes under the standard of Dan brought up the rear; Moses and Aaron overseeing the whole, that every thing was done as God had directed, while the sons of Aaron were chiefly employed in blowing the trumpets, and other offices properly belonging to them.

From 1 Sam. xxvi. 5., as rendered in our authorised version (Saul lay in the trench, and the people pitched round about him,) it has been imagined that the Israelites had a fortified camp. The proper rendering is, that Saul lay among the baggage, with his spear stuck at his head (v. 7.), in the same manner as is usual among the Persians,1 and also among the Arabs to this day, wherever the disposition of the ground will permit it: their emir or prince being in the centre, and the Arabs around him at a respectful distance. When David is represented as sometimes secreting himself in the night, when he was with his armies, instead of lodging with the people (2 Sam. xvii. 8, 9.), it probably means that he did not lodge in the middle of the camp, which was the proper place for a king, in order that he might the better avoid any surprise from his enemies.3

V. In antient times the Hebrews received no pay, during their military service: the same practice of gratuitous service obtained among the Greeks and Romans, in the early period of their respective republics. The Cherethites and Pelethites appear to have been the first stipendiary soldiers: it is however probable that the great military officers of Saul, David, Solomon, and the other kings had some allowance, suitable to the dignity of their rank. The soldiers were paid out of the king's treasury: and in order to stimulate their valour, rewards and honours were publicly bestowed on those who distinguished themselves against the enemy; consisting of pecuniary presents, a girdle or belt, a woman of quality for a wife, exemptions from taxes, promotion to a higher rank in the army, &c., all of which were attended with great profit and distinction. (2 Sam. xviii. 11. Josh. xv. 16. 1 Sam. xviii. 25. 1 Chron. xi. 6.) In the age of the Maccabees, the patriot Simon both armed and paid his brave companions in arms, at his own expense. (1 Mac. xiv. 32.) Afterwards, it became an established custom, that all soldiers should receive pay. (Luke iii. 14. 1 Cor. ix. 7.)

It appears from various passages of Scripture, and especially from Isa. ii. 4. and Mich. iv. 3., that there were military schools, in which the Hebrew soldiers were trained, by proper officers, in those exercises which were in use among the other nations of antiquity. Swiftness of foot was an accomplishment highly valued among the Hebrew warriors, both for attacking and pursuing an enemy, as well as among

1 Morier's Second Journey into Persia, pp. 115, 116.

2 Dr. Della Cella's Narrative of an Expedition from Tripoli in Barbary to the Western Frontiers of Egypt, p. 11. London, 1822. 8vo.

3 Harmer's Observations, vol. iii. pp. 430, 431.

4 Livy, lib. iv. c. 59. Burning's Antiquit, Græc. p. 102.

the antient Greeks and Romans. In 2 Sam. i. 19. Saul is denominated the roe (in our version, rendered the beauty) of Israel; the force and beauty of which expression will be felt, when it is recollected that in the East, to this day, the hind and roe, the hart and antelope, continue to be held in high estimation for the delicate elegance of their form, or their graceful agility of action. In 2 Sam. ii. 18. we are told that Asahel was as light of foot as a wild roe;-a mode of expression perfectly synonymous with the epithet of Iodas wxus Axiλλeus, the swift-footed Achilles, which is given by Homer to his hero, not fewer than thirty times in the course of the Iliad. David expressed his gratitude to God for making his feet like hind's feet for swiftness, and teaching his hands to war, so that a bow of steel was broken by his arms. (Psal. xviii. 33, 34.) The tribe of Benjamin could boast of a great number of brave men, who could use their right and left hands with equal dexterity (Judg. xx. 16. 1 Chron. xii. 2.), and who were eminent for their skill in the use of the bow and the sling. The men of war, out of the tribe of Gad, who came to David when persecuted by Saul, are described as being men of might, fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and who were as swift as the roes upon the mountains. (1 Chron. xii. 8.)

VI. The Hebrews do not appear to have had any peculiar military habit. As the flowing dress, which they ordinarily wore, would have impeded their movements, they girt it closely around them, when preparing for battle, and loosened it on their return. (2 Sam. xx. 8. 1 Kings xx. 11.) They used the same arms as the neighbouring nations, both defensive and offensive, and these were made either of iron or of brass, principally of the latter metal. In the Scriptures we read of brazen shields, helmets, and bows; the helmet, greaves, and target of gigantic Goliath were all of brass, which was the metal chiefly used by the antient Greeks. The national museums of most countries contain abundant specimens of brazen arms, which have been rescued from the destroying hand of time. Originally, every man provided his own arms: but after the establishment of the monarchy, depots were formed, whence they were distributed to the men as occasion required. (2 Chron. xi. 12. xxvi. 14, 15.)

Of the Defensive Arms of the Hebrews, the following were the most remarkable, viz.

1. The Helmet y (KOBANG), for covering and defending the head. This was a part of the military provision made by Uzziah for his vast army (2 Chron. xxvi. 14.): and long before the time of that king, the helmets of Saul and of the Philistine champion were of brass. (1 Sam. xvii. 38. 5.) This military cap was also worn by the Persians, Ethiopians, and Lybians (Ezek. xxxviii. 5.), and

1 Calmet, in his elaborate Dissertation sur la Milice des Anciens Hebreus (Comment. tom. iii. p. 529.), has collected numerous examples from Homer, Hesiod, Virgil, and various other classic writers, in which brazen arms and armour are mentioned.

by the troops which Antiochus sent against Judas Maccabeus. (1 Mac. vi. 35.)

2. The Breast-plate or Corslet, (SHIRION), was another piece of defensive armour. Goliath, and the soldiers of Antiochus (1 Sam. xvii. 5. 1 Macc. vi. 35.) were accoutred with this defence, which, in our authorised translation is variously rendered habergeon, coat of mail, and brigandine. (1 Sam. xvii. 38. 2 Chron. xxvi. 14. Isa. lix. 17. Jer. xlvi. 4.) Between the joints of this harness (as it is termed in 1 Kings xxii. 4.), the profligate Ahab was mortally wounded by an arrow shot at a venture. From these various renderings of the original word, it should seem that this piece of armour covered both the back and breast, but principally the latter. The corslets were made of various materials: sometimes they were made of flax or cotton, woven very thick, or of a kind of woollen felt: others again were made of iron or brazen scales, or laminæ, laid one over another like the scales of a fish; others were properly what we call coats of mail; and others were composed of two pieces of iron or brass, which protected the back and breast. All these kinds of corslets are mentioned in the Scriptures. Goliath's coat of mail (1 Sam. xvii. 5.) was literally, a corslet of scales, that is, composed of numerous laminæ of brass, crossing each other. It was called by Virgil and other Latin writers squama lorica.1 Similar corslets were worn by the Persians and other nations. The breast-plate worn by the unhappy Saul, when he perished in battle, is supposed to have been of flax, or cotton, woven very close and thick. (2 Sam. i. 9. marginal rendering.)

3. The Shield defended the whole body during the battle. It was of various forms, and made of wood covered with tough hides, or of brass, and sometimes was overlaid with gold. 1 Kings x. 16, 17. xiv. 26, 27.) Two sorts are mentioned in the Scriptures, viz. The

(TsinNaH) great shield or buckler, and the (MAGEN) or smaller shield. It was much used by the Jews, Babylonians, Chaldæans, Assyrians, and Egyptians. David, who was a great warrior, often mentions a shield and buckler, in his divine poems, to signify that defence and protection of heaven which he expected and experienced, and in which he reposed all his trust. (Psal. v. 12.) And when he says, God will with favour compass the righteous as with a shield, he seems to allude to the use of the great shield tsinnah (which is the word he uses) with which they covered and defended their whole bodies. King Solomon caused two different sorts of shields to be made, viz. the tsinnah (which answers to clypeus among the Latins), such a large shield as the infantry wore, and the maginim or scuta, which were used by the horsemen, and were of a much less size. (2 Chron. ix. 15, 16.) The former of these are translated targets, and are double in weight to the other. The Philistines came into the field with this weapon: so we find their formidable champion

1 Eneid, lib. ix. 707.

was appointed. (1 Sam. xvii. 7.) One bearing a shield went before him, whose proper duty it was to carry this and some other weapons, with which to furnish his master upon occasion.

A shield-bearer was an office among the Jews as well as the Philistines, for David when he first went to court was made king Saul's armour-bearer (1 Sam. xvi. 21.), and Jonathan had a young man who bore his armour before him. (1 Sam. xiv. 1.) Besides this tsinnah, or great massy shield, Goliath was furnished with a less one (1 Sam. xvii. 6. and 45.), which is not expressed by one of the forementioned words, but is called cidon, which we render a target in one place and a shield in another, and was of a different nature from the common shields. He seems not only to have held it in his hand when he had occasion to use it, but could also at other times conveniently hang it about his neck and turn it behind, on which account it is added, that it was between his shoulders. The loss of the shield in fight, was excessively resented by the Jewish warriors, as well as lamented by them, for it was a signal ingredient of the public mourning, that the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away. (2 Sam. i. 21.) David, a man of arms, who composed the beautiful elegy on the death of Saul related in 2 Sam. i. 19-27., was sensible how disgraceful a thing it was for soldiers to quit their shields in the field, yet this was the deplorable case of the Jewish soldiers in that unhappy engagement with the Philistines (1 Sam. xxxi. 7.), they fled away and left their shields behind them; this vile and dishonourable casting away of that principal armour is the deserved subject of this lofty poet's lamentation.

But these honourable sentiments were not confined to the Jews. We find them prevailing among most other antient nations, who considered it infamous to cast away or lose their shield. With the Greeks it was a capital crime, and punished with death. The Lacedemonian women, it is well known, in order to excite the courage of their sons, used to deliver to them their father's shields, with this this short address: "This shield thy father always preserved; do thou preserve it also, or perish." Aliuding to these sentiments, Saint Paul, when exhorting the Hebrew Christians to stedfastness in the faith of the Gospel, urges them not to cast away their confidence, their confession of faith, which hath great recompense of reward, no less than the approbation of God, the peace which passeth all understanding here, and the glories of heaven, as their eternal portion. (Heb. x. 35.)

It may be further observed, that they used to oil, scour, and polish their shields, (as indeed it was the custom to be equally careful of their other armour,) as may be inferred from the prophet's expressions of furbishing the spears and making bright the arrows (Jer. xlvi. 4. and li. 11.), but more especially their shields; which weapons they highly valued, and upon which they generally engraved their names and warlike deeds, if they achieved any. These weapons were carefully polished with oil, and made exceedingly bright;

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