Reference: Armour
Easton
is employed in the English Bible to denote military equipment, both offensive and defensive.
(1.) The offensive weapons were different at different periods of history. The "rod of iron" (Ps 2:9) is supposed to mean a mace or crowbar, an instrument of great power when used by a strong arm. The "maul" (Pr 25:18; cognate Hebrew word rendered "battle-axe" in Jer 51:20, and "slaughter weapon" in Eze 9:2) was a war-hammer or martel. The "sword" is the usual translation of hereb, which properly means "poniard." The real sword, as well as the dirk-sword (which was always double-edged), was also used (1Sa 17:39; 2Sa 20:8; 1Ki 20:11). The spear was another offensive weapon (Jos 8:18; 1Sa 17:7). The javelin was used by light troops (Nu 25:7-8; 1Sa 13:22). Saul threw a javelin at David (1Sa 19:9-10), and so virtually absolved him from his allegiance. The bow was, however, the chief weapon of offence. The arrows were carried in a quiver, the bow being always unbent till the moment of action (Ge 27:3; 48:22; Ps 18:34). The sling was a favourite weapon of the Benjamites (1Sa 17:40; 1Ch 12:2. Comp. 1Sa 25:29).
(2.) Of the defensive armour a chief place is assigned to the shield or buckler. There were the great shield or target (the tzinnah), for the protection of the whole person (Ge 15:1; Ps 47:9; 1Sa 17:7; Pr 30:5), and the buckler (Heb. mageen) or small shield (1Ki 10:17; Eze 26:8). In Ps 91:4 "buckler" is properly a roundel appropriated to archers or slingers. The helmet (Eze 27:10; 1Sa 17:38), a covering for the head; the coat of mail or corselet (1Sa 17:5), or habergeon (Ne 4; 13:31), harness or breat-plate (Re 9:9), for the covering of the back and breast and both upper arms (Isa 59:17; Eph 6:14). The cuirass and corselet, composed of leather or quilted cloth, were also for the covering of the body. Greaves, for the covering of the legs, were worn in the time of David (1Sa 17:6). Reference is made by Paul (Eph 6:14-17) to the panoply of a Roman soldier. The shield here is the thureon, a door-like oblong shield above all, i.e., covering the whole person, not the small round shield. There is no armour for the back, but only for the front.
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After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Have no fear, Abram: I will keep you safe, and great will be your reward.
So take your arrows and your bow and go out to the field and get meat for me;
And I have given you more than your brothers, even Shechem as your heritage, which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.
And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, seeing it, got up from among the people and took a spear in his hand, And went after the man of Israel into the tent, driving the spear through the two of them, through the man of Israel and through the stomach of the woman. So the disease was stopped among the children of Israel.
And the Lord said to Joshua, Let your spear be stretched out against Ai; for I will give it into your hands. So Joshua took up his spear, stretching it out in the direction of the town.
And he had a head-dress of brass on his head, and he was dressed in a coat of metal, the weight of which was five thousand shekels of brass. His legs were covered with plates of brass and hanging on his back was a javelin of brass.
And David took Saul's sword and put the band round him over the metal coat, and was unable to go forward; for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, It is not possible for me to go out with these, for I am not used to them. So David took them off. Then he took his stick in his hand, and got five smooth stones from the bed of the stream and put them in a bag such as is used by sheep-keepers; and in his hand was a leather band used for sending stones: and so he went in the direction of the Philistine.
And an evil spirit from the Lord came on Saul, when he was seated in his house with his spear in his hand; and David made music for him. And Saul would have sent his spear through him, pinning him to the wall, but he got away and the spear went into the wall: and that night David went in flight and got away.
And though a man has taken up arms against you, putting your life in danger, still the soul of my lord will be kept safe among the band of the living with the Lord your God; and the souls of those who are against you he will send violently away from him, like stones from a bag.
And he made three hundred smaller body-covers of hammered gold, with three pounds of gold in every cover: and the king put them in the house of the Woods of Lebanon.
They will be ruled by you with a rod of iron; they will be broken like a potter's vessel.
He makes my hands expert in war, so that a bow of brass is bent by my arms.
The rulers of the peoples have come together, with the people of the God of Abraham; because the powers of the earth are God's: he is lifted up on high.
You will be covered by his feathers; under his wings you will be safe: his good faith will be your salvation.
One who gives false witness against his neighbour is a hammer and a sword and a sharp arrow.
Every word of God is tested: he is a breastplate to those who put their faith in him.
Yes, he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and salvation as a head-dress; and he put on punishment as clothing, and wrath as a robe.
You are my fighting axe and my instrument of war: with you the nations will be broken; with you kingdoms will be broken;
And six men came from the way of the higher doorway looking to the north, every man with his axe in his hand: and one man among them was clothed in linen, with a writer's inkpot at his side. And they went in and took their places by the brass altar.
He will put to the sword your daughters in the open country: he will make strong walls against you and put up an earthwork against you, arming himself for war against you.
Cush and Lud and Put were in your army, your men of war, hanging up their body-covers and head-dresses of war in you: they gave you your glory.
Take your place, then, having your body clothed with the true word, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness;
Take your place, then, having your body clothed with the true word, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness; Be ready with the good news of peace as shoes on your feet; read more. And most of all, using faith as a cover to keep off all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. And take salvation for your head-dress and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
And they had breastplates like iron, and the sound of their wings was as the sound of carriages, like an army of horses rushing to the fight.
Morish
None of the Hebrew words translated 'armour' refer definitely to what is understood now by armour worn on the person. Saul armed David with his 'armour,' 1Sa 17:38, but the word used is also translated 'clothes,' etc., 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. 1Sa 17:38; Eze 23:24: the word is qoba. Another word, koba, meaning the same, is found in 1Sa 17:5; 2Ch 26:14; Isa 59:17; Jer 46:4; Eze 27:10; 38:5.
2. COAT OF MAIL. Saul put on David a 'Coat of Mail,' shiryon. 1Sa 17:5,38. This word is translated 'HABERGEON ' in 2Ch 26:14; Ne 4:16, which also signifies 'coat of mail,' and there is a similar word in 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. 1Sa 17:6. The word is mitschah, and occurs nowhere else.
4. TARGET. He had a Target of brass between his shoulders, 1Sa 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 centre rising to a point which could be used as a weapon. It is employed figuratively for God's protecting care of His people. Ps 5:12; 91:4. The same word is translated BUCKLER. Ps 35:2; Eze 23:24; 26:8, etc.
Another word is used for a smaller shield, magen, and this is the word which occurs most commonly in the O.T., especially in the Psalms, referring to God's protection, as Ps 28:7; 33:20; 84:11; 119:114, etc. The same word is translated BUCKLER. 2Sa 22:31; 1Ch 5:18; Cant. 4:4; Jer 46:3, etc.
The word shelet is translated Shield, but is also applied to Shields of gold, 2Sa 8:7, and those suspended for ornament. Eze 27:11. It occurs also in 2Ki 11:10; 1Ch 18:7; 2Ch 23:9; Cant. 4:4; Jer 51:11.
In the N.T. 'armour' is used symbolically.
1. ???? in contrast to 'the works of darkness' we are exhorted to put on 'the armour of light.' Ro 13:12. Paul and his fellow-labourers commended themselves as God's ministers by the "armour, or arms, of righteousness on the right hand and on the left." 2Co 6:7.
2. ????????, 'whole armour.' One stronger than Satan takes away all his 'armour.' Lu 11:22. The Christian is exhorted to put on the 'whole armour 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. See BREASTPLATE, HELMET, etc.
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And he had a head-dress of brass on his head, and he was dressed in a coat of metal, the weight of which was five thousand shekels of brass.
And he had a head-dress of brass on his head, and he was dressed in a coat of metal, the weight of which was five thousand shekels of brass. His legs were covered with plates of brass and hanging on his back was a javelin of brass.
His legs were covered with plates of brass and hanging on his back was a javelin of brass.
Then Saul gave David his clothing of war, and put a head-dress of brass on his head and had him clothed with a coat of metal.
Then Saul gave David his clothing of war, and put a head-dress of brass on his head and had him clothed with a coat of metal.
Then Saul gave David his clothing of war, and put a head-dress of brass on his head and had him clothed with a coat of metal.
And David took their gold body-covers from the servants of Hadadezer and took them to Jerusalem.
As for God, his way is all good: the word of the Lord is tested; he is a safe cover for all those who put their faith in him.
And the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and body-covers which had been King David's, and which were kept in the house of the Lord.
And Uzziah had all these forces armed with body-covers and spears and head-covers and coats of metal and bows and stones for sending from leather bands.
And from that time, half of my servants were doing their part of the work, and half kept the spears and body-covers and the bows and the metal war-dresses; and the chiefs were at the back of the men of Judah.
The sword may come near him but is not able to go through him; the spear, or the arrow, or the sharp-pointed iron.
For you, Lord, will send a blessing on the upright man; your grace will be round him, and you will be his strength.
The Lord is my strength and my breastplate, my heart had faith in him and I am helped; for this cause my heart is full of rapture, and I will give him praise in my song.
Our souls are waiting for the Lord; he is our help and our salvation.
The Lord God is our sun and our strength: the Lord will give grace and glory: he will not keep back any good thing from those whose ways are upright.
You will be covered by his feathers; under his wings you will be safe: his good faith will be your salvation.
I have kept your sayings secretly in my heart, so that I might do no sin against you.
Yes, he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and salvation as a head-dress; and he put on punishment as clothing, and wrath as a robe.
Get out the breastplate and body-cover, and come together to the fight. Make the horses ready, and get up, you horsemen, and take your places with your head-dresses; make the spears sharp and put on the breastplates.
Make bright the arrows; take up the body-covers: the Lord has been moving the spirit of the king of the Medes; because his design against Babylon is its destruction: for it is the punishment from the Lord, the payment for his Temple.
And they will come against you from the north on horseback, with war-carriages and a great band of peoples; they will put themselves in order against you with breastplate and body-cover and metal head-dress round about you: and I will make them your judges, and they will give their decision against you as seems right to them.
And they will come against you from the north on horseback, with war-carriages and a great band of peoples; they will put themselves in order against you with breastplate and body-cover and metal head-dress round about you: and I will make them your judges, and they will give their decision against you as seems right to them.
He will put to the sword your daughters in the open country: he will make strong walls against you and put up an earthwork against you, arming himself for war against you.
Cush and Lud and Put were in your army, your men of war, hanging up their body-covers and head-dresses of war in you: they gave you your glory. The men of Arvad in your army were on your walls, and were watchmen in your towers, hanging up their arms on your walls round about; they made you completely beautiful.
Persia, Cush, and Put with them; all of them with body-cover and metal head-dress:
But when one who is stronger makes an attack on him and overcomes him, he takes away his instruments of war, in which he had put his faith, and makes division of his goods.
The night is far gone, and the day is near: so let us put off the works of the dark, arming ourselves with light,
In the true word, in the power of God; with the arms of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
Take up God's instruments of war, so that you may be able to keep your position against all the deceits of the Evil One.
For this reason take up all the arms of God, so that you may be able to be strong in the evil day, and, having done all, to keep your place.