Reference: Fortification and Siegecraft
Hastings
At the date of the Hebrew invasion of Canaan its inhabitants were found to be in possession of 'cities great and fenced up to heaven' (De 9:1; cf. Nu 13:28; Jos 14:12), most of them, as is now known, with a history of many centuries behind them. The inhabited places, then as always, were of two classes, walled and unwalled (De 3:5), the latter comprising the country villages, the former the very numerous 'cities,' which though small in area were 'fenced,' i.e. fortified (the modern term everywhere adopted by Amer. RV), 'with high walls, gates, and bars.' In this article it is proposed to indicate the nature of the walls by which these cities were fenced in OT times, and of the fortresses or 'strong holds' so frequently mentioned in Hebrew history, and finally, to describe the methods of attack and defence adopted by the Hebrews and their contemporaries.
1. The earliest fortification yet discovered in Palestine is that erected, it may be, as far back as b.c. 4000 by the neolithic cave-dwellers of Gezer. This consisted of a simple bank of earth, between six and seven feet in height, the inside face of which is vertical, the outside sloping, and both cased with random stones (Quarterly Statement of the same, 1903, 113, with section plan 116; 1904, 200; for date see 1905, 29). A similar 'earth rampart' was found at Tell el-Hesy, the ancient Lachish.
The Semitic invaders, who appeared in Canaan about the middle of the third millennium, were able with their tools of bronze to carry the art of fortification far beyond this primitive stage. Their cities were planted for the most part on an outlying spur of a mountain range, or on a more or less isolated eminence or tell. In either case the steep rock-faces of nature's building may be said to have been the city's first line of defence. The walls, of crude brick or stone, with which art supplemented nature, followed the contours of the ridge, the rock itself being frequently cut away to form artificial scarps, on the top of which the city wall was built. Consequently the walls were not required to be of uniform height throughout the enceinte, being lowest where the rock scarp was steepest, and highest on that side of the city from which approach was easiest and attack most to be feared. In the latter case, as at Jerusalem, which was assailable only from the north, it was usual to strengthen the defences by a wide and deep trench. Where, on the other hand, the city was perched upon an elevated tell, as at Gezer, Lachish, and in the Sheph
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But the people living in the land are strong, and the towns are walled and very great; further, we saw the children of Anak there.
All these towns had high walls round them with doors and locks; and in addition we took a great number of unwalled towns.
Give ear, O Israel: today you are to go over Jordan, to take the heritage of nations greater and stronger than yourselves, and towns of great size with walls as high as heaven;
Only those trees which you are certain are not used for food may be cut down and put to destruction: and you are to make walls of attack against the town till it is taken.
And early in the morning Joshua got up, and put the people in order, and he and the chiefs of Israel went up before the people to Ai.
So now, give me this hill-country named by the Lord at that time; for you had an account of it then, how the Anakim were there, and great walled towns: it may be that the Lord will be with me, and I will be able to take their land, as the Lord said.
So they sent men to make a search round Beth-el. (Now the name of the town in earlier times was Luz.)
Now the day after, the people went out into the fields; and news of it came to Abimelech.
So all the people got branches, every man cutting down a branch, and they went with Abimelech at their head and, massing the branches against the inner room, put fire to the room over them; so all those who were in the tower of Shechem, about a thousand men and women, were burned to death with it.
But in the middle of the town there was a strong tower, to which all the men and women of the town went in flight and, shutting themselves in, went up to the roof of the tower. And Abimelech came to the tower and made an attack on it, and got near to the door of the tower for the purpose of firing it.
Now Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a loose woman and went in to her. And it was said to the Gazites, Samson is here. So they went round, watching for him all day at the doorway of the town, but at night they kept quiet, saying, When daylight comes we will put him to death. read more. And Samson was there till the middle of the night; then he got up, and took a grip on the doors of the town, pulling them up, together with their two supports and their locks, and put them on his back and took them up to the top of the hill in front of Hebron.
And Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy, and said to him, Take these and go back to the town.
But David took the strong place of Zion, which is the town of David.
So David took the strong tower for his living-place, naming it the town of David. And David took in hand the building of the town all round, starting from the Millo.
Now Joab was fighting against Rabbah, in the land of the children of Ammon, and he took the water-town.
Now David was seated between the two town doors; and the watchman went up to the roof of the doorways, on the wall, and, lifting up his eyes, saw a man running by himself.
Now David was seated between the two town doors; and the watchman went up to the roof of the doorways, on the wall, and, lifting up his eyes, saw a man running by himself.
Now David was seated between the two town doors; and the watchman went up to the roof of the doorways, on the wall, and, lifting up his eyes, saw a man running by himself.
Then the king was much moved, and went up into the room over the door, weeping, and saying, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! if only my life might have been given for yours, O Absalom, my son, my son!
And Joab and his men got him shut up in Abel of Beth-maacah, and put up an earthwork against the town: and all Joab's men did their best to get the wall broken down.
And Joab and his men got him shut up in Abel of Beth-maacah, and put up an earthwork against the town: and all Joab's men did their best to get the wall broken down.
And Joab and his men got him shut up in Abel of Beth-maacah, and put up an earthwork against the town: and all Joab's men did their best to get the wall broken down.
... the son of Geber in Ramoth-gilead; he had the towns of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and the country of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great towns with walls and locks of brass.
Now, this was the way of Solomon's system of forced work for the building of the Lord's house and of the king's house, and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Megiddo and Gezer. ...
And when Zimri saw that the town was taken, he went into the inner room of the king's house, and burning the house over his head, came to his end,
And of Jezebel the Lord said, Jezebel will become food for dogs in the heritage of Jezreel.
And they became very short of food in Samaria; for they kept it shut in till the price of an ass's head was eighty shekels of silver, and a small measure of doves' droppings was five shekels of silver.
And the king gave authority to that captain, on whose arm he was supported, to have control over the doorway into the town; but he was crushed to death there under the feet of the people, as the man of God had said when the king went down to him.
And the watchman on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu and his band coming, and said, I see a band of people. And Joram said, Send out a horseman to them, and let him say, Is it peace?
And the watchman on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu and his band coming, and said, I see a band of people. And Joram said, Send out a horseman to them, and let him say, Is it peace?
And the children of Israel did secretly against the Lord their God things which were not right, building high places for themselves in all their towns, from the tower of the watchmen to the walled town.
He overcame the Philistines as far as Gaza and its limits, from the tower of the watchman to the walled town.
For this cause the Lord says about the king of Assyria, He will not come into this town, or send an arrow against it; he will not come before it with arms, or put up an earthwork against it;
Now in the ninth year of his rule, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against Jerusalem with all his army and took up his position before it, building earthworks all round the town.
And the people of Jebus said to David, You will not come in here. But still, David took the strong place of Zion, which is the town of David. And David said, The first to overcome the Jebusites will be chief and captain. And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, went up first, and became chief.
And he made the walled towns strong, and he put captains in them and stores of food, oil, and wine.
Uzziah made towers in Jerusalem, at the doorway in the angle and at the doorway in the valley and at the turn of the wall, arming them.
And in Jerusalem he made machines, the invention of expert men, to be placed on the towers and angles of the walls for sending arrows and great stones. And his name was honoured far and wide; for he was greatly helped till he was strong.
And in Jerusalem he made machines, the invention of expert men, to be placed on the towers and angles of the walls for sending arrows and great stones. And his name was honoured far and wide; for he was greatly helped till he was strong.
In addition, he made towns in the hill-country of Judah, and strong buildings and towers in the woodlands.
And a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's park, so that he may give me wood to make boards for the doors of the tower of the house, and for the wall of the town, and for the house which is to be mine. And the king gave me this, for the hand of my God was on me.
Now when word was given to Sanballat and Tobiah and to Geshem the Arabian and to the rest of our haters, that I had done the building of the wall and that there were no more broken places in it (though even then I had not put up the doors in the doorways);
I made my brother Hanani, and Hananiah, the ruler of the tower, responsible for the government of Jerusalem: for he was a man of good faith, fearing God more than most.
His bones are pipes of brass, his legs are like rods of iron.
The doors of brass are broken by his arm, and the bands of iron are cut in two.
A wise man goes up into the town of the strong ones, and overcomes its strength in which they put their faith.
This again I have seen under the sun as wisdom and it seemed great to me.
In that day will this song be made in the land of Judah: We have a strong town; he will make salvation our walls and towers.
And a spirit of wisdom to the judge, and strength to those who keep back the attackers at the door of the town.
And I will make war on you like David, and you will be shut in by earthworks, and I will make towers round you.
For this cause the Lord says about the king of Assyria, He will not come into this town, or send an arrow against it; he will not come before it with arms, or put up an earthwork against it.
The Lord says to the man of his selection, to Cyrus, whom I have taken by the right hand, putting down nations before him, and taking away the arms of kings; making the doors open before him, so that the ways into the towns may not be shut; I will go before you, and make the rough places level: the doors of brass will be broken, and the iron rods cut in two:
I will make your towers of rubies, and your doors of carbuncles, and the wall round you will be of all sorts of beautiful stones.
When the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the towns of Judah which had not been taken, against Lachish and against Azekah; for these were the last of the walled towns of Judah.
And make an attack on it, shutting it in, building strong places against it, and making high an earthwork against it; and put up tents against it, placing engines all round it for smashing down its walls.
And make an attack on it, shutting it in, building strong places against it, and making high an earthwork against it; and put up tents against it, placing engines all round it for smashing down its walls.
And make an attack on it, shutting it in, building strong places against it, and making high an earthwork against it; and put up tents against it, placing engines all round it for smashing down its walls.
And Pharaoh with his strong army and great forces will be no help to him in the war, when they put up earthworks and make strong walls for the cutting off of lives:
At his right hand was the fate of Jerusalem, to give orders for destruction, to send up the war-cry, to put engines of war against the doors, lifting up earthworks, building walls.
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. He will put up his engines of war against your walls, and your towers will be broken down by his axes.
And you will go out through the broken places, every one going straight before her, and you will be sent into Harmon, says the Lord.
He takes the record of his great men: they go falling on their way; they go quickly to the wall, the cover is made ready.
A day of sounding the horn and the war-cry against the walled towns and the high towers.
For the time will come when your attackers will put a wall round you, and come all round you and keep you in on every side,
And some said one thing and some another, among the people: and as he was not able to get a knowledge of the facts because of the noise, he gave orders for Paul to be taken into the army building.
The chief captain gave orders for him to be taken into the army building, saying that he would put him to the test by whipping, so that he might have knowledge of the reason why they were crying out so violently against him.
And most of all, using faith as a cover to keep off all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.