Need information on ancient Hebrew military

[White Israelite]

I need some information on how the ancient Hebrews/Israelites were outiftted for combat, what kind of armor was used? What kind of weapons? I've only seen one portrayal of how they were outfitted and that was in a Mel Gibson movie I won't name. Who knows how accurate it was either.

I'm trying to put together information on the ancient Israelite military. Some of the pictures i've seen resemble how the ancient Egyptians dressed.

[White Israelite]

This is the only pics I could find





A rare Hebrew seal from the First Temple period, discovered in archaeological excavations in the Western Wall plaza, west of the Temple Mount, will be presented to the public today. An image of a warrior shooting an arrow is depicted on the seal, which belonged to a Hebrew person by the name of Hagab. The owner of the seal probably held a military position, possibly that of army commander of the Kingdom of Judah .

The seal, was discovered in the excavations that are being conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority, at the behest of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, will be presented to the public at a joint study day of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

In archaeological excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is carrying out at the behest of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, in the northwestern part of the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem , a rare and impressive Hebrew seal was discovered that dates to the latter part of the First Temple period. The seal was found in a building that is currently being uncovered, which dates to the seventh century BCE - to the time when the kings Manasseh and Josiah reigned.

The seal will be shown in Thursday, October 30 2008, during a study day dealing with "Innovations in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and its Surroundings", organized by the Jerusalem Region of the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

According to the excavation director, archaeologist Shlomit Wexler-Bdolah of the IAA, "The seal, which apparently belonged to a private individual, is made of black stone, is elliptical in shape and measures 1.2 x 1.4 cm. It is adorned with an engraved decoration of an archer shooting a bow and arrow. The name of the archer is engraved in ancient Hebrew script next to him and reads LHGB (meaning: for Hagab). The name Hagab is mentioned in the Bible in Ezra 2:46, as well as in the Lachish Letters, which also date to the time of the First Temple ".

The seal was sent for expert evaluation to Professor Benjamin Sass of the Tel Aviv University and Dr. Tali Ornan of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. According to them the image of the archer was influenced by Assyrian wall reliefs in which archers are portrayed shooting bows and arrows - such as those that are known from the Lachish relief. The image of the archer appears in profile: he is standing in a firing position with his right foot in front of his left. His face is portrayed schematically but his body, his dress and especially the muscles of his arms and legs stand out prominently. He is barefoot. His attire includes a headband and a skirt that is wrapped around his hips. A quiver hangs from his back and its straps are drawn tightly across his exposed chest. He is holding a bow and arrow in his hands. His right hand is extended forward holding the bow while his left is pulled back grasping the arrow. The seal is quite unique since this is the first time that a private seal has been discovered that bears a Hebrew name and is decorated in the Assyrian style. The seal attests to the strong Assyrian influence that existed in Jerusalem in the seventh century BCE. It is usually assumed that the owner of private seals were individuals who held government positions. We can suggest that the owner of the seal - Hagab, who chose to portray himself as a Hebrew archer depicted in the Assyrian style - served in a senior military role in Judah .

Source: http://societyandreligion.com/rare-first-temple-period-seal-found-in-jerusalem/813

[Yochai]

Malamat, Abraham. “How Inferior Israelites Conquered Fortified Canaanite Cities.” Biblical Archaeology Review Apr. 1983: 24-35.  - If you go to university or know somebody who does, they will be able to accesss this journal free of charge. Otherwise I think you cannot read it

Gabriel, Richard A. The Military History of Ancient Israel  -  This book gives probably the best coverage of the military aspects of the ancient Israelites.  Although not a Torah Jew or anything close to it, the author gives a lot of weight to the historical reading of the Bible, even though you can sense he does not believe it.

Herzog, Chaim, and Mordechai Gichon. Battles of the Bible - As anybody knows, although the son of a great Torah scholar, Chaim Herzog was a disgusting leftist, inspiring the Rav to refer to him as חומץ בן יין, "vinegar, son of wine".  Nonetheless, with that knowledge at hand, one should be able to read this book and get a lot of good research about the Military might of the ancient Israelites.   Problem with this book is that obviously Herzog is not a Torah Jew, and thus questions the historical accuracy of the Tanach on occasion.

Yadin, Yigael. The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands in Light of Archaeology,  -  Once again we have another intelligent Jew whose mind was sacrificed to the modern day Moloch of Leftism.  NEvertheless, there are good facts about the military of the ancient Israelites, but like all the books recommended, must be read with a grain of salt.

Lastly, there is an abundance of information on the subject to be found in Nach (Neviim and Ketuvim).
 

[Manch]

I got just the book for you! I finished reading it about a month ago - the best source for the info you are looking for:

Battles of the Bible, by  Chaim Herzog & Mordechai Gichon

http://www.amazon.com/Battles-Bible-Military-History-Ancient/dp/0760776261/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251171287&sr=1-1

[White Israelite]

Thanks for the replies guys, wish more people would reply.

[dinner123]

The history of Israel spanned a long period of time. Well over a thousand years. The army of Israel would have changed very much throughout the centuries. Mostly, as in modern times so it was in ancient times. You'll notice in modern times that there is what is known as conventional warfare. And most countries around the world will equip their basic infantry soldiers in very similar ways. It was also somewhat like that in ancient times. There was an accepted census on what was considered the best way to equip and train your armies in ancient times. Nations style of fighting and the weapons they used were heavily influenced by the wars they fought and the neighbours they had. Initially, the Israelites travelled from Egypt. They would have been familiar with and probably used Egyptian type of weapons. These were spears, the "khopesh" sword. hand axes, shields. Also, the Egyptians used bows as well. The Israelites didn't use chariots yet. They probably did not use much armor. Except maybe the highest ranking fighters, like Joshua or whatever. To think they had no armor or good weapons would also be a bad presumption in my opinion. Because we see from the Bible narrative they had skilled bronze smiths. Another thing of note is that the Israelites from Abraham onwards were shepherds and herders of goats, cows etc. They would have been familiar with the sling. That would be used to ward off predatory animals. And was an effective missile weapon in battle as well.

You can read in the Bible how they organized their army at this time period. It was based off the tribal system. Each tribe providing it's own division with it's own commander and standard. They would be led by one general. Usually Joshua or Moses. On the march they formed into a gigantic square formation with the tabernacle in the middle. The Levites duty was only to defend the tabernacle. They would primarily rely on their faith to bolster their moral. If things began to go poorly for them, they would immediately run away because they knew God wasn't with them. As in the case of Ai, we see they ran after losing only 36 men. Most of the time things went very well for them.

After the conquest the individual tribes seem to have done their own thing. They remained very war oriented. Even engaging in enter-tribal conflicts. They would occasionally unite together against a common threat. They seemingly continued to avoid the use of chariots. They were probably known to use hilly terrain to advantage. Chariots are not so manoeuvrable in rough areas. Some of the Israelites tended to avoid facing "iron" chariots in the open flat plains. The Israelite army at this time was a sort of tribal levy. It was not a professional(paid) army. However, they seem to have been good warriors. The Benjamites in particular had a sort of chosen band of warriors. Able to use slings very well and from either left or right hand.

Around the time of Saul it was said only Saul and Jonathan had swords in the whole army. The Philistines seem to have had a monopoly on ironsmiths at this time and would not let the Hebrews make swords. The philistines had a pretty sophisticated military compared to the Hebrews at this time period. As the Hebrews slowly under Saul and then David gained momentum militarily. They would have probably adopted and used extensively Philistine weapons, armor and possibly some of their tactics. However, they seem to have been more mobile than the Philistines which seem to have always fought in a very deliberate and slow grinding style. Philistine weapons and armor  that were probably also used by Hebrews; included as we see from the Bible description of Goliath. A coat of bronze armor. That is scale armor. A bronze helmet. Bronze leg grieves. Shield. Spear. Sword. Javelins(darts) are also mentioned in this time period. The Hebrews around this time still traditionally avoided the use of chariots in war. They were able to defeat chariots however.  Even in open plains. and also began to make use of bowmen. We see that Jonathan the son of Saul practiced with a bow. The Psalms also often mention bows.

It was Solomon that first began to use chariots extensively. he had at least 2000 chariots. The chariot around Solomon's time was often used as a mobile platform for archers. They would have been well protected with armor and been able to shoot accurately while the horses ran. Solomon probably imported Egyptian chariots which were known as very good chariots. They were light weight and could move fast.

The infantry at the time of the kings of Israel and Judah would have possibly been formed into a dense phalanx of heavy infantry. (spear and shield to deter chariots/calvary) along with archers. Who would have large shields to hide behind as they shot arrows. Swords would possibly have been used as secondary weapons.

The tactics of armies around this time would be to have the spearmen form an unbroken line that would hold the enemy in front. The archers would send vollies to weaken them. The chariots and/or calvary could then be sent in on the enemies flanks to turn the tide of the battle. However, they would typically be faced with chariots from the opposing side and thus would have to fight them.

By the time of the Assyrians things had changed. The two Hebrew kingdoms had been weakened by wars considerably. Either with one another or with Syria or one of their other neighbouring kingdoms. The Hebrew population had seemingly dwindled. The Hebrew kings could no longer field vast armies. They apparently had to build powerful defenses around their cities and lay in supplies for a long siege in order to survive. The Assyrian military was too strong to face in the open. Assyria was usually unmatched by any kingdom in the region except Egypt. The Hebrews found themselves caught in the middle of these two ancient super powers. The Assyrians became very adapt at destroying cities. The Babylonians apparently inherited this siege craft from the Assyrians, and it is the Babylonians that finally sacked Jerusalem.

The Hebrew army that was under Nehemiah would have more than likely been armed similar to the Persian military of his time. However, the Hebrews may have relied more on heavy infantry than the Persians typically seem to have done. The Bible mentions the Hebrews having coats of armor at this time and swords.

The Hebrew army of the Maccabees would more than likely have been using almost exclusively Greek(that is the successor kingdoms) weapons and armor. At first they  looted these items from dead enemies. After awhile, they began to make their own. However, they did not adopt Greek tactics. The Greeks relied on masses of pikemen along with calvary with lances, elephants and even "scythe" chariots. They also had infantry which would use swords, shorter spears and javelins. They preferred to fight in the open. The Hebrews on the other hand at this time began to use a sort of guerrilla warfare. Using surprise attacks but they also often prevailed in open battles.

The best thing to remember with the Hebrews is that it was the Divine miracles that won their battles more than anything else against some of the strongest and largest militaries of their time periods.

To study on possible influences to Hebrew military throughout history.  Try learning more about these ancient militaries:
Egyptian
Canaanite
Philistine
Syrian
Assyrian
Greek Successor kingdoms

[edu]

If you understand Hebrew there is a lecture by Gershon Bar Cochba on the subject at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCQ7S8MfSN0

His lecture focuses on the 2nd Temple period.

[Zelhar]

I've read Chaim Herzog's "Battles of the Bible" (years ago!) and I recommend it to you if you can get it in English.
http://www.amazon.com/Battles-Bible-Chaim-Herzog/dp/1853672661/ref=asap_B001H6Q8E8?ie=UTF8

[Yerusha]

Yul Bynner kitted out as an Israelite warrior c900BCE!