56 HEBREW LIFE AND CUSTOM
many examples of purchased aristocracy. By reason of his
social pre-eminence Boaz is styled gibbôr hayil,1 though of
his fighting proclivities we find no hint. Similarly the
word hayil, which originally denoted warlike efficiency,2
acquires the meaning of that which entitles to respect, and
those to whom the term is applied are gentlemen and ladies.
Thus Boaz declares that Ruth—about whom there is
nothing virago-like—is a woman of hayil,i i.e. a lady, and
therefore above suspicion. The ideal matron whose praise
is sung in Prov. xxxi, is a lady, the head of a large
household, the organization of which she keeps in her own
hands and in the work of which she takes a prominent
part. In ver. ɪo we can keep the rhythm of the English
version by substituting c Who can find a Lady Bountiful ? ’
for the pessimistic (and inaccurate) query ‘ Who can find
a virtuous woman ? ’
But to return to the warriors. Of actual training for
war we have no precise description, though there are a
few hints of some such training. Thus there are indica-
tions of archery practice at targets Л The selection of a
mere youth to slay notable prisoners of war5 is evidently
to accustom him to the use of the sword. Moreover
Goliath is described as a warrior from his youth,6 and
Abram’s 318 home-born slaves are ‘trained’,’ i.e. for
warfare.
In war-time, however, the whole male population might
be called up, the military unit being the contingent
furnished by a particular town.8 The Deuteronomic law 9
lays down regulations for mitigating the hardships of con-
scription, hardships which to some extent explain, if they
do not extenuate, the savage brutalities and the looting
whichwere allowed after the capture of a besieged city.10
ɪ Ruth ii. ι. s e.g. Judges xviii. 2, xx. 44, 46.
3 Ruth iii. и. 4 ɪ Sam. xx. 20; Job xvi. 12f. ; Lam. iii. 12.
5 Judges viii. 20. 6 ι Sam. xvii. 33.
7 Gen. xiv. 14; cf. Prov. xxii. 6 (Heb.). 8 Amos v. 3.
9 Deut. xx. 5 ff. '0 Deut. xx. 13 ff.
GENTLEMEN, WARRIORS, EQUIPMENT 57
The offensive equipment of a warrior, ordinarily con-
sisted of a sword (hérebh) a javelin (hanith} 2 for hurling
at the foe, and a spear or pike (romah) 3 used like a
modern bayonet at close quarters. That the romah was
much shorter than a modern lance is implied by the fact
that ecstatic dervishes used it to lacerate their own bodies/
The sword might be of full length, or short and two-edged/
In either case it was kept in a sheath 6 attached to a belt
worn round the waist and carried on the left thigh.7 In
addition to these was a bow (késheth} ,8 and a quiver (ashpa) 9
containing arrows (hissιm),1° which were sharpened ɪɪ and
rubbed smooth/2 and (at least sometimes) were poisoned.13
The bow, when not in use, was of course left unstrung,
and while being held for stringing was kept in place by
the foot : hence ‘ to tread the bow ’14 means to string it.
Slingers are mentioned as taking part in warfare,15 and the
use of the sling was brought to as high efficiency as the
use of the boomerang among Australian aborigines,16
but the art was doubtless developed normally in hunting
rather than in war.
Defensive equipment consisted of a helmet (k∂bha') 17 and
a breastplate (shiryôn or siry0∏y^> ; the latter was sometimes
1 Judges xx. 2, &c.
’ ɪ Sam. xvii. 45, 47, xviii. ɪo f., xix. 9 f., xx. 33.
3 Judges v. 8 ; Num. xxv. 7 ; cf. Jer. xlvi. 4.
4 I Kings xviii. 28.
5 Judges iii. ι6 ; Prov. v. 4 ; Ps. cxlix. 6.
6 Judges viii. 20, ix. 54, &c.
7Judges iii. 16; ɪ Sam. xvii. 39. Note that Ehud, being left-
handed, carried his sword on his right side, thus disarming suspicion.
8 Gen. xlviii. 22 ; ɪ Sam. xviii. 4, &c.
9 Isa. xxii. 6, xlix. 2 ; Ps. cxxvii. 5. Whether there was any differ-
ence between the warrior’s quiver and that of the hunter (téli, Gen.
xxvii. 3) is uncertain.
'0 2 Kings xix. 32, &c. ɪɪ Isa. v. 28.
n Isa. xlix. 2. ŋ Job vi. 4.
ɪ4 Isa. v. 28 ; Lam. iii. 12. ɪ5 2 Kings iii. 25; Judges xx. 16.
ɪ6 Judges xx. 16. '7ι Sam. xvii. 5 ; (see also υer. 38); Isa. lix. 17.
ɪ8 I Sam. xvii. 5 ; ɪ Kings xxii. 34.