by Franco Faggiano
The Hebrew-Aramaic scriptures offer interesting and considerable insights into how the use of the bow was a widespread practice in antiquity. The definition given to the word archer in a biblical dictionary quotes verbatim: “A bow shooter. After the flood, the use of the bow and arrow allowed man to kill (for food, clothing and cover) animals too fast to be caught otherwise. With the rise of Nimrod, archers were probably conscripted into his service. In the 20th century BC, Abraham’s firstborn son Ishmael ‘became an archer’ to survive in the desert (Ge 21,20). Esau, Abraham’s nephew, was also skilled in handling the bow (Ge 27,3).
Monuments attest that from ancient times archers constituted the bulk of Egyptian shock troops, and archers are also seen in Babylonian sculptures. In the days of Joshua (Jos 24.12) and David (1Ch 12.1-2) and later, archers played an important role in the army of Israel (2Ch 14.8; 26.14). Philistine, Syrian and Egyptian archers struck Kings Saul, Ahab and Josiah respectively (1Sa 31,1-3; 1Ki 22,34-35; 2Cr 35,20-23). Bas-reliefs from Nineveh depict Assyrian archers on war chariots, with two bows, one long and one short. When they shot an arrow they held others in their hands, thus increasing the speed of shooting. The Assyrian plan of attack was to overwhelm the enemy with a hail of arrows, and then use the sword or spear in pursuit.
The Persians were considered the most expert archers in the world. Bas-reliefs from Persepolis and Susa show Medes and Persian soldiers armed with bow and quiver. From the ages of 5 to 20, Persian boys learned to handle a bow and ride a horse; Persian horsemen were also experts at shooting backwards. The mobility and freedom of movement of the archers were fundamental in the Persian strategy of peppering the opponent with arrows. The Western Greek and Roman powers did not make as great use of the bow and arrow as the Eastern nations, although archers sometimes played an important part in their victories. This could have been due to the less effective Greek method of drawing the bow to the height of the torso, instead of drawing it to the height of the cheek or the eye (a shooting technique used later also in the Middle Ages) as the Egyptians and Persians did. Cretan and Asian mercenaries appear to have provided expert archers, while the Greeks and Romans preferred to use sword and spear.”
Under Weapons, armour, again in the above-mentioned dictionary we find: “Bow and arrows. Since ancient times the bow (Heb. Qe’sheth; Gr. To’xon) was used for hunting and war (Ge 21,20; 27,3; 48,22; Rev 6,2). It was a common weapon among the Israelites (2Ch 26,14-15), among those who fought for Egypt (Jer 46,8-9), the Assyrians (Isa 37,33) and the Medo-Persians (Jer 50, 14; 51,11). The ‘brazen bow’ mentioned in 2 Samuel 22.35 was probably a copper-covered bow. The expression ‘stringing the bow’ (lit. ‘stretching the bow’) refers to the action of supplying the bow with string (Ps 7.12; 37.14; Jer 50.14 and 29). This could be done by placing the foot firmly halfway along the arch; or one end was bent to attach the other end of the rope. Arrows (Heb. Chitstim) were generally made of cane or light wood, with a fletching at the tail. The tip was initially made of flint or bone and later of metal. Sometimes the arrows were hooked, dipped in poison (Job 6.4) or coated with combustible material (Ps 7.13). In the case of incendiary arrows, a wick soaked in oil was threaded into holes in the end of the metal tip, to be ignited when the arrow was used. Usually a leather case or quiver could hold 30 arrows. Assyrian reliefs indicate that the quivers mounted on war chariots contained 50 arrows (Isa 22.6)”.
Therefore, as can be seen from these lines, the words bow and archer have often appeared in the Bible. But let’s see specifically when, how and why. For example, in Proverbs 26:10, “As the archer who pierces everything is he who hires some fool or he who hires passers-by,” the usage is clearly figurative. In fact, this proverb highlights the damage that can result if those who have a responsible position entrust a particular task to someone who is unsuitable. In many biblical passages, however, the use of this terminology has a hermetic, I would often say esoteric, meaning, as in 1 Samuel 2.4 “The mighty men of the bow are filled with terror. But those who stumble actually gird themselves with life energy or as in Job 20:24 “he will flee from iron weapons; he will cut it a copper bow ”. Other times it has a fairly clear descriptive function as in 2 Chronicles 18.33 “A soldier, however, shot at random with his bow and hit Ahab himself, slipping between the plates of his armour. ‘I am hurt! – Ahab shouted to his charioteer – turn the chariot and take me away from the battlefield” or as in 1 Chronicles 12,1-2 “These are the ones who went to Ziklag to David, when he was forced to keep away from Saul, his son of Kis. They were part of those brave men who were of great help to him in the war, archers, also skilled at throwing stones with the sling, both with the left and right hand, as well as shooting arrows with the bow; they belonged to the lineage of Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin.”
In this excursus into the Holy Scriptures, many other passages relating to the topic covered could be cited, but certainly an in-depth study of the Bible can develop countless other themes. This is because, regardless of the purely religious aspects of Christianity, the Holy Scriptures are an incomparable source of knowledge, they are often the fundamental key to understanding esoteric research and, finally, they are books of disarming relevance even if written in the mists of time.
Franco Faggianoarcher since 1985. Since 1994 he has dedicated himself toarchery training et al medieval re-enactment. In 1997 he founded the national association Medieval Historical Archers Guild of which he is the current President. Speaker at conferences and conventions. Historical researcher and essayist, he has collaborated journalistically with various publishing houses since 1988.
Furthermore, in 2006, he published a historical-religious non-fiction book entitled “Archery & Cavalry“.
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Bibliography:
- Dictionary “Insight in the Study of the Holy Scriptures” vol.1, Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania;
- The Holy Bible, Edizioni Paoline;
2023-07-21 07:00:00
#Bow #archers #sacred #writings
