Chaim Herzog and MORDECHAI GlCHON OF THE I i^H In Battles of the Bible the authors Chaim Herzog, former President of the State of Israel, and Mordecha...
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Chaim Herzog and MORDECHAI GlCHON OF THE
i^H
of the Bible the authors Chaim Herzog, former President of the State of Israel, and Mordechai Gichon, Emeritus Professor of In Battles
Archaeology at Tel Aviv University, present a comprehensive work on
of ancient
wars
the
Both
Israel.
authors have seen extensive military
much
service in
the same areas as fea-
ture in the biblical accounts.
The
Bible's military accounts, told
in vivid detail,
cover
a vast period,
from the invasion of Canaan by the Israelites under Joshua's command, through the conquest of the kingby David and Solomon and the
dom
of the kingdom into Judah and
split
Israel, to
the Maccabees' successful
rebellion
against
tion. is
The
Seleucid
domina-
of these accounts
reliability
supported by their technical accu-
and by descriptions of topoconditions peculiar to
racy
graphic
They bear com
specific battlefields.
parison with military campaigns well the
after
strategic
biblical
And
and provide
era,
tactical lessons
of value
even today. They are also au essential key to understanding the events of the time,
when
pendence and all
other
vital
a
in
overshadowed of
Identity
today, And figure
survival
aspects
National remains
the struggle for Indc
issue
daily
^\nd
the
biblical
region
the
in
main of the
life.
security
places thai
accounts
still
retain their military importance.
Battles of the Bible
is
a
fascmat
ing And valuable work, not onlj for us exacting scrutiny of the biblical
accounts, but also for
its
insight into
wider
And continuing rele vance. This new, thoroughly revised And re illustrated edition of a highly their
regarded
book
takes
into
account
current historical and archaeological research, as well as biblical scholarship.
ISBN 1-85367-266-1
modern trends
in
\-
OF THE
Bible
Chaim Herzog AND
MORDECHAI GlCHON Greenhill Books,
London
Stackpole Books, Pennsylvania
'
Battles OF THE
Bible
(wrmiM ?tv Vy
M
'*.<>
i
This edition of Battles of the Bible first published 1997 by Greenhill Books, Lionel Leventhal Limited Park House,
Russell Gardens,
1
London
NW1 9NN 1
and Stackpole Books, 5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg,
© Chaim
PA
17055,
USA
Herzog and Mordechai Gichon, 1978, 1997
Maps
©
Lionel Leventhal Limited, 1997
No pan
All rights reserved.
of
this publication
may
be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any
form or by any means, first
electrical,
mechanical or otherwise without
seeking the written permission of the Publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication
Data
HcfZOg, Chaim, 1918— Battles of the Bible. 1
.
Military
an and science Bible
Palestine
3. I.
in
Title
II.
- Rev.
the Bible
2.
ed.
Military history in the
- History - To 70 A.D.
Gichon, Mordechai
ISBN 1-85367-266-1 I
ongress Cataloging-in-Publication
it
Data available
Publishing History Battles of the Bible
Nieolson).
It
was
first
published in 1978 (Weidenfeld
has been fullv revised for this second edition,
new maps and Printed and
bound
illustrations
in
have been added.
Great Britain by Biddies Limited,
Guildford and King's Lynn.
&
and
CONTENTS
List
of photographs
List
of drawings
List
of maps and diagrams
Key
to
9 11
maps
13
Chronological table
14
Acknowledgements
19
Foreword
21
Part 1
7
I
by Mordechai Gichon
Setting the Scene
27 44
2 The Campaigns of Joshua 3
4 5
6 7 8
9
The Wars of the Judges Founding the Kingdom and the Standardized Army The United Monarchy The Early Days of Israel Israel under Omri and Ahab Israel after Ahab Judah's Fortifications under Rehoboam
10 Judah through the Reign of Uzziah 1 1
Judah's Last Century
Part 1
II
From Freedom
to
80
97 125 151
168
199
216 246
by Chaim Herzog
2 Early Maccabean Battles
13
63
Independence
265 282
Notes
299 300
Index
317
Abbreviations
Other books by Chaim Herzog: The Arab-Israeli Wars Days of Awe Heroes of Israel's
Judaism,
Israel
Finest
Law
Hour
& Ethics
(editor)
Living History
The War of Atonement
Who
Stands Accused?
Other books by Mordechai Gichon: En Boqeq: Ausgraben in einer Oase am Toten Meer Palestine from Bethther to Tel Hai Sinai as a Border Region in Historic Retrospect
91
PHOTOGRAPHS
LIST OF
Pages 129-44 1
Ai from the lower slope of the Bethel ridge
2 Gibeon viewed from the south
The Ajalon Valley Mount Tabor 5 En Dor 6 En Dor 7 Michmash 3
4
8 Arab camel-borne archers
10
Mount Gilboa The Old City of Jerusalem
1
Illuminated letter depicting King David
9
12 Jerusalem 13
Bowman
14
Horseman
15 Duellists
16 Lancer 17 Boomerang thrower and slinger 18 Camel-rider 1
The main
Israelite fortress
20 Model of the
The upper
fortress
of Megiddo
of Megiddo
Megiddo Megiddo 23 The tunnel connecting Megiddo with 24 Solomonic gate of Hazor 25 Store house at Hazor 2
22 Stairway
gate of
at
the hidden spring
Pages 177-92
26 The Golan Heights 27 The gate of the Israelite fortress town of Dan 28 Tombstone of King Uzziah 29 Fortress of Beersheva
11
PHOTOGRAPHS
LIST OF
30 Altar of the garrison sanctuary 3
Traces of the casemate wall at
32 Aerial view of the Judean 33 The site of Josiah's last 34 The Iyron pass 35 Arrow and spear-heads
at
Beersheva
Ramat Rahel
fortress
of Arad
battle
36 Sling stones 37 Armour
scales
Helm crests The site of the Judean 39 38
40 Trepanated 41
The
fortress
of Tell Lachish
skull
Assyrian siege of Lachish
42 South-east Judah 43 The Levona ascent 44 The Beth-horon ascent
Emmaus camp at Emmaus
45 View from Ptolemy's camp
46 The 47
site
of the Seleucid
at
Hellenistic cavalryman
48 Hellenistic foot-soldier 49 War elephant 50 Jerusalem: walls of the Hasmonean period 5
The Jordan
Valley
52 Adasa 53
Tombs of the Maccabeans
at
Modiin
LIST OF
DRAWINGS
1
Warrior of the 'Sea People'
30
2
A Semitic tribe enters
35
Egypt
3 Egyptian infantry
36
4 Egyptian war chariot
39 42
5 Spies beaten
by Egyptians
6 Joshua surprising the Amorites
7 Archer spanning 8 Reinforced
his
at
Gibeon
bow
57
bow
57 61
9 Sling
10 Canaanite charioteer presenting captives to his overlord 1
Horse-bits from Tell
12 Mail coat
el
Adjul
made of metal
scales
13 Swords
14 Rameses 1
54
64 65
67 75
ii
Philistine
battling against invading 'sea people'
long-sword
81
83
87
16 Face of a warrior 17 Philistine wagon and chariots
95
18 Battle of Kadesh
114
19 Sennacherib's chariot
118
20 Phoenician ship
124
21 Egyptian infantry of Amenhotep in
127
22 Rameses n storming
146
a fortress
147
23 Arrow heads
24 Slinger from
Tell
Halaf
150
25 Assyrian archers on horseback
154
26 Assyrian army
161
besieging a city
27 Assyrian slinger and bowmen 28 Death of the King of Israel 29 Assyrian mobile ram 30 Assyrian archers in chariots
165
167 172
194
LIST OF
31 Assyrian siege
DRAWINGS 198
tactics
32 Composite bow
203 206 208
33 Letter from Arad
34 Assyrian
siege
of Lachish
35 Sennacherib's attack on the gate of Lachish
36 Assyrian
assault force
storming a city
37 Judean chariot 38 Egyptian ship 39 Hittite attack on the camp of Rameses n
40 Second- and first-millenium bc daggers 41 Siloan inscription
42 Heads and butts of Philistine
lances
43 Assyrian siege machine 44 Composite bow of the Second Temple period and 45 Hellenistic stone-shooting palintolon
10
later
212 222 226 229 235 242 252 255 260 266 281
LIST
1
OF MAPS AND DIAGRAMS
The Geographical
Stage
28
2 The Conquest of Ai (phase one)
50
The Conquest of Ai (phase two) 4 The Waters of Merom Campaign
51
3
58
Deborah's Victory over Sisera (phase one)
66
6 Deborah's Victory over Sisera (phase two)
70
7 The Spring of Harod Campaign
74
5
8
Gideon Pursues the Midianites
The Wars of Saul 10 The Dislodgement of the 11 The Battle of Michmash 12 The Wars of David
76 84
9
86
Philistines
88
96
13 Jerusalem: the walls from David to Zedekiah
98
The First Valley of Rephaim Campaign (phase one) The First Valley of Rephaim Campaign (phase two) 1 1 The Second Valley of Rephaim Campaign (phase one) 17 The Second Valley of Rephaim Campaign (phase two) 18 The Infrastructure of the Solomonic Realm
122
19 Ben-hadad's Siege of Samaria
152
20 Ahab's Bid
14
100 1
02
03 104 1
Golan Heights (phase one)
156
21 Ahab's Bid for the Golan Heights (phase two)
158
22 The March
162
for the
to
Qarqar against the Assyrians
23 The War against Mesha
170
24 The Expansion of Israel
and Judah under Jeroboam n and Uzziah 176
25 The Assyrian Conquests
197
26 The Defences of Judah (excluding the Negev) 27 Jehoram's Campaign against Edom 28 Jerusalem: plan and cross-section of the Tzinor
200
29 The
Fall of Judah 30 The Campaigns of Judah the Maccabee
31
The
Battle of Beth-horon
32 The Battle of Emmaus (phase one) 33 The Battle of Emmaus (phase two)
11
234 250 258 270 274 276 278
LIST OF
34 The
MAPS AND DIAGRAMS
Battle of Beth-zur
35 The Rescue Expeditions of Judah and Simon 36 The Battle of Beth-zechariah
37 The 38 The
Battles of
Capharsalama and Adasa
Battle of Elasa
and the Death of Judah
12
283 286
290 292 294
KEY TO MAPS
^>
Direction of
move by
Israelite or allied force
Direction of
move by
Gentile (non-Israelite)
Fleeing Israelite force
££>PO *
Fleeing Gentile force Israelite capital city
tf
Gentile capital city
ULJ
Israelite fortified
C£H)
Gentile fortified town
li
Israelite fort
ED
Gentile fort
town
Israelite city
D
Gentile city
•
Israelite
O
Gentile town or village
r
town or
village
Captured position
Empire boundary Country or
state
boundary
Region or superseded
state
Internal administrative
A A
commander-in-chiefs camp
Israelite
Gentile commander-in-chiefs
A A
camp
Israelite
Gentile
X
camp
Battle
vl
Port
ir ^7
Israelite-held spring
»
boundary
boundary
Gentile-held spring
K
J3=€3
-^ 1?
rtr
m
Israelite
blockade
Gentile blockade
Chariots Infantry
Cavalry Elephants
Camels
13
camp
enemy
force
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
27th-22nd century bc The Old Kingdom in Egypt. c. 2350 bc Uni invades Canaan. 1 8th- 1 6th century bc Canaan part of the Hyksos Empire. 16th -8th century bc The New Kingdom in Egypt. 1468-1436 bc Thutmose in fights seventeen campaigns in and north of Canaan. 14th century 18th Dynasty in Egypt. Penetration of the Hebrew Tribes into Canaan. Sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt.
13th century Moses - Exodus from Egypt. Joshua - Conquest and partly peaceful settlement of
Canaan
12th— 1 1th century The Judges. The settle c.
(= Palestine).
Philistines
and other
'sea peoples'
on the shores of Canaan.
1050 Samuel
C 1025-1006 Saul c.
1006-968 David - The empire extends from
the borders of Egypt to
the Euphrates. c.
968-928 Solomon - Solomon
builds the
Temple
in Jerusalem.
Alliance with Tyre. c.
92S Division
KINGDOM
01
of the
Israi
United Monarchy.
Kingdom of Judah
1
c. c.
925-907 bc Jeroboam Israel.
reigns in
928-911 bc Rehoboam in
Invasion of Shishak.
c.
Judah.
924 Shishak Judah and
c. c.
882-870 Omri
908-867
1
of Egypt invades
Israel.
Asa, King of Judah,
consolidates the
reigns in Israel.
reigns
Kingdom
Builds Samaria, renews alliance
including the great defence
with Tyre.
works of Rehoboam. 14
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
Kingdom of c.
Kingdom of Judah
Israel
870-851 Ahab
reigns in Israel.
Heads
Beats offArameans.
coali-
tion against Shalmanezer in. Battle of
prophet Elias c.
c.
Qarqar (853). The active.
867-851 Jehoshaphat reigns in Judah - offensive and defensive alliance
858-824 Shalmanezer
in of
and co-operation with
Israel.
Assyria succeeds in repeated
campaigns to subdue the Arameans and reaches Gilead and Galilee. c. 852 Mesha, King of Moab reestablishes independence from
c.
851-843 Jehoram, King of Judah,
tries
unsuccessfully to
reconquer Edom.
Israel. c.
850-842 Jehoram
reigns in
Israel. c.
850
Israel
Moab c.
and Judah invade
without lasting success.
842-814 Jehu
rebels,
king over
with the
Israel
is
crowned assis-
tance of the prophet Elisha. internal struggles practically
make
The
Israel
dependent upon
c.
Damascus ruled by Hazael.
812-810
Jehoash, King of
Judah under pressure from Damascus. c.
799-785 Amaziah
reasserts
Judah's independence c.
800-785 Jehoash Israel's
c.
recaptures
reaffirms
independence.
785-750 Jeroboam n
c.
neighbours to the
reaffirms
east,
its
south
The prophet Isaiah commences his activity which and
Solomonic borders.
The prophet Amos
786-758 Uzziah
Judah's ascendancy over
in alliance
with Uzziah of Judah re-establishes the
and
Edom.
active.
west.
continues well into Hezekiah's reign.
15
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Kingdom of c.
745-727
Kingdom of Judah
Israel
Tiglath-pileser in of
Assyria invades and subjugates the Palestinian land-bridge dur-
ing several campaigns.
Only
Judah seems to have guarded a
modicum of independence. c.
722 Samaria captured by Sargon ii
of Assyria
siege
by
after a three-year
c.
manezer
v.
724-697 Hezekiah
He
his predecessor, Shal-
Large parts of the
rules Judah.
beats off Sennacherib's inva-
sion (701).
population exiled into remote parts of the tribes').
empire
('the lost ten
The remnants mingle
with transplanted gentiles and
form the Samaritans - not accepted as orthodox Jews. c.
722-628
Israel
an Assyrian
irovince.
c.
628-609
Josiah
-
last
expansion
of Judah which, owing to Assyria's weakness, incorporates
much of former c.
609
battle against c.
Israel.
Josiah killed at
Megiddo
in
Pharaoh Necho.
605 The Neo-Babylonian established, which
Empire c.
604-539
Israel a
Babylonian
includes nearly
all
of the Assyr-
ian realm.
province. c.
586 Nebuchadnezzar captures Temple
Jerusalem, and the First is
destroyed. Large parts of the
population are exiled to Babylonia.
Subsequent
flight
of Jewish
troops into Egypt accompanied
by the prophet Hezekiel. Foundation of the
first
colonies in Egypt. c.
539
Israel a Persian
province.
16
Jewish military
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
537-332 bc The Persian Period. 537 Under Persian rule, Jews allowed to return from Babylon to Judea. 515 Restoration of the Temple (henceforth called the Second Temple). c. 440 Nehemiah arrives from Babylon and rebuilds the walls of Jerusalem.
435 Ezra the Scribe joins Nehemiah in rebuilding the city of Jerusalem and the community in Judea. 332-134 The Hellenistic Period. 332 Alexander the Great conquers the Persians and gains their territoc.
ries,
including Palestine. Jewish archers join Alexander for his conquest
of Egypt.
301-200
Palestine
under the Ptolemies of Egypt.
198 Seleucid emperor Antiochus in of Syria wrests Palestine from the Ptolemies.
m loses decisive battle of Magnesia to Romans.
190 Antiochus 188 Under sent to
treaty
Rome
of Apamea, Antiochus' son (the future Antiochus
iv)
is
as hostage.
187 Accession of Seleucus
rv,
son of Antiochus
in.
175 Accession of Antiochus iv Epiphanes, brother of Seleucus in (Honyo), traditionalist Jewish
High
Priest in Jerusalem,
is
iv.
Onias
ousted by
the emperor; pro-Hellenist Jason installed in his stead. This marks the start
of Seleucid attempts to Hellenize Judea.
172 Jason dismissed, flees to Trans-Jordan, and extreme Hellenist Menelaus appointed High Priest in his place. 170 Antiochus iv launches 168
Rome
in Egypt,
Rome
first
campaign
in Egypt.
conquers Macedonia. Antiochus is
about to complete
orders
him
his
iv,
on
his
second campaign
conquest of the country
when
to retreat. Uprising in Jerusalem. Antiochus sends
punitive expedition to Jerusalem.
Many Jews
massacred; the Temple
looted; the formidable Acra fortress built as a Seleucid military base.
167 Antiochus
iv issues anti-Jewish decrees.
December 167 Desecration of the Temple. 167 Incident
at
Modiin. Mattathias and
his sons raise
banner of revolt.
Judah creates guerrilla force. The Book of Daniel given forth. 167-166 Death of Mattathias. Judah succeeds him as leader of the Maccabees. Apollonius defeated near Gophna in first Maccabee battle against Seleucid forces.
165 Seron defeated
at battle
eastern campaign. Nicanor
of Beth-horon. Antiochus rv departs on his
and Gorgias defeated 17
at battle
of Emmaus.
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
164
Lysias repulsed at battle of Beth-zur.
December 164 Maccabees val
rededicate the Temple. Inauguration of Festi-
of Hanukkah.
163 Judah's expedition to rescue the Jews of Gilead. Simon's relief expedition to western Galilee. Judah campaigns in coastal plain and Idumea. Death of Antiochus iv Epiphanes. Succeeded by son Antiochus v
his
young
Eupator, with Philip as regent.
162 Judah's brother Eleazar
killed in battle
of Beth-zechariah. Lysias
name of Antiochus
reaches Jerusalem. In the
v, Lysias
annuls anti-Jew-
High Priest Menelaus removed and executed. Demetrius Rome, becomes new Seleucid emperor (Demetrius I Soter). Antiochus v and Lysias put to death. Eliakim (Alcimus) appointed High Priest. Nicanor repulsed at battle of Capharsalama. ish decrees.
escapes from
161 Nicanor killed
at battle
of Adasa. Judah's treaty of friendship with
Rome. 160 Maccabees defeated by Bacchides Jonathan succeeds Judah
as
at battle
Maccabean
of Elasa. Judah
leader
killed.
and withdraws into
south-east Judea.
152 Jonathan commences the reconquest of Judea, and subsequently establishes diplomatic connections with
142 Simon, the
last
Rome and
Sparta.
of the Maccabean brothers, succeeds Jonathan and
achieves his country's final independence.
18
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The
illustrations in this
We
below.
(or their heirs)
W.
F.
book
reproduced from the sources
are
listed
are grateful to the various organizations, individuals, authors
and publishers
for their permission.
Albright, The Archaeology of Palestine (Pelican Books,
Harmonds-
worth, 1949), pp. 35, 64. Arras Librairie Municipale, p. 135. Elias
Auerbach, Wiiste und Gelobtes Land II (Schocken Verlag, Berlin,
1936), p. 252.
Yohanan Aharoni, The Ostraca from Arad
Inscriptions (Israel Exploration
Society, Jerusalem, 1981), p. 206.
Hans Bonnet, Die Waffen
der Volker des Alten Orients
C. Hinrichs'sche
(J.
Buchhandlung, Leipzig, 1926), pp. 57 (top and bottom), 61, 67, 203, 266.
James H. Breasted, 'The Battle of Kadesh',
Investigations Representing the
Departments: Semitic Languages and Literatures Series
I
Volume
V (The
University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1904), p. 114. British
Museum,
pp. 133 (top), 186 (bottom).
Hans-Joachim Diesner, Kriege Demokratischen Republik,
Trude Dothan, The
des Altertums (Militarverlag der
Deutschen
Berlin, 1974), p. 281.
Philistines
and
their
Material Culture
Explo-
(Israel
ration Society, Jerusalem, 1967), pp. 30, 81, 83, 87, 95, 255.
Adolf Erman and Hermann Ranke, Aegypten im Altertum (Verlag
Mohr
[P.
J.
C. B.
Siebeck], Tubingen, 1923), pp. 36, 39, 42, 127, 146, 235.
Kurt Galling, Biblisches Reallexikon (Verlag
J.
C. B.
Mohr
[P.
Siebeck],
Tubingen, 1937), pp. 65, 75, 124, 147, 167, 229, 242. Hillel
Heiman,
Israel
Air Force,
Israel
Museum,
p. p. p.
189 (bottom). 134 (bottom). 178.
H. Austen Layard, The Monuments of Nineveh (London, Volume
19
I
1849,
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Volume II 1853), title page, pp. Miriam Magall, Archaologie und
154, 161, 172, 194, 198, 222. Bibel
(Du Mont
Buchverlag, Koln,
1986), the basis for diagram p. 250.
von Oppenheim, Der TellHalafi^. U. Brockhaus, Leipzig, 1931), pp. 136 (bottom), 137, 138, 139 (top and bottom), 140. James B. Pritchard, Gibeon: Where the Sun Stood sity Press, Princeton,
Zea Radovan,
192
p.
Theodore Reinach
New Jersey,
1962),
p.
Still
(Princeton Univer-
42.
(top).
in Bulletin de Correspondance Hellenique
IX
(Paris,
1885), p. 190 (bottom).
Derrick Riley, pp. 181 (top), 182.
M.
Rostovtzeff,
Vol.
I
The Social and Economic History of the Hellenistic World Press, Oxford, 1941), p. 190 (top left and
(Oxford University
right).
Nati Tsameret, pp. 129 (top and bottom), 130, 131 (top and bottom),
132 (top and bottom), 134
(top),
136
(top),
141 (top and bottom),
142 (top and bottom), 143, 144 (top and bottom), 177 (top and bottom), 179 (top and bottom), 180, 181 (bottom), 187, 188 (top and bottom), 189 (top), 191 (top and bottom), 192 (bottom).
David Ussishkin,
Conquest of Lachish by Sennacherib (Tel Aviv University Institute of Archaeology, Tel Aviv, 1982), drawings by Judith 77?^
Dekel and Gert Le Grange, pp. 118, 165, 183 (top and bottom), 184 (top), 185 (top and bottom), 186 (top), 208, 212, 226, 260.
20
FOREWORD
This book has evolved out of a project of the same years ago.
It
has benefited from
coveries over the last
prepare entirely
all
title
undertaken twenty
the research and archaeological dis-
two decades, and the opportunity has been taken
new maps, and
to re-illustrate the
work
to
completely.
The book was written in the attempt to apply to the biblical narrative modern military thinking and understanding. Thus we were guided by a desire to narrate the military history of the Bible in terms of modern military concepts and accepted terminology. In this manner and by frequent comparisons, we felt, the military genius of many of the captains of war whose story is related in the Bible would emerge
in
its full
scope, while the applicability of the principles of
over the centuries of history
would be re-emphasized.
were any misgivings in our minds, when beginning our
If there
research,
war
about the applicability of modern military logic to events two
and three thousand years removed, these have been dissipated during the actual process of writing this book. Bearing in
mind
the quantitative
changes brought about by modern weapons and equipment, the same basic laws
-
strategy
fare also applied to
The
and
war
tactics
-
that apply to
modern conventional war-
in the distant past.
very rigid and distinct factors of geography have been a principal
We our-
and constant
factor in
selves, in the
course of years of military service, have had occasion to draw
on the
commanders' considerations over the
lessons of the ancient past as
we contemplated
ages.
the problems of the
and for the maintenance of its which influenced the generals of Judea and Israel of
present in Israels struggle for independence security.
The
factors
old continue to influence the generals of Israel today.
The Holy
Land's strategic position as the main land-bridge of the
eastern Mediterranean has, since antiquity, compelled those of tants
and
who
to put
strove for independence to maintain an efficient it
from time
its
inhabi-
war machine
to time to expert use, in order to maintain their
21
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE freedom. Only in this manner and by the terrain did the
full
military exploitation of the
Jews of ancient times succeed in retaining the de facto mas-
tery of ancient Israel for twelve centuries.
These military exploits of a small nation, pitted more often than not
seem
against great odds,
worth while recording
to us to be
terms. Besides offering the military background
in
modern
and interpretation of the
events that shaped biblical history, the critical examination of wars
matters military in the Bible affords
many lessons
that hold
good up
and
to the
present day.
Many
scholars will hold to the inspired nature of the
and agree
at the
same time
that they
draw from
Holy
As
a matter
of fact, annals, such
Kings of Judah and those of the Kings of pages.
The
sistently referred to in
its
by making
use, in
historical books,
necessarily
aiming to offer
its
a
as the
as a
Chronicles of the
Israel are explicitly
Bible's
combook of
a variety of sources
posed over numerous centuries. The Bible was not conceived history or annals.
Scriptures
aim was
and con-
and guide,
to teach
of selected occurrences, without
complete and impartial picture. Thus the
events narrated in the pre-monarchal period need neither be linked in cases with Finally,
many important
all
nor be in correct chronological order.
hero,
their biblical
occurrences,
deemed inconsequential by one
the other editor, have been passed over without mention,
or
and only a
chance reference by an external source has saved a few of them from obliv-
We shall refer to these matters in the text wherever necessary. On the other hand, our close familiarity with matters military and
ion.
the
actual sites of the biblical battles has convinced us that fashionable think-
ing
is
wrong
realm
ill
of sage,
unknown
relegating an ever
biblical history to the
pragmatic invention or aetiological interpretation by
creators of folklore, later scribes
the compilers ol the Bible canon.
The
growing part of
tactical description
and authors who were used by
1
of the battles of the Bible in their intricate
topographical setting and the subsequent detailed and logical interaction
between movement, manoeuvres and ground ol the battles,
features,
shaping the course
cannot be explained by mere inventiveness.
It suffices,
for
example, to compare the campaign of Gideon against the Midianites and their allies, as related in Judges,
described by
Homer
in his Iliad.
a not-far-away fortified
town
6-8, with the battles of the Trojan War,
For the
will
do
latter,
any accessible sea shore and
nicely as geographic setting. Put
Gaza, Ascalon or Rimini (and countless other coastal
random)
in
place of the
hill
of Hisarlik-Troy and 22
sisters,
all
chosen
at
the happenings
FOREWORD described by the Iliad
may
be transferred there for the lack of relevant
Not so the biblical account of Gideons campaign. The detailed tacmovements and encounters based on the interaction between specific topographical features and the actions of both friend or foe - over a theatre of war covering some forty miles in length - simply cannot be reproduced anywhere. As every soldier will testify, every battlefield is sui generis detail. tical
in
its details.
We
are thus virtually forced to accept the veracity
of the
narrative of the battles as described in the Bible, although, as
above, occurrences mainly in the pre-monarchal period allocated,
wrong
by mistake or by
intent, to the
wrong
may
tactical
mentioned have been
tribal leader or to the
time.
Archaeological research
background and
basis
is
invaluable, both for producing the material
of our research and for providing relevant epi-
more precious because of its scarcity. On the other hand, many of the conclusions drawn by a considerable number of scholars from these sources should firmly be labelled as conjectural and far from graphical evidence, the
being a compelling factual framework. Conscious or subconscious sociopolitical notions
and
and
biases colour the basic attitudes of
tend to draw all-embracing,
all
dence gathered from the
sites,
final historical
some
scholars,
conclusions from evi-
none of which has been excavated comand
pletely with sufficient fool-proof methods, often before the final
processed evidence of their finds has been published.
This
is
to be lamented, especially in
many
cases
fully
2
where scholars have
taken unwarranted liberties with textual corrections, 'explaining away' unsuitable' factual evidence, as well as disregarding geopolitical realities.
However, whatever the verdict of future balanced research historical
will
be
as to the
framework and happenings, against the backdrop of which we
have to view the battles of the Bible, truthfulness
and
authenticity.
Being unable, in
this
it
cannot invalidate their intrinsic
3
book, to go into discussions that are beyond the
scope of matters military,
we
adhere to the accreditation of exploits to
4 Joshua and other leaders according to the Bible narrative.
We
would
like to express
Nati Tsameret and
Lt. Col.
our sincerest appreciation and gratitude to
Ephraim Melzer
and
new photowho drew the maps,
for preparing the
graphs of the biblical battlefields, to John Richards
to our publisher Lionel Leventhal, his assistant Kate Ryle
members of his staff who have helped new edition of this book. 23
us in
many ways
and
to bring
all
other
about the
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
A
note on the spelling of names of persons and
final
localities.
We
have
followed, wherever possible, the transcription introduced into the Bible translation
which
by the
the
is
most
command
of King James - the Authorized Version',
familiar to the English reader.
Modern
site
names
rendered according to the transliteration adopted in the relevant
are
Israeli,
Jordanian and Syrian maps.
This book
is
a joint endeavour.
We
advice and consultation. Each drew
have enjoyed the benefit of mutual
upon
the specific experience and
qualifications of his colleague. In writing the book,
concentrated on the period of the First Temple while
with the period of the Second Temple battle,
where the
We have been edition,
when new
regard to
the Bible are
Bible's military
able,
still
Chaim Herzog
dealt
Judah the Maccabees death in
account ends.
however, to re-affirm in this enlarged and corrected
dealing with ideas
till
Mordechai Gichon
and
new
evidence that has accumulated and with
theories, that the strategic
applicable
and
and
tactical lessons
of
are as relevant as ever.
MORDECHAI GICHON
CHAIM HERZOG
24
PART
I
CHAPTER
1
SETTING THE SCENE
THE GEOGRAPHICAL STAGE Eretz Israel
-
promised by
the land
God
the Jewish people
back
which according
to biblical tradition
to Abraham as the permanent and particular home of - has been one of the main military thoroughfares as far
as written annals record. In fact, the first
military
had been
campaign
to have
come down
to us
is
coherent account of any held by the majority of
scholars to be the narrative of an Egyptian invasion of Canaan. This
on the tomb of Uni,
is
the
which boasts of the conquest of the 'land of the dwellers of the sand' in a combined sea and land operation. Uni's seaborne troops effected an amphibious landinscription
a general of
Pharaoh Pepi
i,
1
ing behind the gazelle nose' ridge and overcame their enemies before the
Egyptian complement marching up the coastal plain ever reached the battlefield,
rear
though the mere threat of
must
their
approach towards the defenders'
have contributed to the victory.
The time was
the twenty-fourth
century bc, the 'land of the sand dwellers' was present-day gazelle nose'
may
Israel
and the
have been the Carmel promontory.
Israelite establishment in what had Canaan by one thousand years. Yet it provides the first picture of the geopolitical factors and properties that governed the fate of the Holy Land throughout its long, turbulent history. Before going into details, a few words about nomenclature. As mentioned above, Eretz Israel is the Hebrew name for the Holy Land while Canaan was the name by which it was known on the eve of the Israelite conquest. After the split of the United Monarchy in about 925 bc the
Uni's
campaign antedates the
become
the Egyptian province of
northern kingdom retained the called Judah. Eventually the ish
dominions
name of
Israel,
while the southern was
term Judah was used to designate
after the Israelites' return
from
exile in
all
the Jew-
Babylon in 537 bc,
including those of the Hasmonean kingdom within its changing borders. In its latinized form the latter has come down to us as Judea (Iudaea), the name later given to the country as a Roman province after its reduction
27
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
§hr§
28
SETTING THE SCENE
by Vespasian and Titus (ad 66-73). This name was changed into SyriaPalaestina, hence Palestine, by the emperor Hadrian in his vain effort to
stamp out the Jews in
their
homeland,
after the great revolt
under Bar
Kokhba (ad 132-135). Throughout all its subsequent history the country continued to be known as Palestine, since neither Arabs nor Turks gave it a name of their own. In the following pages we shall use the term Palestine whenever we wish to indicate the country in a geographical sense within
geographical
its
boundaries and without reference to the actual political constellation at any given time. Cis- and Trans-Jordan are also used in their geographical sense,
meaning the country
The
first
to the west
and foremost of the
governed the
and the
of the Holy Land
fate
east
of the Jordan
respectively.
geopolitical properties that have always is
Palestine's position.
The country
the sole land-bridge that connects Eurasia with Africa. There
between the sea and the desert and there
no
is
is
is
no detour
alternative but to pass
along the Palestinian roads either west or east of the Jordan River. Consequently, the powers of the day usually did not refrain even
hold of
conflict to seize
this
strategic area,
from armed
which has proved
itself
absolutely indispensable both for the flow of commerce in peacetime
the
movement of armies
ingly
abandon
their goal
life:
on the it
its
It is
far,
and
the rulers of adjacent lands willthis
important crossroad into
aspiring to establish an independent national
Palestinian land-bridge
was destined to
from near and antee
Nor did
of incorporating
Any nation
their territories. state
in war.
live
had thus
to accept a
primary
fact
of
under nearly constant concentric pressure
and only constant military preparedness could guar-
survival.
probably no coincidence that the only people to create a national
commonwealth on
the Palestinian land-bridge that lasted (with only short
interruptions) for an appreciable period (twelve centuries
century bc onwards)
is
from the twelfth
the Jewish people. During this long period, the
Jews were more often than not forced to make up by for their numerical inferiority,
which was another
geopolitical character of Palestine.
The
spirit
and devotion
basic factor in the
very smallness of the country set
on its population. In the ancient period, when agriculture was extensive and only small portions of society were able to live by occupations other than farming, there was one major means for augmenting definite limits
manpower and food production: the conquest of By acquiring more arable land and sufficient tillers for its
the national potential in foreign territory. soil,
a ruler could allocate a higher portion of his
29
own
people to be tem-
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE porarily or permanently marshalled for iaries that
war - not
could be raised from the acquired
to speak of the auxil-
territories.
hemmed in by natural boundaries and surrounded and south by much larger countries, was forced to arrive at
Palestine,
north
tively higher
standard of exploiting
limited resources than
its
to the
a rela-
more gener-
endowed regions. But even after bringing the mountains under the plough and capturing large stretches of the arid south of Judea, the Negev, ously
was a limit that kept the
for sedentary, rural settlement, there
'Palestinians'
numerically small compared to the nations that developed around and
about the Nile, in Mesopotamia, the Syrian highlands and Asia Minor.
Although
this
book
deals with matters material
with the spiritual aspects of biblical history, a people
imbued with
it
and
must be
physical,
religious zeal, a steadfast belief in
country decree,
make
as its
and not
stressed that only
right to the
its
Promised Land by divine
and with
religious tenets
the exercise of
its
which
cult within the
confines of this country one of its para-
mount
duties, could develop the neces-
and
sary moral
spiritual
endurance to
forge a state out of Palestine
the pressure
preservation.
its
The
and sustain
and hardship involved
next geopolitical factor that
evident from Uni's campaign
is
is
that
endowed with both an and long land which impose upon any nation
Palestine
is
extended borders,
in
2
shoreline
aspiring to
dominate the country the
double task of land and sea defence.
One A
of Palestine's national defence policy
ers
1
'sea
of the basic decisions of the mak-
people warriori carrying i battle
axe.
(From 1'nkomi, Cyprus.)
had therefore always been what portion of the national potential to allocate to
each. o!
From
the perusal of these pages,
solve their naval
commitments
the seafaring peoples
uans by
in the
common
who
it
will
beyond
antiquity found this double task
largely
by
become evident their capabilities
that the Jews
and
tried to
alliances, treaties or coercion
of
inhabited the Mediterranean coast, the Phoeni-
north and the Philistines in the south. Both undertook, either
understanding with the
Israelites
30
or by compulsion, the bur-
SETTING THE SCENE
den of sea trade and the naval protection of the ness of this arrangement
is
obvious.
It
The weaktime of stress, when
Palestine coast.
was exactly
the Israelites were in special need of naval support
in
and the
itime trade, that their naval partners or vassals tended to
or even sever their relations with
Uni
misnomer
is
that the
name was
and the Negev, and only
and the
arable land.
Its
The obvious
reason
applied correctly to the
of the country. But
it
is
a country
on the border between
southern and eastern borders have
always been wide open to major invasions by tribes attempting to
permanently in
'the
The
solution to these prob-
lems played an important part in the military effort of biblical
selves
had
this
ontory
problem was
been a
all
had invaded Palestine from
Palestinian land-bridge proper extends
from the white-cliff prom-
('the
From west
4
ladder of Tyre') to the 'Brook of Egypt' (Wadi El Arish), 155
miles as the crow
flies,
and from Ijon (Marjayoun)
to east, the average distance
to Eilat,
The
actual size of the Jewish state varied at
lical
period.
Palestine
is
divided in
rift valley,
which
its
(i.e.
sea-level
is
seventy miles.
Dead Sea becomes
north to south) by the the lowest point
globe, with an average annual temperature of 25°c. Yet
below
miles.
any given time during the bib-
centre lengthwise
at the
280
between the Mediterranean Sea
and the eastern edge of the Trans-Jordanian highlands
Jordan
Israel.
the keener as the Israelites them-
tribal federation that
initially
the eastern desert.
The
settle
land of milk and honey' as well as to raids that cre-
ated day-to-day problems of current security.
Consciousness of
serves
factor that governed the fortunes of
the Palestinian land-bridge. Palestine the desert
initially
fertile parts
remind us of the next geopolitical
to
become lukewarm
the Egyptian horizons widened,
later, as
extended to denote the northern,
of mar-
3
called Palestine the 'land of the sand dwellers'.
for this
Sinai
Israel.
profits
on the
from the 695
feet
Dead
Sea,
Sea of Galilee only sixty-eight miles north of the
with an average annual temperature of 21°c, the usually perennially
snow-capped Mount Hermon
is
only thirty-four miles away. Armies fight-
ing in ancient Israel obviously had to be versed in diverse aspects of warfare,
from mountaineering on one extreme
to desert fighting
A good example of the diversity of conditions war, though
ad on
1
178.
a hot
on the
other.
in the Palestinian theatre of
from a much more recent period,
is
the Battle of Hattin in
While the Crusader host was withering away for want of water the descent from Galilee to Tiberias, the Saracen
summer day on
army kept
its
commanders provided with drinks cooled by 31
ice
brought
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
down by camel
from the upper slopes of Mount Hermon,
relays
fifty-five
miles away.
Topographically, the country to the west of the Jordan River (Cis-
Jordan)
may
be divided into
five
major zones:
(1) the coastal plain; (2) the
Negev; (3) the central highland massif (the
Ephraim or Samaria);
mountains of Judah and
Jordan Valley (the connecting
(4) Galilee; (5) the
link with eastern Palestine, also called Trans-Jordan). valleys divide the western
sheva Valley, which
lies
highland into
lies
Galilee ridge,
its
three components: the Beer-
Greek and
between the central massif and
may
New
Galilee.
be likened to a huge wheel, with
highest elevation (3,962
feet).
From
Testament sources),
5
its
hub
this central
rains have carved out valleys that fan out like spokes in
of communication -
serve as
main
- while
the intervening ridges divide the region into
arteries
great east-west
between the Negev and the central massif; and the
Valley of Jezreel (Esdraelon of the
which
its
Two
all
at the
Merom
watershed, the directions
and
as well as centres
of agriculture
many
semi-isolated
sections.
While Galilee reminds us topographically of a huge wheel, Judah and Samaria are like a giant staircase leading up from the sea to the central watershed plateau and the Jordan Valley.
From
foothills (called the
slopes)
down
again,
the shore, the
Shephelah
and the fourth
though
step (the
first
in
much
step,
steeper steps, towards
one ascends through the
in the Bible) to the third step (the
upper
slopes),
up
to the plateau.
descent, the lowest step (from the slopes to the Jordan Valley)
perpendicular
clitt oi
varying height.
From
massif looks like a huge fishbone. The spine (river beds)
is
air,
On
the
a steep,
the relief of the central
the watershed,
and the wadis
running down from the watershed towards the Mediterranean
and the Jordan Vallev or Dead Sea are spine.
the
is
lower
like the
bones emanating from the
North to-south communications west of the Jordan River run along
either the coastal plain, the plateau or the Jordan Valley, while the west-toeast
communications, other than those
via the great lateral valleys, are
confined to the wadis descending the watershed and to their flanks.
The
lines of transition
from the coastal plain
trom one geographic zone to the other, such
to the
Judean piedmont or from the
slopes ot the mountains, have always served as zones of tation
as
latter to the
armed confron-
between the dwellers of the mountains and the masters of the plains
and the Philistines) until mutual undermore often the supremacy of one over the other, had been achieved. Of vital importance for the security of the Samarian and Judean (such as between the Israelites
standing, or
32
SETTING THE SCENE heartland was mastery of the numerically limited lateral roads and their
Permanent blockings, running
defiles.
battles
and major ambushes have
occurred there throughout the biblical period and
after.
The topography of the country east of the Jordan River (Trans-Jordan) may be summed up as a mountainous highland plateau with distinct highmountain relief in parts of Edom and southern Moab. The ascent from the Jordan Valley east
desert
is
is
very steep, while the descent towards the desert in the
and gradual
so gentle
is
that the border between the plateau
and the
often hardly noticeable.
Four deep canyon-like gorges of the Yarmuk, Jabbok, Arnon and Zered rivers force the
western arm of the main Trans-Jordanian north-to-south
artery, the King's
To
skirt these
Highway, into tortuous
traverses that are easily blocked.
deep gorges, the eastern arm of the King's Highway was
laid
out close to the confines of the desert.
The Golan
topographically multi-faceted highlands of the Bashan with the as the
western flank was the area of constant contest between
and the Arameans.
When
in the
hands of the
latter,
Israel
the sixty-mile-broad
zone in the rear between the Yarmuk River and the Hauran was always a threat to Israel's hold over Trans-Jordan,
and the roads and
tracks descend-
ing from the Golan heights necessitated constant watch over eastern Galilee.
In the east,
on the confines of the Arabian desert, conditions were The main gateway from central Arabia, the
similar to those in the Negev.
Wadi
Sirhan, led into Gilead.
When
peaceful, the 'Midianite' caravans
spread out from there to as far as Egypt. Significantly, one of these (Gen.
23-28) bore the captive Joseph with it for sale on the slave markets of the Pharaonic kingdom. Yet when bent on war, the same 'Midianite' tribal 37:
hosts
would
raid as far west as the Jezreel Valley
(
Judg. 6:33).
ABRAHAM AND THE PATRIARCHS The wars of the the
Bible begin with the exodus of Abraham and his clan from
Mesopotamian
single god,
city
of Haran because of his revolutionary belief in a
unique creator and lord of the universe.
Abraham seems
to have joined the great
shook the eastern Mediterranean upheavals in Asia
Minor and
initiated great migrations that,
On
movement of
in the eighteenth
leaving Haran,
ethnic units that
century bc. Population
the regions to the north of
Mesopotamia
together with other developments, welded
together heterogeneous ethnic groups 33
-
the Semites, Horites and Indo-
.ATTLES OF THE BIBLE
among them -
Iranians
into the so-called
Hyksos who conquered Egypt use for the
- the war
time,
first
chariot.
and
in
Hence
common
use,
about two hundred
in later history,
To keep
was the
years.
their
to build their
The Hyksos were
hold over Egypt,
bridge that connected
them with
new weapon was
although the
possession and deft use was decisive.
initial
its
willing, to assimilate themselves into the tion.
It
numbers, of a weapon new to the area
in great
Hyksos were able
the
Hyksos nation.
eighteenth century bc) by making
6
As happened so often soon
(in the
empire and rule Egypt for never able, or perhaps never
autochthonic Egyptian popula-
as well as
over the Palestinian land-
related ethnic elements in Syria
and Asia
Minor, they encouraged the settlement of these related peoples both in
Egypt and
in Palestine.
The upheavals
Hyksos caused both unrest and
created by the
ent activity, as reflected in the account of Abraham's
Abrahams
military exploits,
categories.
The
first
life
belliger-
in Genesis
12-25.
and those of Isaac and Jacob, came under two was the defence of grazing ground - the grazing rights
of his clan - on entering Canaan, the country promised to him by God.
This category also included the actions taken to retrieve stolen flocks (Gen.
26rT.).
The second
category was participation in major wars. Such
involvement was probably Abrahams obligation towards the Hyksos authorities
and
their
(
anaanite vassals, the local petty kings
Abraham had
the territories in which tion
is
lacking but one ma|or war
Mesopotamia
the four kings oJ area,
throws
light
from the
While the northern
down
allies,
move on
.1
Exact informa-
established himself.
which Abraham participated, that of
against the five kings of the of strategic
earliest
times onwards.
Highway
the Kings I
llat
Dead Sea
conditions and geo-mili-
headed bv Amraphel of Shinar
control over the route leading to CO
(?)
on the continuity
tarv factors in Palestine
potamia). SWCpl
in
who governed
east
Meso-
of the Jordan to establish
and the Red
parallel line west of the Jordan.
(in
Sea,
Abraham was
free
Using the watershed road on
mountain massih he moved in a direction opposite to that of the northern kings and arrived in good time to lay an ambush not far from the central
DamatCUl on the toad to Hobah, Hermon: And he divided himself night, I
he
the area of the eastern foothills of the
against them, he
and
and smote them, and pursued them into Hobah
site of
...'
by
(Gen. 14:15).
ambush was of course somewhere near the contwo highways which was near Damascus proper. It is
the nocturnal
vergence of the
tempting
his servants,
to suggest the
Barada gorge north-west of Damascus, an ancient
SETTING THE SCENE
highway and scene of many an ambush, tle.
It
as the setting for
Abraham's bat-
movement along Australian Mounted
was here
that, in a similar outflanking
the same
Abraham must have taken, the Division ambushed and annihilated the retreating Turkish Fourth Army on the direction
8 night of 30 September 191 8.
The
patriarchal legends are comfortably anchored in the customs, lore
and laws of the region throughout all of the second millennium bc and some time after. Therefore, no final verdict can as yet be passed as to the exact time of their creation. However, like the early sagas of Greece
and
the ancient Norse people, the patriarchal histories reflect true social,
and geographical conditions,
material
that tend to fix
half of that period; similarly, they seem to have been
them in the first woven around a
historic kernel.
Modern
become aware
scholars have
blurred the
initial
warlike representation of the patriarchs and especially
that of Abraham as the prototype of the
present version,
Abraham, on the
mentioned war (Gen.
and
stresses that his
brother
is
sole
and
A Semitic Men
and
women
(Gen. 37:3).
The
or as waterskins.
tribe enters
victorious termination of the above-
his allies as well as
many
bellows carried by the
sickle
donkeys may be left carries
sword of the
35
as late
in the patriarchal age.
colours', the object
warrior on the lower
towards
spoils,
his captured
This behaviour was cited
Egypt with permission
'coat of
in the Bibles
any material gains or part of the
14), refuses
duty towards
Noble Warrior. Even
sufficient motivation.
wear the
The
that later editors have partly
a
others.
of Joseph's brothers' envy
explained either as metal ingots
boomerang,
distinct
from the
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE as the sixteenth
law, as
century by H. Grotius, the father of modern international
an example in his
treatise
on 'The Laws of Peace and War'. 9
THE SOJOURN Jacob's migration into
Egypt and the subsequent sojourn of the patriarchal
clans in the district of
place in the
IN EGYPT
Goshen
is
be understood
also to
having taken
as
Hyksos period. The new King of Egypt, which knew not
Amosis i or one of his successors. Amosis i (reigned c. 1580-1557 bc) was the founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty and a native
Joseph' was either
Egyptian prince.
He
succeeded in dislodging the Hyksos from the Nile
Valley and laid the foundations for the subsequent Egyptian conquest of
Canaan. After
this 'reconquest', the
Hebrew
tribes in
alien
Egypt remained an
element suspected of sym-
pathizing with the
strongholds Syria
last
Hyksos
and
Palestine
in
and other non-Egyptian
elements
They
north.
the
in
became what
twentieth-cen-
a
tury military planner
would
call
permanent potential security
a
risk'.
There have always been two ways of dealing with a problem prim infantry
(ot
Rameses
II
;
.
carrying
pikes (thrusting lancet) and alternately sickle
The
of
this nature.
to
induce the alien populace to
first is
to try
iword and dagger. Hie N.C.O.s' are distinguished by the equivalent
ot
.1
'swagger
and thus join it to the body of the nation. This was the
assimilate stick*.
policy of Alexander the Great during his eastern conquests.
The
other
nunc frequently applied though often counter-productive' approach use .mother recently coined political term)
The Egyptians chose the they multiply, and it come
elements. ...
lest
latter
is
(to
the subjugation of the alien
option to deal with the Hebrews,
to pass
when
there falleth out any war,
they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us
...'
(Exod. 1:10).
During the subsequent persecutions, the Exodus and the 'forty years' of wandering in the deserts of the Sinai Peninsula under the inspired leadership of Moses, the liberator
and
lawgiver, the
Hebrew
clans were
welded
into a coherent nucleus that, after absorbing further ethnic elements,
became
the Israelite nation, initially tribal in character.
36
The common
SETTING THE SCENE patriarchal traditions, religion
-
common
and
laws, as laid
down by Moses, and - last
experience of struggle for a
foothold on
but not
least
the east
bank and then on the west bank of the Jordan, were the
forged the
under
this
The
the
Hebrew clans into the people of name was by Pharaoh Mernephtah
Israel.
first
Their
in about
first
tribal status,
arms and
to bear
serve,
army when
all
nations
based on the duty of every able-bodied male
whenever
necessary, in his tribal contingent in the
national host. According to the Bible, Israelite
mention
1220 bc. 10
military organization of the Israelites was, like that of
emerging from
forces that
Moses and Aaron organized the
first
leaving the Egyptian bondage:
Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; from twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.
And
with you there
of his
From
fathers.
shall
be a
man
of every
of chapter
this passage as well as the rest
that, as in the
everyone head of the house
tribe;
(Num. 1:2-4)
emerging Greek,
heads were leaders in peace
of Numbers,
1
Roman and Germanic
as well as in
war -
we
learn
societies, the tribal
a warrant inherited later
by
kings, princes, archons and consuls - whereas the people in arms formed
the national assembly of the initially sovereign peoples.
Western
sidelight that, whereas in
societies the basically
It is
an interesting
democratic rights
emanating from the various early national assemblies withered away in time, ancient Jewish society, even in the heyday of monarchy, never gave
way a
to absolutism.
The
people' always remained, directly
body with influence on the
affairs
of
state.
This
not only in the preservation of the people in arms Israelite
armed
fact
as the
forces until the destruction of the First
and
indirectly,
was instrumental mainstay of the
Temple,
as
we
shall
see in the following pages, but also in the apparent readiness of the Israelites to
bear the constant burden of military preparedness.
11
A famous wall painting in a tomb at Beni Hasan, Egypt (see p. 35) gives a vivid picture of a Semitic clan that entered Egypt at about the time of
Abraham (nineteenth-eighteenth century
bc).
12
We may
that no great physical difference existed between the
and
the
Israelites
at
the
time
of
the
well presume
tribe portrayed there
Exodus (fourteenthdonkey nomads.
thirteenth century bc). Like this clan, the Israelites were
They moved and fought on
foot, while their
37
few heavy goods - including
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE tools
and
and the very young - were
tents, the old, the feeble
backs of donkeys. This meant that together,
if
miles per hour.
The men, of course, were
on
moved
the whole congregation
more than
average speed, including the cattle, was no
its
carried
three
subjected to strenuous exercise
and undertook long marches when they moved out
for action,
unencum-
bered by their families and belongings. For security reasons the tribes
moved and encamped according to a fixed and well-regulated pattern. The Beni Hasan mural depicts the tribal arms: spear, javelin, bow and
A
sword.
bard playing a lute during the progress of the caravan
niscent of the Levites, while the bellows carried
nomads,
own
were their
like the Israelites,
by
asses
is
remi-
prove that these
smiths and craftsmen and con-
sequently self-reliant as far as maintenance of their personal armoury was
concerned. Their independence assured
maximum
flexibility
to their
military manoeuvring, so that if they were led well, the tribal hosts could neutralize
The
some of the advantages of better equipped and
Israelites,
trary assortment
individuals
though exclusively
whim.
tribal
and
Before, during
came
an
arbi-
directly after the Exodus, typical
to be established. In the following pages
development of the
and trained
foot-soldiers, did not carry
of the above-mentioned weaponry according to each
tribal proficiencies
trace the
regular forces.
Israelite
we
shall
army, composed of variously armed
contingents that formed a well-balanced, mutually com-
plementary and supporting whole. 13 From the outset, however, there had to be a pline.
fundamental organization,
These
factors
make
all
a basic
chain of
command and
primitive and unsophisticated, and an
armed
rabble.
Many a
tribal society
never, or only very gradually, succeeded in transforming itself
lection of clan gangs fighting in a
divisions
and
a
disci-
the difference between an army, however
proper chain of
compact mass into
command. The
from a
a force with tactical
Bible attributes
men
col-
all
these
and
accomplishments
to
made them heads
over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds,
rulers
of
fifties,
and
Moses. 'Moses chose able
rulers
of
tens'
out of
all Israel,
(Exod. 18:25).
THE CROSSING OF THE RED SEA So
far
no
satisfactory solution has
been offered to the
many problems and
the seemingly conflicting evidence that can be gleaned from the biblical
accounts of the Exodus and
its
batdes.
the former British governor of Sinai,
We are very much
Major Jarvis,
tempted to follow
in identifying the
narrow
tongue of land between the Mediterranean and the brackish lagoon called 38
SETTING THE SCENE the Serbonian Sea, halfway between Port Said
encounter between the
lowed
in the footsteps
sudden
in a
Israelites
and El Arish,
of Jarvis, we could well imagine
gale while standing in the
crossing'
had taken
transfer to these parts the account Israel
went
how
chariots,
The
after them....
and the horsemen, and
he was caught
this
was the spot
place. It needs little imagination to
upon dry ground.
And all
identification of this area
fol-
of Exodus 14:22-8: 'And the children of
into the midst of the sea
pursued and went
of the
wet sand, swept by the angry waters
of the Mediterranean, and thus became convinced that
where the 'Red Sea
as the site
and the pursuing Egyptians. 14 Having
.
. .
And the Egyptians
the waters returned and covered the
the host of Pharaoh.'
is all
the
more tempting
as
two
similar
occurrences were recorded as having taken place on this sand bar between
and the lagoon. The
the sea
first-century
bc Greek historian Diodorus
Siculus relates that during Xerxes' invasion of Egypt in
drowned
troops
same
there.
writing during
Strabo,
period,
'During
informs
340 bc, part of his
15
thi
us:
my stay at Alexandria
in Egypt, the sea rose so high
near
Pelusium and
Mount
Cassius [in the centre of the
sand bar]
as to
overflow the
and to convert the mountain into an island.' 16 Moses thus set an example
land
for
all later Israelite
comman-
ders in minimizing his adversary's
superiority
by making
the geographical features of his theatre
of war his
'discerning eye'
is
ally.
Egyptian war chario t, carrying a division standard
This
depicting
Amon
Ra.
the gift of
great captains to divine the tactical qualities of the battlefield.
17
Moses'
choice of the route along the seashore was dictated by his appreciation that the pursuing Egyptians would have little room for a full deployment of chariots or
any other troops, and that the
terrain
abounded
in features that
could be used to ensnare the Pharaonic regulars. Archaeological investigation has established another fact: at the time of the Exodus, the strong-
holds along the sea route, such as the fortress of Mount Cassius, were not
permanently manned, whereas the main highway (which 39
is
followed both
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
by the railway
line built
by the
British in
World War One and
the present-
day asphalt road) was occupied by Egyptian garrisons stationed in road-posts close to
the water sources.
all
The
fortified
desire to avoid these road
defences adds likelihood to the choice of the shore route, despite the fact that
quite different
it is
become
(fifth-sixth century ad). ever,
from the route of the Exodus that had already
a deeply rooted tradition as far back as the Byzantine period
Moses
18
Whatever the
actual scene of the clash,
surely heeded the proverb, 'With ruses
20:18), long before
was put down
it
make
how-
war' (Prov.
in writing.
THE BACKGROUND TO THE CONQUEST Much
like the
in obscurity.
Exodus, the stages of the conquest of Canaan are shrouded
The Bible was not who compiled
the chroniclers
Canaan,
as told in the
interested in martial affairs per
nor did
se,
the historical reports of the conquest of
books of Joshua and Judges, attempt to check
sources. Consequently,
their
sometimes divergent or even conflicting versions
of the course of the conquest have crept into these accounts, and modern research has not yet arrived at a
commonly
accepted formula in these
matters. Recent theories of a completely peaceful takeover to
comparison with any of the well known acquisitions
do not stand up
in antiquity
national homestead at the expense of the indigenous population. there any
sound explanation
ites crystallized
lack, other
historical
for the
complementary theory
of a
Nor
is
that the Israel-
out of the existing Canaanite population. Here too,
we
than certain variously interpreted archaeological data, any true
comparison. To mention only two problems with these theories:
how and why
did a
random group of disowned and
resettled farmers (as
the forefathers of the Israelites were thought to have been) develop, in their
own country and without compulsion,
based on innovatory monotheism their deeply rooted ancient beliefs?
ditions, wholly based
face of
it,
tar
on
a
a religion categorically
How could
nomadic
a distinct national entity
past with a rather strange and,
from ennobling tradition of servitude
The conquest of both
Cis-
the Egyptian Empire was no longer able to detail
retreating Hyksos.
internal
By
in
it
enough
had acquired
on the
fact that
forces to safe-
in the
the mid-fourteenth century bc the
lost its superiority
to
Egypt? 19
and Trans-Jordan was helped by the
guard the province of Canaan, which
had temporarily
opposed
they develop a lore and tra-
wake of the
New Kingdom
and, moreover, was burdened with
problems and challenges to 40
its
security
on
frontiers other than
SETTING THE SCENE
Canaan. The Hebrew
tribes
were therefore able to get a foothold in the
Promised Land, partly by military conquest and partly by extensive peaceful infiltration.
fact that
not
into Egypt.
all
Egyptian sources,
as well as biblical allusions,
point to the
the clans connected with the Patriarchs had followed Jacob
The
clans
who had
stayed behind were the natural
allies
of
those returning from Pharaonic bondage. Moreover, several other clans,
which had not
initially
to the Patriarchs,
them during
had joined the
we do have
and amalgamated with
'twelve tribes'
a
precise information
most
functions from the
first
military intelligence.
much
on the
initial
interesting account of
that took place during the planning stage.
devoted
tribal association linked
various stages of the conquest. 20
Although we lack Jordan,
belonged to the Hebrew
entry into Trans-
one of the major events
One of the most important staff
days of primitive tribal wars onwards has been
The
great captains of history have, each in his day,
of their time to outguessing and outwitting their foes by
acquiring as accurate a picture as possible of their intentions, capabilities, strength,
deployment and
very succinctly. his
When
terrain.
Wellington put
asked what
long hours of seclusion and
it
silent
thinking about the other side of the
'The other side of the
hill'
was
this
major mental
effort
was that he was thinking of during ponderings, he answered:
am
'I
hill.'
to
Moses, encamped
at the oasis
of
Kadesh-barnea, the land of Canaan beyond the miles of barren rock and
sand of the Negev. To find out sent out twelve spies.
Moses gave
briefing
how
best to go about conquering
The Book of Numbers,
his reconnaissance troops.
it
Moses
chapter 13, records the
The need
for a detailed
briefing of the intelligence officer by his commander, or of the intelligence-gathering agencies by the former, has become one of the basic tenets of any modern intelligence operation. The items under discussion and their emphasis change from mission to mission but, according to one
modern
may be
official
handbook,
The
subject matter of strategic intelligence
considered from two aspects: (1) the capabilities of nations; (2) the
intentions of nations.' Moses' business was clearly with the former.
Our
handbook goes on: The on their natural and industrial resources, their political stability and demography, the character and stamina of their populations, their armed forces, their scientific endeavour, their topography and infrastructure.' capabilities of nations in war and peace are based
Compared with
this guideline written over three
Moses' briefing seems surprisingly modern and requirements: 41
thousand years
in line
later,
with present-day
.
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
And Moses and
sent
them
see the land
what
to spy out the land it is;
and the people
of Canaan, and said unto them that dwelleth therein,
be strong or weak, few or many; and what the land
whether
it
be good or bad; and what
in tents or in strongholds;
wood
whether there be
One
cities
whether
is,
.
that they dwell in,
they be that they dwell
and what the land
therein, or not.
is
.
whether they
be
it
in,
whether
fat
or lean,
(Num. 13:17-20)
of the weaknesses and potential
failings
of intelligence reports has
always been the fact that the recipient must base his planning and action
upon ter,
the estimates and interpretations of others.
training or inclination,
those the
might
And
others,
by charac-
arrive at conclusions different
commander would have deduced had
take a personal look at 'the other side of the
been in
it
hill'.
his
from
power
to
Frederick the Great's
defeat at Kunnersdorf in 1759, Napoleon's reverse before Acre in
and the
British disaster at
Arnhem
in
1799 1944 probably would not have
occurred had the commanders-in-chief been able to assess for themselves the facts
on which
their intelligence
was based. 21 Hence
it is
only natural
commanders have always impressed upon their intelligence-gathering agencies the need to provide them with as much tangible proof as possible to confirm their reports. Moses was no exception, for he terminated his briefing with the following injunction: And be ye of good courage and bring of the fruit of the land' (Num. 13:20). The spies heeded Moses' words and substantiated their report about the natural products of Canaan by carrying with them samples of the rich fruit that grew there. Most probably, this evidence did much to enhance that
the credibility of those items in their report for
which tangible proof could
not be obtained: 'The people
be strong that dwell in the land,
and the
and very
we saw ...
Enemy
spies being beaten rity
by Egyptian
field secu-
cities are
great:
walled,
and moreover
children of Anak there
and we were
in
our
own
sight as grasshoppers,
and so
we were
(Num.
in their sight'
13:28,33).
Another means of minimiz-
personnel.
ing the dangers inherent in
basing ones estimate upon the appreciations of others has always been to
choose the most capable
officers for crucial missions. In the
42
seventeenth
SETTING THE SCENE
when
century,
became customary
it
to accredit ambassadors as
gatherers of intelligence at foreign courts, the French
permanent
handbook
stressed
the importance of choosing a general of the highest calibre, as 'he
anyone
be in a better position than forces of the country
of the
state
where he
else to
resided, the quality of the troops
fortified places, the arsenals
acted accordingly in his
own
would
render good account of the .
.
the
.
and magazines'. Moses had already
According to Numbers 13:1-2: 'The
day.
Lord spake unto Moses saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan
among
.
.
.
of every tribe
them.' In this way, the
Caleb was
effectively overruled
.
.
shall ye
.
more
send a man, every
man
a ruler
optimistic appraisal of Joshua
and
by the voices of the ten other scouts, rep-
resenting the highest leadership in their respective tribes.
Their evaluation was sustained when the attempt to push straight north
from Kadesh-barnea through the Negev into the Promised Land was by the king of Arad. The
foiled
tribal warriors
were
also incapable
of
assailing the walled cities in the Beersheva Valley (archaeological research
has revealed their pattern) and unable to stand up in open country to the heavily
armed
chariots.
The
regulars,
who
probably included a unit of the dreaded war
scouts were vindicated, and
Moses therefore changed
plan from a direct to a more indirect approach. skirted the well-defended
kingdoms
that
By
his
a great detour he
had been established on the
Trans-Jordanian highlands some generations before the Exodus and, moving on the fringes of the desert, he turned westwards to assault the only weak link in the chain of desert-border kingdoms: the realm of the Amorite king, Sihon. The Israelite intelligence service must have worked well among their kinsmen, the Edomites, Moabites and Ammonites. It did not take them long to find out that Sihon had recently carved a kingdom out of the Moabite lowlands north of the Arnon River. His conquest had been
achieved with great
kingdom
sufficiently.
at
Thus
and he had not yet had the time
to fortify his
the Israelites were able to invade and conquer
push out from there northwards into Gilead, which that time only sparsely settled. There they linked up with local
Sihon's country
was
effort,
and
Hebrew clans and
to
forged their
still
rather loose tribal structure into a semi-
sedentary society of militant tribes with the goal of capturing the their
Promised Land.
22
43
whole of
CHAPTER
2
THE CAMPAIGNS OF JOSHUA
THE PLAN OF THE CONQUEST According to the Bible, the credit for gaining a foothold in the Judean heartland west of the Jordan goes to Joshua. If his exploits had followed a planned schedule, they would
fit into the following grand design: phase one - the establishment of a bridge-head west of the Jordan; phase two -
- spreading out
the gaining of a foothold in the mountains; phase three
from the secured base on the central ridge for
permanent settlement. This
logical tales
to
widen the area of occupation
logical strategy, so alien to purely
of war and conquests,
is
mytho-
proof for the existence of an essen-
true kernel of the biblical account, even if Joshua were to be
tially
accredited only with part of the actual happenings in their initial stages.
Phase one was divided into two stages: the river-crossing and the securing of the bridge-head.
The
Jordan was the sector of the
river closest to the
influenced by a
dan
in
number of considerations.
thai sector
occupied by the into
friendly
were secure, since the
Israelites. In
First,
Dead
Sea.
His choice was
the approaches to the Jor-
river skirted the part
river
which gave the crossing
from the fords up
the Israelites with a
Moab
reinforcements from Gilead and the
could be forded in
parties the choice
many
to the central
number of
places in
of different routes
according to potential hostile interference. Moreover, a large tracks led
of
the event of a reverse, Joshua could retreat
territory or gather
Moabite lowlands. Secondly, the this sector,
place chosen by Joshua for crossing the
number of
Judean highlands and presented
alternatives for the
second phase of the
conquest after the bridge-head had been secured.
As real
far as the
option.
prospective bridge-head was concerned, there was only one
On
the western side of the lower Jordan were the plains of
Jericho; in their midst stood the oasis city of Jericho, possibly the oldest city
on earth and
certainly the oldest walled
town known
to us so
millennia before Joshua, the spring that watered the rich alluvial el-Sultan)
had already converted the otherwise barren
44
rift
far.
Five
soil
(Ain
valley into a lush
THE CAMPAIGNS OF JOSHUA tropical garden that supplied the needs of the caravans
muting between the two banks of the Jordan, elled along the river.
abounding
trol
of the water source, which was
The
great
it
siege train, was,
was behind
commanded
water, as well as con-
movement
lot.
in the area.
inexperienced in siege-
of course, the capture of the town,
and battlements. Joshua
there-
of the Jordan for
his scouts to reconnoitre the other side
upon
Jericho,
and
common
knowledge: 'And they went [into Jericho] and
into a harlots house,
named Rahab, and lodged there' (Josh. 2:1). Hebrew usage the word zonah meant har-
their exploits are
came
trav-
and
the best possible bridge-head, with special emphasis
There
who
of Jericho meant the
who were
walls, towers
its
com-
oasis
in fruit
vital for all
for the Israelites,
and devoid of any
craft
secured as fore
problem
travellers
as well as those
Hence, the capture of the
acquisition of a fertile base
and
is
no doubt
that in later
But the verb from which
vide with victuals.
it
was derived, zan, means to feed and
Rahab might
well have been a hostess
through Jericho. This seems to
for wayfarers passing
householder, an accepted
member
fit
of a large family to
messengers of the ruler of the town spoke with a certain
The
always been excellent sources of information.
and the sharp ligence
ears
objective.
to pro-
kept an inn
her standing as
whom
civility.
careless talk
even the Inns have
of guests
of hosts have combined to make them a coveted
intel-
Frederick the Great advised his heirs to have an
innkeeper in their pay in every region of
One
who
interest.
l
of the subjects learned from listening to conversation in inns
is
the
true morale and opinion of the population. Thus the report of Rahab's what ye did unto the two kings of the words - Tor we have heard .
Amorites
.
.
.
whom ye
ther did there remain
.
.
utterly destroyed.
any more courage
And in
any
.
.
.
our hearts did melt, nei-
man
because of you (Josh.
2:10-11) - must have strengthened Joshua in his conviction that the proper psychological moment for the attack upon Jericho had come. The actual conquest was envisaged in two waves. The spearhead was to be the armed warriors of the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh, which had already settled permanently in Trans-Jordan. They were to be followed by the bulk of the people, who would arrive with their families
and
all
their possessions
quered land. By means of
this
immediately to
settle
every parcel of con-
arrangement, a fait accompli was to be
and the occupying clans, if faced with Canaanite attempts at reconquest, would be spurred on by a desire to defend their new homes. Before the beginning of the campaign, Joshua was invested with supreme
established,
powers, including the meting out of capital punishment. In the text of his 45
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE investiture,
against thy
we find the following passage: 'Whosoever he be that does rebel commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that
thou commandest him, he
The
courage' (Josh. 1:18).
shall
be put to death: only be strong and of good
healthy instinct of the tribal elders induced them,
before the fateful attempt at crossing the Jordan, to forgo
some of the
jeal-
ously guarded rights so as to enable their chosen leader to accomplish his mission.
At a
of history, the
later stage
commander with
the imperium.
Romans
And
rogatives of the Israelite kings evolved out ity
of the Judges,
who
similarly invested their
just as the
supreme
permanent powers and pre-
of the temporary supreme author-
were chosen and invested in the image of Joshua, so
was the supreme authority of the
Roman
emperors based upon the perma-
nence of the imperium, which had formerly been granted to the supreme mil-
commanders
in times
of war. While Moses had been the prototype of
the divinely inspired leader
- one of those few throughout history who, by down the laws by which they were obeyed
itary
their awe-inspiring charisma, laid
- Joshua was
the
religious bent
first
leader elected by the general assembly of Israel.
may see more
Men of
than mere coincidence in the fact that the prece-
dent for the evolvement of later forms of government in
Israel
was created on
the eve of the landing west of the Jordan.
THE FALL OF JERICHO The
actual crossing of the Jordan
And
it
Jordan a
came .
.
.
Adam
when
that the waters
heap very
Israelites
to pass,
tar
from the
was
the people
facilitated
by an earthquake:
removed from
which came down from above stood and rose up city
Adam,
that
is
besides Zaretan
(todays Tell Damiych, near the
Damiyeh Bridge over
in
the
all
tremors. In
consequence of
ad 1267, when the lower a similar blockage, the
the Jordan)
where the course of the
was blocked when the perpendicular banks of soft
as a
and
...
passed OVCf 00 drv ground.... (Josh 3:14-17)
has been reported several times as the place
oi earth
their tents, to pass over
soil
caved in
river
as a result
river temporarily dried
Mameluk
sultan Baybars
up
was
able to exploit sixteen hours to lay the foundations for the predecessor of
him as main artery during his subsequent campaigns to wrest the Holy Land from the Crusaders. A more recent instance of the phenomenon was reported by Professor John Garstang, who related that in 1927 a section of the cliff, which here [at Damiyeh] the present bridge,
and
it
served
46
THE CAMPAIGNS OF JOSHUA a height of 150 feet,
rises to
dammed a
It is
it,
fell
bodily across the
no water flowed down the
so that
river
moot question whether Joshua used
his
river,
and completely
for 2IV2 hours'. 2
bed
knowledge of seismic
conditions in the Jordan Valley to wait for the resumption of the earth-
quake which had begun some time before
to facilitate the crossing or the
upon Jericho, or both. At all events, when the earth quaked, the tribes made ready to move. The astonishing occurrence was regarded by the Israelites as divine intercession on their behalf, and in its timing it may assault
indeed be regarded
as
miraculous even today.
Thus convinced of Gods
And
assistance, the Israelite host
the Lord said unto Joshua
and go round the
city once.
shall bear before the ark
compass the
shall
trumpet, shall fall
all
...
ye shall compass the
Thus
shalt
thou do
city seven times
flat....
city, all
six days.
ye
And
men
of war,
seven priests
seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye .
.
.
and when ye hear the sound of the
the people shall shout with a great shout;
down
surrounded Jericho:
and the wall of the
city
(Josh. 6:2-5)
Joshua meticulously kept to the above procedure and, according to the biblical narrative,
the
city,
every
'.
.
.
the wall
fell
down
flat,
man straight before him, and
so that the people
they took the
city'
went up
into
(Josh. 6:20).
Scholars have searched widely for a 'rational' interpretation of the con-
quest of Jericho.
Many
a bizarre explanation has been offered,
from the
wall-breaching effect of the rhythmic trampling of the besiegers' feet while
marching around the
city seven times to the wall-shattering blast caused
by the combined trumpets and outcry of the cally,
Israelite host.
More
of Jericho in Joshua's time must have been in a rather negligent repair.
that
realisti-
archaeological evidence has been marshalled to prove that the walls
They were nothing more than
had been
replaced
hastily
them with
a
(?)
patched up by the townspeople,
new
state
of
the ruined ramparts of an earlier age
who had
not
defensive belt. Yet even granting the existence
of cracks in the weak walls, feasibly caused by the same earthquake that
accounted for the dry passage across the Jordan, explanations of this type are nonetheless untenable or insufficient. Unfortunately, the walls of the
Late Bronze Period Canaanite Jericho had largely been washed away before the town's reconstruction by Hiel, the Bethelite, in King Ahab's
no archaeological evidence to be gathered on the period of the conquest from the three great and extensive time. Consequently, there
digs at the
mound
is
practically
of Jericho. 3
47
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
The
enigma seems
solution to the
to
come not from
material evidence
but from a comparison with ancient military devices and stratagems. In the collection of stratagems published by Sextus Julius Frontinus before the close of the
first
century ad,
When Gnaeus Pompey on
we
read:
one occasion was prevented from crossing a
river
because the enemy's troops were stationed on the opposite bank, he adopted the device of repeatedly leading his troops out of camp
when
enemy were
the
Roman
front of the
(Strategmata
I.
at last tricked into relaxing their
advance, he
made
a
and back
again.
Then,
watch on the roads in
sudden dash and effected a
crossing.
IV. 8)
Indeed, the principle sounds familiar. For six days the entire Israelite host
solemnly
around the walls of Jericho
filed
in full array.
And
for six days the
manned
good burghers of Jericho sprang to their weapons and ramparts, at
first
columns and the possible magic involved
and the Ark of the Covenant. But
priests
in this procession
begun
their
by
moment on the seventh day, after now customary manoeuvre, at a sign from
their leader, the silent, tranquil procession
and
them damaged by
'utterly
destroyed
[Tie strategy
all
had scaled the walls or passed through any
to the
was
in the city
false
manoeuvres that
the British misled their Turkish
Sinai, In Israelis
1916/ More
patched
sense of security by grad-
will later its
be used in open-
planners extremely well.
and German
recently, the Syrians
hastily
by the edge of the sword'.
...
ing and developing an attack has often served
Thus
and only
the recent tremors
of lulling the enemy into a
accustoming him
ually
that
suddenly changed into a column
dazed and terror-stricken defenders could
assault. Before the
collect themselves, the Israelites
portion of
and anxiety
to the strange per-
relaxed. Precisely at this
the Israelites had
of frenzied
headed by the
after the first terror
had subsided, the people of Jericho grew accustomed formance and
the
uneasy expectancy, afraid both of the marching
in
foes at
Romani,
in
and Egyptians deceived the
before the October 1973 war by the repeated mobilization of their
assault forces
on
Israel's
borders, as well as by such manoeuvres as the han-
dling of bridging equipment and the adoption of assault formations.
THE The
AI
CAMPAIGN
capture of Jericho gave the Israelites their
the Jordan. Joshuas next goal
first real
foothold west of
was penetration into the Judean mountains.
48
THE CAMPAIGNS OF JOSHUA
With
his clear strategic insight,
mountain
Cis-Jordan.
The Judean mountains were
bulwarks the lightly armed heavily
he perceived the importance of the central
Hebrew commonwealth
massif for the establishment of a
armed Canaanite
Joshua had no doubt about the outcome
of a pitched battle on the open plains, where his defenceless against the Canaanite chariots.
tribal
On
host was practically
the other hand, top-
ographical conditions alone precluded the deployment of heavily regulars in the
up
mountains and
gave lightly
armed troops
was
a chance to
make
Furthermore, the mountains were only sparsely settled and
therefore permitted Israelite entrenchment there
armed
by a combination of stealth, cunning, daring and
for their deficiencies
mobility.
whose
could withstand the onslaught of the
Israelites
forces.
the natural fortress behind
-
in
little
fortified cities
and colonization, whereas
chance of subduing the densely populated and strongly
of the plains.
Joshua also had to reckon with the prospect of interference by the Egyptians, as
know from
Canaan was
the archives of King
bc), discovered at Tell
Amenhotep
1391-1353 aid from had been put off with empty rv (Ikhnaton,
el-Amarna on the Nile, that most
the Canaanites and Egyptian officials alike
promises.
And Joshua, though
calls for
certainly not privy to the Egyptian diplo-
matic correspondence, did gauge the actual situation correctly.
was as
ripe for a strike,
long
and there was
as the Israelites
We now
part of the Pharaonic empire.
still
little
The time
danger of Egyptian interference
kept to the mountains and away from the plains,
of the Via Maris (Way of the Sea), the great trade route that connected Egypt with Syria and thus the strategic lifeline of the Egyptian the
site
empire. 5
The
preliminary step in the campaign to penetrate the mountains was
the Israelite alliance with the Gibeonites,
who were
themselves a rather
hard-pressed, small tribal confederation that had settled, probably not
very long before, around the watershed of the mountains north of Jerusalem. Their chief
town was Gibeon (present-day El
north-west of Jerusalem.
The
biblical report has
it
Jib), five miles
that the contact with
the Gibeonites was established only after the capture of Ai (Josh. 9), but a critical analysis of the text, as well as the choice of the territory of Bethel as the object
of Joshuas
first assault,
contact with the Gibeonites was a prerequisite to the attack
Having thus secured the
on
makes
made
it
highly probable that
after the
initial
conquest of Jericho and
as
Ai.
rear
of his chosen theatre of operation, Joshua
began to gather the necessary intelligence about his objective: Ai 49
or,
more
.
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THE CAMPAIGNS OF JOSHUA probably, the terrain around Bethel, the
number of
the Judean watershed via a
town commanding the ascent to tracks, not far from Gibeonite
Beeroth (present-day El Bira near Ramallah).
its
The
reports brought
must have dissuaded Joshua from attacking Bethel
scouts
by
his
itself because
of
strong defences. Indeed, such an attack proved quite unnecessary as
the place guarding the ascent at the edge of the watershed was not Bethel itself
but Ai. 6
Ai had been a heavily
fortified
Joshuas time, and in his days,
it
town
had
thirteen
either
hundred
years before
been only recently
resettled,
without an orderly rebuilding of its extremely strong defences, formidable even in their ruins, or
would
Ruin')
it
was
The
still
abandoned,
The
as the
name
'Ha-Ai' ('The
excavations tend to the latter interpretation,
renewed settlement has certain
since the tures.
imply.
early Israelite (post-conquest) fea-
lack of a final excavation report (owing to the death of the exca-
vator) precludes a final verdict. If the latter theory
is
correct, the biblical
narrative (Josh. 7-8) leads to the assumption that to forestall the threat of
an
Israelite
attempt upon their town, which must have seemed imminent
after the fall
of Jericho, the people of Bethel did prepare Ai
outpost because of its in 'dead ground'
commanding
from Bethel
as a fortified
position above the ascent (which was
itself).
Unlike the scouts' evaluation of Bethel, the intelligence reports about
Ai were optimistic (Josh. 7:3-4), and the scouts, unfamiliar with the great strength inherent in ruins prepared as defensive positions, advised their
commander
that a token force of
up
thousand
to three
men would
be sufficient to capture the town. At that stage, Joshua committed an error
common adopted
to
many
a general
made
his scouts' suggestion,
the enemy's force and capacity. dictable: 'So there
men, and they
The
tactical
went up
over-confident by repeated success, and
which was based upon an underestimate of The result, in retrospect, was entirely pre-
thither of the people about three thousand
fled before the
people of Ai' (Josh. 7:4).
drawback, though severe, was not calamitous. Far more
dangerous was the psychological impact and
Not only did
its
foreseeable consequences.
the Israelites lose faith in their prowess,
Israel's invincibility
was about
to be
but the myth of
broken ('For the Canaanites and
the inhabitants of the land shall hear about
it'
(Josh. 7:9))
all
and the
flagging spirits of their opponents to be strongly revived. Joshua's reaction
proved the justice of the Napoleonic dictum that proves his mettle in adversity'. His decision was to
'a
great
commander
renew the attack almost
immediately, making the natural self-assurance of the victors the basis for 51
1
.
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
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A
u 5 43
THE CAMPAIGNS OF JOSHUA a ruse which would assure success according to the following plan: (1) employment of the complete tribal host; (2) dislodgement of the garrison at Ai from its stronghold by a simulated flight of the main force of Israelite
troops after a head-on assault similar to the
first
abortive attempt; (3)
detachment of a body of picked troops' to the rear of Ai, prior to the main assault, under cover of night, so as to capture the objective deserted by its defenders in pursuit of the supposedly fleeing
Israelites; (4)
trapping the
pursuing enemy between the main force and the capturers of Ai;
detachment of a strong blocking force prior to the tion straddling the approaches
reaching Ai from the
A
from Bethel, so
battle to
(5)
occupy a posi-
as to forestall
any assistance
rear.
commander's place during
must be where the most critical decisions are being taken. Joshua judged rightly that the most difficult task lay with the main body feinting a retreat. First, it would be necessary to return to a concerted attack immediately upon receiving the order. Secondly, it was imperative to choose exactly the right moment to wheel
this force
around.
battle
The combination of these two
tasks
was among
the most difficult manoeuvres of the war. Consequently, Joshua decided to take personal
command
over the main body of the host. After
lie in ambush in the rear of Ai, he on the eve of battle, so as to raise their spirits by his presence. Wherever the Israelite camp was located, an approach march of no less than six hours (through either one of the branches of Wadi Muheisin or via a parallel ridge track) had to be reckoned with, climbing up-hill all the way. Zero hour was at daybreak, after the blocking force had been despatched to occupy a covered position
despatching the troops selected to
moved
into
camp with
his troops
towards the north-west.
The main
force attacked and,
feinted retreat at the proper
under Joshua's command, staged
moment. As
anticipated,
that were in Ai were called together to pursue after
'...
them
its
the people
all ...
and were
drawn away from the city' (Josh. 8:16). When the defenders were well drawn off and deep in the steep gorge of Wadi Muheisin, Joshua quickly mounted the adjacent slope and flashed his spear (a pre-arranged signal), whereupon the assault force rushed the practically abandoned positions and immediately set them on fire. 7 At the same time, Joshua turned his troops
1
80 degrees
to attack. Before the pursuers could recover their wits,
they were attacked simultaneously from the rear by the capturers of Ai;
and though least partly
it is
not explicitly stated, the blocking force would by then at
have joined the mel^e by charging 53
down
the slope
on the
des-
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE perate
and undoubtedly
bewildered Bethelites. Their fate was sealed.
still
trapped, and in later generations
They were completely
it
was said that not
a single soul escaped the ensuing rout.
THE ASSAULT ON THE JUDEAN MOUNTAINS The fall of Ai rang the tocsin among the Canaanite rulers of Cis-Jordan. The most immediately concerned were the petty kings who ruled the Judean highland. The alliance of Joshua and the Gibeonites was a disaster for the
Canaanite cause, no
less
than the
of Ai.
fall
Wherefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent unto
Hoham
king of Hebron,
and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying, smite Gibeon: for Israel.
it
Therefore the
together,
five
The moment of
it.
(Josh.
camp
me and
help me, that
all
their hosts,
when
at Gilgal,
we may
the children of
gathered themselves
...
and encamped before Gibeon,
10:3-4)
truth for the newly
than expected. But
the Israelite
unto
kings of the Amorites
and went up, they and
and made war against
earlier
Come up
made peace with Joshua and with
hath
formed
alliance
had come, perhaps
the Gibeonite call for assistance arrived at
He
Joshua did not waver.
fochua surprising the Amorites at Gibeon. request. (Eighth-century illustration
The sun
stands
still
from the Joshua Roll
54
sensed that to leave
behind the town,
in the
at his
Vatican Library.)
THE CAMPAIGNS OF JOSHUA
would mean
the Gibeonites to their fate
losing his newly gained position
of strength along with his foothold in Cis-Jordan.
So Joshua quickly prepared neutralize possible fifteen miles
enemy
and the
having been observed.
for battle,
The
hilly,
-
at nightfall
on
in order to
march of about reached the region of Gibeon without wooded and sparsely settled terrain gave
observers
Israelites
- he
and
started out
a
them ample cover, which Joshua probably used to allow his warriors some rest and time for the necessary last-minute preparations for battle. Meanwhile, he
was able
to reconnoitre his objective for the
first
time, either
from Nebi Samwil (Mizpah of the Maccabean era?) 8 or from an adjacent height, and noted that Gibeon was built upon a low rise in a pleasant
mountain dale and was overlooked by the surrounding were in the process of besieging
ite allies
camps) was probably situated not
and
far
The AmorGibeon, and their camp (or ridges.
from one or another of the springs
wells in the valley.
As the Amorites had no inkling of the presence of the enemy at their rear and had neglected to send out effective screening parties to warn of any unexpected hostile movement in that area, Joshua was able to achieve complete surprise. The downward gradient of the impetus and penetrating
his troops additional
line
force,
of his assault gave
and the Amorites, by
then obviously harassed by the renewed strength from the battlements of the besieged
The
city,
broke and
fled in utter confusion.
route of their flight was along the Beth-horon pass, a major gateway
to
Judah which
in
war and
figures
in peace.
throughout the country's subsequent history both
The
physical prowess of the Israelite host troops
must
be admired. After an approach march of fifteen miles over a steep ascent of
more than 1 ,900
feet,
which took almost
all
night, they
soon went into bat-
The length of the contest cannot be gauged, but after enemy the Israelites were still able to exploit their victory by
tle.
Then spake Joshua thou
still
stood
to the
Lord
upon Gibeon; and
still,
and the moon
.
.
.
thou,
and he
Moon,
routing their pursuit.
said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand in the valley
stayed, until the people
of Ajalon.
And
the sun
had avenged themselves
And there was upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jashar? no day like that before it or after it. that the Lord harkened unto the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel. (Josh. 10:12-14) .
For
all its
.
.
eloquence, the English version of this passage bears only a faint
echo of the drama of the original Hebrew.
55
Still,
we may
envisage Joshua,
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE staunch and doughty, though flushed with victory, sensing in the midst of the pursuit that,
if
he did not crush the Amorite armed forces completely,
much of the decisiveness of his victory would be lost. Many a victory has been robbed of its fruits by the inability to exploit his success.
Thus
victors obvious
the Swedes could not, or
would
not,
prevent Wallenstein's safe disengagement after the battle of Liitzen (1634);
Wellington was without means to prevent the orderly
retreat
and regroup-
Napoleon
ing of the French after the batde of Talavera (1805); nor did
follow up his victory at Ligny in 1815 by destroying Bluchers Prussian forces, thus allowing the old
marshal to reinforce the
Waterloo, and thereby bringing about his
own
two days
allies
defeat soon
after.
9
later at
Modern
military doctrine therefore stresses planning for the exploitation of a victory,
which has become an tion of troops
any operation, including the
integral phase in
and means
for this
In ancient times, exploitation
purpose
as early as the
planning
was usually achieved not by
alloca-
stage.
fresh forces,
which were more often than not unavailable, but by sheer surplus of moral stamina and physical force, enhanced by the natural elation that resulted
from victory
in battle.
In Joshua's case, the
moon was
still
problem was
visible in the
to achieve
maximum
success while the
west (the direction of the Valley of Ajalon)
and not completely outshone by the sun
rising in the east (the direction
of Gibeon). In other words, he wanted to crush his foe before
way
given
horon
to full
pass.
day and the enemy had cleared the
day's battle,
after the
dawn had
of the Beth-
must have been almost beyond
Besides, the physical strain
endurance by then, since
defiles
former night's approach march and the
another night of an eleven-mile pursuit followed.
Joshuas prayer was heard, and under
his leadership the pursuers
drove
themselves on and gave their foe no respite until the Amorites were totally dispersed.
The frequent occurrence of heavy morning mists in the Ajalon
Valley lend credibility to the supposition that
enabled the lightly armed
Israelites,
their pursuit in semi-darkness,
dimmed
it
was
their cover
which
devoid of body armour, to continue
which,
at the
but distinct visibility of sun and
same time, enhanced the
moon, wherever
the heavier fogs
lifted.
The
last
phase of the contest brought the
Valley, as far as the gates
became one of the main riors
through the Ajalon
of Azekah, the Canaanite stronghold that
later
of Judah. Altogether the
war-
fortresses
had traversed about thirty miles
two-thirds or
Israelites
more of the time under 56
Israelite
in forty-five to forty-eight hours,
battle conditions.
THE CAMPAIGNS OF JOSHUA
Archer spanning his bow, which would be kept unsprung
when not on
alert in
order to preserve
maximum
flexibility.
Below, 'Reinforced bow' strengthened by bands of various materials.
As the
initial stretch
of the Amorite
flight
was past Gibeonite
territory,
the Gibeonite farmers undoubtedly turned out in force to harass the fugi-
The
tives.
Bible speaks of the great stones
down upon
the escaping Canaanites.
with the retreat of the Austrians and against the Swiss (1386,
1474-7
when
of the Burgundians in their wars
respectively)
down
into the defiles, killing
the population rolled large
that were cast
to avoid an analogy
It is difficult
later
and of the French
in their
809 (to cite only a few examnumbers of stones and boulders
efforts to quell the Tirolean resistance in ples),
from heaven
1
and maiming some of their
foes
and block-
ing the retreat of the others. All these harassing actions go a long
towards explaining the length of this running
battle.
Both
sides
way
were prob-
more than once to a temporary standstill, caused by the enemy or by sheer exhaustion. If, on the other hand, we do not adhere to the text literally and take the stones to be a hailstorm, even this could have seriously impeded the Amorites' escape. Anyone who has had to brave a severe hailstorm in the Judean mountains in the open knows its disruptive ably driven
effect.
10
CRUSHING THE RULERS OF GALILEE After Joshua had repelled the Canaanite counter-offensive in Judah, the Israelite tribes
lands.
From
began to take possession of the sparsely
central Judah, Joshua fanned out in
ing to the biblical account,
we have
to credit
conquest of the central mountain massif and
all
settled
directions and, accord-
him with both its
mountain
the complete
foothills,
and the
smashed the
alliance
western
conquest of Galilee. 11 Following the Bible's account,
of
all
most
we
learn that Joshua
the northern Canaanites, headed by Jabin, king of Hazor, the forecity in these parts, at the
Waters of Merom: 57
ATTLES OF THE BIBLE
And when at the
these kings were
all
Waters of Merom, to
met
came and pitched together
together, they
fight against Israel
...
So Joshua came, and
people of war with him, against them by the Waters of
all
the
Merom
suddenly; and upon them. And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who until they left them none remaining. And Joshua did unto smote them them as the Lord bade him: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots they
fell
.
with
fire.
.
11:5,7-9)
(Josh.
This account the
.
is
the
first
modern armoured
to
mention the war
fighting vehicle
This forerunner of
chariot.
was one of the main armaments
and Hyksos in the eighemployment was in many ways similar to that of medieval cavalry. But while the mounted and armoured knights relied mainly on the effect of shock, the ancient chariot — much like the modern armoured fighting vehicle - already combined shock with from the time of its introduction by the teenth century bc.
fire
It
seems that
its
Hittites
tactical
men alongside the charioteers. who - like the medieval knight —
power, by mounting bows and javelin
These were drawn from the marianu,
—
_
E J
The Waters of Merom
mm \
\
/
12 1
4 1
(
.ni.i.iniu-
Km 2 Miles
The Waters of Merom Campaign
encampment chosen
in order to muster their chariots in a secluded location with a good water supply : Suggested blocking positions on the probable approaches 3 Joshua's surprise attack along the slopes of Mount Meron
58
THE CAMPAIGNS OF JOSHUA formed a privileged
much
spend
main was
of their time in the exercise of arms. 12 They thus formed the
what was otherwise an army of foot-soldiers.
offensive troops in
If it
difficult for the Israelite tribal contingents to face the Canaanite
infantry
on open ground
Israelites to
tain
of warriors in Canaanite society and were able to
caste
in set battle, there
campaign
to take Gibeon, the southern kings
chariots in the plains, since they were not fighting.
was no way
at all for the
moun-
counter their chariots by conventional methods. In the
had probably
mentioned
left their
account of the
in the
On the other hand, Joshuas fervent prayer for an extension of the
dawn makes
additional sense if
we add
the possibility of an encounter
with the chariots to his other worries. In the campaign against the northerners, there was no escaping such an
encounter. Joshua solved the problem in a for subsequent Israelite
commanders,
chariots against chariots
-
chariot combat.
He
as
way
long
that as
was to
set a
precedent
they were unable to pit
or at least troops well- and long-versed in anti-
bided his time until he was able to surprise the
Canaanites while they were encamped in the narrow gorge of the brook.
With no
Merom
space to deploy their chariots, the vehicles were only a
nuisance. If the horses were unharnessed either before or after watering, the chariots were actually a hindrance. Harnessed and frightened, the
With
horses might even endanger the close ranks of foot-soldiers.
the
and temporarily out of action, Joshua came charging down the adjacent slopes and won another complete victory. This time surprise was probably achieved no less through stealth than chariots thus neutralized
through sheer speed. 13
The
choice of the valley of the Waters of
point for the Canaanite
allies
sive to oust the Israelites
more
particularly, to stop
from
and
Merom
their possessions west
them from
In the geographical introduction,
as the
staging area for their
offen-
of the Jordan - and,
infiltrating Galilee
we mentioned
concentration
combined
- was
that the
a
good one.
major axes of
Upper Galilee all converged upon the central ridge of Mount Merom and that from this pivot the roads radiated in a compass of 360 degrees all over the countryside. Therefore, by concentrating on Merom, the allied forces from all over Galilee met at a common, central communication
in
crossroads. Moreover, they were able to direct their offensive in whatever
direction they thought
fit,
which
in itself would
make pre-emptive
measures by Joshua difficult. There remained but one course, which Joshua chose
defen-
sive
or, according to the tenor of the biblical narrative,
59
either
by
instinct
with due calculation
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
and
foresight: to wrest the initiative
Thus, while the Canaanites were
still
from
by lightning
his foe
counterstroke, the prototype of a pre-emptive offensive, caught balance, before they could deploy
action.
preparing for the offensive, Joshuas
them
off
on more open ground.
Since Joshua had no means whatsoever of using the captured chariots,
he had no choice but to destroy them and their horses. This
is
a
good
indi-
cation of the technical and administrative backwardness of the conquer-
compared with the Canaanites.
ing tribes
of David's reign that the
operate chariots. Another Israelites
during the
'But as for the Israel
weak spot
stages
first
was not
until the latter days
when
they were able to
in the military capabilities
of the
of the conquest was their lack of siegecraft:
stood
cities that
It
reached a stage
Israelites
in their strength [the fortified cities],
still
burned none of them' (Josh. 11:13).
These two
factors
made
the Israelites concentrate
first
upon capturing
the mountains, descending only gradually into the plains. This strategy
is
evident from the following passage:
The ites
children of Joseph said,
The
hill is
not enough for
us:
and
that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron
spake unto the house of Joseph
wood
[uninhabited woodland]
thine: for
[which
but the mountain
...
shall
and the outgoings
...
all
the Canaan-
...
And
Joshua
be thine; for
it is
[the slopes] shall
a
be
thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots
may
be neutralized in these areas], and though they be strong. (Josh.
17:16-18)
Modern
research does not support the idea that Joshua
of the war against the northern Canaanites.
It is
was the leader
quite possible that this
achievement belongs to the following generation, or the one
which exploited Joshua's oi the actual bill
victories
anonymous
by further expansion.
leader
was overshadowed
after
it,
If so, the identity
in later annals
by
Joshuas surpassing renown. In either case, the military implications of the
same and our appreciation therefore holds good. There has also been considerable argument in favour of dating the
war
are the
Waters of Merom campaign subsequent to Deborah's war, to
it
or another version of the sagas that were later
general struggle.
14
The
biblical narrator's
naming of Jabin
instances, has
been taken
as
as Hazor's
an appendix
spun around the same
mention of Hazor
of the anti-Israelite league in both the wars of Joshua
well as the
as
as the
head
and of Deborah,
as
king or military chief in both these
evidence against the correctness of the bibli-
60
THE CAMPAIGNS OF JOSHUA cal
account. Even archaeological finds have not been able to settle the
controversy decisively, although the excavator, Professor Yadin, maintains that there
is
proof that Hazor was destroyed both by Joshua and
Deborah's victory.
To
us
it
seems that
long
as
as there
is
no
after
clear archae-
ological proof against the claim that Joshua or another early Israelite
Hazor - and there seems to be a lot of evidence in favour of that reading - there is no logical reason to change the order of the two campaigns or to merge them into one. Deborah's war, as will be seen in
leader destroyed
the following pages,
is
easily
understood
as a sequel to the
Merom cam-
Even Jabin need not have been the same person in the two accounts, but an earlier or later bearer of this name from the dynasty that paign.
15 ruled Hazor.
If one
were to pass a
final
judgment on
Joshua's generalship,
one would
among the great captains of history. demonstrated time and time again - for exam-
have to place him very high indeed
His clear strategic insight ple, in his
is
choice of Jericho as his
gal as the initial base for the
alliance
first
objective,
and of its plain up
to Gil-
conquest of western Palestine, or in his
with the Gibeonites and his swift decision to come to the
assis-
on the example of the combined appli-
tance of beleaguered Gibeon, so as not to lose his vital foothold
Judean mountains. The
latter
is
also a fine
cation of military action and diplomacy for the attainment of a political goal.
Joshua also showed great strength of mind in adversity
astrous
first
Israelites'
attempt on Ai, particularly
defeat
and
its
effect
second encounter, in which
on
their
as
he then boldly exploited the
opponents to
Israelite victory
after the dis-
lure the
enemy
into a
was assured. His superb han-
dling of the divided forces during the second Ai campaign and the timely
and exact execution of the
intricate
manoeuvres involved
also indicate
highly developed abilities of leadership and military assessment.
mm\m Middle section and
right
hand cord of a
sling,
discovered in Egypt (dated eighth century BC).
with the
The
sling
left
hand rope missing,
was operated by inserting the
stone in the loop formed by the middle piece, with both cords clasped in one hand, then
swinging the sling above the head and releasing one cord to hurl the stone.
61
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
As a great soldier, Joshua was fully aware of the limitations imposed on him by the Israelites' inferiority in armament and training for set battle. Consequently, he based his tactics in battles such as that of Gibeon
and
Merom
on the Israelites' qualities of speed, stealth and knowledge of the terrain, and so crushed the otherwise unbeatable enemy. It was this approach which therefore became the model for subsequent Israelite commanders. The conquest of Jericho and Ai exemplify the Israelite consciousness of (?)
subdue well
their inability to
Even
quest.
fortified places.
seemed
assault only those that
there, the besiegers
sufficiently
Consequently, they chose to
weak
to offer a chance of con-
needed to use various subtle ruses to make
themselves masters of the towns. These limitations in siege warfare con-
tinued well into the period of the Judges, as the conquest of
Shechem by
Abimelech, son of Gideon, demonstrates (Judg. 9:43-45).
The
political
mentioned
background of the
before,
Israelite
takeover of Cis-Jordan was, as
the general weakening of the Egyptian hold over
Canaan. This permitted, according
to the royal archives discovered at Tell
el-Amama, the constant harassing of Canaan by the Habiru. Unfortunately, these archives ceased to operate before Rameses n (1290—1223 bc), most probably the pharaoh of the exodus. But we that those inroads did continue
of Mernephtah (1223-1204 bc),
vouched
for (see p. 37).
are permitted to
throughout the following
when
the foothold in the west
Habiru was the term
for a social,
assume
reign, the is
from population segments uprooted from
their
being
non-sedentary
stratum of society in the second millennium bc, which recruited
also
one
itself
permanent abode, and
from others of pastoral and nomadic background, and endeavoured
to enter into the pale
of sedentary populations by means both peaceful
and warlike, according
to the
Whether we Hebrews of Israelites, 1
changing
political situation.
derive the ethnic term 'Hebrew' from 'Habiru' or not, the
patriarchal
days and
after,
who
later
called
themselves
certainly were thought to be, in the eyes of the Canaanites,
[abiru - the
more
so, since
they teamed up, one
[rans-Joidan clans that belonged to this
class.
way
or another, with
16
However, there was one fundamental difference, which vouchsafed the final
success of the
imbued with the
Israelite
belief that
the one and only true deity.
endeavours.
Canaan was 17
62
The
theirs
ancient Israelites were
by injunction of their god,
CHAPTER
3
THE WARS OF THE JUDGES
The
period of the Judges was that of the final and complete entrenchment
of the
Israelites in
Jordan.
The
the
Holy Land, both
Canaanites,
unable to withstand the
became compressed submitted to the
The
who were
Israelites
into smaller
to the west
divided
and the
among
of the
east
themselves, were
over an extended period; and as they
and smaller
enclaves, they either
fell
or
Israelites.
era of the Judges
was thus one of the heroic struggles of a
basically
simple tribal society against a sophisticated, though rather decadent, foe
who
nevertheless
was often able
our to stave off the
to put
up
a fierce fight. In their endeav-
the Canaanites were aided by the desert-
Israelites,
kingdoms of Trans-Jordan, which resented Israel's ascendency. Thus the Israelite tribes were welded together under constant pressure from all their neighbours and were led by warriors who 'judged' part or all of the tribes, though without interfering in their internal affairs. fringe
The
Merom
victory at the Waters of
manent foothold
gave the conquering tribes a per-
in Galilee. In the process of settling
aided by close affiliation with a ing to extra-biblical sources,
inhabiting the 'Galilee of the Nations' to the final Israelite conquest.
down, they were
number of the local clans which, accordmade up the heterogeneous population (as
Whether
it
was consequently
called) prior
these clans, such as the families
assigned by the Bible to the tribes of Asher and Issachar, were blood-relations of the conquering tribes
from before the
Israelites'
sojourn in Egypt,
them immediately after their entry into must have been a substantial force of the mountainous region of of much takeover
or had been amalgamated with
Galilee, does not alter the fact that they in accelerating Israel's
northern Canaan.
1
Although the rank and the true significance
file
of the people were
as yet far
from grasping
and implications of pure monotheism, the
charis-
matic qualities of their belief supplied the necessary energy and moral support to persevere in their efforts to overcome, over a period of
63
some
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE generations, the Canaanite superiority in technique, weaponry, organiza-
and
tion
fortifications. If the
contention
correct that during the pene-
is
numbers of the Cis-Jordanian population
tration into the west, sizable
opted, without evident coercion, for inclusion into the Israelite tribal federation, the persuasiveness of the Israelites' religious zeal
an important factor in bringing Against
the plains
this,
(i.e.
this about.
the coastal area and the Jezreel Valley) were
Although the power of the
securely in the hands of the Canaanites.
still
two major towns on the south-western slopes of Lower and Achshaph, had been broken
King of the people
local ruler, 'the
must have been
2
after the
Galilee,
Shimron
Waters of Merom, another
in Galilee',
had stepped into the void
12:23 according to the Vatican Codex). The geographical
(Josh.
sequence in which the names of the vanquished rulers are given in Joshua
22 points
to the fact that this
ethnic groups of
Lower
new
ruler succeeded in uniting the diverse
Galilee against the Israelite intruders.
subsequent narrative in the Book of Judges 4 and rial is
based,
it
becomes evident
woodland of 'Haroshet of the
5,
From
the
on which our mate-
that the people in Galilee inhabited the
Gentiles',
which
northern fringe
skirts the
of the Jezreel Valley.
The
natural allies of 'the
King of the people
in Galilee'
were the
rulers
The most prominent of of Taanach, Megiddo and Jokneam. The rulers of
of the remaining towns skirting the Jezreel Valley. these were the kings
Dor on
the Mediterranean coast, of Kedesh in northern Naphtali lent
among
these remained, as before, the king of Hazor, Jabin,
this
coalition
proclaimed head of
The primary
and of
depth and additional strength. Paramount
Hazor
this league
of northern Canaanite
cities.
who was
the
3
Strength of the Canaanite petty kings was in their fortified
towns. Net by simply remaining behind their closed gates they could not sub-
due he i
I
s
rael
i
t
es
.
A more active course had to be pursued. Here their main mil-
Aristocratk Canaanite charioteer ('marianu') and his retainers present captives to the overlord. (Ivory inlay. prince,
Megiddo, twelfth century BC.) The harpist
much
as
David did before Saul
64
(1
is
playing before his
Sam. 18:10).
THE WARS OF THE JUDGES armament,
itary
the
war chariot, was invaluMobile patrols of
able.
charioteers could control the plains
- and
more
specifically
roads
-
the
affording,
if
®
necessary, protection to
trade caravans
other road
and
traffic.
Is-
raelite raiders
could be
down
or inter-
tracked
vsxz&ztg&zzzmj12
all
£
cepted with speed, and
even in hilly country could
the charioteers
provide a powerful adHorse-bits from
dition to the foot-soldiers.
Tell el-Fare
To provide more
North
cohesion to the coalition, the overall
and
Syria.
com-
mand of the combined effort was given to Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, and probably a chieftain in his own right. Things came to a head when Sisera occupied Haroshet of the Gentiles, which commanded the narrow pass from the Jezreel Valley into the coastal plain north of Haifa, as well as roads connecting Galilee with the Sea of Galilee
At 'a
and the Jordan Valley
this
time the loose
...
in
4
of Israel was headed by Deborah, and she dwelt under the palm tree
tribal coalition
prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth
of Deborah
.
.
.
Mount Ephraim, and
the children of Israel
came up
to
From Miriam, the sister of Moses, down Salome Alexandra, who headed the Hasmonean Kingdom during its
her for judgment' to
to the south.
last
(
Judg. 4 4-5). :
golden days (76—67 bc),
women have played a prominent and often Among them, Deborah stands out as the
decisive role in Jewish history.
God-inspired fighter for her country's freedom and her peoples survival.
The
veritable prototype of
Joan of Arc, Deborah was decidedly her peer
While Joan of Arc provided leadership and the example of unflinching valour, it was Deborah who called for Barak - one of the most promising, or perhaps the most outstanding, of in the art
of strategy and
tactics.
the tribal leaders from Kedesh in Naphtali 65
- and
said to him:
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Hath not
Mount
the Lord
God
of
Israel
commanded,
Naphtali and the children of Zebulun?
And
I
Go
saying,
Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand will
men
draw unto
Kishon, Sisera the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots
and
I
him
will deliver
thee, to the river
and
his multitude;
into thine hand. (Judg. 4:6-7)
Deborah gave Barak the
In other words,
and draw toward
of the children of
gist
of a complete and multi-
phased plan of battle to throw off the yoke of the Canaanite league. Before going into detail,
supremacy
it is
important to
in a regular set battle, because
infantry ('chariots
stress
of their chariots and their regular
and multitude'), which consisted
G A L
once more Canaanite
I
at least partly
L E E
^
f
^- Y
d
9
Mount Tabor ft 1
Haroshet Hagojim
of Moreh
Mount i
of heavily
e
C£H] Megiddo
.-
•
P-"^ Taan.ich
A
..
Mint (iilboa
j
i
i
i
Iblean
A
S Miles
lt£H]
SugfMled obHrvukn to oooneoi between Moiini rtbof
nd
Mount Bphraim
5 Deborah's Victory over Sisera (phase one) 1
2 4
1
he
MCOnd
Sisora's initial base
camp
Deborah and Barak concentrate
at
Haroshet Hagojim
their forces
on Mount Tabor
3 Sisera moves to invest Mount Tabor Israelite force concentrates near the northern slopes of
66
Mount Ephraim
THE WARS OF THE JUDGES
armed pikemen. The number of Siseras chariots is given as 900. This number can be verified by comparing it with the number of Canaanite chariots quoted by Pharaoh Thutmose in
making up the armoured forces of his northern Canaanite foes during the battle of Megiddo in 1468 bc. Both numbers actually tally, since 924 chariots were in the booty from the Megiddo battle, when the Canaanite coalition was somewhat larger and as
more prosperous. 5 Official numbers, be they Egyptian or other (as those in biblical accounts, which are based on oral traditions or most strongly wish to impress the reader), are more often than not suspected of exaggeration. Reducing the above
numbers
to one-tenth
may
be a low estimate.
would make Siseras forces very much superior and menacing in armament.
Yet even this
Imagine a present-day infantry
force,
devoid of
any armour-piercing weapons, confronting ninety tanks or even armoured cars in open
country (with
sweeping
armoured
due
all
reservations for a too
comparison vehicles
modern The
between
and ancient
chariots).
outcome would most probably be disastrous. Deborahs main concern must consequently have been
how to
neutralize the decisive
arm
in
the enemy's host, his chariots.
With
all this
in
mind Deborah developed
a
three-phased campaign. Phase one was the
Mail coat made of metal stitched
on
scales
to the garment.
concentration of the tribal contingents from Naphtali and Zebulun, a total
of not
Tabor.
less
Mount
than about 10,000 men, possibly 20,000, on
Mount
Tabor, as the concentration area, was an easily defensible
base against which the chariots had no chance of success; a flanking position vis-a-vis hostile
movement along
the Jezreel Valley, with excellent vis-
and last but not least, a perfect staging area for a on an enemy encamped at the foot of the mountain. Phase two was based on the assumption that, when informed of the Israelite deployment, Sisera would concentrate all his available forces to contain Barak within the bounds of Mount Tabor, to try to force him eventually to battle in the open plain. Counting on this, Deborah proposed employing the forces she had gathered in Ephraim to draw Sisera away from his vigil opposite Mount Tabor towards the swampy area of the ibility in all directions;
surprise attack
Kishon River
in the western part
of the Jezreel Valley. 67
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Kishon
In phase three, near the
rainy season hindered
River,
where the swampy
men, horses and chariots
alike in their
soil in
the
movement
and manoeuvrability, the Canaanites would be attacked simultaneously by Deborahs forces and those of Barak (who, having been relieved of the hostile threat,
The
would be
and
free to follow Sisera
fall
exact course of Deborah's proposed diversion
the biblical text. Logically
it
must have been
a
upon
his rear).
not apparent from
is
movement
threatening the
unprotected plain on the shores of Haifa Bay or thereabouts. Only a
movement of that kind, endangering a major partner of the coalition such Dor and its dependencies, would induce Sisera to abandon his guard of Barak, break camp and move speedily in the direction of the Kishon River,
as
to secure the
narrow passage between the Carmel and the Tivon
hills lead-
ing from the Jezreel Valley into the coastal plain.
Barak accepted Deborah's proposals, but he balked
the idea of
at
shouldering the main burden himself and would only agree to Deborah's plan this
to
if
she accompanied the forces under his
demand
command. Perhaps he made
may
not out of timidity but out of chivalry: he
draw the prophetess away from the dangerous
Deborah's famous reply was:
role
have wanted
of leading the decoy.
k
shall surely
I
go with thee: notwithstanding
the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the
Mount Ephiaim were
hand of
Naphtali and from there
Wording
moved
DO the Bible,
The
(Judg. 4:9).
command
Mount
to
awav
of an
wife, that
1
unnamed Kedesh-
Tabor. a
semi-nomad
clan
their concentration point to Sisera. Yet
view of subsequent developments and the behaviour of
when
from
forces
forces that stealthily collected at
Heber the Kenite, head of
related CO the Israelites, gave in
woman'
thus placed under the
and Deborah joined the
captain,
a
she encountered the fugitive Canaanite
Jael,
commander,
lebcf must have been in collusion with Deborah,
and
part ot her overall plan DO concentrate Sisera's attention
Heber's it
seems
his action
was
on Mount Tabor
and awav from Mount Ephiaim.
When
Sisera learned
of the
dicted and collected his entire
Israelite
concentration, he reacted as pre-
armv
oppose Deborah and Barak. The
opposing forces watched each other
Deborah was waiting and
its
hoped
to
for a
few days.
for rain to turn western Jezreel
tributaries into a mire.
When
Barak the sign to attack:
which the lord hath delivered diverting force ot Ephraimites
around the Kishon
Up,
Sisera into thine
for this
is
the day in
hand' (Judg. 4:13). The
must have received the order 68
surmise that
she received the confirmation she l
tor she gave
One may
to
move some
THE WARS OF THE JUDGES hours
earlier.
We do not know how far they got, but Deborah's song of vic-
tory after the battle
(
Judg. 5) mentions a crucial encounter with the kings
of Canaan (verse 19) which took place
'in Taanach by the waters of seems that when they entered the Jezreel Valley (via presentday Jenin), the tribesmen from Mount Ephraim were intercepted by forces
Megiddo'.
It
from the towns on the southern
of the
fringes
which had kept a
valley,
constant guard against just such a contingency.
A difficult encounter fol-
lowed. At
to the
all
events Siseras attention was
which threatened the
drawn
moved to the assistance of his allies. Some time after this, Deborahs command was effected from the
assault
troops in the flanks or force joined the chariots,
4:15).
A
and
all
main
rear,
or possibly both.
battle.
his host,
And
its
was given. Her
At
that point the Ephraimite
the Lord discomfited Sisera,
sudden downpour aided the
tells
Israelites
and
all
his
considerably and helped
The Song of Deborah
how the Kishon
torrent the enemy's horses rainfall,
to attack
and he
with the edge of the sword before Barak' (Judg.
heavenly intervention and in
in his rear,
of Lower Galilee and caught Siseras
foothills
turn Siseras defeat into a rout.
sudden
new foe
insufficiently protected regions in the west,
and
chariots.
speaks explicitly of
River rose and swept away
It
should be explained that
often at a substantial distance, can
fill
the dry river beds
or turn docile streams into a roaring torrent that appears suddenly and
down with deadly force on anything and anybody caught unawares. To this we must add the sudden local downpour that did much
sweeps
to hinder those of the
torrent
itself.
'chariots
of
iron'
not caught by the
Even the heavily armed infantry must have become bogged
down and hampered
When
much-dreaded
in their
movements.
became disorganized, Sisera panicked. Instead of trying to save as much as possible from the debacle so as to fight another day, he jumped off his chariot and fled by foot to his ignominious death at the hands of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite, in whose tent he the Canaanite ranks
sought refuge. 'So
God subdued on
before the Children of
Israel'
that
day Jabin the King of Canaan
(Judg. 4:23).
6
GIDEON'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE DESERT RAIDERS Like most of the narrative in the
and
8,
Book of Judges,
the facts in chapters 7
which deal with the campaigns of Gideon,
are overlaid
conflicting tribal traditions reflecting the inter-tribal rivalries
69
with
of the age.
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
70
THE WARS OF THE JUDGES 6 Deborah's Victory over Sisera (phase two) Mount Tabor
C^Cv
\
1 The second Israelite force moves to divert Sisera from Mount Tabor
2 The diversionary force is unsuccessfully intercepted by local Canaanite townsfolk and villagers in the region of Taanach 3
Sisera
moves
to assist the
Canaanite force and to stem the Israelite advance
4 Deborah and Barak follow Sisera
%
Deborah and Barak overcome Sisera in the marshy lowlands by the River Kishon 5
-M^
Hill of
Moreh
6 Sisera's troops flee, pursued by the Israelites 7
Sisera himself escapes
on foot and is Heber's wife
y
:
••vC.
r -:-
Xv-
,..;-;•.?'
: '-.
^--
'.-;
Mount Gilboa
:.'-.:v--,:---^V.
71
killed
by
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE Gideon's war against the clans located on the desert fringes was a conse-
quence of the settlement of
and the arable
desert
lands.
It
Israelite tribes in the area straddling the
has
become
increasingly apparent that the
climate of Palestine has not changed drastically from biblical times to the present. fall)
The
six-inch isohyet (line connecting points of equal rain-
passed then, as now, somewhere south of Beersheva and east of
Amman
Rabbath-bene-ammon),
(biblical
Hedjaz Railway (eight inches are the life
parallel to the line
minimum
of the
for settled agricultural
other than by special irrigation). Consequently, minor fluctuations
which caused only temporary emergencies in the counlines might have most grave conse-
in precipitation
try north
quences
and west of the above
the semi-arid areas, with wells drying up,
in
the cisterns
emptying and pastures withering away.
Negev make inroads into the country. The longer the droughts lasted and the more severe their the more desperate was the plight of the nomads and the fiercer roaming
In situations like these, the tribesmen
and eastern Trans-Jordan had no fertile
scope,
became
their razzias
and kindred, and areas.
Sinai, the central
alternative but to
with the aim of occupying, along with their flocks
for as long as possible, large pasturelands in the arable
Thus one of the primary functions of any
central authority through-
out the ages, that wished to guarantee safe and undisturbed
was
life
in Israel,
and maintain permanent and competent border defences
to organize
against the raids
and invasions from the
desert.
7
During the period of the Judges, prior to the establishment of a centralized government in Israel, no such scheme could be contemplated, and consequently, as the
And
the h>\nd of
Book of Judges
puts
Midian prevailed against
it:
Israel ...
And
so
it
was,
when
Israel
had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites and the children of the
east
the earth,
.
,
.md they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of
,
thou come into Gaza, and
till
sheep, nor ox, nor
they
came
as
ass.
left
no sustenance
grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were
without number; and they entered into the land to destroy
The answer of seems
for Israel, neither
lor they came up with their cattle and their tents, and
it.
(Judg. 6:1-5)
the southern tribes, Judah and Simeon, to these threats
initially to
have been of a passive nature.
raiders, the Israelite farmers
On
the approach of the
and husbandmen, who must have had some
kind of warning system by lookouts posted with a wide
72
field
of vision,
THE WARS OF THE JUDGES
would
hastily
withdraw into pre-constructed
leaving their villages
Encouraged by
and
fields to the
of
lairs
and refuges (Judg. 6:2),
nomads.
or possibly driven by a worse home, the desert tribes drought staged a wholesale invasion of northern Palestine, by galloping on their swift dromedaries through Gilead, east of the Jordan, and penetrating into the Jezreel Valley. At this stage of imminent disaster, the northern tribes chose a course different from that of their southern kinsmen. Apparently their policy was inspired by one single individual, Gideon, the judge-leader of the clan of Aviezer, which had settled at Ophrah (present-day Afula?). Hearing that the vast nomad host had encamped at the northern piedmont of the Hill of Moreh and around the spring of Endor, Gideon decided on offensive action and succeeded in mobilizing tribal contingents from Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali and Manasseh. 8 this state
affairs,
at
We
are not told the nature
of Gideon's deliberations while waiting for
the concentration of his forces, but his light there
main problems
was no chance whatsoever of luring
his
are clear. In day-
enemy
to battle. In
adverse circumstances swift dromedary-riders could easily disengage from their adversaries lightly
armed
cially if their
and
press
on
to further looting.
Israelite infantry
were caught
at a
On
the other
hand
if
the
disadvantage, and espe-
ranks broke to enable the flexible raiders to penetrate them,
they would be severely mauled. Gideon's only chance lay in surprising his off guard
-
enemy while dismounted and To do so he
in other words, to attack the raiders at night.
needed a picked force small enough to minimize the danger of noise and premature discovery. The greater part of the force could consequently be
employed
to block the flight westwards of the surprised raiders
and
to
vast killing
ground between Mount Gilboa, the
eastern slopes of the Samarian ridge
and the Jordan. There (read 'Gilboa
manoeuvre them into a instead of 'Gilead'
Gideon's troops
be deployed to
and
'turn' instead
of
'return' in
Judges 7:3) those of
who were not engaged in the initial surprise attack could swoop down upon the retreating Midianites, who were
being driven on by Gideon's pursuit from the
rear,
and
to block the fords
through the Jordan. 9
From
the ensuing events
we can
gather that these were the outlines of
him occupied with choosing from about 32,000 men a shock-troop of 300 for his night attack. By a spark of inspiration (Judg. 7:4-7) Gideon chose his small task force by observing the habits and behaviour of his men while he led them in full daylight to the Gideon's plan, and
we
find
73
~
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
1 = .5
w*U illiii
is
ir
igs i^l
bSsI*
1
i
^
=4
i
i
i ^
J
ailSilllilis 1»»
U —
-C
=
r-i
'
-
I
]
74
-
THE WARS OF THE JUDGES
Harod where they might have been attacked at any time by the enemy, who could well have mounted a guard on the summit of the Hill of Moreh or prepared an ambush near this well-known spring. The men spring of
chosen were those who, in spite of their presence of the
when lies
drinking,
thirst,
remained cautious of the
enemy nearby and did not abandon their weapons even which they managed to do by lying down upon their bel-
and lapping up the water, which they gathered
in
one cupped hand,
with their tongues. 10 After having built and deployed his forces according to plan,
decided upon a personal reconnaissance of the as to
enemy and
Gideon
his positions so
ensure complete surprise. According to the biblical narrative (Judg.
7:10-14), only Puah, his personal swordbearer, accompanied Gideon on
which culminated
this mission,
and
listening to the conversations.
plans.
Each
earthen
jar,
soldier
was provided with
and a trumpet
instead of torches).
enemy encampment Consequently Gideon made his final
in infiltrating the
The
(or,
a
burning torch hidden in an
more probably, some
carried trumpets
small force was divided into three parties, which
approached the Midianite camp from three directions simultaneously.
Upon
reaching the hostile perimeter, the
men
lay
down
in hiding, waiting
Gideon wisely waited for the change of the watches and immediately after, before the new watch had adjusted eyes and ears, gave the signal to attack. (Judg. 7:19). With a general shout and for the signal to assault.
Swords used
at various stages
75
of the
biblical period.
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
blowing of trumpets the attackers broke the earthen threw the torches alike.
at the tents
vessels
of the nomads, frightening
and probably
man and
beast
In the ensuing melee, and blinded by the sudden glare, the raiders
panicked and here and there even mistakenly attacked each other. Finally they dispersed in flight and were driven, as planned, into the gorge
.^m ir^
8 1
2
Gideon Pursues the Midianites
The Midianites Bee from Endor, pursued by Gideon and harassed by tribal forces ribal contingents bar the Jordan passages and continue to harass the Midianites 3 Ibe Ephraimites secure the fords around Adam I
4 5
<
A
large portion of Midianites succeeds in crossing the Jordan north of
Gideon continues
the pursuit east of the Jordan until overtaking
raiding fol
76
Adam
and annihilating the
THE WARS OF THE JUDGES between the mountains and the Jordan
seem
to have served as barrier forts
River.
Tabbath and Abel-meholah
denying the fleeing nomads freedom
and driving them on southwards. While the men of Manasseh had been alerted
to disperse
from Naphtali and Asher
to harass
and
earlier to join
upon
fall
was only then that Gideon gave a last-minute
the
enemy
alert to the clans
with forces in flight,
it
of Ephraim
around the main fords of the Jordan in the Adam area, calling upon them to occupy the fords and block the passage to the routed nomads. They did so with partial success, and in the ensuing struggle to gain the settled
eastern shores of the Jordan,
moment
two nomad
animosity
likely that inter-tribal
chieftains
made Gideon
so,
killed. It
wait until the
last
quite
is
possible
before calling in the Ephraimites, and had he done so sooner, the
Midianite rout might have been more complete.
him
were
and he had
The Ephraimites
a hard time appeasing their anger.
Even worse was the reaction of the people of the two towns to the
east
told
of the
Adam
fords,
great Gileadite
Succoth and Penuel,
who
suspected
Gideon's political aspirations and refused to feed the pursuers. In spite of
Gideon pressed on and succeeded once more far from the border of Amnion. Somewhere in the mountains near Jogbehah the exhausted raiders stopped to rest on a track usually negotiated only by the desert dwellers (Judg. 8:11), assuming themselves at a safe distance from Gideon and near the neutral or, in
these drawbacks, however, in surprising his
this instance,
we know
enemy not
even friendly territory of Ammon. Details are lacking, but
Gideon succeeded in surprising and annihilating his enemy: 'Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in that
the days of Gideon' (Judg. 8:11). If
we look
for the
formula of Gideon's success, we recognize the same
ingredients as in the former campaigns
manders described
waged by the
in these pages: daring, swift,
early Israelite
com-
mobile action; taking the
and an unconventional approach. Even great captains of war have usually abstained from attacks by night because of the manifold difficulties of mounting and carrying them out successfully. When General Reynier executed his night attack so as to assure the French army of offensive;
the vital supply of water from the wells at El Arish (14 February 1799),
Napoleon mentioned
it
in his
memoirs
as
one of the plus
belles opera-
by attacking
at Gideon showed night, when his enemy was in no position to use his advantage, his mobile archers and pikemen. He was also prepared to persevere in the face of all
tions de guerre'.
particular astuteness
77
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE odds, including internal discord, once he had gained an
initial success, so
that he could turn this tactical success into a lasting strategic victory
home
driving
his pursuit
and forcing
a second, decisive battle
by
on the
retreating foe.
The decision to split his forces and to stage the attack Moreh with only 300 men is an early example of what
of
at the Hill
men
military
This decision was based largely upon exact
describe as a 'calculated
risk'.
and personally checked
intelligence about the enemy's location, disposi-
and morale. Since he had personally overheard the Midianites' doubts and worries at being encamped deep in Israelite territory Gideon tions
was able
to conceive
on the spot the
playing on his enemies' superstitions and
One problem raiders give tle
on
Gideon the time
did those quick, mobile
to concentrate his forces
words,
how
did they
come
and prepare
to
of the Hill of Moreh, instead of pushing on westwards? to grant the
for bat-
remain encamped,
on the same spot
against their custom, for at least a few days
Gideons remark when refusing
at
fears.
Why
remains to be solved.
his terms? In other
of his attack, which aimed
details
at the foot
The answer
lies in
captured Midianite chieftains
their lives: 'What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? ... They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother ...' (Judg. 8:18-19). The following reconstruction of events seems the most feasible. When he learned of the Midianite approach, Gideon sent a hastily assembled force, conceivably small in number, to block the enemy advance in the
narrow valley between Mount Tabor and the Hill of Moreh. This
whose mission was to stop the
Gideon round
enemy advance
the time needed to gather his
and deploy
own kinsmen and was probably
ensuing encounter,
at all costs
his forces,
led
his brothers lost their lives,
by
force,
and gain
was
for
built largely
his brothers.
In the
but the passage remained
blocked.
By positioning themselves on the lower slopes of Mount Tabor, to the rear ot the
effective brake
without
at first
on
Midianite base in perfect concealment, as well as an their further
movement westwards. Moving westwards
dislodging the Israelites in their front would have opened
the Midianite flank to an Israelite attack to
this
move
small Israelite contingent also served as a decoy to ensure Gideon's
and enabled the
block the Midianite line of retreat. This
is
French force of General Kleber 2,500 years
latter effectively
exactly what happened later. It
came
to the
close to being
annihilated while unwittingly pushing through the same defile, which was
held in a flanking position by the Turks. 78
The composition and
skilful
han-
THE WARS OF THE JUDGES dling of the small northern blocking force was thus an integral part of
Gideon's planning, and an essential prerequisite for
success.
its
Gideon's son Abimelech has achieved notoriety for his cruel fratricide.
His historical importance
some kind of
is
that he
was the
centralized hereditary rule
first
to attempt to
on ancient
Israel,
impose
or parts of
it
(Judg. 9). His campaigns have to be mentioned in our context insofar as
Abimwar against the Shechemites (Judg. 9:22-45), we find that it was mainly by stealth and ruse, and contact with allies from within a
they demonstrate the progress in Israelite siegecraft. Following elech's still
besieged
city,
that he tried to
overcome
its
defences.
the contest he succeeded in drawing off a large
from the
city
and so managed
of Joshua's stratagem sufficient siege train,
citadel
During the height of
number of the
to enter through the gate.
at Ai, yet as late as
defenders
We are reminded
1799, General Reynier, lacking a
could not think of any better way to capture the
of El Arish. 11
Abimelech's next moves prove that he had already mastered the tech-
nique of using
fire
to
as to set fire to their
ble spots
met
-
the gates (Judg. 9:46-9).
his death:
Tebez]
.
.
.
smoke out defenders of smaller fortifications, as well wooden components, especially their most vulnera-
And
It
was
one such operation that he [the citadel
(?)
of
and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it down with cast a piece of millstone upon Abimelech's head
fire.
And a certain woman
and
all
to brake his skull' (Judg. 9:52-3).
lently as
in
Abimelech came unto the tower
he had
called hastily
lived. Yet his
Thus Abimelech died
as vio-
death did have a kind of pathos: 'Then he
unto the young man,
his armourbearer,
Draw thy sword and slay me, that men say not of me, And his young man thrust him through and he died'
79
and a
said unto him:
woman
slew him.
(Judg. 9:54).
CHAPTER
4
FOUNDING THE KINGDOM AND THE STANDARDIZED ARMY
THE COMING OF THE PHILISTINES Not much
later
than the
Israelites,
another nation began
its
the de facto Egyptian province of Canaan: the Philistines.
assault
The
1
upon
direction
of their penetration, however, was diametrically opposite to that of the Israelites, as
they came from the west.
and were therefore
related to
The
Philistines
were of Aegean stock
both the Minoan and the Mycenaean peoples
of the Mediterranean islands and mainland Greece and to the latter-day classical Greeks'.
down
They belonged
to the family of 'Sea Peoples' that
and sword,
to capture
resembled that of the
in a
efforts that
fire
new lands for settlement. Their mode of operation Norsemen and Vikings. In the early twelfth cen-
later
tury bc, the Sea Peoples attempted to conquer Egypt, and
major
swept
the shores of the south-eastern Mediterranean in swift ships, with
Pharaoh Rameses in succeeded
long-drawn-out and bloody sea battle
After that encounter, the Philistines
Delta
in the
seem
it
was only
after
in breaking their assault
to have
190 bc).
(c. 1
come
to
some kind
of modus vivendi with Egypt, and they settled with the blessing of the Pharaonic authorities on the south-western shores of Canaan. At not
Pharaohs
in their last
attempts
at tying Palestine to their
the final Israelite takeover. But soon, with Egypt's Philistines
became
southern Judah It
first
they
only accepted Egyptian sovereignty but served as garrisons to the
was
in this
in
virtually
independent and pushed out into the plain of
order to guarantee themselves ample hinterland.
endeavour that they clashed with the
attempting to gain
domains, prior to
power on the wane, the
a
foothold in the same region.
The
Israelites,
who were
Israelites
had occu-
pied the western strategic gates to both the Judean mountains and the
Judean
foothills, the
Shephelah. Here they clashed with the Philistines,
and here, where the modern highway from passes the hills between
Jaffa
and Ramleh
Zorah and Eshtaol, the
80
tribe
of
to Jerusalem
Dan
faced the
FOUNDING THE KINGDOM AND THE STANDARDIZED ARMY
The Shephelah was
Philistines directly.
son,
whose
final
Philistines (Judg.13-16).
While
in
the setting for the exploits of Sam-
downfall reflected the temporary ascendancy of the 2
most of Palestine the
Israelites
were,
on the whole,
victorious,
by the middle of the eleventh century dark clouds were gathering on the Philistine front. The signs were all the more ominous as the Philistines were master iron-smiths and provided their warriors with iron weapons,
which the
Israelites
almost totally lacked.
SAMUEL This happened during the time of Samuel attributes
and
tasks
'the Seer',
who combined
VUf.. Rameses
II
gives battle to the invading 'sea people'
The Egyptians, mainly
the
of priest, prophet and judge. The Philistine menace to
infantry, fight with
elongated round shields for protection.
"»-:a.n
on the move with as their main weapon, and use their families.
sword or lance
The
lancers, foreign mercenaries,
do not attack
in phalangic array with pikes thrust forward, but strike with their lances from above.
81
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
became very
the existence of Israel
during his leadership. Samuel's
real
pious zeal notwithstanding, the loose tiibal league of the Israelites proved itself
to
incapable of exercising the enduring and concerted effort necessary
stem the Philistine
armament began
to
tide, especially as the superiority
outweigh the native
Israelite valour.
of the Philistine
Thus, in spite of
the Israelite victories under Samuel, such as the second battle of Eben-ezer (1
Sam.
days
7), in his latter
we
find the Philistines established in the heart
of the Judean mountain redoubt.
A permanent Philistine garrison was sta-
tioned in the stronghold of Gibeah (the later Gibeah of Saul), three miles
north of Jerusalem, in easy striking distance of both the western and
southern slopes of northern Judah and Benjamin. Small wonder that the tenor of the relevant biblical passages Israelites
had
much
lost
Sam. 7:7-8) proves that the
(1
of their former self-confidence, one of the main-
springs of their victories until then. Moreover, the Philistines
achieved
some kind of control
in Judah, as they
'Now
iron a Philistine preserve:
there
seem
to have
had made the forging of
was no smith found throughout
all
the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the
Hebrews make them
went down
to the Philistines, to
swords or spears: but sharpen even' (1
man
the Israelites
all
his share,
and
Sam. 13:19-20). This general
his coulter, state
and
his axe,
and
his mattock'
of weakness was naturally exploited
by Israels neighbours east of the Jordan as well; and shortly after, when the Judean mountains - Israels heartland west of the Jordan -were penetrated by the
Philistines, Gilead, the Israelite heartland to the east
came under
similar pressure
of the
river,
from the Ammonites.
THE FIRST JEWISH KING At
this Stage, a great historical
truism - that the fortunes of nations are
often shaped by their ability to stand their conventional
modes
warnings and advice
or
of
up
conducting
Samuel,
who
to challenges
affairs
by breaking with
- was proved. Against
extolled the existing order
the
and the
old Israelite political ideal of a theocratic-democratic tribal amphictyony, in their demand for change: 'Nay; but we also may be like all the [neighbourour king may judge us, and go out before us, and
the tribal leaders remained
we
will
have
ing] nations tight
our
people thus,
in
a
king over
and
that
battles' (1
adamant
us; that
Sam. 8:20). In bowing
to the healthy instincts of the
quest of a permanent and single sovereign leader in war
by necessity also
in
- and
peace - Samuel proved his magnanimity no
than his wisdom. After accepting the popular verdict, he 82
tried to
less
choose
FOUNDING THE KINGDOM AND THE STANDARDIZED ARMY the right leader, one
whom the unruly and independent tribes
would accept even after their initial elation had worn off. His choice fell on Saul, not mainly because 'there was not
among
the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from
his shoulders
and upward he was higher than any of the peo-
Sam. 9:2), but because by choosing a suitable person from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest of the twelve tribes, ple' (1
We
he hoped to neutralize the
rivalry
reminded of the much
choice of the insignificant
later
of the larger ones.
of Habsburg to assume the throne of the
lowing
much
are
House
German Empire
fol-
the same reasoning. Unfortunately for Saul, one
x'
of the most tragic heroes of the Old Testament, Samuel's stratagem succeeded only in part, and
much of the
internal
unrest towards the end of Saul's reign, as well as his quarrels
with David and the against the
latter's
succession, can be understood
background of tribal
rivalries.
3
In his second reason for choosing Saul as
Israel's
first
anointed king, Samuel was more fortunate. Because he came
from a it
tribe that suffered
more
directly than
was plagued by the constant presence of a
pation force on
its
territory, Saul
all
the others, as
Philistine occu-
had the strongest moti-
vation to raise the banner of freedom. Saul's first concern,
Jabesh-gilead
however, was in the
had been under Ammonite
and, failing immediate aid, to
its
The town of some time
defenders were ready to submit
Nahash, king of Ammon, and permit
in the midst of Israelite Trans-Jordan. clearly indicated,
east.
siege for
a hostile settlement
Immediate action was
but the demoralizing particularism of the
was already so widespread that Saul found it necessary to use the threat of a special economic punishment to compel all the able-bodied men to join the national host: And he tribes
took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them
in pieces,
and sent
them throughout the coast of Israel ... saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen' (1 Sam. 11:7). The threat worked, and 330,000 here a
men were mustered
number with
at Bezek. Incidentally,
the ring of authenticity to
it,
we have
which
also
permits us to calculate the total population of ancient Israel
on the eve of the foundation of the 83
Israelite
monarchy
at
Philistine
long-sword.
I
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
about 750,000
mind
souls.
the force that
be understood
The number 330,000
went out
to battle,
is,
for the actual muster, never
of course, vastly
inflated. It
must
as the total male population above the age of sixteen or so,
ZOBAH
ARAMEANS
GILEAD
AMMONITES
AM
\I
I
KI
50
US
Q
9 The
I
I
i
50 Miles
Wars of Saul
hrsieged Jabesh-gilead 2 The Michmash campaign 5 Wars against the eastern neighbours he win against the Philistines 4 6 Clashes uith the Arameans 7 Campaigns to secure the southern borders Philistine concentration for die Gilboa campaign 9 Philistine invasion of the Esdraelon 10 Saul's last campaign: he moves to Mount Gilboa Saul is killed at the battle of Mount Gilboa 1 1
1
Saul's !
S
Km
————— I
I
first
campaign
to rescue
&
84
FOUNDING THE KINGDOM AND THE STANDARDIZED ARMY which brings us
Of this
above estimate of the general population.
to the
conscription of ten per cent
is
the
maximum
a well-organized
a
community
was able to turn out - a number comparable with modern times. In Sauls initial campaigns, no more than half that number (i.e. 16,500) at most would have made up the whole host.
The
details
of the
relief
of Jabesh-gilead are not given in the
account, but the well-known ingredients of Israelite tactics are swift:
approach by quick night march, the division of forces
there: the
(this
time into
three independent formations), the surprise to the unsuspecting
subsequent rout.
his
so
common
It
in ancient
biblical
all
enemy and
should be emphasized that the division of
and
later oriental warfare,
4
forces,
presupposes, inter
alia,
confidence in the divisional commanders: sufficient means, however primitive, of guaranteeing the allotted tasks;
and the
commitment of the divided
ability to
wield a united tactical
forces to their
effort.
As long
as all
the subdivisions of the force are not committed to action at the same time, the commander-in-chief retains the
the
outcome of the
battle.
This
is
means
to influence, or even to decide,
achieved by the creation of a reserve to
strengthen threatened sectors, to create decisive superiority at the correct
time and to spot and exploit success. forces that
The
division of the host into sub-
needed no simultaneous introduction into
battle
tant preliminary step in this direction, providing the
considerable tactical
flexibility.
Yet in spite of
all
was an impor-
commander with
these considerations,
accepted military doctrine has often held that the division of forces into tactically
independent formations
Cannae (216
is
too dangerous.
bc), with a single mass of
85,000
The Roman
legionaries,
is
battle at
perhaps an
extreme example of this attitude. Yet even the military thinking of the eighteenth century was swayed by this idea, and no ick
ii
less
a person than Freder-
of Prussia, one of the greatest military leaders of all times, subscribed
5 to the theory of the single, concentrated battle formation. In his case he
tried
to
make
the
best
of the faithlessness and unreliability of the
eighteenth-century soldiery, their will. Clearly Saul
who were
mostly pressed into service against
was not troubled by similar considerations.
CREATING THE NUCLEUS OF A STANDING ARMY The
relief
of Jabesh-gilead came
from the campaign was the need
in the nick
of time. The lesson derived
for a constantly
armed
force, ready for
immediate action, at the direct disposal of the king, to be strengthened by 85
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
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86
FOUNDING THE KINGDOM AND THE STANDARDIZED ARMY the tribal contingents as quickly as
these
could be mobilized. Saul
Accordingly, first
the
created
nucleus of a standing army,
men
by choosing 3,000
to serve
with him permanently.
This
was divided into two
force
mations, 1,000
the
smaller
for-
one of
men commanded by
eldest son, Jonathan,
whose
his first
major exploit was the conquest of Geba or Gibeah and the Philistine garrison there (1
13:3).
Both were of
importance. Yet the the chief
Sam.
strategic
latter
was
town of Benjamin and
boasted a strong fortress, which
was
at
some time held by
the
Philistines.
THE MICHMASH CAMPAIGN Jonathan's action was a major threat to
Philistine control
the Judean
of
Conse-
heartland.
quently, a large Philistine expedi-
Warrior's head on the face of a Philistine coffin,
tionary force, including chariots
compared with the head from the Medinet Habu
reliefs.
and perhaps even
a cavalry corps,
was despatched
to
reimpose their authority and quell the
to establish an
independent kingdom. After moving through the Beth-
horon
pass, the Philistines established a fortified base at
choice of
on
Michmash was
a daring but well-calculated
to the eastern side of the
Judean plateau, the
Israelite
attempt
Michmash. The
move. By pushing
Philistines
commanded
the ascents to the mountains of Benjamin from the Judean desert, the traditional staging area of the Israelite forces.
Michmash
straddled the east-
ern branch of the watershed road, the main north-south artery of the
Cis-Jordanian mountains, and flanked tance for blocking
it.
its
western branch, in easy dis-
Furthermore, by making their base in the very 87
—
—
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE ,•--'
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MITZPA
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GEBA
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2
1 1
•
—
3
Km
i
i
2 Miles
1
88
FOUNDING THE KINGDOM AND THE STANDARDIZED ARMY 11 1
The
Battle of
Michmash
Saul's position at
2 The
Migron
Philistine outpost
3 Jonathan and his swordbearer disappear into the Nahal
Michmash Canyon between
\
the cliffs 'Bozez and Seneh'
:':.*
(1
0'-
Sam. 14:4)
4 Jonathan and his swordbearer surprise and rout the Philistine outpost 5 Saul attacks and captures
Michmash
6&7
The
in haste,
Philistines retreat
pursued by Saul and
harassed by the villagers
lSH
\
\ •/
vs
89
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE centre of Benjamin, the Philistines openly challenged Saul's authority
and competence. The newly regained confidence of the Israelites was again shattered by this prompt action; and although Saul had wisely chosen the difficult- toJudean desert
traverse (for the uninitiated)
as the
concentration area for
the tribal conscripts, a general disintegration of the Israelite forces began
even before the
first
contacts were
made with
the enemy. According to
Samuel 13-14, Saul took up a position opposite Michmash,
men
at
1
Geba, with
had been secured by Jonathan and the regulars. The Philistines must have had reliable intelligence about the open quarrel between king and priest (Saul and Samuel), and about the many deser-
only 600
tions
and the
after
it
flight
of parts of the populace into Trans-Jordan. Conse-
they decided to accelerate the destruction of the fledgling
quently,
kingdom by despatching three flying columns to devastate the countryside central plateau. To counteract the weakening of their forces, they
on the
kept a blocking force at the 'passage of Michmash', the saddle that connects
Michmash with Geba
and, via Geba, with the western branch of the
watershed road. Topography and the biblical narrative combine to exact location between the head of the precipice of Wadi Suweinit foot of
Michmash
to mitigate the extent
terland, he
Michmash,
weakened
Philistine
of the enemy's raids into the
camp, but,
Israelite hin-
moved his forces out of Geba into a position directly opposite at Migron (Tell Miriam). Although his abstention from fur-
much of
ther activity cancelled out
movement,
and the
hill.
Saul did not dare to attack even the
hoping
fix its
the Philistine troops in
ning the blocking position watchful eye fol any
the initial threat exercised by this
Michmash, and
in the passage,
telltale
sign of hostile
especially those
man-
must have kept
a constantly
movement from
the Israelite
position at Migron.
Jonathan used
this state
of
affairs for a dare-devil
stratagem that by
its
Accompanied solely by his shield-bearer, he made a wide detour to the south. To the men of the Philistine blocking force they appeared to be two men unconnected with the Israelite host
sheer audacit) promised success.
who
exploited the
and attend the
1
force
in the fighting to
come out of
to private matters. Therefore, after
lehrews [who had]
selves' (1
ing
lull
come
forth of the holes
Sam. 14:11), the twenty-odd
(?)
their hiding-place
shouting some insults
at
where they had hid them-
soldiers of the Philistine block-
returned their attention to the Israelite positions opposite.
Jonathan and
his shield-bearer
then disappeared into the deep gorge of 90
FOUNDING THE KINGDOM AND THE STANDARDIZED ARMY
Wadi
Suweinit, and
tions, 'Jonathan
when
armour-bearer after him' behind, both surprised
men
(ibid., v. 13)
enemy and
Cut
off
from
near the Philistine posihis feet,
and
his
and, by their sudden assault from
Michmash
so that they mistook the fugitives for
and general confusion and subsequent panic ensued.
Israelites,
Enemy
cliff
hands and upon
beat the rest into a wild retreat. This, in turn, sur-
good use
Saul put this confusion to
mash.
his
were able to slay a considerable number of the utterly
prised the garrison of
charging
they reached the
climbed up upon
resistance
in a general frontal assault
on Mich-
seems to have been broken almost immediately. 6
their straight line of retreat, the Philistines fled first in a
northerly direction towards Bethel and only then did they turn westwards. All along the
way
the Israelite farmers
came out of
which they had escaped from the enemy's raiding havoc upon the Peninsular Philistines
fugitives.
Rather
like the
the hiding-places to parties
and wrought
French in Spain during the
War (1808-14) or the British in Afghanistan in 1842, more must have fallen during that tortuous retreat than during the
previous battle.
Since Joshua's days, the Israelite generals emphasized the need for exploitation of the victory to the fullest. effort
demanded from
They sensed
their exhausted host
that
any additional
might save further
battles
and
bloodshed. In this vein, Saul ordered his troops on pain of death to abstain
consume any food or refreshments. Not having Jonathan partook of some honey from a hive in a forest during the pursuit. Only the threat of a general revolt made Saul change his mind and abstain from summarily having his son exefrom pausing
in order to
been advised about
this order,
cuted, although the latter It
had not been apprised of the
was possibly not only
his
solemn pledge
to the
order.
Almighty that made
Saul react so severely, but his resentment of the fact that Jonathan had
upon his attack on the Philistine outpost at Michmash without him and thus without his prior permission. He was therefore confronted with the recurrent dilemma of how to react to breach of disci-
parted
advising
pline
and disobedience
to orders, even if victory
was the outcome.
Roman
martial law was unequivocal: death, even if victory was gained in conse-
quence of disobedience.
A similar case to Jonathan's was that of the Prince of Homburg, who in 1675,
at Fehrbellin,
initiative
and
brought victory to the Brandenburgians by taking the
attacking. His uncle, the 'Great Elector',
to death because of acting against orders.
by
all officers
brought about
his
pardon. 91
Only
had him sentenced
a threat of a general strike
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE Saul's
dilemma has not been solved even
at the present day,
when
there
no lack of cases where the adherence to orders has produced calamitous results. Notorious is the example of Marshal Grouchy, who, in 1815, conis
tinued on the route prescribed by Napoleon, instead of changing course
and marching upon Waterloo, thus most probably causing the French and Napoleon's downfall. 7
defeat
Aside from
this issue,
Jonathan and
his page's
deed
is
a
most outstand-
ing example of how, under the right circumstances, the tide of battle
may
be turned by the action of a handful of fighters. In retrospect, there the
most
is
no doubt
that the battle of Michmash
decisive in Israelite history
action'
which paved the way
respite
from
and
that
it
was Jonathan's 'two-man
for the victory that gave Saul the necessary
most dangerous enemies and enabled him
his
was one of
to establish a
dominion over most of both Cis- and Trans-Jordan: 'So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against unified royal
Edom, and
against the kings of
himself, he vexed them'
One
of the
(1
Zobah
...
and whithersoever he turned
Sam. 14:47).
chief, albeit unwritten, tenets
of the geopolitics governing
Cis-Jordan has always been that whoever wants to provide peace and
on the
security to those living
nomads roaming
who began
Saul
was
later to
lasted
must fend off the inroads of the
the desert (the Negev). Consequently,
it
was naturally
the continuous defence of the borders of the desert, which
be based upon a closely woven net of strong fortifications that
from Solomonic times
No
arable land
details
to the
Middle Ages. 8
remain of Sauls war against the Amalekite nomads in the
Negev. Similarly, his frequent campaigns against the never completely sub-
dued
Philistines are
bly the
shrouded
in obscurity.
Shephdah, and more
particularly
mountain bastion on
the valleys that led out of the
example was the
battle
The battlefield was most probathe mouth of one or another of
of the Valley of Elah.
The
to the plain.
Israelite
A
typical
army had by
that
time adopted the construction of well-organized, semi-permanent and possibly fortified
camp
the mountains. ing,
camps
as bases for
prolonged campaigns. By pitching their
in the valley, they effectively barred the
The camp was
advance of the Philistines into
well organized with special zones for train-
ordnance and supply, which were overseen by special
these improvements, however, the Israelite host Philistines in
armament of all
kinds,
sequently, Saul bided his time
and
it
was
details. In spite
still
completely lacked chariots. Con-
and did not push out into the open 92
of
inferior to the
plain.
FOUNDING THE KINGDOM AND THE STANDARDIZED ARMY This was the background of the famous duel between David and Goliath, the giant
champion of the
panoply, daily challenged the Israelites to a ilar
to Jonathan's exploit at
- David
Michmash -
at
assault
trial
in that
armed only with a shepherd's
alone,
cause of complete consternation
had
Michmash, Saul used and rout
among
is
Homeric
was a single-handed
sling
moment
and
And
feat
was the
stones,
again, as
he
to launch his general
enemy. The Philistines were again beaten but not
his
would
in the biblical accounts to the
doubtful
in full
of arms. In an action simit
the Philistines.
this critical
crushed. (Contrary to current fashion, which ever
who, clad
Philistines
what-
like to transfer
realm of myth, endocrinol-
ogy has been marshalled to prove convincingly that limited eyesight,
common
in
tall,
strong people, could have hampered Goliath's capability
to react correctly to David's
aiming
his sling.)
9
revived tribal rivalries, disputes between Saul
between Saul and David did
much
the Philistines gathered strength
MOUNT at
weaken the
and plotted
Aphek
approach. After their
recently unified nation,
their revenge.
death of Samuel. 10
after the
The
in the Shephelah, but their plan
many
mountain massif from the
Philistine host
was to
try a
new
unsuccessful attempts to penetrate the central
west, the Philistines planned a major enveloping
movement by marching northwards along plain)
when
GILBOA: SAUL'S LAST BATTLE
Their hour came some time assembled
to
In the ensuing years,
and Samuel and the break
and then through one of the
Jezreel Valley, so as to enter the central
the Plain of Sharon (the coastal
passes of the
Carmel range into the
mountain massif at Ir-ganim
(present-
day Jenin) and move southwards along the plateau. While manoeuvring
in
the Jezreel Valley, the Philistines could hope for support from the Canaanite cities ties
which had not yet been captured by the
must have
existed, since the cities
Philistine troops in Pharaonic
example) and Philistine
settlers
Israelites.
These
special
had formerly been garrisoned by
pay (Beth-shean being the most prominent
had taken permanent root
in the valley.
11
Saul had the advantage of the interior lines. Accordingly, he waited to see in
what direction the
intentions, he
moved
Philistines
would move. After he was sure of their on the plateau and then
his forces parallel to theirs
took up a blocking position that flanked the ascent to Ir-ganim in the lower foothills of the Gilboa range.
Why was difficult
no attempt made
Carmel
defiles?
to block the Philistine passage
The answer can be 93
inferred
through the
from the choice of
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Aphek
as the
assembly point for the Philistine host. By convening on
Aphek, the
Philistines posed which must have caused Saul
a direct threat to the
Judean mountains,
some of his observation forces to guard the western approaches. There is no mention of any planned Philistine diversionary movement, obvious as such a move would appear to any modern observer. However, there was a report of a Philistine detachment and subsequent troop movement, which - however unintentional on the part of the Philistines - must have misled the Israelite observation troops. 1 Samuel 29 narrates that David and his corps, who had come to Aphek to join David's liege lord, Achish of Gath, were judged unreliable by the 'tyrants' 12 and were sent back to their base at Ziklag, which Achish had allocated to David as a fief after he had escaped Saul's persecution. David's return march from Aphek to Ziklag led past some of the obvious invasion routes into Judah, such as the Valley of Elah and the Valley of Sorek, which must have kept Saul's men on their guard. Only after certifying that no stab in his back was intended could Saul rush to meet the northern threat, which gave the Philistine to detach at least
host the time necessary to effect an unmolested passage through the
Carmel
gorges.
The outcome of chariots. Saul
position
to retreat
up Mount Gilboa. But even there
became untenable. The chariot-mounted
lowed close on
up the
his heels
jected the Israelites
When
the ensuing battle was decided by the Philistine
was forced
on the
Philistine goal
by
his
Philistine archers fol-
western slope and sub-
plateau to constant and effective
flat
Saul was convinced that
rather than he captured
easily traversable
all
was
he chose to
lost,
enemy. For the
had been achieved
at last,
and
his
fall
moment
it
upon
his
seemed
that the Israelite
'fire'.
sword
that the
kingdom
would be broken up again into its tribal components. But the Philistine triumph was short-lived. The years of Saul's reign had taught the tribes that only in unity
with
it.
Although
throughout
Israel,
by
strength and
initially
David,
there
who
all
the
economic advantages
new
focus of attention,
used the story of Saul and his son's death to revive flagging
lamentation for Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam. spirit
of
1
:
ring elegies in world literature. David's
'the children
94
His
of Judah' to renew
words did much
initial rule
of Philistine overlordship.
spirits.
17-27), whose explicit pur-
the struggle for freedom, has survived as one of the most
energy and hope, although his
went
must have been wide consternation
quickly became the
pose was to arouse the soldierly
that
moving and
stir-
to rekindle Israel's
may have been under some kind
FOUNDING THE KINGDOM AND THE STANDARDIZED ARMY
Above: Philistine ox-drawn wagon carrying a warrior armed with a broad-sword and
round
shield,
and
his family.
Below: Philistine chariots in a double-fronted charge.
95
1
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE The Wars of David 1
Subjugation of the
Negev
tribes
2 The conquest of Jerusalem 3 Philistine attempts to oust in the Rephaim Valley
David
4 Subjugation of Philistia 5 Conquest of the Sharon Plain and Valley of Jezreel
Moab Edom
6 The war against 7
Subjugation of
8 Trade with the Euphrates region
9 The war against the
Arameans and Ammonites 10 The defeat of the Arameans in the Edrei gap 1
Subjugation of Damascus
12 Extension of the empire to the borders of
Hamath and
the Euphrates
13 Establishment of Israelite sovereignty in western Galilee, as far as the
Phoenician border
96
CHAPTER
5
THE UNITED MONARCHY
King David's reign is remembered in Jewish tradition Age of the Jewish people. It was David who established that extended
from
'the entering
Hamath unto
of
as the first
Golden
the Israelite empire
the river of Egypt
[
Wadi
El Arish]' or, in another version, 'from the river of Egypt unto the great river the river Euphrates'.
years after
its
Although
empire disintegrated about eighty
this
foundation and was revived only for some thirty years in the
days of Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam
n of Israel
succeeded in welding the
Israelite tribes
such coherence that even
after the
(c.
785-750
kingdom was
split into
people were established for over one thousand years intervals
The
-
as the
dominant
enough
Bible provides us with
ing personality of the king.
all
David
two, the Jewish
- with only
short
Palestinian land-bridge.
details to reconstruct the fascinat-
Modern Europeans might
something of a Robin Hood, a heart and a Lear
on the
factor
bc),
together into a national entity of
Percival,
find in his nature
an Arthur, a Richard the Lion-
combined. Medieval chivalry chose David
as
one of its
main paragons from among les neuf-preux. Jewish lore has accorded him the epithet Ahuvya (beloved of God or God's darling). Yet if we attempt to form a coherent picture of David's military campaigns, not to speak of 1
their details,
we
find disappointingly
David's personal exploits
of a band of outlaws, and are
-
little
first in
still
beyond the scope of these
information.
the service of Saul, later as a leader
later as a vassal to
pages.
It
must be
Achish, king of Gath stressed,
-
however, that
much more detailed picture of David's supreme command than we have for any
these narratives provide us with a
apprenticeship before he attained
of the other biblical captains. In those days very
little, if
any, schooling in
theory was provided for a military leader, and whatever knowledge he acquired, or personal talents he developed, were the
outcome
solely of the
personal experience he gained during his formative years.
Thus we do know from the Bible that David had attained proficiency and as a commander of regular forces while still serving in
as a fighter
97
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
>7>'V-
:".-
'
I
efend: \S.tlK (it David and Solomon trace established by archaeological
finds or topographical features
conjectured trace
WallsofUzziahorHe/ekiah esi.iblished b\ archaeological
finds or topographical features
conjectured trace
He/ckiah's Funnel
200m
Spring
A
e\el point, in metres
I
David to Zedckiah, schematic trace of the Walls of Uzziah or Hczckiah following Avi Gad's proposals (The Upper City of Jerusalem, fig. 36)
13 Jerusalem from
1
2
Site
of the Jebusite acropolis, first foothold of David site of Joab's penetration 3 The Millo 4 North Gate
The Tzinor,
98
THE UNITED MONARCHY Saul's army. Later as prey,
he acquired first-hand knowledge, both
of guerrilla
cenaries he learned
tactics;
as
hunter and
as
independent captain of feudal mer-
the ruses and tricks, as well as the lightning strikes,
all
needed to beat the
and then
nomad
own game. Thus
raiders at their
David was elected king over the
tribe
of Judah and
prepared,
its affiliates
after the
death of Saul, while Sauls trusted general, Abner, installed Saul's eldest surviving son, Ishbosheth, as king over the rest of
David s
first
Israel.
concern was to secure Judah from the incessant inroads of
the
Negev nomads. He
the
men
set the pattern for generations to
of his old regiment, together with their families,
come by settling among the exist-
Hebron mountains. His intention was threefold: his fighters would form the nucleus of a widespread network
ing settlements in the
superbly trained
of resistance and head the local forces against hostile penetrated into the
Hebron mountains; by
who were most
Hebronites,
their
relieved himself of the
own homes;
first
maximum
by
finally,
wherever they
men among
exposed to the raiders and the
brunt of their incursions, David assured their
making them guard
raiders,
settling his
to bear the
vigilance
them
allotting
the
by
land, he
burden of paying them.
THE CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM With an
eye to the needs of a united
kingdom
that
would compass
all
the
and west of the Jordan, David next went on capital. The town of Jerusalem was ideally sited
Palestinian land-bridge east to capture Jerusalem as his
in the centre of the Cis-Jordanian
the sea, with Jaffa as
its
mountain
natural port.
It
also
massif.
It
had easy
commanded
access to
the crossroads
between the JafTa-Rabbath-bene-ammon road, which was the main artery between the Mediterranean and Trans-Jordan
in the centre
and the watershed road, the main north-south ian massif. that
Its
cisterns
and
and
artery of the Cis-Jordan-
defensive position was good, situated as
was surrounded by
pleasant,
rainfall in
valleys
on
all
of the country,
it
was on a ridge
four sides. Jerusalem's climate was
winter was usually so abundant that
reservoirs to last the
whole
year.
As
late as
it
1948, in
the Jewish sector of Jerusalem was cut ofT by besiegers from
sources of water, the rainwater accumulated in the
would fact, all
city's cisterns
the needs of the population throughout the siege.
A
fill
when
outside
supplied
perennial major
spring existed at the foot of the ridge, and the population had access to
by means of a covered approach, even political consideration
in times
of
was that Jerusalem had no 99
siege.
An
it
important
Israelite tribal affilia-
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
and no
tions,
tribal
Finally, the masters
nic
community,
mand any The
amour propre would be offended
of the city
alien to the
special sympathies
which was
not only because
connected
it
this
.
The
14
...'
(2
First Valley of
his
1
a major effort
lodgement in the
of the elongated, narrow ridge,
known
men went
as the
to Jerusalem
saying, Except
come
Temple Mount. 3 unto the Jebusites
thou take away the blind and
in hither. Nevertheless
David took the
Sam. 5:6—7). The word 'stronghold'
Rcphaim Campaign (phase one, general
is
a free
outline)
rhe Philistine forces concentrate on the Elah Valley 2 David moves to Adullam rhe Philistines peucUHB the Judean mountains through the Elah Valley 4 David moves, unseen, on parallel course along the Sansan-Gilo range Vi\ul surprises the Philistines at Baal Perazim 6 The Philistines' headlong flight Hie Bible is not quite clear whether this campaign commences prior to the conquest Oi Jerusalem, or alter. In the former case, 'the hold' (2 Sam. 5:17) would have been at Adullam (see 2 Sam. 23:14). ;
1
2
was the highest area but because a shallow saddle
the lame, thou shalt not
)
in securing a
peoples.
interpretation of the events follows the text, without additional
stronghold of Zion
\<
did not com-
town was nonetheless
to the section of the city later
.
1
who
among most of the neighbouring
in the northern portion
comment: 'And the king and which spake unto David, .
autochthone Canaanites,
David succeeded
for the Israelite forces.
was chosen.
time were the Jebusites, a small eth-
capture of the strongly fortified
acropolis,
Our
at the
if it
100
THE UNITED MONARCHY translation of
metzudah
Chronicles 11:5, the possibly
word
Thus David did
succeed,
he could
not gain access to the town proper.
but
Israelites,
To
The
spell,
well understood
which made them hold back.
give
marshalling of 'the blind and the
defence has been interpreted not as a derisive gesture
city's
magic
a
as
1
in capturing the citadel, but then
translated castle').
is
by some coup de main,
lame' for the
though, in the parallel passage in
('fortress',
new impetus
and accordingly feared by the
4
to his assault,
David searched
for a different
approach. His keen eye discerned the tzinor, the rock-hewn, subterranean
down
passage that led under the town-wall
Gihon
the
Spring: 'And
David
said
on
the eastern slope of the ridge to
that day,
Whosoever
the gutter (the tzinor), and smiteth the Jebusites captain' (ibid.,
v. 8).
Having discovered the
a surprise attack through sector of the
command
city.
it
...
tzinor,
he
getteth
shall
up
to
be chief and
David decided
to launch
while attention was centred upon the northern
To overcome
the fear of the magic spell, he offered a high
to the leader of the attacking party.
The
challenge was taken
up
by Joab: 'So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief (1 Chr. 5 11:6). As so often in sieges, secret passages into defended localities tend to be insufficiently guarded. They are the proverbial Achilles' heel of seemingly unassailable places. largely tzinor,
while additional
The first
safe to
It is
assume that the Jebusites were taken
by surprise when Joab and his men appeared at the head of the and this enabled him to gain a secure foothold around this approach tzinor
is
men
streamed in to capture the
city.
usually identified with 'Warren's Shaft',
explorer, the later General Sir Charles
named
after its
Warren. Kathleen Kenyon,
another of the outstanding explorers of ancient Jerusalem, subsequently cleared the tzinor further,
and
stressed repeatedly the difficulties Joab
must
have encountered in negotiating these passages. Joab's exploit cannot be
we
sufficiently appreciated until
men had
are cognizant
of the
to ascend a fifty-foot-high vertical shaft
fact that
he and his
between the tunnelled
approach from the town and the channel which led the spring waters to its
bottom. These waters were drawn up
seems that an additional reason for
town
etration into the
via
its
its
water-inlet
achieved, in spite of this precaution. Y. Shiloh, the last
through the
shaft,
but
it
-
exactly as
Doubts have been
was amazingly
recently raised
by
person to excavate and investigate comprehensively the
City of David throughout the ages, Shaft, attributed
in pails
construction was to prevent a pen-
by him
to a
as to the pre-Israelite date
Solomonic
proved beyond doubt, the tzinor was one of the geological 101
of Warren's
initiative or later. If this
can be
fissures that
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
had been
utilized in
its
construction,
and which served
as its
makeshift
predecessor, without having been sufficiendy camouflaged. This does not
of the
alter essentially the story
tions involved. efforts
It
perhaps
city's
calls for
penetration and the physical exer-
even greater
launched by David from the captured
on the diversionary
stress
citadel.
6
THE BATTLES OF THE VALLEY OF REPHAIM The
capture of Jerusalem triggered off the
ventions,
and by the
bailiff sat in
Gath.
last
The
first
of several Philistine inter-
of them Philistine power was broken and a Jewish first
two
Philistine interventions
seem
to have
followed each other closely (2 Sam. 5:17-25). Both were straight incur-
enemy after former vassal, made
sions through the Elah Valley. Underestimation of their battle
of Gilboa, or conceit
at
dealing with a
Philistines disregard the dangers inherent in this gorge,
slopes
and
with
its
The
the
steep
though more than once they had already met defeat
defiles,
there through the Israelites' exploitation of the valley's topography.
15
the
First
Valley of Rcphaim Campaign (phase two, detail)
The Philistines advance in the valley David attacks the Philistine column in its flank 3 The Philistines' rout and flight 1
2
NB
See note to
102
Map
14
THE UNITED MONARCHY
(?)
XT
1
&^i
ADULLAM
Israelite
JERUSALEM
V
ft %
movements
Alternative Israelite
movements
(if
t
Jerusalem
had already been captured) 5
10
Km
Hf HEBRON 10 Miles
16 The Second Valley of Rephaim Campaign (phase one, general outline)
The Philistine host moves up the Elah Valley 1 2 David moves towards his surprise attack through the Bechaim wood 3 Flight of the Philistines NB See note to Map 14
With
the aim of making their defeat decisive, David each time permitted
the Philistines to approach deep into the Judean mountains, as far as the
Rephaim
Valley (whose head extends
station).
David himself took up a covered position
Philistines,
suffered flee,
on
and attacked them from their first
the Philistines
The second Israelite Israelites
attack
attempt
is
left all their
from the
their rear.
The
to the west
of the
extent of the defeat they
sacred images in their
that, in their haste to
abandoned camp.
was again brought about by a surprise
rear in the
stealthily
to present-day Jerusalem's railway
evidenced by the fact
Philistine defeat
approached
up
Rephaim
through a
wood
Valley.
This time, the
in the Philistine rear or
woods is considered a double-edged sword by military While affording cover, forest hampers communication, command and control. It restricts the use of heavy armament, and the claustrophobic influence of the forest has often had an adverse effect upon the morale flank. Fighting in
experts.
of the troops confined in the
word
it.
It
was
this feeling that led the
panic' after the spirit of the forests, Pan.
While these negative properties of combat Philistines
Greeks to coin
in the
woods made
keep their forces outside the forest of Bechaim
103
the
trees (the exact
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE botanical definition against
The
it.
footed and
uncertain), they probably set their flank or rear
is
Israelites,
lightly
armed
exploiting the cover provided for their lightfighters, benefited
provided by the selfsame feature. David weather.
Aware of the
from the
made
fact that the daily breeze
tactical
advantages
further subtle use of the
from the
sea reaches the
Jerusalem area at about noon, he timed his attack for this hour, so that the rustle
of the
Israelites.
trees
The
would cover
surprise
was once again complete, and David had not
neglected to elaborate the cess.
the steps of the stealthily approaching
last
phase of his battle plan: exploitation of suc-
This time he had taken pains to bar the Philistine retreat straight
through the Elah Valley, and he was able
'to
smite' the Philistines over a
long-drawn-out rout of flight 'from Geba until thou come to Gazer'.
m /2
17
The Second Valley of Rcphaim Campaign (phase two,
detail)
Hie Israelite decoy force faces the Philistines in the valley 2 The deco\ force draws the Philistines along the valley, by retreating 3 At the toot of the Bechaim, the decoy makes its stand 4 David's mam force moves into the Bechaim wood, parallel to all the above IXi\ ul attacks through the Bechaim wood and defeats the Philistines 5 NB See note to Map 14 1
104
Mile
THE UNITED MONARCHY
Rephaim battle, David took the initiative to subdue the Philistines once and for all. Following the battle of Methegammah, somewhere in the Philistine plain, David established his dominion over After the second Valley of
mouth of the Yarkon
the coasdine from the Sorek. Temporarily, at
he incorporated Gath and
Jaffa
became
kingdom, whereas
his
River to that of the Valley of
least,
a vassal city.
dependencies into
its
David contented himself
with these arrangements for reasons to be discussed
later.
The
Philistines,
however, never gave up, and whenever an opportunity arose, throughout the
whole ous,
First
Temple
though
futile,
period, they renewed their hostilities.
attempt
is
At
least
one
seri-
recorded in the later years of David's reign.
David's next step was the conquest of the Sharon Plain and the Valley
of Jezreel, and the capture or submission of all the Canaanite enclaves that still
existed.
This
fact
is
borne out by archaeological evidence from
sys-
tematically excavated sites in the plains. 7
After that, David began his Trans-Jordanian campaigns by conquering the
Kingdom of Moab and reducing it to vassaldom (2 Sam. 8:2; 1 Chr. Then he went on to Edom - or, rather, his generals, Joab and his
18:2).
brother Abishai, the sons of Zeruiah, did. Their main encounter was in the Salt Valley (the Kikar plain), south of the fered a crushing defeat, but
country.
Its
it
took Joab another
dynasty was removed and
Edom
each administered by a royal commissioner. 8 tion of Ammon.
Dead
David had hoped
Sea.
six
The Edomites
months
to reduce the
was divided into
The
suf-
districts,
next goal was the reduc-
to preserve the amicable personal rela-
tions that existed in the days of Nahash, but the latter's son,
King Hanun,
understandably suspicious, rejected David's offer of peace and called to his assistance the
Arameans of south-eastern
Syria,
north of Gilead.
THE CLASH WITH THE ARAMEANS Now
came the
first
crucial trial of strength for the Israelite
kingdom.
Its
Edom, Moab and Ammon, had themselves been centralized kingdoms not many generations earlier. The
eastern neighbours,
established as
Edomites, in particular, were
were built to answer very the desert, Israelites
namely the
were
still
much
raids
of
gaining more
armament being equal This was not
still
so,
partly semi-nomadic,
the
same
tribes
and
their defences
threat that the Israelites faced in
from the desert
fringes.
experience in siegecraft,
their superior military flair
all
became
While the
other types of
decisive.
however, in any contact with the Arameans, a large,
rich, well-established
nation whose technological and strategic 105
know-how
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
was comparable to that of the than the
the
latter,
commanded
Heights, a position that
dom, much Philistia.
same way that the
in the
Even
if
we
a
area
much now
larger population
called the
Golan
the approaches to the Israelite kinglatter
commanded
the approaches to
numbers quoted by the biblical sources as Aramean strength in chariotry, not to speak of
remains formidable. 9
According to the Israelites
With
take the
largely exaggerated, the infantry,
Philistines.
Arameans occupied the
biblical chronology, the first
encounter between the
and the Arameans had already taken place
after David's
conquest
of Moab, 'when he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates'
The only
Chr. 18:3).
(1
conceivable statement
which had been David
felt free
is
plausible interpretation of this otherwise inthat with the easing of the
especially hard
on the
Moabite
Israelite districts
pressure,
of Trans-Jordan,
to use his bases in north-eastern Gilead to develop his trade
with the Euphrates region. Quite possibly, Solomon's trade-post in Tad-
mor
(Palmyra) was anticipated by David on this occasion. final outcome of these first clashes, David's conquests and combined to upset the Arameans, and they readily seized
Whatever the trade ventures
the opportunity to
of
damming
come
to the assistance of the
Ammonites with the hope By the way, we have
the danger of the rising Israelite tide.
here an example of the rule of strategic geography that points to one's 'neighbour's neighbour' as a frequent natural
tunate in that the hostile
Arameans had
kingdoms.
when
Still,
split into
ally.
10
The
Israelites
many small and
were
for-
often mutually
the rulers of Zobah, Rehob,
Maacah and
Tob
sent their armies to oppose David at the bidding of the Ammonites, combined allied forces must have numbered about 25,000 men or more (2 Sam. 10:6; for the contingent from Tob read 1,200). The Aramean allies succeeded in luring the Israelite forces under Joab into a trap, when the Ammonites pinned them down during the siege of the strong fortress of Medeba. But their plan to use Medeba as an anvil on which to pound the Israelite army, with a general enveloping attack by the Arameans from the rear, did not succeed. Fortunately, Joab had taken the precaution of protecting his rear by means of a screening force that was
the
spread out in considerable depth. Alerted by his screen, Joab kept a cool
head and quickly arrived in
at the
following decisions: (1) to divide his forces
two, deployed back-to-back; (2) to have the smaller force, under his
brother Abishai, contain the Ammonites; and (3) to attack the
Arameans with the
best
men of his
oncoming
army. Joab's orders to his brother were
laconic: 'If the Syrians [Arameans] be too strong for
106
me, then thou
shalt
THE UNITED MONARCHY help me: but
if
the children of
Ammon be too strong for thee,
come and help thee' (2 Sam. 10:11). The stratagem succeeded, and the enemy was beaten tions.
Although no decisive victory was achieved, any
experience will agree that repulsing an front that
and
rear
is
in itself
then
with combat
enemy while being attacked
no mean achievement.
will
off in both direc-
soldier
in
may
British readers
one of their famous regiments, the 28th Regiment
I
both recall
(the Gloucesters),
privilege of wearing two badges on their headgear in honour of a similar feat in 1801, during their Egyptian campaign. This privilege was reconfirmed when the Gloucesters repeated their feat during
was accorded the
World War Two. 11 Although the Arameans had suffered only a stalemate, they sensed that their reputation was at stake, and that if they could not wipe out this blot on their military renown by a quick, decisive victory, their role as a leading power in southern Syria might be played out. Consequently Hadadezer, king of Zobah, who was foremost of the Aramean rulers, brought in Aramean conscripts from as far away as Mesopotamia. His forces included one thousand chariots and possibly cavalry as well.
THE SUBJECTION OF THE ARAMEANS David rushed
his
army
to
meet
his foe in the Edrei gap,
some twelve miles
of traversable ground between the deep gorge of the Yarmuk River and the natural barrier of the Trachona (Ledja, in present-day Arabic), a vast area
of petrified lava blocks. Here the Byzantines withstood the Muslim armies
between ad 334 and 336 and
it
was through
this area that the British
12
Vichy French in 1941. The armies clashed at Helam Aalma in southern Syria). The Israelite victory was complete, and all the Aramean kingdoms from Zobah southwards accepted Israelite domination. Even the king of Hamath hurried to appease David by pay-
moved
against the
(present-day
ing a sizeable tribute (2 Sam. 10:15-19; events,
David was able
1
Chr. 19:16-19). After these
to pursue his reduction of
Ammon
which he completed by capturing Rabbath-bene-ammon ceeded in cutting off the
city's
bridge
who
the area
that
David was the
concept behind Davids conquests, first
ruler of the Palestinian land-
firmly grasped the fact that complete
- and consequently reasonably
command
over
all
Joab suc-
water supply.
If we try to reconstruct the strategic
we may conclude
unhindered,
after
and secure mastery of
secure existence in
it
-
required
the three major routes that connected Egypt with Asia 107
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Minor and Mesopotamia:
the Via Maris, the watershed road and the
King's Highway. Secondary routes, such as the Jordan Valley road, were,
of course, included in the Davidic dominion; and, most important, of the desert- fringe road that
least stretches
skirts the
at
portion of the Trans-
Jordan plateau inhabited by a sedentary population were also under his sway. David's empire thus extended between the Mediterranean
west and the desert on the interior lines along the
nal threat
As
from
while he was free to
east,
above-mentioned
either north or south.
move
on the on
his forces
meet any
parallel routes to
exter-
13
Mediterranean flank, David's defence policy can be under-
to his
stood by correctly interpreting his abstention from subduing both the Tyrians
and the
fortress opposite the
north
as far
towns and
Although David had captured the shore and the
Philistines.
as
peninsula of Tyre and
all
the Phoenician hinterland
Sidon, he never attempted any military action against these
their
dependencies proper.
The same
strange restraint was exer-
cised in his dealings with the Philistines, in spite of their apparent unreli-
The explanation much a nation of
the fact that the Israelites were at that time
ability.
lies in
very
landlubbers'
tradition or seafaring knowledge.
and
sorely lacked a sufficient naval
They were
thus unable to deal with their
long coastline, either from the point of view of defence or to exploit their
and commerce. David therefore took what
position for purposes of trade
seemed
to be a reasonably calculated risk in
on the Mediterranean shores transit trade that
keeping the seafaring people
intact in order to
went through
his
make
the
most out of the
dominions, not only from north to
south and vice versa, but between east and west, thus increasing the rev-
enues required for the upkeep of his administration and army. 14
On
David must have reoccupied or
the eastern flank of his kingdom,
even strengthened the desert fringe fortifications, so as to apprehend the
nomads from
uncontrolled, into the
transgressing,
apprehend them even by force desert fringe forts in
and
fortlets
Ammon, Moab and Edom.
strongholds were built. later.
Israel
Whoever
Some
(see p. 99).
It
has not yet been established
are perforce
as in the
King Saul
(1
last
decades
when
these
of pre-Davidic origin, others
erected those defences, they had to be occupied whenever
sown land
as
long
as the
to their rule.
There was no
approaches from the arid desert
were not sufficiently controlled. Instances such
sown land and to number of
ever growing
have been discovered over the
and Judah subjected these countries
security in the
An
like this led to disastrous raids,
days of Gideon (see pp. 69-77) and in the latter days of
Sam. 30). 15 108
THE UNITED MONARCHY
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMED FORCES The
David's reign.
army underwent great change and development during As a matter of fact, one of his major achievements during
his early reign
was
Israelite
his ability to create the sophisticated military
machine
compatible with national resources that enabled him to carry out sequent martial
activities
Solomonic army reforms, the new model served zation of the
from
sions
armed
forces in the
this pattern
all
sub-
with complete success. Taken together with the
were
as a basis
of the organi-
Divided Monarchy; and whatever diver-
later discernible
must frequently be ascribed
to a lack of adequate resources, rather than to basic changes in doctrine.
The ied
basic rule of compulsory national military service for every able-bod-
male
was adopted by the royal charter that the
in the tribal period
upon your sons and appoint them for horsemen; and some shall run
Bible ascribes to Samuel, or that was accepted with his sanction Saul's accession:
'He
[the king] will take
himself, for his chariots,
and
to be his
before his chariots [foot-soldiers]
young men
The
...
and put them
.
.
.
And
he will take
to his work' (1
.
.
.
your goodliest
Sam. 8:11-16).
technical term for the national army, the people in arms,
was
in
short 'the people'. For tactical purposes they were organized in divisions of
thousands subdivided into units of hundreds and sub-units of fifty and ten
-
the
latter,
much
tactical division to
akin to our present-day
'section',
forming the smallest
have a permanent commander, the captain of
ten'
Whether the 'thousands', 'hundreds' and so forth actually comprised the full complement of soldiers indicated by their name, or whether by David's time they had become a mere designation for (corporal, in
modern
terms).
a tactical unit of smaller strength,
much
like the
Roman
centuria (hundred)
numbered between sixty and eighty men, one cannot say. This conscript army was, like most of the Davidic forces, exclusively an
which
in practice
infantry force. But within this general designation there was a great variety of
armament, which permitted the formation of task
bined arms constructed to meet the needs of the
The
variety of
anced war
effort,
peculiarities
the
list
armament and of its
and
was achieved
tactical
forces of
mission in hand.
application, so necessary for
in antiquity
com-
any
by fostering regional and
bal-
tribal
traditions in military matters. Egyptian wall paintings,
given by Arrianus of the Persian Order of Battle opposing Alexan-
der the Great, and the organization of the tribal auxiliaries all serve as
Roman army
16 evidence of this practice.
109
in legions
and
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
The
some
Bible has preserved
David
proficiencies that enabled
armed with bows'. Their
jaminites were dexterity: '[they]
and shooting arrows out of a bow' .
.
.
24). 'And of Naphtali
.
.
special prowess
.
however, were 'expert in war, with
could keep rank'
.
.
was
all
know what
David could draw upon the
slingers, light
individual
combat
upon
and heavy
Israel
tribal
lancers
-
less
.
.
which
explained as (ibid., v. 32).
contingents to furnish bow-
specialized as far as
good
at fighting in
assisted
file,
of Judah)
by spear-
with drawn
weaponry was con-
while the Issacharians
and the like. armament upon tribal monopolies
overcome
tribal particularism
ing the kings unifying endeavours.
continued to
as well as in the
train the
young
this
tendency, David
in the use
force,
men
The
in arms.
of arms special to their
maintenance of personal weapons. Another of
duties was the provision of the quota of fighting this
lay in
and thereby counteract-
To overcome
double administrative framework for the people
Alongside
.
a special flair for scouting
great danger of basing
fostering the recently
dan,
is
ought to do'
the former
cerned, but were trained to fight in rank and
tribal chiefs
(ibid., v.
and equipped were the
their spears before charging the foe
swords. Other tribes were
installed a
could
moun-
The Zebulun-
(ibid., v. 34).
in difficult terrain, the latter (the children
men, who would hurl
The
...
the
instruments of war
forming the closely arrayed heavy phalanx. These were
had developed
ambi-
of the Jordan. The tribe of Issachar seem to have special-
understanding of the times, to
men and
their
in hurling stones
ized in intelligence missions, since their military proclivity
In short,
The Ben-
bore shield and spear'
Similarly dextrous
(ibid., v. 33).
left
as swift as the roes
with shield and spear'
.
special military
Chr. 12:2). 'The Gadites
(1
and were
'The children of Judah
tains' (ibid., v. 8).
tribes to the east
tribes'
could use both the right hand and the
handle shield and buckler
ites,
of the
details
to build his diversified army.
their
required of their tribe.
twelve monthly, non-tribal and non-territorial
divisions were created:
Now
the children of Israel after their
number,
to wit, the chief fathers
and
captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers that served the king in ,inv
matter of the courses, which came in and went out
throughout thousand.
(1
all
the
months
Chr. 27:1)
This organization, which drew
them
month by month
of the year, of every course were twenty and four
its
into the tactical formations
troops from the tribal levies and drafted
and
110
units of thousands,
hundreds and
THE UNITED MONARCHY so forth, furnished the king with a large, permanently available soldiers
on one-month
active reserve
were permanent, and their
officers,
regulars, the other eleven divisions
duty every
army of
year. Since their cadres
according to the above, were probably
could be called up and mobilized in the
17
Quick mobilization has always been a necessity and independence in the Palestinian land-bridge, as geopolitical conditions always limited manpower reserves while the strategic importance of the area brought nearly permanent concentric pressure to bear on the bridge state both from the neighbouring states and from the Great Powers of the day. In his military organization David had therefore found the key to having a force immediately at his command and being able to mobilize the entire people quickly, without doing away with the positive tribal traditions. shortest time possible.
for safeguarding national sovereignty
The
general
commander of the
national levy was
clashes with Joab, the ranking chief of the regulars, insufficiently defined sphere of authority
Amasa ben
Jeter.
His
and the undoubtedly
between them, are a
fair
proto-
type of the problems that have bedevilled the co-operation and relationship between regular
and
The drawbacks of the
reserve forces to the present.
general national levy was, of course, the negative
upon the economy. The selfsame farmer who served in the ranks of the army was needed to produce the surplus yield to keep the war effort going. The longer he was kept under arms, the greater the danger of his private economic ruin and the collective influence on the economic health influence
of the nation
whole. All forms of society and government have grap-
as a
pled with this problem. In the eighteenth century rulers used to kidnap their neighbours' citizens, to avoid
military service. satisfactorily
It is
call
up
their
own
subjects for
even today.
In Davidic times, one the campaigns
The
having to
impossible to say that the question has been settled
way of easing
the
economic pressure was
for the easier agricultural seasons, such as early
way as the The enemy, however, was not always
Bible refers to this season in a matter-of-fact
kings go out to battle'.
to plan
summer.
'time that the
so obliging as
to give battle or to surrender within the limits of this season;
nor was the
reserve service sufficient to bring the troops to the highest pitch of perfection.
David therefore followed the
standing, regular
army of
common practice and established a who were able to serve for long
career soldiers
periods and could be trained intensively in times of peace.
David's regular
King James
Bible)
army had two corps, the gibborim (mighty men' of the and the foreign mercenaries. The gibborim comprised 111
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
two regiments that were
ond
The
'Thirty'.
ers that
first
built
'Thirty'
around the nuclei of the
first
had formed around David
in his exile,
and
sec-
retain-
and each of them had
proved his mettle by prodigies of valour, which served tales
and the
was the band of loyal followers and
theme
as the
for
over Israel. The second 'Thirty' was a similar when David attained the crown of Judah. They from among the Trans-Jordanians, though probably before
sung
ballads
all
troop that had formed
were recruited
18 David's election by the rest of the people.
These two groups were bound
by bonds of
to the king
common
and shared much the same experience in unorthodox warfare as a means of neutralizing the superior armament and technical skills of hostile armies. In making the 'Thirties' the nuclei of his standing army and exploits
David imbued
the spearheads of his campaigns,
with
his regular forces
much of the spirit and traditions of the days of pre-regular warfare. (It is commonly held that the modern parallel of having built the Israel Defence Fotces largely around the pre-state underground, the Haganah, and especially
its
shock troops, the Palmach, goes a long way to explain the
unorthodox approach that also furnished the
tary dignitaries liken
them
'Thirty'
many of the high civil and miliamong their ranks. We may therefore
kings bodyguard, and
were chosen from
to the hetairoi
of Alexander the Great, or the schara of Charle-
magne, who performed similar
The second
The
typifies the Israeli soldier today.)
tasks.
corps of David's regular
army was made up of the mercen-
aries.
While the general host was commanded by Joab, the foreign mercen-
aries
came under
the
foreign officer was
command
Ittai,
the Gittite,
who came from
Gain. The other troops, the 'Cheretites and
name
implies, partly
ever, indicate
from among the
town of
came,
as their
Philistines. (Cheretites
eventually have
Israelites',
become mounted. Their
thev refused to restoration.
at
fighters.
and some of them
loyalty to the king
proved beyond doubt when, having been released by the oath of fidelity
might, how-
home of many
These mercenaries were undoubtedly good
Theil armament was heavier than most of the
may
the Philistine
Pelethites', also
another extraction, such as Crete, the original
of the Sea Peoples.)
The ranking
of Benaiah ben Jehoiada.
latter
from
was their
the nadir of Davids reign (the outset of Absalom's revolt),
abandon
their royal master
and were instrumental
in his
There are allusions to the fact that the nucleus of these for-
eigners was already included alongside the gibborim in David's corps troop
when he himself did mercenary OOllld well
service to Achish, the king of Gath.
have provided a unit of special (heavy?) archers. 112
19
They
THE UNITED MONARCHY
One more
Davidic innovation deserves mention.
enumerated in Joshua, 21 and
The
Chronicles, 6 were
1
all
Levite settlements
located in districts
had permanent security problems: either border districts or newly acquired lands of major strategic importance, such as the Carmel ridge (the that
main
of the Via Maris) or areas that had a strong admixture of
barrier
Dan,
foreign inhabitants (such as south-eastern Galilee or the territory of
which faced the
Philistines).
and knowledge, combined
The
their
Levites,
moral and
with their special religious religious strength
prowess in providing a permanent guard against unwanted spiritual as physical infiltrations
made an
from
especially reliable
Almost no Davidic and
to
time the
home guard
in militarily unstable districts.
direct information has survived
upkeep and move them. Israelite
as well
across the borders. In times of stress, they
later Israelite armies.
forces as possible has always
zeal
with military
on
20
the tactical division of the
In practice, the desire to marshal as
many
been checked by the limits of the actual capacity It
would seem hardly
possible that at
kingdoms were capable of keeping
any given
in the field for
any
length of time troops surpassing 50,000 (20 per cent of the male popu-
not counting the elderly 'home guard' that relieved the regular
lation)
garrisons of the fortress towns throughout the country. According to 2
10:6, Its
David opposed the Ammonites and Arameans with
strength, if about the
same
as the
opposing
forces,
Sam.
his regular army.
was not
than
less
25,000, including the mercenaries. To exploit Joab's victory with these forces,
David
called up, in addition, the national levy, 'the people' (ibid. 27).
The breakdown of the
combat formations in all armies has been governed by the emphasis put upon the shock effect of massed troops on one side and the wish for maximum flexibility and manoeuvrability on the other.
forces into
The kind of compromise reached between
these tendencies has
always been one of the major characteristics differentiating existing armies.
The
tribal skills referred to
compromise
above enabled David to work out the
best suited to his time.
javelin- throwers
While the
archers, slingers,
and
provided the material for his light troops, the heavily
armoured pikemen provided the massed shock
force.
Thus one can explain David's capability to withstand both the Canaanite and Aramean phalanx, that went back to much older Mesopotamian and Egyptian prototypes, as well as the shock of their massed chariots. 21 To achieve the latter, history has recorded two basic stratagems. The first entailed the harassment and slowing down of the hostile
shock by
close array,
and
light troops,
its
complete
arrest
by the heavy infantry in
the closing in of the light troops for the 113
kill.
The
other
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Stratagem employed was to open the ranks of the massed heavy infantry let the enemy, charging along a massed front, pass through the
so as to
empty
space, or to deflect
him
into these
empty
passages.
Then when
ing around and trying to regroup for a renewed attack, he
engaged by the defending
Romans
forces.
The
latter
veer-
would be
stratagem was used by the
Hannibal at Zama (202 bc) and by Gustav Adolphus Habtburg marshal Tilly at Breitenfeld in 1631. he actual eombat formation employed by the Israelite armies seems to against
against the I
have been subdivided into four or three. This can be deduced from the numbers of troops quoted in various biblical passages. 22 Both
actual
systems have survived until today.
Decenary even by
relatively
The
division of three has been
found
unsophisticated armies such as the Greek
before Iroia and the medieval Swiss, to assure a staged and mutually supporting attack as well as to exploit success or to avert defeat by being able DO shift troops,
and even
to hold
back
a part for
occasions.
114
employment on
just these
THE UNITED MONARCHY
Typical biblical period battle at the foot of the Syrian fortress Kadesh on the Orontes.
Rameses
II at
with heavy
The
fallen.
the head of his wheeled archers
losses to the attackers, the
Hittites
and
their
Canaanite
bucklers and mostly long gowns.
and
his
men
in solid formations.
is
at the centre
of the melee, and repulses,
attempt to close the Hittite trap into which he had allies are
distinguished by their violin-shaped
They fill up most of the picture, surrounding Rameses The advance guard of the Egyptian relieving forces is in the right corner.
We
do know of one
Israelite
tions a division into four
campaign where under
different condi-
and then into three was adopted.
When Abim-
laid wait Shechem 'all the people that were with him Shechem in four companies' (Judg. 9:34). Yet next time 'he took the people and divided them into three companies' (ibid., v. 43). Gideon divided his force into three, as did David for the showdown with his rebellious son Absalom (2 Sam. 18:1). Against this the twelve tribes are described by the later generations as camping and marching in four major divisions subdivided into three (Num. 2:10, l4f). It seems probable that
elech besieged
.
.
.
against
different echelons
had
different compositions
115
and
that,
according to the
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
composed
tactical contingencies, differently
It
were estab-
battle formations
although divisions into either three or four were the usual standard.
lished;
has been suggested that the recurrence of the
Bible could indicate that 23
bat force.
it
This could well have been
into three sub-units of
number 600
was the strength of the standard
The number was
so.
200 men and four of 150
com-
divisible
both
These
each.
in the
Israelite
'battalions'
would be divided into the traditional 'hundreds', 'fifties' and 'tens', much like modern companies, platoons and sections. The sub-unit of the six hundred would therefore be composed of either two 'hundreds' or of one reinforced 'hundred'.
The thousands might have
existed as larger formations, especially for
the general levy of the people in arms, or could have served
much
like the
old British regiments as mother formations from which battalions were
detached to combat brigades.
SOLOMON'S FORTIFICATION ACTIVITIES on the main
After David had established the Israelite empire
strategic
thoroughfare of the ancient eastern Mediterranean, while the Great Powers
of the day were temporarily exhausted,
it
was Solomon's task
guard his
to
possessions against any foreseeable attempts by Egypt or the northern
powers to regain dominant influence on the Palestinian land-bridge.
There
exist
two
The
given realm.
basic incentives for the
permanent
fortification
attained the desired territorial gains
and economic
second
security; the
the need to strengthen one's defences to meet the threat of
Solomon's fortification
disCUSScd in chapter
Nonetheless,
(which
if
c
first
category (in
accept the twenty-fourth year of Solomon's reign
quoted by
1
Kings 9:10
as a date after
we
which he
arrive at a period
when
signs of re-emergent foreign threats were already evident. In
Egypt, Shishak
acquiesced ferred his
first
example, which will be
:^
initiated his concerted efforts at fortification),
the
for
King
)).
we
explicitly
is
can be ascribed to the
activities
King Rehoboam of Judah,
is
impending
aggression from without (usually in times of relative weakness).
contrast CO those of
of any
the wish to preserve the status quo after having
first is
i
had replaced Pharaoh Pesibkhenno n,
in the existence
last
of the
Israelite
who had
empire but had
not only
officially trans-
stronghold in Palestine, the fortress of Gezer, into
hands when one of
his
daughters married Solomon.
change of attitude became apparent
in his
116
The new
Israelite
Pharaoh's
harbouring and encouraging of
THE UNITED MONARCHY political exiles,
such
Hadad, scion of the dethroned
as
royal
Edom, and Rehoboam, who had attempted to persuade the tribes to revolt against Solomon when the latter began building ple, the central national sanctuary, in
Judean
house of northern the
Tem-
territory.
In one instance, the border with the Tyrians,
Solomon was compelled
to
return to Hiram, king of Tyre, the district of Cabul. This clearly was a farsighted political
But
it
also
move
destined to preserve mutually beneficial relations.
demonstrates that the
Israelite
land power had already opted
for political alternatives to war, namely, the
making of pacts. 25 Worse
Damascus, which had been governed by an
Israelite bailiff since its
by David,
successfully revolted,
and Solomon was not able
still,
capture
to dislodge
its
new ruler, Rezon. Only a punitive expedition against Aram, Hamath and Zobah (which proves that the other Aramean dependencies had followed Damascus' example) averted the Against this background,
And
this
is
And
.
.
.
of all the northern dominions.
loss
cite
the reason of the levy
house of the Lord, the nether.
we
Kings 9:15-19:
1
which king Solomon
raised; for to build the
and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer
Baalath,
the cities of store that
and Tadmor
.
.
.
and Beth-horon
in the wilderness, in the land,
Solomon had, and
cities for his chariots,
and
and
all
cities for
his horsemen....
Even before locating these few mentioned by name
cities
on
clearly did
the
map, we must recognize that those
not form a continuous line of defence,
much less a border zone defended in depth. Locating them on the map, we find them to be links in a definite, meticulously chosen network of strongpoints that served simultaneously as pivots of offence and defence. All this
makes sense once we
recall that
King Solomon's
great reform in
reshaping the Davidic army was the addition, as a main offensive arm, of the corps of chariots:
men
And Solomon
[read charioteers]
:
and he had
and twelve thousand horsemen cities for chariots
gathered together chariots and horse-
a
thousand and four hundred chariots
[charioteers],
and with the king
whom
at Jerusalem' (1
he bestowed in the
Kgs. 10:26).
26
SOLOMON'S CHARIOTS The
origin of the
forces in general
war
chariot, the forefather of
and armour
the third millennium bc.
27
our modern motorized
in particular, can be traced
The
back to Sumer in
ancient Sumerians had already developed
117
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE a
heavy tour-wheeled and a light two-wheeled type of fighting vehicle.
Since
then
four
factors
-
protection,
firepower,
development of the fighting vehicle throughout was
still
a
speed
(including
and cross-country performance - have influenced the
manoeuvrability')
history*,
no
less
when
it
horse-drawn chariot than today. Mention has already been made
of the Canaanite chariots. The Canaanites had made their acquaintance
when much of Palestine became part of the Hyksos empire, since the Hyksos had made prominent use of the chariot. The Egyptians must have intro-
with the war chariot in the Hyksos period (eighteenth century bc).
duced chariots under the influence of the Hyksos and developed them their wars in rival Hittite
Canaan (sixteenth-fourteenth
centuries bc)
and against the
empire of Asia Minor and other northern neighbours.
Summing up
the graphic evidence from wall paintings and the plastic
arts in all the countries
concerned,
written records exist,
we can
Mesopotamian) and
a
as well as the
contents of whatever
distinguish between a northern (Anatolian-
southern (Egyptian) trend in chariot design. The
northerners tended to develop heavier vehicles with possibly greater
power and shock tvpes, with
in
effect.
consequent
The southern
maximum
tradition
was
fire-
to construct lighter
mobility and manoeuvrability. Both
Sennacherib's battle chariot. (From Nineveh palace.)
118
THE UNITED MONARCHY traditions
met on the
Palestinian land-bridge,
and we consequently can-
not attribute to the Solomonic corps any specific type of chariot. 28
The number of 12,000
charioteers allows for the possibility that not
only did each chariot have a double crew of trained other,
but that
some of the
at least
driver, or charioteer in the
third
man armed with
to relieve each
had a crew of three men: the
narrow sense of the word; a bowman; and a
shield
manned by a crew of two
chariots
men
and lance or
(the charioteer
spear.
and
The
lighter chariots
man,
a fighting
were
either archer
or spearman), while the lance was carried (in line with the northern tra-
armament by some
dition) as additional
or
all.
Biblical sources call the
Canaanite vehicles chariots of iron. Iron-clad war chariots have been identified
on
a relief
from Carchemish
in Syria,
adopted armour for some of his chariots
is
but whether Solomon
another question. 29
The number of 1,400 chariots also denoted considerable strength in when compared with the 2,500 chariots of the Hit-
this period, especially tites at their zenith,
Syria
and Canaan
chariots that
the
924
chariots that comprised the contingents of all
in the allied
made up
campaign against Thutmose in or the 720 complement taken by Amenhotep n from
the entire
the whole of Canaan in 1431 bc. 30
of his main bases,
it
Taken together with the general
the best defensive strategy does not
lie
in
pinning
down
the majority of
one's forces to a rigid or even continuous line of fortifications cles,
and obsta-
but rather in creating a strong, flexible and highly manoeuvrable
offensive
arm
that could attack
gically sited bases, tive
siting
seems that Solomon had grasped the principle that
and
any invader from one or more of its
which were organized
logistic effort involved.
strate-
to sustain the basic administra-
The main strategic arm of the Solomonic From external evidence, as well as bib-
defence forces was his charioteers. lical allusions,
we
gather that these were not only trained in co-operation
and combined action with the
infantry, but that there existed specially
picked foot-men, the biblical 'runners',
and employed
to support the chariots
who were permanently grouped and
exploit their successes
infantry action was needed. In this way, they were very
much
when
like today's
motorized and armoured infantry.
The
foresight
and
vision of Solomon
may be gauged correcdy if we
recall
that only a few decades ago the official French military doctrine held
against a few Visionaries', like Charles de Gaulle
ployment of
a force in the Chinese-wall-type
-
-
to a purely passive de-
Maginot
Line.
As
far as the
ancient Israelites were concerned, the great advance was in Solomon's ability to create
within a generation the complete sophisticated sub- and 119
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
and maintain
infrastructure
needed
strength.
It is
possible that the foundation for
been
by David. The
laid
sustain
to
services
it
.
and
.
.
.
houghed
.
all
the char-
but reserved of them for a hundred chariots' (2 Sam. 8:4) -
iot horses,
makes
.
in
- 'And David took
biblical passage hinting at this
from him [Hadadezer] a thousand chariots
charioteers
war chariotry had already
was
clear that his
a
modest beginning. Out of these Solomon
workshops,
built
and complicated training and the
a large regular force that required long
stores, training establishments, barracks, sheds, veterinary
other auxiliary services without which
under the heading of
'store
and chariot
and
could not operate. All these come
it
cities'
mentioned
in the Bible.
THE FORTIFICATION NETWORK The
offensive-defensive character, both
on the
of rhe main Solomonic fortifications,
level,
roads,
tactical
borne out by an examina-
Hazor guarded the major highway from Israel the Via Maris, near the point where it branched off into two
one along the Jordan Valley past Ijon and on
to
Hamath
or
Golan Heights)
ascus, the other ascending the Syrian plateau (the to
and the
31
tion of their locations. into Syria,
is
strategic
Dam-
straight
Damascus.
Megiddo commanded
the
main west-east
axis
of Palestine, the sector
of the Via Maris that branched off from the coastline and passed through the Jezreel Valley, either to
met the road joining 1
Luh".
Its
it
Highway' coming from the 'bay of
to the 'King's
it
and Gilead, where
to Beth-shean
location also permitted the effective blocking of the Iyron Pass,
main
traverse of the
lamar,
identified as
the
Hazor or
Carmel
ridge.
Hazeva (Arabic Ain Husub), commanded the
southern approaches of the realm through the Arabah Valley. I
iezei
was located
in the centre
natural barrier against trv in the direction
the
advance
for
It
all
of the most
likely
Egypt
in
many
to
the
capital
It
formed
from
tell in
as
the
modern Gedera) was Judean highlands, on the direct
the vicinity of
south-west of the
approach from Egypt or the Philistine coastal
guarded the lower Sorek
Rephaim and served
approaches
coun-
32
(Mughar or another
sited in the plain to the line
as the first
to penetrate the hill
of Jerusalem from the central coastal sector.
guard
Jabnch-Jarra- I.od triangle. Baalath
of the piedmont that served
anyone who attempted
Valley,
which
led
up
to that
cities.
of Elah and
an avenue of invasion for armies coming from
periods, such as that of Shishak
120
and Necho
(in
924 and
THE UNITED MONARCHY 605 bc
respectively); the
Ptolemaic forces in the fourth to third century
down
bc; and, in their turn, Fatimids and Mameluks,
columns
breakthrough
after his
to Allenby's
Beersheva in 1917.
at
Lower Beth-horon blocked the Beth-horon pass, one of the main mountain plateau. As a main artery of war, it is
ascents to the central
known
from the wars of Joshua onwards, down
to us
Day War. common:
to the Six
All the fortresses above have the following tactical features in their position
was
defended, often on a steep
easily
and amply pro-
hill,
vided with water, but they were in terrain that permitted the swift marshalling and deployment of chariots. This explains the choice of
Lower Beth-horon
in preference to
Upper Beth-horon,
better-sited twin further inland (which was,
to the
deployment of
fortresses
was
Another
chariots).
naturally
common
trait
much
to
them
all
these
This enabled
their flanking, rather than blocking, position.
the forces based upon, or convening upon, any of
who
its
however singularly unsuited
to attack a foe
own time, who were aware and had become pinned down in a
did not heed the threat to his flank, or to attack in their
and under no
less
favourable conditions,
of the danger to their flank and rear of one of the major
siege
One more 2 Chronicles
fortress
is
those enemies
fortresses.
mentioned
Tadmor, usually
8:
all
belongs to a category apart.
in the parallel
Tadmor was
From
exercised tools,
its
to the above, in
the key to the great
route that passed through the Syrian desert from tamia.
list
identified with Palmyra. In that case
and
Damascus
halfway point, the desert was policed,
victuals.
When
to
Mesopowas
Israelite control
and the caravans were furnished or refurbished with
equipment and
it
rich trade
Rezon succeeded
all
necessary
in establishing
himself in Damascus, towards the end of Solomon's reign, he was able to harass the
communications between Tadmor and the
Israelite territory
and thus upset the general flow of trade. 33
THE ROAD NETWORK The
general reserve of Solomon's
explicitly states that
ment
it
army was kept
in Jerusalem.
implies the existence of well-guarded roads
chariots quickly
and the exploitation of the
sive action outside the belt
engaged
in action
ture of roads
The
Bible
included the strategic reserve of chariots. This state-
on which
interior lines
to
move
the
both for offen-
of fortified bases and to sustain forces that were
around any of the
fortified bases.
While the
infrastruc-
was certainly not yet paved, these highways were obviously 121
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE To Tadmor/*
Damascus/
iXi
J/B
Main
18
The
Infrastructure of the Solomonic (Numbers denote districts)
122
military base
Fonified
Ezion-geber
30 Mile*
Realm
"
pon
THE UNITED MONARCHY and graded,
well levelled, sign-posted
make wheeled
to
traffic possible.
Because of the very absence of a continuous, permanent pavement (unheard-of in this country until Herodian times), there must have been a regular service for road maintenance, with the
most frequent need
in
wadi and mountain passages. A service like that was what the prophet Isaiah
had
in
mind when he
straight in the desert a
the gates: prepare ye the
gather out the stones;
wrote: prepare ye the
highway
for our
way of the
lift
God'
(Isa.
way of the 40
:
3) or
people; cast up, cast
up a standard
Lord,
.
.
make
go through
' .
up the highway;
for the people' (ibid., 62:10).
This infrastructure must, of course, have been completed with a host of road stations, workshops and stores that were constructed, whenever possible, in or near existing settlements. Similarly, the fortified
kingdom were an
the Israelite
towns of
additional network of defence, comple-
mentary to the above-mentioned main
strategic bases.
LOGISTIC ORGANIZATION The maintenance of provision as the
for the king
and the administration,
may
army, was based on a territorial schedule that
as well
well go back to
Davidic times:
And Solomon had
twelve officers
the king and his household: each
And
over
man
Israel,
which provided
month
his
in a year
and straw
ley also
where the
table, every
for the horses
officers were, every
man
in his
Hebrew
officers were'
interpretation
With
is
provision. that
came
and dromedaries brought they unto the place
man
according to his charge.
rehev (which
is
(1
Kgs. 4:7, 27-8)
King James version has been the rendering of this
according to the Septuagint, and means chariots'). original
all
month: they lacked nothing. Bar-
prefer to read for rehesh (which in the
translated 'dromedaries'),
victuals for
made
those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for
unto king Solomon's
We
all
The
word
rendering of the
by the King James version as 'the place where the likewise debatable. The most straightforward translationtext
would
be: 'the place allocated to them'.
these remarks in mind, the logistic organization of Solomon's
armed forces becomes clear. 34 Each district governor, who seems to have combined the offices of civil and military governor, was responsible for the upkeep of the army for one month during any one year. This was achieved by supplying the royal 'store cities' with the amount of victuals specified
123
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
The
current needs of the troops stationed in Judah, or the spe-
for
them.
cial
needs of those
who formed
the general and strategic reserve, were cov-
The
ered by the thirteenth governor, a special commissary for Judah. special
importance of two of the
is
emphasized by the
were sons-in-law of the king: the
their governors Israelite naval
districts
district
on the Mediterranean, and the
base
which included the slopes of the Golan Heights, ever
fact that
of Dor, the main of Naphtali,
district
vital for the security
of northern Cis-Jordan and eventually the border with hostile Damascus. It
astonishing to compare the elaborate logistic substructure of
is
Solomon's army with that of
When
only two reigns removed from
Saul's,
his.
Saul was fighting the Philistines in the Valley of Elah, David was
despatched by his father to replenish the dwindling provisions of his brothers,
who were
army -
in the
little
knowing, of course, that
this
mission would lead to his encounter with Goliath. In Saul's day, each individual thus had to provide his
own
its
counterparts,
and probable
antecedents, in the similar arrangements of the other eastern empires.
advanced these arrangements were can be better understood
if
trict to
travelled each
month, with
his court
further major enterprises of
lands and the initiation of the
King Solomon demanded
Both
are related
and
will
Red Sea (Ophir)
227-33.
tail
and lixteen oan. The upper
deck, protected
In-
shields, served in
times of war as the main battle
and
itation tor the 'marines',
was used
in
times of peace by
civilian passengers.
prow was
The
balance, and the sharp
was fixed so
enemy
high
built for speed
and
ram
as to hit
vessels
trade
specific and Negev highthrough the Gulf of
central
be narrated within the survey of the Negev,
Phoenician double-decked warship, propelled by
dis-
another, so as to be fed and furnished with the necessary provisions.
Two
pp.
later,
and army, from one
complex measures of security: the colonization of the
Eilat.
How
we remem-
ber that in the Carolingian Empire, nearly two thousand years
Charlemagne
own
upkeep, not to mention his
equipment. The Solomonic system had
below
the water line.
124
CHAPTER
6
THE EARLY DAYS OF ISRAEL
REHOBOAM'S SUCCESSION King Solomon's reign has always been regarded magnificent in Jewish history also
A
- and
rightly so.
as the
most
brilliant
At the same time,
one that taxed national resources and economic
it
and was
effort to the utmost.
staggering financial burden was involved in creating,
and no
less in
army and administration, their necessary infraTo these we must add all the other Solomonic development and building activities and, above all, the erection and endowment of the great Temple in Jerusalem. To alleviate these almost overwhelming commitments, King Solomon had foresightedly and rigorously developed trade and commerce, making maintaining, the imperial
and
structure
full
all
the trappings of empire.
use of the strategic location of his kingdom, as a bridge between
both Asia and Africa and the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. The establishment of
ties
with the queen of Sheba (present-day Yemen), the
maintenance of a garrison
at
Tadmor
(Palmyra), the building of a naval
base at Ezion-geber (near today's Eilat), as well as the league with King
Hiram of Tyre and seafaring agents on
the preservation of the Philistines as commercial
the south-western shores,
all fall
and
within the scope of
Solomon's economic endeavours. Through contacts with Sheba, balsa-
mum was
introduced (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews viii, 7, 174). And direct evidence from before the Second Temple
most probably, although period
is
lacking, the
balsamum
major source of revenue ailments.
The assumed
ple period
would go
as a
plantations at En-gedi quickly
its
empire.
None of these
a long
way
to explain
little
Tem-
Judah's capability to
of the Solomonic
undertakings, however, could ease the strain on the
limited resources of Israelite manpower.
added
a
world famous medicine for a great variety of
quantity exported even as early as the First
large defence expenditure after the break-up
finance
became
their share to the drain
to short- or long-term royal
On
the contrary, they
must have
of human resources from private enterprise
commissions and errands.
125
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
This was the background to the people's
when
demand
for
an easing of the
Shechem on Solomon's death to confirm Rehoboam, his son, as king: 'Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee' (1 Kgs. 12:4). These demands came at a singularly inopportune moment, since external pressure was mounting, and Damascene, as well as Egyptian, activities must have encroached considerably by then on the temporary monopoly in trade exercised by Solomon along the Red Sea and the
yoke, voiced
the people of Israel convened at
approaches from the Syrian desert.
Rehoboam
disregarded the advice of his father's counsellors to appease
and decided
the people by false promises
them
that
no easing of the burden was
young men
respond truthfully,
that were
telling
to be expected. If we are to believe
Rehoboam was urged by
the biblical chronicler, 'the
to
grown up with
his personal entourage,
him', to
harsh, authoritative manner, so as to assert once
word his answer in a and for all his royal
authority:
And
My
ing,
and forsook the old men's counsel
the king answered the people roughly,
and spake
that they gave him;
father
also chastised
to
made your yoke
them
after the counsel
heavy, and
you with whips, but
I
I
will
will chastise
add
of the young men, say-
to
your yoke:
my
you with scorpions.
father
(1
Kgs.
to
any
12:13-14)
THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM This
.utitude
made
particularisi agitators
honour of having saw
thai the
to
the
tribes
who had bow to a
other
than Judah
not yet lived
down
easy prey
the slight to their tribal
king residing in Judah: 'So
when
all Israel
king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king,
What
we
in
David? neither have we inheritance in
the son of Jesse: to your tents,
O
Israel:
saying,
David'
(1
portion have
Kgs. 12:16).
Thus
parts: the north, 'Israel' (in the
'Judah',
and
at
One the
comprising the
times
Edom
as a
now we
see to thine
own
kingdom was divided
the Jewish
house,
into
two
narrow sense of the word) and the south,
tribal territories
of Judah, Benjamin, the Negev,
main dependency.
of the major instigators of the defection of the northern
House of David was Pharaoh Shishak
126
i
tribes
from
of Egypt. Too weak to attack
THE EARLY DAYS OF ISRAEL
Monarchy
the United
action from within. reason, Shishak
Rehoboam ward
as a
openly, he set about disrupting
Having harboured the
had him despatched
fugitive
it
by subversive
Jeroboam
for just this
to Israel prior to the investiture of
and, with the connivance of his agents, he put Jeroboam for-
candidate for the crown of Israel, to which he was duly elected.
Biding his time for the ensuing internecine struggle between Judah and Israel to
weaken and exhaust the
major invasion in 924 bc with
aimed
all
kingdoms, Shishak launched a
the forces at his disposal.
at regaining the Palestinian land-bridge,
Pharaoh seems to have judged
weaken north.
Israelite
still
beyond
It
was not
an enterprise which the
his capability.
His goal was to
dangerous (from the Egyptian viewpoint) neighbour to the
his
A strong and united Israel was a check on Egypt's reborn desire for
political
and economic expansion northwards. Worse, the
alliance,
which had
trade in the
Red
Tyro-Israelite
successfully challenged Egypt's naval exclusivity
Sea,
had
dealt a
most
severe
blow
to Egypt's
and
economic
independence.
To
and executed
avert a state of national emergency, Shishak planned
his invasion,
the Lybian
which was
and Nubian
built
around a
infantry,
striking force of
1
,200 chariots and
which has often figured
of the Egyptian armed forces up to recent times.
in the forefront
The names of localities
captured during Shishak's campaign have been preserved in a
list
inscribed
on the south entrance to the sanctuary of Amon in Karnak. Following Professor Benjamin Mazar's decipherment and interpretation of the Karnak inscription, we can reconstruct two Egyptian task forces, or possibly two major phases of action by the united invasion army. Force one, or one of the two phases, was directed at disrupting and pulverizing the intricate infrastructure of trade-posts and stations in the Negev between Ezion-geber on the Gulf of Eilat and central Judah (or 1
Infantry of the Egyptian to charge.
Amenhotep
III,
including foreign mercenary archers advancing
Trustworthy or not, the foreigners are deployed between
127
lines
of native troops.
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE the Mediterranean coast). Archaeological evidence for the destruction of the fortress of Ezion-geber has been revealed tion of the that be in at
site.
2
Egypt have always reacted
dominating the country's
ered as her soft underbelly.
on the Red
threat tin in
ad 1187,
in 1903,
is
that the powers
The violent
,
any attempt which has always been consid-
reaction of Saladin to the Crusader in the Frankish debacle at
Hat-
or the British reaction to the Turkish occupation of Aqaba
which nearly triggered off a major war, undoubtedly
area. Part
are
two further examples
of the Egyptian-Israeli conflict since
viewed in the same geopolitical perspective.
to be
primary attention to the Gulf of
Similarly, Shishak gave its
and say
as strongly as possible to
'private sea
which culminated
Sea,
of the sensitivity of the
1948
by Nelson Glueck's excava-
In retrospect, one can generalize
Eilat sector
and
approaches.
The second
task force (or operational phase of the united Egyptian
army) was given the mission of an immense spoiling attack, to ravage with fire
and sword
as
much
of the
Israelite
kingdom and
its
war potential
possible, so as to achieve a lasting weakening of this neighbour.
compare the mission of these ing campaign, aimed in the
an enemy to
The
his
forces to that of a
first
modern
strategic
more
bomb-
instance not at conquest, but at forcing
knees by smashing his capacity to hit back
naturally
as
We may
difficult to traverse,
and
effectively.
easier to defend, territory
of the Judean highlands made Shishak content himself with a heavy tribute
from King Rehoboam of Judah and launch
against his former protege,
Trans-Jordan
as well,
his
major offensive
Jeroboam. Hoping to weaken
Israel's
hold in
Shishak dared to cross the Jordan and successfully
ravaged the SliCCOth region, the major crossroads of communications
between dilead and the mountains of Samaria.
The Egyptians ened
Israel
retreated as swiftly as they
behind. However,
wars, destruction without
abb
vigorous
people.
as has
came and
been proved even
left
a
much weak-
in the
most recent
permanent occupation cannot break
The foundations
laid
a reason-
by Saul and David and
strengthened bv Solomon were solid enough to permit a quick recuperation.
Unfortunately for both
Israel
and Judah, however, both kingdoms
continued to waste considerable effort on armed contests with each other;
and only eventually (and even then not permanently) did their the lesson (hat only through a close alliance
doms could
sufficient strength
to achieve peace, security
between the two
rulers learn sister
king-
be gained and enough forces be marshalled
and prosperity on the Palestinian land-bridge.
128
Above:
Ai
from the lower slope of the Bethel ridge, the hiding place of the ambushing force. Joshua
deployed on the
hill
to the
left.
Below: Gibeon, viewed from the south, possibly Joshua's the
modern
village.
position.
The
old
town
is
on the
hill
to the east of
Above: The Ajalon of
Joshua's defeat
and
of
Valley, of the
scene
Amorites
many subsequent
encounters, from the days
Judges
to the
of the
Hasmoneans and
later
Top
right:
Mount Tabor, where
Barak concentrated
for the
defeat
of Sisera.
Right: En Dor Gideon approached the Midianite camp, left
of the track (in the left side of
the photograph) from the the rear.
hills in
Mm
«' 'J?
/
/
\
v
Top left: En Dor: camp around the palm
the Midianite spring near the
scene
of
Gideon's
Michmash: the
Philistine
trees,
night attack.
Left:
blocking position
centre
hill,
was on
the
as seen from Saul's
camp. Jonathan and
his
sword-
bearer climbed the steep slope,
emerging from the hidden gorge in
the right foreground.
The
main force occupied the the left, outside the range
Philistine
town
to
of the
photograph.
Above: Arab camel-borne archers, pursued by Assyrian
horsemen. The camel ridden by the Arab shooting backwards (a
technique
later
Parthian shot)
by the one
famous as the is
hidden from view
in front.
Left:
Mount Gilboa. The
1VV iVU
|II441
I
HU(tltU l*L«
t.
V
north-west slopes facing the viewer
were the
site
of Saul's last battle.
ItttritrftUG?
*
fita^iltlwftit^
qmm ^tttettmottc. iff
tii
itccnflctmfchcrttm.
-Jh mugt atnttlmaitfdteii
Above:
Illuminated majuscule letter from the fifteenth-century psalter
the Arras library, depicting King David playing the harp (or lyre) of Saul,
Left:
The
and
cutting off the
The Old
city
head
front
in
1948.
of the slain Goliath.
City of Jerusalem, from the south,
photographed
captured by David occupied the narrow ridge that extends
hand (south-east) corner of the Temple Mount. It is the west and east respectively by the Tyropoeon Valley (Machtesh) and that of the Kedron.
from the
right
encompassed on
$8&
in
in
Above: Jerusalem: houses and stepped retaining walls First
Temple period
in
of the
the City
of David.
Left:
Bowman from the ninthBC sanctuary at the
century
Aramean town Halaf)
of
Gozan
on the Khabur
(Tell
River.
-
#
Horseman from Gozan.
23
1
'
Left:
Left: Duellists
from Gozan, possibly
by combat. See 2 Sam. 14-16 'And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword
undergoing
trial
2:
in
the fellow's side'.
Right:
Boomerang thrower and
from Gozan.
slinger
Lancer from Gozan.
Left: Camel-rider
from Gozan.
Above: Megiddo. possibly already the main
Israelite fortress in the
northern kingdom.
Below: Model
of the fortress
town
of
Megiddo.
time of David, up to the
fall
of the
Above: The upper gate
of
Megiddo. with two gate chambers
on the
left.
Left: Pedestrian staircase at
Megiddo. between the lower and upper gate. Right: View of the
final
section of
the tunnel that connected
Megiddo
with a hidden spring at
the foot of the
hill.
Above: Solomonic gate Below: Store house
at
of
Hazor. The gateway
Hazor.
is in
the centre, with three guard
chambers on each
side.
THE EARLY DAYS OF ISRAEL
ARAM, TRANS-JORDAN
AND THE Israel's
PHILISTINES
main enemy and challenger
as a major power in become the Aramean however, the Arameans thought it oppor-
to
supremacy
its
the south Syrian, Greater Palestinian area was to
kingdom of Damascus. 3 At tune to treat and
ally
first,
themselves with
Israel,
so as to consolidate their rule
Weakened by the invasion of Shishak and the inter-kingdom Israel lost some of its towns and villages on the Golan Heights to the
in Syria.
wars,
much about
Damascenes, without Jeroboam being able to do he must have acquiesced in the complete or
and Moab. Those two kingdoms were Israelite military activity.
partial rebellion
later to
become
more
turn was
a lesser degree,
Philistia
and
especially in the
first
formed a third focus of military expedient to direct the
it
in
first
decades of
activity for the Israelites.
c.
906 and 882 bc
recorded
Philistine plain)
of Jaffa. 4 Gibbethon had once been in it
became
a
trial
major
of
Philistine
Both
respectively,
Israelite offensive efforts
aim was
Gibbethon bulge (which commanded the ascents
mountains of Samaria from the
profited
in
Israel's existence,
(other than fighting Judah) against the Philistines. Their primary to capture the
was
to Israel
any given time, which in
and Damascus.
Nadab, son of Jeroboam, and Elah,
found
of Ammon
often than not decisively influenced by the constant
strength between Israel
To
Likewise,
a second focus of
The measure of their submission
direct relation to the latter's military strength at
it.
and
to the
to shut off the rear
and the
Israelite territory,
bulwark proves that the
fact that
Philistines also
from the general weakening caused by the division of the king-
dom and
Shishak's invasion.
Both these campaigns, however, were broken
off before they attained their goal. In the
first
instance,
Nadab was
killed
while personally conducting the siege of Gibbethon; in the second one,
Elah was assassinated in the royal palace of Tirzah, while the commanderin-chief of his army,
Omri, was directing the operations.
Lacking the charisma of scions of the divinely blessed and sanctioned
House of David, and the prestige of the guardians of the great and aweinspiring Temple in Jerusalem, the kings of Israel also lacked the valuable and wholehearted support given to the kings of Judah by the priestly tribe of Levi. Hence they were vulnerable to the violent reaction of popular displeasure, whatever its source and justification. This state of affairs was another reason for the weakness of the northern kingdom, as demonstrated
by the two upheavals during the
145
anti-Philistine campaigns.
How-
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
makes even more admirable the many achievements the kings of attained under these advetse conditions.
ever, this Israel
THE ISRAELITE ARMY The
very concise Bible nartative about the Philistine campaigns
15:27; 16:8-17) includes the Israelite forces.
some valuable
(1
Kgs.
hints about the composition of
Omri was commandet of the
general national levy (the
people in arms) which was called up whenever necessary. Zimri, Elah's assassin,
was 'captain of half
his corps
his [Elah's] chariots'
and was stationed with
(which comprised the strategic reserve) close to the king
capital, the fortress
town of Tirzah. 5 Tirzah had easy
s?tt.
146
at his
access to roads in
all
THE EARLY DAYS OF ISRAEL directions
main
and was
strategic artery
throughout the
ages.
,
between Samaria, the Jordan Valley and Gilead
The
suitable chariot towns' least part
head of the Tirzah gorge (Wadi Farah) the
sited at the
rest
of the chariots were probably garrisoned in
throughout the kingdom.
It
seems
bethon to screen off the
siege operations
from
hostile interference
subsequent exploitation of the hoped-for capture of the
The
Israelite
tradition in
all
natural to assume a
modicum of
The
Debir
II
storming a
in Palestine).
fortress (possibly
Four ramps enable
the attacker to approach the walls and to
penetrate the stronghold with scaling ladders.
147
for
the Solomonic that
its
logistic
charioteers being regu-
rivalry
and
them, especially between the household troops stationed
Rameses
and
city.
army seems thus to have carried on its branches, and one may safely assume
pattern also followed the Solomonic model. lars, it is
feasible that at
of these forces had been deployed in the plain around Gib-
friction
between
at the capital
and
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE the general levy. tion
It
certainly seems likely that
one aspect of the confronta-
between the commanders of the former and the
Elah's assassination,
typical
following
latter,
can be ascribed to the easily inflammable relationship
between regulars and
reservists.
ISRAELITE FORTIFICATIONS One
field
of action in which the
Solomonic model was
first
kings of Israel had to change the
concept of the role of permanent
the
in
fortifications in the general national defence. like
Although we have no
those of the Solomonic or the Rehoboamite fortresses,
deduce, from the enumeration of fortresses attacked by Ben-hadad
Damascus
in
885 bc, the existence of
the descent from the Syrian plateau (the
movement along
I
of
a strong line of closely placed
fortresses, the 'Naphtali line', that fulfilled a fourfold
the ascent into Galilee from
lists
we may
purpose: (1) to block
Golan Heights);
(2) to
prevent
eastern approaches; (3) to arrest hostile
its
Upper Jordan Valley; (4) to serve as permanent bases Golan and the Biqa (the great valley between the Hermon and the Lebanon massifs, known as Coele-Syria in the Second Temple period). The passage about Ben-hadads conquest mentions 'Ijon and Dan, the
for offensive action against the
and Abel-beth-maachah and (1
Kgs. 15:20).
A
similar
all
list
Cinneroth, with
all
the land of Naphtali'
from the time of the Assyrian invasion of
Tiglath-pileser in (2 Kgs. 15:29), about
150 years
later,
mentions among
the fortifications of the 'Naphtali line' (in addition to the above)
and Hazor. Since the destruction of Hazor sequent rebuilding under
Omri
or
Ahab
after
Solomon and
Kedesh its
sub-
has been established by Professor
Arrow heads of bronze and
iron.
A
is
of the
Hellenistic-Hasmonean period. B, with hollow
sockets and holes, was
possibly a
148
fire
arrow.
THE EARLY DAYS OF ISRAEL 6
Yigael Yadin's excavations, one
by Ben-hadad i and include
it
may
assign
a general description:
'all
necessity, as well as the
destruction to the conquest
from
in the 'Naphtali line'
Hazor makes us allocate which completes the list of
inclusion of passage,
its
it
its
to the last portion
fortresses
the land of Naphtali'.
analogy of Hazor, one
The
inception.
of the
Kings
1
mentioned by name with
Under
pressure of military
tempted to add Kedesh
is
and include among it the sites unnamed above. Surface on top of this still unexcavated site strengthen this hypothesis. 7
to the original line finds
The
fortress
of Cinneroth guarded the Via Maris,
around the Sea of
Galilee,
on top of
Genossar Valley, squeezed between the
as well as the
road
a steep traverse, just north of the fortress hill
and the
sea into a defile
a few yards wide.
Hazor s strategic role has been described on page 120. Kedesh commands the only descent from the central highlands of Naphtali into the Upper Jordan Valley, opposite Lake Huleh. A modern asphalt-covered road was constructed there by the British for strategic
purposes in their fight against Arab marauders in 1938. the police station of
Kedesh. True to
its
It
Nebi Yusha, which assumed the
strategic
importance and
was guarded by role
of
biblical
tactical qualities, this strong-
hold figured prominently in the heavy fighting for Galilee in the 1947-8
war
for Israel's independence.
Abel-beth-maachah
is
head of the Jordan
in the centre, near the
where the road coming from the Biqa
splits into
Valley,
two branches that pass
the west and east of it and descend from the Metulah ridge into the
to
Huleh
Valley.
Dan
occupied a blocking position on the lowest spur of the
Hermon
massif, along the road that leads via Banias (classical Paneas) to the top of
the Syrian plateau. Crusaders, Saracens, Turks, British, Arabs
have subsequently fought for
Dan,
its
built near the ancient city
and
Israelis
possession. Typically, the kibbutz called
mound,
has served both as a blocking
position against Syrian attempts to gain the Jordan Valley and as a staging area for the conquest of the northern
Ijon (Tell el-Dibbin) It
was
sited in the heart
Solomonic strongholds.
of the Biqa and reminds If
it
it
highway by
detachment of chariots,
The ness of
defenders.
When
us,
by
its
this fertile valley
for
which
strongest belt of fortifications, however, its
Six
Day War.
location, of the
was not sustained by a number of secondary
must have commanded
fortifications,
a
Golan during the
was the most northerly and advanced position.
Baasha, king of 149
it
and international
also served as a base.
must depend on the
Israel,
8
alert-
attempted to push his
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE borders on the central mountain plateau to a point Jerusalem, and, after as a
initial success, started to
permanent menace
to the
fateful step of proposing to
Judean
some
five
miles from
build the fortress of Ramah
capital, Asa,
king of Judah, took the
Ben-hadad an offensive
This was the opportunity Ben-hadad was waiting
alliance against Israel.
for,
only his armaments
were not yet strong enough to wage a war of conquest. Thus he embarked
upon
a
campaign with arms similar
attention was firmly focused rear
was secured by
moved down, and
to those of Shishak.
upon Judah
his alliance
'smote' the
While Baashas
(especially since
he believed
his
with Damascus), the Arameans swiftly
towns of the 'Naphtali
line'.
Baasha was forced to break off his construction of Ramah, and Asa could use the respite to turn the tables
on
of Ramah, and the timber thereof
Benjamin,
and Mizpah
[as
aggression]' (1 Kgs. 15:22).
Israel: .
.
.
'.
.
.
And they took away the stones
and king Asa
built
with them Geba of
border fortresses against further
of entering into a pact with an external power against the
had been
created,
and
a
Israelite
Judah was saved, but the dangerous precedent
way had been pointed out
Slinger from Tell Halaf.
150
sister
kingdom
to future aggressors.
CHAPTER ISRAEL
Omri was
7
UNDER OMRI AND AHAB
who
the king
succeeded in re-establishing
coalition with Judah, as the
Israel,
in close
major power in southern Syria and Greater
enough, however, nothing of his deeds has been
Palestine. Surprisingly
preserved in the biblical records.
A Jewish
king
who
did not
bow
to the
crown of David and did not accept the uniqueness of the Temple of Jerusalem - which means any of the kings of the Northern Kingdom was mentioned by the
was relevant It is
to his
from an
biblical chronicler
own
only insofar
as
he
felt
the matter
representation of the history of Judah.
extra-biblical source
Moab -
-
the inscription
upon
the stele of
Omri had conquered Moab again, from which we may infer that Ammon, too, must have come under his sway. The Bible mentions in passing the foundation of Omri's new capital, Samaria, after which all of the Northern Kingdom came to be called the Kingdom of Samaria. Archaeological excavations have uncovMesha, king of
that
we
learn that
1
ered
portions
sizeable
a
fortifications,
of the
sumptuous palace
administrative installations. prosperity.
One
We
capital;
Israelite
quarter,
are left
store
strong and intricate
houses and sundry
with an impression of might and
2
of the main sources of Omri's economic strength was his intensi-
fication of the traditional alliance with the Phoenicians. this alliance
is
inferred
from the
fact that
it
The
closeness of
was cemented by the marriage
of Ahab, Omri's heir apparent, to Jezebel, daughter of the king of Tyre.
The
with Tyre
alliance
dancy.
The
political
coastal states
is
in itself a sign
and economic
depended on securing
of military and
political ascen-
survival of the Phoenician seafaring their
food-producing hinterland and
the trade routes leading to their coastal dominions. This was generally
achieved by entering into a pact with the most suitable (usually the strongest) of their neighbours.
151
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
THE INVASION OF BEN-HADAD The re-emergence of Israel was viewed with scenes,
and
in the days of
hadad n decided
Ahab,
who
great concern
succeeded
to launch a preventive
strong and possibly launch a war of
Omri
war before its
own
by the Dama-
c.
Israel
to
II
870 bc, Ben-
could grow too
regain the former
Solomonic possessions on the Golan Heights and further north and 'And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered
all
his host together:
east:
and there
11
1
1 1
i 1
1 t 1
SAMARIA
•
3§BP8
1
Km
•
1
Mile
19 Bcn-hadad's Siege of Samaria
The siege
2 Ben-hadad's main H.Q. and base by the Ne'arim to distract the besiegers 4 The main Israelite army attacks, surprises and disrupts the enemy 5 The Israelites press on to the Aramean base camp, and rout the inebriated Ben-hadad 6 Ben-hadad flees at the head of his troops 1
belt
3 Diversion
152
ISRAEL
UNDER OMRI AND AHAB
were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went
up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it' (1 Kgs. 20:1). Ben-hadad thus led a coalition of all the Aramean rulers who had become alarmed by Israel's regained strength. In the initial stage of his campaign, he succeeded in out-manoeuvring the
and the
closeted with the elders'
still
ing what strategy to choose
and
laid siege to the city.
which was hadad
still
in
Cut
its
governors' in Samaria decid-
'district
when Ben-hadad appeared
before the walls
off from the major part of his regular army,
had been
garrisons or
cleverly
evaded by Ben-
Ahab had with him (for consultation) the funcand commanders of the reserves (the national levy). The national
in his approach,
tionaries
levy
either
3
Ahab was
Israelite king.
had therefore
deployed, and officers.
The
either not yet
anyhow
it
been called up or had not yet been
was cut off from
situation of the Israelite forces
leaders
its
may
and chief
staff
be compared to that of
North Africa when, during the initial stages of the attack on 31 March 1941, their commanding officers,
the British forces in
German Generals
German
surprise
O'Connor and Neame, and patrol
and were taken
companions, walked into a
their
prisoner.
- and Ben-hadad certainly thought worst, Ahab was prepared to accept Ben-
Ahab's situation seemed desperate so.
To
gain time and avert the
hadad's terms, humiliating as they were. But Ben-hadad, judging Ahab's will to resist as broken, increased his terms to
iating prostration.
had waited
for, as
It
seems that
this
mean complete and humil-
was exactly the development Ahab
he used the degrading terms offered by the Damascenes
to rouse the indignation of his counsellors
and any flagging
the elders and, backed by their support, rejected the
Ben-hadad did not take Ahab's believed Samaria's
fall
refusal
to a hermetic but leisurely siege, well screened
possible outside interference
records the
a
as
was a foregone conclusion.
and secure
by
may
settled
his chariots
in his superiority. as
Kgs. 20:10). Ahab's proverbial answer
this
very day: 'Tell him, Let not
himself as he that putteth
it
him
from any
The
Bible
be gathered from his reaction to
dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for (1
He
down
no more than
Ahab's refusal to submit: 'The gods do so unto me, and more
me'
among
offer.
major calamity.
He had
number of troops with Ahab in Samaria
8,000. Ben-hadad 's confidence
spirits
Aramean
all
also, if the
the people that follow
is still
used in Hebrew to
on his harness boast upon which Ben-hadad
that girdeth
off' (ibid.,
v
11),
ordered the preparation for the general assault. But his assault was anticipated by Ahab's. 153
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
The
Israelite forces
formed two
divisions.
men, was made up of the nearim, picked great council
convened by Ahab
carousing with his
a small force of 232
who formed
4
When
Ben-hadad,
the huts which had been erected for
allies in
their purpose.
the body-
they had accompanied to the
at Samaria).
side the city, learned of the small
minds about
first,
soldiers
(whom
guards of the provincial governors
The
number of
assailants,
Mellowed by wine, he
who was
them
out-
he was in two
treated the matter as a
come out for peace, seize them alive; and if they come out for war, alive I want them seized' (author's translation, 1 Kgs. 20:18; the joke is based on a pun in the Hebrew original).
joke, saying: 'If they
What
followed next
is
largely conjecture, for the laconic biblical ren-
dition simply states:
So these young men of the princes of the provinces [provincial governors] came out of the city, and the army which followed them. And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the horsemen. And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
(1
Kgs. 20:19-22)
would appear
It its
that the
way out of the
the
hill
much
Arameans
treated the small Jewish force that
city in the early afternoon,
on which Samaria was
built
and
made
marching down the slope of
in full sight
of the enemy,
like so
prey to be taken alive and paraded before their overlord to gratify his
whim. But
the nearim served as a decoy.
Assyrian
mounted
archers
154
While the general attention was
on horseback.
ISRAEL
UNDER OMRI AND AHAB
upon them, the rest of the forces in Samaria pushed out and oversome of the Aramean regiments. The Israelite force must have included household chariots which were quartered in Samaria and other elite
focused ran the
units that
formed the
king's guard.
The
astonished Arameans wavered; and
since their leaders were not with the troops, but drinking in
company,
broke and a general flight ensued, in which Bencompanions were caught up. So sudden was Ben-hadad's
their ranks
hadad and
his
could not be
flight that his royal chariot
on
made
ready,
and he had
a horse to escape with a troop of fugitive horsemen.
here that cavalry makes
The
Ben-hadads
its
debut on the Palestinian
to
jump
We note in passing
battlefield.
Arameans were forced to pass within striking distance of one or more of the Israelite army bases, such as Shechem, Tirzah, Penuel, fleeing
Megiddo
or even Hazor.
A
considerable part of their flight took
through mountainous territory and
defiles like the
Tirzah road, which were deathtraps to retreating army units as 1918. 5
The
them
Tebez-Bezek or Wadi late as
alerted Israelite garrisons, as well as the spontaneous turn-out
of people in arms,
may
have inflicted more damage on the fugitives than
they had suffered in actual combat.
The Samarian debacle was And the
closely scrutinized
by Ben-hadad and his
aides:
the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of
hills;
therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against
the plain, and surely
we
the kings away, every their rooms:
so. (1
man
be stronger than they.
And do
them in Take
this thing,
out of his place, and put captains [governors] in
and number thee an army,
and chariot
horse,
shall
for chariot....
And
like the
army thou
hast lost, horse for
he harkened unto their voice, and did
Kgs. 20:23-5)
Were we
to translate the causes
dies acer at
found by the Damascene council
for the
Samaria into modern military jargon we would come up with
the following: (1) entanglement in terrain unsuitable for the deployment
and operation of the Aramean wheeled and mounted shock troops; (2) decentralization of command and all other drawbacks endemic in a coalition of many partners. The remedy proposed and accepted was: (1) manoeuvring so
as to force the Israelites to fight in terrain
Aramean arms and order,
tactics; (2) prior to that, setting the
by reshaping the Damascene
single, centralized state;
army
and
state
155
its
in
from feudal confederacy into a
(3) rebuilding
to a strength equal to that before
congenial to the
Aramean house
and re-equipping the Aramean rout.
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
The Damascene programme, especially points 2 and 3, necessitated a considerable amount of time for preparation and execution. This gave Ahab a few years of peace from his north-eastern neighbour but, once bitmovements and So he was forewarned when Ben-hadad's preparations had
ten, twice shy,
preparations.
he kept a constant watch over
its
military
matured and he was planning a second invasion. 6
AHAB
IN
THE GOLAN HEIGHTS
This time Ahab was fully prepared, and he decided to prevent Ben-hadad
from launching
army
his offensive
attacked, but although
before the
Arameans could
and reaching it
halt
momentum, Ben-hadad was r
© (?)
Id
20 Ahab's Bid
for the
Golan Heights (phase one)
Ahab
leads his troops to prevent the new Syrian invasion 2 The Syrian army advances from Damascus
1
3
The
Israelite
succeeded in gaining the Golan plateau its
m
Lower Aphek
Israelite territory.
Ben-hadad blocks the Israelite advance at the Narrows 4 The Aramean base camp at Aphek
156
in time to
UNDER OMRI AND AHAB
ISRAEL
lock the narrow defile created by two parallel river gorges, leaving only a steep
and narrow ridge on the approach
served
him
as a rear base. In
town of Aphek, which
to the
following Professor Yadin's placement of the
armies in his reconstruction of the battle, 7
we can imagine
the two armies
arrayed opposite each other at the two ends of the defile for eight days.
Then Ahab
the Israelite victory was achieved.
wide
feet
for
about 440 yards and no frontal charge could succeed against
a resolute defender.
was possible defile
The Bible gives no hint of how The Aphek defile is no more than 330
attacked and routed his enemy.
There do
make
to
by climbing up
exist,
a detour of the
however, two flanking approaches:
Aramean army on
it
the east side of the
from the north and south. The northern
to the rear
approach passes over the Susita (Hippus) ridge, and the southern one, or rather ones, consist of three or four steep foot-paths that lead
northern slope of the
some
Lately,
name behind
Wadi Barbara
scholars have located
gorge.
Aphek not
En
the defile, but at
Galilee. In that case, the Israelites
up the
8
at the
Arab
of that
village
Gev, near the shores of the Sea of
must have turned the Arameans'
flank
along the Golan slopes. Others propose to identify
Aphek with an
assumed 'Lower Aphek'. Accordingly, the Arameans
out from 'Upper
Aphek' and the
first
fled to the lower
set
town, some four miles distant.
proposal and cannot rule out the third alternative.
We
hold to
9
enemy Ahab had ample time to reconnoitre those outflanking approaches and to make up the assault parties that could turn the Damascene flank. It could be that Ahab had perDuring the eight days of watching
his
fected his plans earlier but waited for over a logical pressure
on the Aramean
counter any suspicious or
less alert
rear,
within
Aramean
its
walls.
(fought by the ii
week
and the
Israelites
fugitives
crumbled under the
Famous
to
must have become jumpy
defile,
appeared in their
a concerted frontal attack through the defile as
front broke
literally
in order to exert psycho-
who, keyed up the whole time
by the end of the week. So when the
whose defences
erick
move through the
and possibly unleashed
well, the
soldiers,
battles
of more recent
Duke of Marlborough
made
for nearby
Aphek,
press of people seeking refuge history,
in 1704) or
such
as
Blenheim
Leuthen (fought by Fred-
of Prussia in 1757), have proved that even in a more controlled
withdrawal the overflow of retreating troops makes the defence of a town
of refuge impossible. Their sheer mass impedes the movement in the nar-
row space and makes This
fact
their tactical
employment an
illusion.
10
was recognized by Ben-hadad, who decided to give himself up
and throw himself
at
Ahab's feet in a passionate appeal for mercy. 157
Much
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
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ISRAEL to the disgust
many an
of
UNDER OMRI AND AHAB
any claim on the former Arameans, and
his
Ahab showed
Israelite,
towards his vanquished
restraint
great mildness
and
pledge to renounce
foe. In return for a
towns that had been captured by the
Israelite
consent to the establishment of extra-territorial and
otherwise privileged Israelite trade
facilities in
Damascus, Ben-hadad was
honour and given safe-conduct home. was more than simply magnanimous, although it was in character with his chivalrous nature, for he was also a far-sighted ruler. For once he hoped that by magnanimity towards his almost hereditary foe he released with
Ahabs
gesture
might break the vicious
circle
of continuous wars.
He
therefore refrained
from making the terms and form of victory too humiliating
whom
Arameans,
he knew he had no power to control
long run and with
whom
he simply had to
live.
Furthermore,
most probably aware of the re-emergence of Assyria
power and envisaged the need
effort to
Ahab was
as a great expansionist
to preserve the available resources
of Syria and Palestine for a major united
for the
effectively in the
and
stem the Assyrian
forces tide.
MEETING THE ASSYRIAN THREAT Indeed,
took only about two years for matters to come to a head and
it
for the Assyrian invasion to materialize.
Shalmanezer in (858-824 bc) began
11
In the sixth year of his reign,
his great
war of conquest
the lands west of the Euphrates, after those east of the river jugated.
but
it
The
to
subdue
had been sub-
strength of the Assyrian war machine can only be guessed,
was undoubtedly the most sophisticated and complex the ancient
world had known to reliefs
on the bronze
date.
This
fact
becomes apparent from studying the
on which some of They show variously armed corps
gates at Balawat in ancient Iraq,
Shalmanezer's campaigns are depicted. 12
of infantry fighting alongside chariots with a crew of three and cavalry
armed with
lance, spear or bow.
Some of
the troops are cased in heavy
armour, others seem to wear no body armour at
all.
The
siege train
included, besides the well-known breaching tools and scaling ladders,
mobile four- and six-wheeled rams covered with sheet metal and/or hides. Boats, rafts
and
inflated
animal skins served the
equipment, and schematically laid-out
on
their
The
fortified
first line as
camps
river-crossing
serviced the troops
march.
Assyrian cavalry appears here already at
fullest
development.
employment was often in mixed units, either with infantry or armed horsemen. Experiments in minor tactics included the
Its tactical
variously
its
159
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
combat group of two troopers, one an archer and the other differently armed and shielding the archer when shooting his
bow,
much
like the
who were
heavy foot-archers
cov-
ered by a shield-bearing comrade.
Mounted
troops were introduced to some extent in the armed forces as well, though they never attained the prominence that chariots retained throughout the existence of the Northern Kingdom. The independent cavalry arm may have evolved here, as elsewhere, out of the outrider who accompanied the chariots. On some Assyrian reliefs, these appear as couples teamed up with the chariots. Jehu's words to his lieutenant, Bidkar - 'when I and thou rode after Ahab' - have been quoted as proof that in Israelite
Israel, too,
mounted
troops
may
have been used
initially
as
couples fighting in support of one chariot each. 13
The
Assyrian
army reached
Upper Orontes Valley way blocked by the Syrowhich had drawn up in full bat-
but moving southwards found Palestinian allied armies, tle
array
the
its
on the marches of Qarqar (853
bc). Shalmanezer's
annals have preserved the order of battle of forces allied
him: 'Hadadezer [Ben-hadad n] of Damascus:
against
1,200 chariots, Irhuleni
1,200 cavalrymen, 10,000 foot-soldiers;
of Hamath:
700
chariots,
10,000 foot-soldiers; Ahab the 10,000 foot diers
soldiers;
from Musri
Que: 500
700 cavalrymen,
Israelite:
2,000 chariots, 1,000
foot-soldiers;
[either a Syrian state or Egypt];
10 chariots, 10,000 soldiers; Arvad:
200
soldiers;
sol-
Arqad:
Usanata
[Usnu]: 200 soldiers; Shian: 30 chariots, 10,000 foot-soldiers.
1.000
1,000
(?)
camd
soldiers
riders.'
chariots, 1,900
from
In
Ammon; Gindibu
total,
the
allies
horsemen, 1,000 camel
the Arab:
mustered 3,940
riders,
and 52,900
M toot-soldiers. This
list
is
one
of
history ot the period.
the
most illuminating documents on the military
The Assyrian annalist cannot be suspected of hav-
ing purposely decreased the size of the enemy's forces. est
number of each
The
relatively
participant's contribution to the coalition
therefore he taken at face value.
Of course,
these figures
mod-
army must
do not represent
the complete strength of the respective armies, but they serve as a
yardstick as far as the size of the forces engaged in major campaigns 160
is
good con-
ISRAEL
An
Assyrian assault force
to the walls. ries
They
a mantlet (shield) as
capture a city by storming over buildings that lean up
tries to
are sustained tall as
ers fight
a
UNDER OMRI AND AHAB
by teams of one archer and one
man,
to cover
from wooden
lancer.
The
lancer car-
both himself and the archer. The defend-
galleries
('Kheshbonoth').
numbers compare very well with the actual on European battlefields. As far as individual battles are
cerned. Incidentally, these strength of forces
concerned, only nineteenth-century armies were able to deploy larger forces for a concerted effort.
Those of the Middle Ages were 161
all
smaller.
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
40
Km
1 1
40 Miles
22 The March
to
Qarqar against the Assyrians
The Queans: 500 toot-soldiers 2 The Hie F.mesians from Hamath: 700 chariots, 700 1
I
4
army
Ibe Phoenicians (from Arvad, Arqad, Shian and Usnu): 40 chariots, 20,200 foot-soldiers 5
6 The 7
large Assyrian
cavalry, 10,000 foot-soldiers
The combined
Damascene*
forces of the southern allies
1.2(H) chariots,
1,200 cavalry, 10,000 foot-soldiers
Hie Israelites; 2,000 chariots, 10,000 foot-soldiers
8
9 The Egyptians (from Musri): 1,000 foot-soldiers
162
The Ammonites: 1,000 foot-soldiers 10 The Arabs: 1,000 camels
UNDER OMRI AND AHAB
ISRAEL
Another interesting point maritime such
cities,
such
the meagre contribution of the Phoenician
Arvad, and the absence of any mention of others,
as
As they were
as Tyre.
is
must have
chiefly naval powers, they
alerted
to provide whatever naval support necessary, while their con-
their fleets
on land would have been confined to token forces to the war effort, like the maritime powers of
tribution to the warfare
and monetary contributions
later ages (such as Venice, or Britain
during
Ahab, though third on the Assyrian
list
much
of her history).
(which was more familiar with
Assyria's
more immediate neighbours), must have been among
movers,
if
not the central
have assumed Israelite king.
figure,
this position so shortly after his
Although Ahab's cavalry
to have deserved mention, his
The
Israelite chariot
was
crushing defeat by the
was so small
force, if present,
was by
far
as
not
the largest chariot contingent.
corps was 800 chariots stronger than Ben-hadad's, the
next strongest on the vehicle force
the prime
of the coalition. Ben-hadad could not
800
also
Interestingly enough, the strength of Ahab's
list.
chariots larger than that of
Solomon,
who had
Monarchy at his command. Moreover, the Megiddo has been calculated at 492 horses,
the resources of the United capacity of the stables at
which means
that to maintain a corps of 2,000 chariots, twelve other bases
with stables of similar capacity were required. Ahab's alliance with Tyre
may
explain part of his capacity to finance this expensive force. Another
possibility
is
that part or
all
of his additional strength should be explained
by the inclusion of the Judean chariots
in the Israelite ranks,
of the alliance of mutual assistance - defensive existed
between Judah and
inflated,
Israel at that time. Lastly,
numbers
intent or mistake, the
though not the
in the Assyrian
relative strength
them
to
to fight another
failure. Besides,
denude
day
if
his
list
that
feasible that
it is
by
have been considerably
foot-soldiers
country of
all
is
easily explained
armed
forces, leaving
the expedition into northern Syria proved a
he had to leave sufficient forces behind to keep
bay and to guard
basis
-
of their allocation to each of the
members of the coalition. 15 The relatively small number of Israelite by Ahab's reluctance
on the
as well as offensive
his borders against the Philistines in the
Moab
west and
at
tribal
incursions from the east. Furthermore, for a campaign of a predictably
considerable extent and a complicated logistic nature,
Ahab would have
used only regular troops.
The
logistic effort involved in
army of no
less
than 10,000
over roughly 300
men
moving, feeding and maintaining an (and possibly
miles was formidable. 163
many more) and
Comparison with
its
train
early twentieth-
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE century staff tables proves that, taking the Boer
march of
this extent
War
as
an example, a
took about thirty days. 16 This calculation, however,
does not include bullock carts or camel trains, which
move
at a
speed of
about two miles per hour and slow up marching columns considerably.
The
sheer length of the Israelite marching columns comprising the expe-
ditionary force
reckoned
to be
is
as
about
six miles,
which necessitated
high standard of discipline with limited means of communication
runner and
oral,
had
vided,
rider) at the
command and
about four pounds of fodder,
to have
The
weight.
Israelite
its
army's
of water consumption amounted to an all-purpose average of 1 10,000 gallons. Although most of the marching was done through friendly terrain, and most of the daily
supplies might have been provided
by bases that were established near the
march
methods and
route, the
routine employed to safeguard the necessary supply at the right time
from the
right points, depots
meant
bases
with
a
a
and
high degree of staff
more
routine, the
nig
we
so as
are deal-
multi-national
and
multi-lingual alliance. In spite allied
of all these handicaps, the
forces
arrived
at
Qarqar
in
good order and, whatever their deficiencies in the latest weapons and equipment, they succeeded not only in
beating orl the Assyrian army, but
mauled
it
so severely that for the
time being Shalmanezer gave up any further military designs
on
the Palestinian land-bridge. tion
is
Each horse
fodder could not be pro-
and each bullock would have consumed about three pounds of fod-
der for every twenty pounds of
own
staff s disposal.
if green
a
(visual,
Syria
and
No men-
made of the Qarqar campaign
in the Bible,
and
it is
to the credit
of 164
ISRAEL
UNDER OMRI AND AHAB
archaeological spadework that the Assyrian annals, chiselled in stone
bearing the story of this event, have
That we
are dealing within the
aptly proved
by the
logistic
come
to light
and
to our attention.
bounds of contemporary
and 17
capabilities
is
means depicted upon ancient Egyptian and
Assyrian pictorial records. Besides, the means at the disposal of Ahab and his allies
were not basically different from those of the
Roman
armies of
which convened from all over their empire to fight the 67-71 and in ad 122/3-125. Even in much later periods camJews in ad paigns such as the Italian wars, conducted by emperors from Charlemagne similar strength,
on up
to the sixteenth century, entailed the
Assyrian slinger and
bowmen
attacking Lachish
(Sennacherib's palace at Nineveh).
165
marching of armies over no
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE distance
less
and including the passage of the Alps with no more means at their command.
(or even
elaborate logistical
less)
The time
and
Bible, for reasons of
Ahab's return to
after
its
own, takes up the thread of history some
Israel,
when he was
at the zenith
of his might
prestige:
And
it
came
of
Israel.
in
Gilead
of Syria?
to pass that
And is
ours,
And
people
The
as
and we be
still,
and take
down
Know ye
And
Jehoshaphat said to the king of
thy people,
historical setting
my horses
as
thy horses.
and circumstances
to the king
that
Ramoth
not out of the hand of the king
it
me am
he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with
Ramoth-gilead?
my
Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came
the king of Israel said unto his servants,
(1
Israel,
I
to batde to as
thou an,
Kgs. 22:2-4)
are clear. Jehoshaphat arrived at
Samaria for one of the periodic consultations between the royal partners that
had been going on since the conclusion of the
between the two kingdoms during the reign of Omri
had not kept the promise given former
Israelite
Ahab proposed by
right.
after his defeat at
treaty
of alliance
Since Ben-hadad
(?).
Aphek
to restore
all
the
towns, and he held on to the northern fringe of Gilead, to his ally a
common
effort to retrieve
by force what was
his
Jehoshaphat's immediate and unreserved declaration of complete
co-operation was prompted by three considerations: (1) his confidence
Ahab's military leadership; (2) his understanding of the importance of
in
regaining the
Yarmuk
River and the Edrei gap as a border for the security
of both kingdoms; and
(3) his appreciation
of the strategic and economic
advantages of holding Ramoth-gilead, which straddled the King's
and the gateway
to the rich grain-bearing regions west
Mountains and the grazing
areas
Highway
of the Hauran
beyond, where the Jewish
settlers
were
18 always hard pressed by sundry tribes and peoples.
On
the eve of the decisive encounter at Ramoth-gilead, which had been
occupied by the Damascenes, Ben-hadad had some anxious hours contemplating his past defeats
at the
hand of Ahab.
In briefing his officers, he
betrayed his awe of Ahab's superior military leadership, for he judged
more dangerous than many
manded
his thirty
him
a troop of soldiers: 'But the king of Syria com-
and two captains
that
had
rule over his chariots, saying,
Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the
King of
Israel' (1
Kgs. 22:31).
When iot
the armies clashed
on the following
day, therefore, picked char-
troops attacked with the sole mission of hunting
166
down Ahab and
ISRAEL
him.
killing
When
UNDER OMRI AND AHAB
one of these units attacked Jehoshaphat by mistake,
immediately broke contact
Ahab had been
identified.
when
the king of Judah was
in the forefront
it
properly
of the melee from the
By
start.
chance he had escaped the attention of the units of charioteers sent to trap
him. But, while the battle was raging, a stray arrow struck between the joints
of his armour and entered deep into his body. Seriously wounded,
he was unable to carry on the assault personally. At the same time, however, the
Aramean opposition was
so strong
and
resolute that
Ahab was
afraid of leaving the battlefield even for a short time to dress his
in case his action
was misinterpreted and led
to
an
wound,
Israelite retreat.
And
the battle increased that day: howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself in his chariot against the Syrians until the even:
down he
sun going
By
up and about the time of the
died' (2 Chr. 18:34).
heroically bleeding to death
and hiding
his
mortal
wound from
the
eyes of his troops until evening, and only then collapsing in mortal
Ahab had averted defeat. Yet before the armies renewed their on the following morning, the news of Ahab's death had spread
exhaustion, struggle
among this
his troops. In the absence
news
to create anger
paramount and the to his
own
city
of any other outstanding leader to use
and a clamour
dispirited Israelites
and every man
'And a certain
to his
man drew
a
for revenge, consternation
and Judeans
own
bow
retreated, every
country'.
...
And smote
of Israel between the joints and the harness' 22:34).
the King (1
A roughly contemporary representation
similar incident
upon an Egyptian
167
relief.
Kgs of a
was
man
CHAPTER
8
ISRAEL AFTER AHAB
THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST MESHA The
indecisive
outcome of Ahab's campaign
against the Arameans, his
death on the battlefield of Ramoth-gilead and the subsequent general consternation in Israel and Judah were exploited by Mesha, king of
Moab, who
rose in revolt to liberate his country
from
Israelite
hegemony.
feats are
described in detail on the famous stele he erected after his
final victory
(which was discovered about a century ago near ancient
His
Dibon tiates
Moab). From 1
in
this nearly
events mentioned in the Bible,
unique source, insofar
we
it
substan-
Mesha did not stop at Arnon River in the north and
learn that
the borders of his kingdom, but crossed the
the Zered River in the south and captured towns
Mishor
as
and settlements
in the
(the lower hill country of Gilead) and, to a lesser degree, in
northern Edom. :
King Ahaziah's accidental
man
for the larger part
brother Jehoram succeeded
and the reconquest of
And
Moab
850 bc)
(r.
Moab was
it
left
him
a sick
was only when
that Israel regained
its
his
equilibrium
planned.
Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against And he said, will go up: am as thou art, my people as thy and my horses as thy horses. And he said, Which way shall we go up? ot
to battle?
people,
Israel
through a palace window
he [Jehoram] went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying,
The king
And
fall
of his two-year reign, and
he answered,
I
I
The way through
went, and the king of Judah, and the
compass
Edom. So the king of king of Edom: and they fetched a
the wilderness of
of seven days' journey.... (2 Kgs.
3:7-9)
The Israelite-Judean alliance was thus still functioning. We know from the Mesha stele that the king of Judah was not only fulfilling his treaty obligation but was very much an interested party, since Mesha had occupied part of Edom, which was a Judean dependency and was ruled by a
Judean governor. 168
ISRAEL AFTER AHAB
The its
expeditionary force included foot-soldiers as well as chariots, and
commander was Jehoram,
senior
Jordan
at
Adam
in spite of his youth.
and daring. Since the
displays imagination
(or another ford)
direct
and then into Moab was the obvious
he decided on an indirect approach, attacking
route,
His planning
approach over the River
Moab from
the
The Jordan area had always been the scene of border raids and clashes. Mesha made its refortification one of his first concerns and seems
south.
to have placed the area in a high state of military preparedness. at the
He
did so
expense of the additional defence of his southern frontier, the
approaches to which he
knew
to be
most
difficult
owing
to the severe
topographic and climatic conditions.
Jehoram planned upon exactly south, especially since he
knew that
the northern approaches to
hardly topographically inviting either.
One
against
Amman
and
Es-Salt,
of Moab's defences in the
this neglect
The
fate
of the raids in
where superbly trained
Moab were World War
British forces
were severely mauled by the Turkish defenders, illuminates the
difficulties
involved in fighting in this terrain. Besides, in Jehoram s time the only
major passage over the Arnon River (Wadi Mujib) was against major troop
movements by the newly
Consequendy Jehoram chose beast alike.
blocked
town of Aroer.
the calculated risk of a desert march, in spite
of his vulnerability to desert raiders and the
man and
effectively
refortified
difficulty
of providing water for
We do not know the strength of the combined expedi-
tionary force, but a reasonable estimate
is
about 35,000
men and some 400
horses. For a 20,000-strong expeditionary force, fourteen days' water supply
was carried by 5,000 camels during the Turkish attack on the Suez Canal in January-February 1915, while another 2,500 camels carried the
rest
of the
supplies. 3
of the
The allies in about 849 bc could not have done with less than half total amount of camels at the Turks' disposal. These, of course, needed were driven behind the army
water for themselves,
as
to serve as the supply
of fresh food during the desert march.
The
did the
extent of the turning
live cattle that
movement and
the sector where the
allies
wheeled in a northerly direction and began to penetrate Moabite-held territory
can be estimated with the aid of two biblical passages: the
first
(2 Kgs. 3:9) mentions seven days as the length of the approach march.
The second allies
(2 Kgs.
were in dire
3:16-20)
straits
states that
on the seventh
day,
when
the
because of an acute water shortage, they were
saved by the sudden flooding of a nearby wadi, caused by rain in the
mountains of
Edom
so far in the distance that neither cloud nor tell-tale
signs of rainfall could be seen or
felt.
169
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
The region that is topographically and climatically most likely to yield phenomenon of this type is the sloping south-eastern portion of the plateau of Edom. If we reckon an average of fifteen miles per day (commencing at Samaria) for the approach march of the allied army — encuma
giver S466 oA
.
t I 1
SAM
A#R
I
A
*
23 The War against Mesha I
Mesha. King of Moab.
Jehomn moves
2
4
rhe
(0
revolts
and captures
Israelite garrison
towns and settlements
Moab from the south, in alliance with Judah and Edom, -nm is |oined by the forces of Judah under Jehoshaphat
invade
vassal of Judah
Bdomitca join me Israelites and the Judeans 5 Mesha moves south to encounter the 6 Mesha is defeated ami retreats to Kir-haresheth, which is besieged by the allies 7
The Biege
is
broken off
in
mysterious circumstances, and the
The Dead Sea
ford
may have been used
170
allies retreat
allies
ISRAEL AFTER AHAB live cattle, food and water and slaughter - we come up just in
men, horses and
bered with the herds of
for
beasts of burden
this area
and
close to
where the desert-fringe road bypasses the head of the Zered River (Wadi el-Hesa) gorge. Qalat el-Hasa was built here in the Middle Ages to protect this passage. It
seems unlikely, though, that Jehoram would have taken
the risks involved in the southern approach only to have natural obstacle of the Zered River
it
him
lead
and the towns that guarded
its
all
to the
banks
and hinterland. A deep outflanking movement was thus the only logical more so since the Edomites were certainly knowledgeable
solution, the
about the water sources available even in these
Whatever the reasons
parts.
downpour
for the lack of water, a miraculous'
saved the attackers and, after successfully defeating the Moabites, they shut
up Mesha
in the strong fortress of Kir-hareseth, elsewhere called
(present-day Kerak). Kerak's extremely favourable location
made
the strongest forts of the realm in the Crusader period
Mameluk
days,
and
it
withstood successfully. did
make
progress.
it
and
one of
later in
many long sieges that it had Though beset with many difficulties, the allied siege was famous
When
sive break-out at the
Kir-moab
the
crisis
for the
approached, Mesha attempted a mas-
head of 700 picked men. For
his
breakthrough he
chose what he justly considered the most vulnerable part of the besiegers' front, the sector held
by the king of Edom and
was beaten back; and
in this
his eldest
hour of general
his levies.
disaster
and
But even there he
lost
hope, 'he took
son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a
burnt offering upon the wall' (2 Kgs. 3:27), upon which, according to the Bible, the Israelites
No
broke off action and terminated the campaign.
factual explanation exists for this abrupt
end
to so costly
and so
meticulously prepared a campaign, just on the verge of final, complete success.
Child
sacrifice has
in extremis, because
been known
in the ancient East as
of imminent plague.
Some
an act performed
scholars have suggested that
would have broken out in besieged Kerak and that by this desperate act Mesha hoped to exorcise the evil spirits and stop it from the plague
spreading.
The
allies,
afraid
of contagion, thought
it
wisest to disengage as
quickly as possible. Another explanation could be that
Mesha
believed in
child sacrifice as a last resort to avert the anger of the gods, but
by per-
forming this act he unwittingly gave the impression that the plague had
broken out which made the
The of the
precipitate retreat first
allies
from
decamp. 4
Moab
phases of that war.
much
to
annul the achievements
Mesha succeeded
in preserving his inde-
did
pendence and eventually regained the strongholds he had 171
lost.
Although
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Moab
the retreat from
ancient
Israel's
did not in
itself
military strength, or the political alliances between the
kingdoms or those between the
ter
humiliating experience. for the hurried scale
impair the sound substructure of
It is
sister
kingdoms and Tyre,
sis-
was a
tempting therefore to look for further reasons
and complete termination of the
allied
campaign.
war on more than one front has been shunned, whenever
even by the great powers of the ancient East; and sion to break off the
it
it
A full-
possible,
could be that the deci-
Moabite campaign was prompted not, or not
only,
by the menace of contracting the plague from the stricken Moabites, but rather
The
by warlike preparations by the Arameans. Bible speaks, for instance, of
party captured the
Naaman,
Damascene
who became
raiding parties.
One
such
a servant in the household of
'captain of the host of the king of Syria. Israel's natural strategic
advantage was
A
little girl
its
interior lines.
Merely by retracing
V^^
V^H^
mobile ram
barters a city wall.
^fe^V
172
1
its
steps
back from
ISRAEL AFTER AHAB
Moab, it strengthened the front against Damascus. Yet the Syrians had made good use of the years of respite from Israelite offensive activities, and before they could be stopped they went over to the attack. Famine and death impeded the victualling of the Israelite forces, and a Syrian offensive thrust brought the Damascenes right up to the gates of Samaria - only to beat a hasty retreat because of Jehoram's successful political manoeuvring.
Having experienced at first hand the compelling force of a threat to his Jehoram sought, and found, an understanding with his enemy's neigh-
rear,
bours -
'the kings
Damascenes and,
of the
The
Hittites'.
just as they
tables
had exploited
were
Israel's
now
turned on the
war with the Moabites,
Jehoram now utilized their entanglement with their northern neighbours 5 to mount an attack on the Syrian rear. The kings of Israel and Judah therefore renewed Ahab's struggle for north-eastern Gilead, the region of to Aram-Damascus over Moab makes good Damascus was a stronger and much more dangerous enemy. Once the Arameans were beaten and the Gileadite border safely established on the Yarmuk River, the field became clear for an attack upon Moab, the reduction of which was a sound assumption in those circumstances. Besides, the previously mentioned economic importance of the Ramoth region certainly was an additional motive for making it a primary objective. Outwardly, at least, the second allied campaign to take
Ramoth. The preference given strategic sense.
Ramoth-gilead was a sign that the offensive capability of the sister
kingdoms had not been permanently
were their
spirits flagging.
curtailed,
nor
But when Jehoram was wounded
(not far from where his father had received his fatal injury)
and had
to
withdraw from the fighting
palace in Jezreel,
revolt broke out in the
to recuperate at his allied
camp. Elisha
the prophet exploited the king of Judah's absence from (to visit his
wounded
long-simmering discontent of those
who
and the foreign
autocratic tendencies
resented both the
cultural
and
religious
practices that were spreading through the country. factors Israel's
were
at
least
camp
cousin) to fan into open rebellion the
partly
These
unavoidable by-products of
international obligations, standing
and
relations. Yet
they were basically alien to the traditionally simple mores of the people.
To
The
opposition naturally focused
Elisha, the Phoenician alliance
173
— with
upon
the king.
the religious
and
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
by the intermarriage between the royal houses of Israel and Tyre - was anathema. This influence was steadily spreading to cultural influence exercised
Judah,
more
as a
so as
consequence of the alliance between the two kingdoms, and the
Joram of Judah
(father
of the reigning King Ahaziah) had mar-
So the prophet Elisha chose Jehu,
ried Princess Athaliah, Ahab's daughter.
'captain of the king's host',
bled in the
camp
from among the commanding
before Ramoth-gilead,
THE
officers
assem-
and anointed him king over
Israel.
ARAM
RISE OF
and Ahaziah may be reckoned
Jehu's subsequent assassination of Jehoram
beginning of thirty-five years of decline for both the Jewish king-
as the
doms. 6 By
his deed,
Jehu broke the traditional
alliances
with Tyre and
Judah. Too weak to withstand the mounting Syrian pressure alone he
upon
called
the assistance of Shalmanezer of Assyria. But this step only
increased Jehu's isolation, for
we
learn
from the Assyrian annals that the
up after 848 and 845 -
coalition of the Syrian rulers against Shalmanezer did not break
the Qarqar
campaign and that three more times -
in 849,
Shalmanezer was successfully beaten back by the
Although
Israel
any force worth mentioning, the king It
in these conflicts
was
strictly neutral attitude
rians
more
and served
as a
Assyria.
all
Jehu was
a
of the
Israelite
So once the Assyrian
tide
had
cause.
allies' rear.
In the event of a
major potential partner. But
once Jehu had openly and of
lost
not with
their available forces against the
strong cover for the
direct threat to his realm,
was
this
least
common
in itself a contribution to the
permitted the Syrians to concentrate .
allied Syrian forces.
did not participate in these campaigns, or at
his
own
for the
all
free will declared for
time being been beaten
back, Hazael, the ruler of Damascus, spared no effort to crush the threat to his rear before the Assyrians
Hazael was Jewish falT
sister
- were
now
the central figure
kingdoms -
at
could renew their attacks.
among
of the country, and Judah
Only
stand, divided
we
were incorporated in the Damascene king-
its
dom
Hazael.
we
the nadir of their power. In a series of campaigns, Israel was
(Waged, parts of
and the
the Syrian leaders, while the
true to the saying united
rest
territory
the Arameans' reluctance to
as well,
was made tributary to
become enmeshed
in
mountain
warfare saved the kingdoms from complete conquest.
To
celebrate his great victory, Hazael erected in
tured fortresses, a victory
unearthed on that
site.
stele,
The
Dan, one of the cap-
the fragments of which have been recently
inscription declares inter alia\
174
'I
departed
'
ISRAEL AFTER AHAB
from the seven
who
districts (?)
of
my kingdom
and
I
Jehoram son of Ahab king of Israel and 7 of the house of David
...
(?)
kings
(?) I
killed
slew seventy
harnessed thousands of chariots and thousands of horses
Ahaziahu son of Jehoram king
.
.
Once more
.
the natural
mountain redoubt, the mountains of Judah and
Ephraim (Samaria), permitted the Jews
to bide their time, while in Assyria
the preparations for the conquest of the eastern Mediterranean from the
Taurus Mountains to the Nile were completed. In a preliminary expedition the Assyrian king, Adadnirari in, crushed
806 bc
that
it
could no longer hinder the
Damascus so decisively in kingdoms from pushing
sister
out of the mountains and embarking on a speedy course of reconquest.
The Jewish
period of external defeats and danger to the very existence of the states,
ing
even
neighbours, had produced a which was preceded by a period of soul searchand laymen. While in the north the fiery Elisha tried to as vassals to their stronger
and moral
spiritual
among priests
revival,
imbue king and country with religious zeal and Jewish consciousness, the High Priesthood of Judah brought about a cultural revolution and revival that was carried on by Jehoash, who reigned for thirty-eight years (836-798 bc). The more complete social revival, which was abetted by Judah's topographically more secure position, enabled Amaziah, son of Jehoash, to take the initiative even before the Israelites. In his war against the Edomites, the latter were once more reduced to vassaldom, and the trade routes from Eilat and Selah (later Petra) through the Negev to the Mediterranean coast were reopened. This
initial
ascendancy was the background for a
between Amaziah and Jehoash of regained
its
Israel,
Israel
former primacy. With the blessing of the dying Elisha, in
about 790 bc Jehoash embarked on the reconquest of the to the
of strength
trial
by the end of which
territories lost
Damascenes. In three campaigns the power of the Arameans was
combat was Aphek. From there the Israelites outflanked the traditional routes to Damascus and the ridges that have served as its natural lines of defence down to the Yom Kippur War of broken.
The main
focus of the decisive
1973 by pushing out towards the along the desert fringes.
The main
east
and approaching the enemy
capital
8
base for this
a necessary prerequisite to
move was
town of Karnaim. Its capture was the approach from the east. The prophet Amos the
has preserved for us his generation's consciousness of the crucial impor-
tance of this achievement for subsequent developments.
debar
as the
second crucial point to be taken by the 175
He
mentions Lo-
Israelites.
9
Its
location
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE ^v) Lebo-hamath
40 Kin i
I
J
I
1
i
i
1
1
30 Miles
24 The Hxpansion of [Tic pt
Israel
and Judah under Jeroboam
kingdom of Josiah covered most of the Philistine cities
and south
176
o\~
the
the
same
II
and Uzziah
territory,
Tyre-Karnaim
line
Above: The Golan Heights. Ahab and Ben-hadad faced each other in deadlock on the narrow saddle between the group of trees in the upper left of the picture and the ridge on the skyline, before the Israelites outflanked the Arameans. Below: The gate
of the Israelite fortress
town
of
Dan.
Above: Tombstone brought the bones
Aramean burial,
text
of
of
and the
from the
King Uzziah. The inscription reads 'Hither were
Do not open.' The show that this was a secondary Herodian period. The original burial had
Uzziah King
of
Hasmonean
or
been outside the royal tombs proper suffered in consequence.
Top
right:
The
Judah.
style of the script
fortress of
(2 Chr. 26:23),
and probably
Beersheva: various buildings along one
of
the circular streets.
Right: Altar of the garrison sanctuary at Beersheva, modelled after the altar in the
Temple
of
Jerusalem.
V;
V,
V
Above: Traces
Top
right: Air
of the
view
casemate
of the
wall' at
Judean
Ramat
Rahel.
fortress of Arad,
on the north-eastern
outskirts of the
Negev.
Right: The site of Josiah's last battle, opposite the exit of the ancient highway from the lyron pass.
Above: The
lyron pass, a
main
military
highway throughout the ages, winding
Valley to the Jezreel Valley.
Top
Right: Arrow and spear-heads excavated at Lachish.
Right: Sling stones from the Lachish excavations
its
way through
the Carmel
Above: Armour scales from the Lachish excavations.
Above
right:
discovered Right:
The
at
Helm
crests
Lachish
site of the
Judean
fortress of Tell Lachish.
H
'*M>
4«
'
Left:
Trepanated
skull
from Lachish. The victim survived the operation
undertaken during Sennacherib's siege, as
shown by
the healed
edges around the removed skull portion. Below: The Assyrian siege of Lachish, from a relief at
Sennacherib's
palace at Nineveh. Right:
The
wild south-
east of Judah, where the
observant Jews retreated prior to the
Maccabean
uprising.
,' ,
/
'I
s
Top
The Levona where Judah Maccabeus ambushed left:
ascent,
Apollonius.
Left:
The Beth-horon
ascent, scene of
many
Joshua to Judah Maccabeus, and up to the Six Day War. battles from
Above: View from Ptolemy's
camp
at
Emmaus
on the Judean piedmont, into which Gorgias penetrated and from which Judah's forces subsequently attacked.
Right:
The
site of
camp Emmaus.
Seleucid
at
the
Above
Hellenistic
left:
cavalryman.
Above: Left:
Hellenistic foot-soldier.
One
of the
elephants of
V grapples with a The Seleucids had been
Antiochus soldier.
forbidden by
Rome
elephants
war, but disregarded
in
the agreement
to
use
in their efforts to
subdue the rebellious Jews. Judah's younger brother, Eleazar,
was crushed elephant
in
zechariah.
to
death by an
the battle of Beth-
Right: Jerusalem: walls of the
Hasmonean First
period, built
Temple period
above on
buildings,
the slopes of the City of David.
Below: The Jordan
Valley,
in
the
Gilead region, where Judah and
Jonathan defeated Timotheus and rescued persecuted Jews.
Above: Adasa, where Judah defeated Nicanor. Left:
Tombs
of the
Maccabeans
at Modiin, the site of
Judah
after his
of Elasa,
and
the burial of
death
in
the battle
of his brothers
Hasmonean kinsmen.
and
ISRAEL AFTER AHAB in the foothills
of north-western Gilead proves that the victory here was
the preliminary step to the reconquest of the rest
of Gilead, which, in turn,
way
for the reconquest
may
Ramoth
region and
all
the
be safely assumed to have paved the
of Ammon and Moab.
THE SOLOMONIC BORDERS REGAINED How much of the above,
after the
Aphek victory, was achieved by Jehoash n is open to argument. The
or must be attributed to his son Jeroboam
combined and
and Uzziah of Judah
reigns of Jeroboam
the second
Golden Age of
are to be considered as
Jeroboam occupied Damascus Lebo-hamath on the Orontes. During the
biblical Israel.
re-established his border at
almost forty-five years of his reign, the
Israelites, as
well as their neigh-
bours, grew accustomed to the idea that Israel was the foremost
The extent of the may be gauged by
influence
tion
the fact that while
ruler reigned in the south Syrian
that a local ruler
found
it
kingdom
lasted,
at
an
Judean
Israelite or
Hamath, north of Lebo, or Hebrew name Obadiah
expedient to adopt the
Either Jehoash or Jeroboam
to their forces
it
in
coali-
10
(Yaubiidi in Aramaic).
strongly fortified
power
and weight of the Israelite-Judean
Syria.
n
town of Dan,
among other strongholds, the of Mount Hermon. To them or
recaptured,
at the feet
one must accredit the smashing of the victory
Hazael of Damascus from 75 years before.
either as the instinctive destruction of this
supremacy by an unknown
stele
We may reconstruct
of King
this
scene
symbol of the hated enemy's
soldier during the fighting or
soon
a solemn act, attended by the victorious king or his deputy.
after,
or as
The broken
fragments were used as building stones for walls and pavements. 11
When
Zachariah, the son of Jeroboam n, was murdered in (to us)
unknown would
circumstances,
who were
burying their
renewed preparations
for invasion.
The prophet Amos was Israel
was
Israel's
seemed only natural that Uzziah of Judah and become the foremost of the Syrian rulers, hatchets to combine forces against Assyria's it
step into his place
at its zenith.
active during the lifetime of
subsequent downfall.
The sudden change from misery and weak-
ness to the position of foremost military reliance
and
security.
The
sapped the
spirit that
power created
a false sense
of self-
gathering clouds of military threat went
gap between the
'haves'
and the 'have
had contributed so much
to the
ascendancy of
unheeded, while the growing nots'
Jeroboam, when
His preaching starkly illuminates the causes of
social
193
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
the Israelite host over that of
Shallum, the stage was
its
foes.
When
set for a series
Zachariah was murdered by
of palace revolutions. The quick
turnover of governments disrupted the continuity and stability of strate-
planning and
gic
uation by calling
go
to Assyria' It
is
political activities. Israel
a
silly
The prophet Hosea
dove without heart: they
described this
call to
sit-
Egypt, they
(Hos. ^:11).
possible that this political indecision
was the reason why
Israel
did
not join the coalition that had formed under the leadership of Uzziah of
Judah.
The
biblical text
being
silent
on
this subject,
severely mutilated Assyrian inscriptions found to rclv
Tiglath-pileser
and lew
a
m
a
Calah on the Euphrates
(Pul of the Bible)
Within
was able Israel
a year or two,
to invade the
and Judah.
in
in
738,
whole of Syria
Israel's
acquiescence
overlordship brought about the revolt of Pekah ben
senior officer, against Pekahiah, the reigning monarch. Pekah
a Gileadite
and
tance Gilead and ing to the
at best indecisive.
heavy tribute even from
the Assyrian
Remaliah,
was
the
upon. The outcome of the battle (described below) that raged
northern Syria was
in
at
we have only
its
his
ascendancy was typical of the increasing impor-
men had assumed
amour propre of
his
in the Israelite
kingdom. Appeal-
who were
conscious of their
countrymen,
194
ISRAEL AFTER AHAB
Heavy Assyrian
chariots carrying the charioteer
and two fighting men
in mail coats.
primacy over the Cis-Jordanians and
historic
economic
as well as military
their
importance, Pekah
used a
company of
kill his
king and master. To strengthen his hold
over
from
and
he must have moved additional units
Israel,
permanent
their
throwing
Gileadites to overthrow
it
wide open
station
in
to aggression
cus (which had defected from Jewish
some time
thus
Gilead,
from Damas-
hegemony
before).
THE FALL OF ISRAEL Rezon, king of Damascus, was quick to seize chance, and his troops charged as Eilat.
Thus
Israel's
first
Judah and
Israel.
Damascene
as
latter,
Tiglath-pileser,
When
all
for
Arameans could now move and
along the eastern borders of both
these
at
of a de facto
an enforced alliance with Rezon and
two monarchs
in desperation, declared his
who had
Damascus
whole King's Highway
Israel accepted, willy-nilly, the status
Judah balked
Pekah against Assyria. Judah, the
they wished
While
satellite,
this
south
time in biblical history. Economic impli-
cations aside, the
deploy their forces
as far
malaise enabled
to gain control over the
the
down
tried to
depose Ahaz of
complete subjugation to
in turn used the opportunities offered
by
Israel's
dismemberment to launch an offensive along the Syro-Palestinian went as far south as the borders of Egypt (present-day El Arish). Tiglath-pileser was only too glad to use the pretext of coming to the rescue of his hard-pressed vassal. In a series of campaigns between 734 and 732, the whole of Syria and Palestine were conquered. Assyrian reliefs prove that the Assyrian armies were even more diversified than before, and new types of arms and equipment had been added both for attack in the open field and for the siege of fortified places. 12 The defeats suffered by Tiglath-pileser's foes were so crushing and the Assyrian resources so well geared to the national war effort that he decided to turn all the conquered territories into permanent provinces. All Syria east of the tributary Phoenician coast (including Damascus), the Sharon coast, Galilee and Gilead were divided into provinces which became integral parts of the evident
coast that
195
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE Assyrian empire. Israel was reduced to vassaldom within the confines ot
The
the mountains of Samaria.
of Judah was
fate
similar,
while the former
dependencies of both kingdoms were made into Assyrian provinces, inde-
pendent of them. To weaken
Israel
Assyria 13,500 Israelites from those walks of
war
effort.
Tiglath-pileser exiled to
further,
essential for
life
any further
13
Pekah did not survive
who began
his reign as
this debacle.
He was
an Assyrian
vassal.
deposed by Hoshea ben Elah.
But neither king nor countrv
were able to bear the foreign yoke lisdessly The basic urge for indepen-
dence - that legacy from the
period which had never, even under the
tribal
most autocratic monarch, been erased -
now
tiny Israel,
banking on
its
Hoshea:
for
he had
And
the king of Assyria found con-
therefore the king of Assyria shut
17:4).
The
biblical narrative
solely self,
on
his
is
to defy
and
sent messengers to So king of Egypt,
brought no present to the king of Assyria,
had foolishly decided
and the
traditionally high political prestige, secredv
began to conspire against Assyria: spiracy in
reasserted itself once more,
him
up,
as
he had done year by year:
and bound him
in prison'
2 Kgs.
either incomplete or inconsistent. If Hoshea
Shalmanezer
v, Tiglath-pilese:
own, he cannot have been foolhardy enough
vsor.
to entrust
him-
without a struggle, into the hands of the Assyrian authorities. Betrayal
more plausible explanation - betrayal without sufficient prool. for otherwise Hoshea would have been put to death immediately Another possibility is that in the hope that his country might be spared the full vengeance ot Assyria, Hoshea decided to sacrifice his own person and gave is
a
himselt up. u
Whatever the and
leader.
went up
cause, Samaria
was
left in its final
hour without
'Then the king of Assyria came up throughout
to Samaria,
and besieged
of valour, the persistence and
all
it
all
three years (2 Kgs. 17:5).
the suffering that
made up
its
the land,
king
and
The deeds
the saga ot the
three-vear siege of Samaria have remained unsung, or. rather, have been lost to posterity. Yet
the
most tamous
antiquitv. for less
last
bv
its
length alone, the siege of Samaria ranks with
stands against overwhelming odds in the anna.^
Nineveh, the capital ot Assvria.
Carthage
than rv
about the same time
as
fell
Svracusc after two vears. that of Sebastopol in in
withstood Xabopolassar
Romans
after three years,
Samaria had held out: Alexander the Great cap-
tured Tyre after seven months: and the
of Paris
itselt
to the
18^0-1 which
Among
Roman
the longest sieges ot the
18^4-^. which lasted
general Marcellus reduced
lasted eleven
modern period
months, and that
132 days. The actual conquest of Samaria 196
ISRAEL AFTER AHAB 25 The Assyrian Conquests Assyrian commanders were always careful to avoid the Judean mountains, as this map of four important
campaigns reveals: 1
Tiglath-pileser Ill's
campaign
in
734
BC
2 Tiglath-pileser's campaign in 733-732 BC 3 Sargon II's campaign in 721 BC
4 Sargon 's campaign 720 BC
To
the
Brook of Egypt
in
1 I
1 1
30 Miles
197
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE is
credited to Sargon n,
who
entered the town in 722-721 bc. Major por-
tions of the population of 'the ten tribes' gentile settlers
to regain
Egypt.
its
The
were exiled and exchanged with
from Syria and Mesopotamia. In 720,
freedom, results
Israel
in a desperate effort
joined a revolt against Assyria instigated by
were disastrous, and the draconian punitive steps
included further deportations. 15 In this way,
was
Israel
finally
subdued,
never to revive as such.
Scaling the walls of a town by
more widely used was
means of ladders. The reason why
that they
had
assault ladders
to top the ramparts to allow the scaling,
olute defenders could push
198
them
aside.
were not
and
res-
CHAPTER
9
JUDAH'S FORTIFICATIONS
UNDER REHOBOAM
King Rehoboam was the Judah
architect of a security
that lasted for generations after the
and defence system
United Monarchy
split.
1
in
The
whole subsequent military history of the Southern Kingdom must be understood
as
an outcome, development and elaboration of the
possibilities inherent in the military infrastructure
by Rehoboam. Like
Israel,
Kingdom Judah was made
immediately
for
left
conceived
as
of the United
conscious of the changed balance of power by
Pharaoh Shishak's invasion. Amazingly,
enough resources
of Judah
after the division
strategic
Rehoboam
after Shishak's
to
move, Judah had
begin creating an all-round
defence system:
And Rehoboam built even
dwelt in Jerusalem, and built
cities for
defence in Judah.
He
Bethlehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, and Beth-zur, and Shoco
[Socoh], and Adullam, and Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph, and Adoraim, and
Lachish, and Azekah, and Zorah, and Ajalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah
and
It
in
Benjamin, fenced
could well be that
Judeans against
realize the all
it
need
cities. (2
was
Chr. 11:5-10)
precisely Shishak's invasion
which made the
for further sacrifice in order to prepare themselves
future contingencies of a similar nature.
It
seems
that, as so
often in history, Shishak's terror campaign, aimed at weakening the will to resist,
produced the opposite
effect
of a nationwide upsurge of spirit and
a strengthening of the will to hold out against hostile coercion.
Rehoboam's system of defence represents a concept diametrically opposed
to that of
Rehoboam decided
Solomon. With the limited resources to concentrate
essential for the preservation
on the defence of the
at his disposal,
area primarily
of Judah's independence. His other out-
standing consideration was the use of the fortification as a means to block
any
The fortifications were to be sited enemy to besiege as many strongholds as
hostile penetration into that area.
and disposed
so as to
compel the
199
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
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201
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
on any potential
possible
offensive capabilities, or
when,
deemed
renounce the defence of cradle, heartland
of approach and to serve
enemy had exhausted much of his
counter-attack once the
counter-offensive was
line
all
as bases for
resources
and
whatever other reason, the hour for
for
proper. Accordingly,
territory outside the
Rehoboam decided
to
Judean mountains, the
and natural bulwark of the southern
tribes.
THE SITING OF REHOBOAM'S FORTIFICATIONS Fixing the above-listed fortresses on the
map
elucidates the operational
concept of the defences. Ajalon, Zorah, Socoh, Mareshah and Lachish each block one of the western approaches into the Judean mountain mas-
Ajalon guards the Beth-horon ascent and the road over the Gibeonite
sif:
the plateau north of Jerusalem;
cities to
Zorah the Sh'ar Hagai road
(the
modern Latrun-Jerusalem highway); Socoh the Elah Valley; Mareshah the Mareshah-Hebron road; and Lachish the Lachish-Hebron road. All these fortresses
were sited
at
an entrance to the mountains, where the
east-west roads pass from the foothills into the slopes leading up to the central watershed plateau. valley lier in
the
known
in
its
Nature has marked
northern portions
this line
as the Valley
of transition by a
of Ajalon (discussed ear-
Joshua's pursuit of the Amorites). In this natural division
piedmont and the
steeply
mounting
slopes, the
north-south avenues
cut the east-west axes at the point of their entrance into the territory. All the
above-mentioned
sites are
shift
of troops from one
mountain
located either directly above
these crossroads or close to them, thus permitting easy
and the
between
communications
fortress to the other, as well as creating
a constant potential threat to the rear
of any besieging
force.
To provide more depth and cohesion to this line, one or perhaps two were erected on the chain of the foothills themselves: Azekah and Gath (Tel Tsaphit?). Some miles inside the Valley of Elah, an imporfortresses
tant side road
branches off and reaches the plateau north of Hebron. This
detour was effectively blocked by the fortress of Adullam. In the south, the ably.
The
descends
central
topographical features of the terrain change consider-
mountain massif splits into two
in rather
ridges.
The western one
moderate gradients towards the Philistine plain and the
Beersheva Valley, while the eastern one descends steeply to the Beersheva
and the Judean desert. The effective blocking of the fan-like approaches on the lower slopes of the western ridge necessitates the con-
Valley
202
JUDAH
FORTIFICATIONS UNDER REHOBOAM
S
and maintenance of about half a dozen fortresses. The need to economize made Rehoboam abandon this idea, and he based the defence struction
of this sector on the fortification of the nodal point where the fanning-out ascents converged.
Adoraim, which
whole of the western
ridge,
name
to the
fortress
of the
name
to the
fittingly has given its
was therefore made the pivotal
south-western approaches to the Judean heartland. Like Adoraim in the west, the town of Ziph has lent eastern ridge,
where
fulfilled the
it
number of tracks from
the
its
same function of nodal
Negev and the Dead Sea
point.
A large
area converge
upon
Ziph. As long as the entrances of these tracks into the Judean mountains
could not be fortified permanently, Ziph was the point to defend. ther consideration for the recession of the this sector
was the scantiness of
rain
permanent
line
and water sources
A fur-
of defence in
in the
more
for-
ward, lower region.
Conditions along the eastern borders of the Judean mountains were similar to those along the south-eastern ridge, only
The 'composite bows'
are identified
by
more
theii distinctive
Their superior range and power of penetration
is
forward-bent ends.
caused by encasing the
core in layers of sinew and horn.
203
severe; so the
wooden
two
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Tekoa and Etam,
eastern fortresses,
against Judahs eastern neighbours
like
Ziph, were designed as protection
and the nomads. They,
not at the entrance to the mountains but
on the edge of the watershed
A
slight
at the
too,
change in the punctuation marks of the
ations
reveals tactically
list
fortresses.
by noting
their relationship
map
26, and consider-
mentioned above.
The backbone
for the entire defence system
along which troops from the
be
easily discerned
is
of the land and the roads depicted upon
to the lay
moved
was the watershed road,
central reserves (stationed at Jerusalem) could
quickly on interior lines to aid any threatened sector or to issue
forward through any of the defended approaches and wrest the
from the enemy by means of a pre-emptive
ment or an fortresses
axis.
initiative
attack, a simultaneous
offensive counter-action. This vital line
move-
was guarded by the
of Bethlehem, Beth-zur and Hebron, each of which also straddled
one or more of the ascents shed
slopes,
plateau.
meaningful sub-zones of defence in the order of the individual Their operational purpose
were built
upper end of the
From
its
to the plateau at their junction with the water-
location alone,
Hebron was predestined
to
form a south-
ern counterweight to Jerusalem and to be chosen as a base for part of the strategic reserves kept ready for
The by the
immediate deployment
choice of existing towns as fact that, in the
in the south.
sites for royal fortresses
Ancient East,
all
the natural defensive qualities of their
towns were
sites.
can be explained
built
with an eye to
Moreover, they had to control
an adequate water supply and be easily connected to the existing road net-
work. Besides, according to custom, the debris of destroyed towns was never completely cleared; rather the existing wreckage was levelled out on
grew higher and higher, and each successive
top, so thai the street levels
town was
built literally
an originally elevated
above
site
predecessor.
furnished the
their typically steep slopes, tion. Also, the
its
These
artificial
tells (artificial
additions to
mounds) with
city
which afforded the towns additional protec-
choice of existing town
sites for fortifications
permitted the
incorporation of the towns' existing defences, or building materials from earlier defences, into the l^ist
but not
least,
dwellers themselves
new
fortifications.
by turning existing towns into
became
a
fortresses, the
permanent addition and
necessarily limited regular garrison.
Whenever
town-
reserve to the
these garrisons
became
depleted, either through withdrawal or by extended siege, the civilian population
would be
called
upon
to
man
the gaps
on the battlements or
in the
breaches. Incidentally, the principle of using the civilian population in the
204
JUDAH
FORTIFICATIONS UNDER REHOBOAM
S
stationary defence of their fortified settlements
became one of the
and was incorporated into the and organization of modern Israel.
patterns of early Zionist planning
national defence planning
THE GAPS
basic
overall
THE BORDER
IN
FORTIFICATIONS If we return list
once more to our map, we discover, in
of fortifications, some completely unprotected
spite
of the substantial
sectors.
Most
glaring
is
the absence of any fortification in the north, where the border was at best
some 7V2 miles from Jerusalem, the terrain at that.
want
The answer
to this
is
political.
to appear to be acquiescing in the defection
posely creating a permanent border with
he made do with whatever
towns It is
To
approachable
Rehoboam did not
of the north by pur-
serve the current needs,
offered.
more
difficult,
as Jerusalem. is
Israel.
easily
the existing defences of the border
facilities
however, to interpret the lack of any direct blocking
of the Sorek Valley, the notorious
one
and on
capital,
enigma
of Philistine penetration, even
axis
Applying modern military thinking, with
all
by force of circumstances reminded of the principle of the
ground' and the
'battlefield
of one's
own
choosing'.
military thinkers have stated that a resolute
however strong the defences. But he he thinks
is
own
to his
resources
and time, he
'killing
centuries,
will usually attack,
will nonetheless try to attack at a spot
is
estimated as extremely costly in
will try to discover a
Following
his breakthrough.
Over the
best advantage. If confronted with a strong belt of
reduction of which
fortifications, the
enemy
as far
due reservation
this
weak
link or detour to effect
common human
attitude, as late as
World War Two planned area defences left considerable gaps in minefields and obstacles precisely to entice the enemy into directing a major effort along these
enemy
less
difficult approaches.
penetration,
many
In these presupposed sectors of
measures were envisaged to meet the expected
attack under the best possible conditions
turning
it
into a costly
mans were beaten
at
and crushing
Alam
el-Halfa in
and with the highest chances of
defeat. In just this
manner
the Ger-
1942 to such an extent that the con-
ditions were created for the great British counter-attack at El Alamein. It is
2
therefore possible to see in the lack of fortifications in the Sorek
Valley approach the intention of luring any future Shishak into the nar-
row
valley,
which could
for the attacker.
easily
have been turned into a vast killing ground
A further point indicating the intentional exposure of this 205
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE route
the
is
shemesh
of Beth-
disregard
An
as a potential fortress.
town between Zorah and Azekah, Beth-shemesh was in a strong position and ideally placed existing
block the Sorek Valley
to
This impression
tively.
is
effec-
sustained
and strengthened by the channelling effect that the fortresses of
Socoh and Azekah
and Zorah (to the north) must have had on any force approaching
KM ^J £
Jerusalem.
S \ £*AflA^&£ ir ^3 \
•
(to the south)
Anyone who wished
automatically deflected towards the
more southerly Sorek Valley
The
j**- *j-\*& An
seventh -century
And.) The order
BC
(From the
reads:
To
of liquids,
date [into the ledger].
Eliashiv: Issue
From
[blind o\ Hour] prepare tity?]
of flour to
[a
the
FlOfD the wine of the vats issue lar
ration allotment ostraca I five
flour
them.
for ...
'
and of
and wine. And
and made them exceedingly Judah and Benjamin
on
(2
his
side
Chr.
(a simi-
to ensure the
and smooth operation of his
fortresses
from Arad gives
11:11-12).
and
their governors
and
army and
threescore
among them he
concubines
all
his
had
chose both the com-
the governors of his fortress towns:
he dealt wisely, and dispersed of
was
rather amusing. His eighteen wives
day ration or wine).
of his standing
in
strong, having
loyalty
borne him twenty-eight sons. From
mander
oil
Rehoboam's formula
certain quan-
make bread
and put
spears,
measure
first
fortified the strongholds,
he
every several city he put shields and
and enter the
in this case oil]
given by
And
uals,
garrison archive at
to the Kittim three bats [biblical
is
the chronicler as follows:
captains in them, and store of vict-
(mercenaries of east Mediterranean extrac-
late
gap.
internal organization of the
Rehoboamitc defences
order for rations for a unit of 'Kittim'
tion) for patrol or escort duties.
to
avoid entanglement with them was
children throughout
And
all
the
countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave
them
No
victuals in belt
abundance'
(ibid.,
v.
23).
of fortifications consists of main strongholds alone. Advanced
positions, outposts, secondary approaches, detours
had
to be
guarded by variously shaped and sized 206
and water sources
forts,
all
blockhouses and
JUDAH
FORTIFICATIONS UNDER REHOBOAM
S
towers that connected the main links of the defensive belt and gave front and
depth in posts
and
rear.
signal stations, mostly in the
form of towers, formed a
vital
adjunct to the Judean fortifications. Like any other chain of defence,
was operational only
as
it
In addition to these, a network of observation
long as
its
and
eyes
ears
it
were functioning. In other
words, there had to be a constant watch and a quick means to pass the
alarm and the
by smoke or
alert, as
done
well as any tactical message. This was usually
fire signals,
according to the state of visibility. 3
The
Bible rec-
ognized the complexity of the defence system by using the phrase 'from the tower of the
watchmen [observation post, smallest link of the chain] main link]'. The systematic research carried out in
to the fenced city [the
recent decades by the Archaeological Survey of Israel, an organization cre-
ated to register
remains of
all
surviving antiquities in the country, has brought to light
many minor
fortifications that together created a
network of
4 small defences between the major strongholds.
Of
course, in the absence of suitable existing towns, even the
had
fortifications
to be built
on
virgin soil
and
as
major
purely military
This was the case especially in the Negev, where the Solomonic
upon
structure of the rural militia based
villages
and
fortresses
sites.
infra-
(below
230) had been demolished in the wake of Shishak's campaign.
of Horvat Uza and Kadesh-barnea are good examples. 5 Unfor-
fortresses
we are not able to assign most of the ruins registered so Rehoboam or to any one of his successors. We do know for
far either
network
until the
tunately,
to
p.
The
Rehoboam's fall
heirs constantly
added
to his fortification
sure that
of Judah, decreasing or expanding them according to the prevailing
conditions. Consequently,
added
as well.
many other main
fortifications
must have been
But whatever the extent of the kingdom and
its
borders, the
by Rehoboam always remained the
original belt of bulwarks as conceived
backbone of the national defence. The best proof of their value and function was the perseverance of Judah, external
pressure,
'Rehoboam's
for
135 years
more after
often than not under strong
the
destruction
of Samaria.
fortifications' were, of course, not the only reason for
this,
but they were undoubtedly a major contribution.
INVASION ATTEMPTS Three instances have been chosen from those preserved sources to is
show how
in the biblical
the Judean defences broke actual invaders.
The
first
the invasion of Judah by 'Zerah the Ethiopian, with a host of a thousand
207
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
208
JUDAH
S
FORTIFICATIONS UNDER REHOBOAM
Artist's reconstruction
built
of the Assyrians attacking Lachish along the ramp
by them, with troops
in
support of the rams armed in
with wall-piercing heads. The lower, main
tier
this instance
of defenders, ranged
behind the pyramidical embrasures, has not been drawn in on either
wall.
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE thousand, and three hundred chariots' (2 Chr. 14:9) in the days of Asa,
Rehoboam's grandson. 'Zerah the Ethiopian' was Kushite chieftain
who
in
all
probability a local
enjoyed the support of the Pharaohs, and possibly
even had some kind of
official
standing within the framework of the
Egyptian endeavours to gain a permanent foothold
at the
southern edge
of the Palestinian land-bridge following Shishak's invasion. 6 Zerah's
dence was is
which he had evidently temporarily
at Gerar,
lost to
step
Judeans. Although the
amount of
force the threat
The
was
It
a
former status with any weakening of the
number of his makes
his chariots
Judah.
who took
probable that he enjoyed the assistance of the Philistines,
towards gaining their
resi-
'thousands'
is
vastly exaggerated, the
and even
as
an Egyptian auxiliary
sense,
real.
good example of the skilful use and exploitation of the Judean defences - or, for that matter, of any similarly conceived zone of defences. In the first phase, the aggressor was forced to brake his initial offensive impetus and finally to besiege one of the blocking fortresses, in this case Mareshah. While Zerah was losing time, supplies and forces on the siege and screening the besieging forces against interference from flanking fortresses, Asa was able to marshal his forces
course of the Kushite invasion
is
along the main
of manoeuvre in the rear of his
fortifications, the
took the a
initiative
headlong
flight.
lateral
axis
a
watershed road. In the next phase, Asa in his
by launching a counter-attack, which beat Exploitation of the victory enabled Asa to
own
time
enemy in destroy many his
of the hostile strongholds, which paved the way for the reconquest of the lost territories in the
The second
southern plains by Jehoshaphat, his son.
instance in which a hostile invasion was broken by the
defence belt of Judah
too shrouded in mystery to permit a rational
is
appreciation. Suffice to say that an invasion of Ammonites, Moabites
Midianites, which included a large mass of lightly
was stopped and caught [udean fortifications 1
in
in the
he third instance
in
the Judean fortress belt
armed nomad
and
fighters,
the meshes of the eastern defences of the
Tekoa area
(2 Chr.
20:1-28).
which we witness the successful functioning of was
in
most severe conditions. In 701 bc Sen-
nacherib, the great Assyrian warrior king, invaded the Palestinian landbridge,
where
a coalition
headed by Hezekiah, king of Judah, and Zidka,
king of Ashkelon, had (with Egyptian aid) raised the standard of revolt against Assyrian domination. Reliefs
from Nineveh,
as well as the royal
Assyrian annals, create a vivid picture of the desperate struggle. After the
Egyptian expeditionary force had been defeated in the battle of Eltekeh, 210
judah's fortifications under rehoboam Sennacherib wheeled eastwards to attack Judah from the west. Simultane-
second army under Tartan, the Assyrian
ously, a
field
marshal and royal
cupbearer, advanced southwards along the watershed road from the Assyrian province of Samaria to Jerusalem. Sennacherib's plan
maximum
the Jewish king with a
was to pin down
of his forces in Jerusalem, thereby
impeding
his ability to direct the overall national defence effort
neutralize
all
by shutting them up
sectors
The
and
to
the reserves that might be employed for the relief of other in the capital.
Assyrian plan worked up to a point. Jerusalem was besieged, and
King Hezekiah was shut up in his capital. Sennacherib could thus conduct the campaign aimed at the reduction of the strongholds with considerable freedom and
fear
little
of interference. By
this success the strategic utility
of the Judean defence belt was severely impaired, since
on the
ability
moment sion.
in
any appropriate
But luckily
fortifications fortresses,
for
proved
its
spot, as they
the Judeans,
was based
largely
any given
at
had done during Zerah's inva-
another quality of the Judean
worth, namely the exhaustive property of the
which had been strong
to begin with
strengthened by a succession of kings to
it
of the reserves in Jerusalem to intervene
who were
and had been further
conscious of the necessity
improve the bulwarks of the Judean heartland. Sennacherib's
first
major objective was Lachish. From the Assyrian
graphic record, as well as from archaeological evidence, spite
we
gather that in
of Hezekiah's inability to direct the Judean defence effort personally,
the defensive campaign was
waged with
full
vigour. Lachish did
fall
in the
end, but the Assyrian losses were considerable. Yet even then Sennacherib
commence the siege of another main of Libnah. By that time, according to
could not unite his forces, but had to fortification, the strong fortress
Assyrian
sources,
fortified places in
Hezekiah
Sennacherib had been forced to capture forty-six Judah.
7
tried to placate his
still
terrible foe
by a declaration of sub-
mission and payment of heavy tribute. However, Sennacherib
Jewish independence was preserved in the
long
as
long
as a rebellion against his
vital
felt
that as
land-bridge and as
hegemony was not punished with complete
destruction of the rebel and his country, his hold over Syria and Palestine would not be secure. Accordingly, he doubled his efforts at the reduction of Judah and incurred further losses, which he was not able to make good within a short period. At that moment, the Egyptian Pharaoh Tirhakah culled fresh hope from the intelligence that Sennacherib was wasting his forces in Judah and decided that no better opportunity would be found to 211
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
212
JUDAH
S
FORTIFICATIONS UNDER REHOBOAM fall
upon
rear
and bring about Sennacherib's
the weakened Assyrian
complete defeat.
When
Sennacherib became aware
of
imminent danger, he had
this
no choice but
to break off contact
everywhere and to beat a hasty
and ignominious
retreat
under
cover of night. His retreat was so
sudden that
seemed a miracle
it
the eyes of his generation.
modern
military critic
in
The
reminded
is
of the miracle' of Verdun, where
1916 German obstinacy led
in
a tremendous
sacrifice
of
to
men
before they retreated out of sheer
exhaustion; scale,
on
and,
smaller
a
of Napoleon's retreat from
Acre
before
because
of
the
Turko-British threat to his Egyptian rear.
An
important factor in
favour of holding out against Sen-
nacherib was certainly the high
We
morale of the defenders.
do
not wish to deny that belief in divine aid and counsel strength-
ened the Judeans
in their desper-
ate fight for survival,
The
but
we do
gate of Lachish under attack by Sen-
The mobile
nacherib.
battering
ram
is
supported by armoured infantry, operating in pairs of archers and shield bearers.
Pikemen charge up another ramp. Only the
wooden
upper
tier
which make up the
galleries,
of defence, strengthened by
shields, are indicated.
are
bow,
sling, lance
The main weapons
and
a hail of fire-
brands, necessitating constant sprinkling
of water on the ram's head to prevent catching
213
fire.
(From the Nineveh
it
palace.)
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
wish to
stress
the decisive part played by Rehoboam's fortifications in
mak-
ing this miracle possible. Sennacherib's offensive power was severely curhis heirs
tailed,
avoided becoming entangled in a war in the Judean
heartland and Judah was able to survive for another 115 years, until
its
conquest in 587 bc by Nebuchadnezzar. 8 If we
wish to
sum up
the factors behind Judah's survival after the division
of the United Monarchy and that
was able
and
their
implement
its
recurrent emergence as a vigorous state
offensive strategy,
Rehoboam's
fortifications
subsequent extensions are the main material factor to be
Judah was
whenever
to
like a large it
porcupine that could turn
was threatened. Thus
its
hostile forces operating
on the
utmost to avoid entanglement
ian land-bridge tried their
cited.
bristles in all directions
Palestin-
in the
Judean
mountains, unless they had very particular reasons for doing otherwise.
Shalmanezer in (841 bc) and Tiglath-pileser in (734-732 bc), as
Sargon n and Esarhaddon,
which curbed offensive
their
all
kept away from the Judean mountains,
much
impetus and neutralized
armament, while exposing them
to
all
one of the most wasteful types of war: that terrain.
home
Only thus can we understand
his attack against
Judah
as well
in his
of their sophisticated
the dangers and rigours of
in well-defended
mountain
the reluctance of Sargon to press
war of 712, when
a coalition
headed
by the king of Ashdod and Hezekiah of Judah, with the active assistance of Shabaka - the vigorous
- threatened drawn-out self,
his
siege,
first
Pharaoh of the 25th (Ethiopian) Dynasty
hegemony. Although Azekah was captured
after a long-
conducted under the eyes of the supreme warlord him-
- which, according to the back of a mountain ridge, as sharp
the effort involved in taking this fortress
nan description, was seated on the - caused Sargon to desist from carrying
his offensive fur-
as sword's blade'
ther into the mountains.
A
similar sentiment was voiced bv
tried DO
Pharaoh Necho
along the Via Maris to fight the Assyrians: \.. saying,
What
have
I
to
do with
thee,
bear thee from meddling with a
ters
609
BC,
when he
matter oi
tact,
it
He sent ambassadors
thou king of Judah?
against thee this day, but against the house
As
in
convince Josiah, king of Judah, not to interfere with his progress
God, who
is
wherewith with
me
I
...'
I
to him come not
have war
...
for-
(2 Chr. 35:21).
was usually only when Judah interfered with mat-
along the coastal plain that the armies of the Great Powers saw no
alternative to assaulting the
Judean mountain redoubt.
Small wonder that whenever resolute defenders occupied Judah in sub-
sequent ages, attackers from the plains shied away from fighting in the 214
judah's fortifications under rehoboam
mountains whenever attitude.
When
the capture of line
Gaza
of operations.
difficult roads
possible.
The
great
Napoleon himself expressed
this
pressed by his generals and aides to turn eastwards after
...
I
in 1799, I
he retorted: 'Oh no! Jerusalem
do not wish
am
to be assaulted
is
not in
by mountaineers
not ambitious of the fate of Cestius.'
10
my in
Similarly,
1917 Allenby turned into the mountains only after having conquered the plains as far as Jaffa, the Yarkon River and beyond. Typically, once he in
had been able
to force the
Beersheva-Gaza
twelve days to cover the fifty-three miles
up
line, it
took
the capture of Jerusalem, a distance of twenty-two miles, slogging, costly action of twenty-one days.
215
his troops
to the Yarkon. it
From
only
there to
became
a slow,
CHAPTER
10
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH
The
first
wars of the kingdom of Judah after the defection of
Shishak's invasion can Israel.
all
be described
A war between Abijah of
cult terrain
campaign took
A
is
diffi-
related in 2 Chr. 13.
growing number of scholars question whether
place.
Whatever the
tured territory passed once step of calling in
west of Bethel,
and
of a rear attack and was able to occupy some Ben-
in spite
jaminite territory.
Israel
of strength with
of Judah and Jeroboam of Israel in the
Mount Zamaraim,
Abijah prevailed
as a futile trial
more
Ben-hadad
i
truth,
one generation
into Israelite hands.
of Damascus against
King
Israel
Geba and Mizpah, Asa bowed,
Asa's desperate
has already been
mentioned. In spite of the long-range damage apparent to
brought him the desired immediate
this
later the cap-
us, Asa's policy
In building the fortresses of
relief.
at least for the
time being, to the inevitable
acceptance of the partition of the United Monarchy. However, while King
Baasha of
Israel
had
hands
his
full
warding off the Damascenes, Asa was
able to establish the border with Israel that leaned
on the deep
on
a topographically secure line
ravines of Wadi Beth-haninah
which descend the watershed plateau
to the west
and
and Wadi Suweinit, east respectively.
To
block the approach to Jerusalem even on this narrow strip of plateau, Asa (or
one of
his successors)
renewed the
fortifications
three miles north of the capital. Consequently, for the oi
of Gibeah of Saul,
immediate defence
Jerusalem from the north, a quadrilateral of fortifications comprising
Geba, Mizpah, Gibeon and Gibeah was created.
1
According to archaeological evidence, another quadrilateral was created
no
later
than the eighth century bc by building the fortress of
Ramat
Rahcl (biblical Beth-hakerem). Together with Etam, Bether and Bethle-
hem,
this quadrilateral
Jerusalem.
Hemmed nomadic
guarded the immediate southern approaches to
2
in
tribes
by formidable powers and
from the
desert,
vassal-states,
as well
as
by
Judah was continually compelled to look
216
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH to
its
When Asa
defences.
had completed the urgent task of securing
northern border, he continued his fortifying in
Rehoboams
And
activities
by
filling in
his
the gaps
fortress belt.
he built fenced
in those years
.
.
cities in
Judah: for the land had
rest,
and he had no war
Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these
.
make about them walls and us; because we have sought
towers, gates
and
the Lord our
God
bars, .
.
.
while the land
cities,
is
and
yet before
and he has given us
rest
on
every side. So they built and prospered. (2 Chr. 14:6-7)
We are
not yet in a position to ascribe with certainty most of the addi-
tions to the
Rehoboamite
the following incomplete
fortifications to list
En-gedi, Arad, Tell Yeshua,
and Gibeon,
all
any one of his successors, but
gives an idea of the extent of the network:
Ira, Tell
Khluweilfe (Ziklag?), 3 Beth-shemesh
were completed with the continuous, fortified
common
may have
full
that Asa's fortifications
co-operation of the entire population in a
national effort.
The
inhabitants of each city to be
contributed labour and material aid, according to royal
assessment, once they this enterprise
One may
within the orbit of the mountain redoubt.
deduce from the tenor of the above-cited passage
was
had volunteered
to share the burden.
explicitly stressed in the
The
success of
above passage.
Further large-scale fortifications were recorded from the time of Jehoshaphat: castles
And Jehoshaphat waxed
and
cities
of
store' (2
great exceedingly;
and he
built in
Judah
Chr. 17:12). In contrast to his father, Asa,
Jehoshaphat concentrated on the double task of plugging up the gaps
between the main defences - the
fortified
towns - with
and other minor works, and refurbishing the
The
forts,
strongpoints
logistic infrastructure
of the
was accomplished by operating logistic on much the same lines as in the United Monarchy. In addition, special attention was paid to making the main towns independent in their capability to produce and maintain arms and armanational defence.
latter task
bases, the 'store cities',
ment, including the servicing of war chariots.
A good example of a fort that served as link between major installations is
Horvat Rasham, between Lachish and Azekah. 4 In townless
as the
areas,
such
zone between Jericho and Zoar (with only the oasis of En-gedi
as a
major, permanently occupied settlement), a series of forts such as Ein
Turabe and Mugheir have come watchtowers and signal stations
may belong
to light. is
still
An
being uncovered.
5 to Jehoshaphat's great enterprise.
217
el-
ever-mounting number of
Some of
these
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
FORTIFICATIONS AND SIEGECRAFT The
standard pattern of Judean and Israelite fortresses was squarish or
rounded, with square protruding towers and crenellated battlements. Special attention
was paid to the
gates. In fortified
towns where the walls
followed the contours of the elevation they were built on, the gates were
form of a strong tower with a narrow gateway that could be closed by two sets of doors and heavy bolts, and could also be secured in usually in the
the passage between
up apropos Solomon's
compact
internal
its
fortifications: 'and
double walls [thus in the Hebrew
The
units.
he built
text], gates
and
Bible
...
sums
fenced
bars'.
all
these
cities,
with
6
Excavation, stray biblical passages and a host of murals and other paintings
and
reliefs
from Egyptian, Assyrian and other sources permit us to
reconstruct the Israelite fortifications
From Dan on
the
Aramean border
and elaborate the above considerably. to
Kadesh-barnea on the confines of
Sinai a special pattern of Israelite fortifications evolved
which more often
than not proves that building was carried out according to standardized techniques and specifications. the so-called casemate wall'.
The
It is
frequently used type of curtain-wall was
a
double wall connected by internal par-
tition walls that divide the space in
ments, casemates'. These might, at rubble, earth or the like, resilience.
This
between them into square compart-
least in
times of stress, be
mode of
devices. After the
improved battering-ram was
introduced by the Assyrians, the chances that this
would
batter
thermore, the
it
more
narrow single
the width of these walls created a
made Net
it
for easy
new
was nearly impossible
movement
by no means
.ill
in the
development
in
mass was reasonably good. Fur-
wall, the
much wider
immediate
rear
battlement
chemin de ronde.
secure zone for
to cover this
Israelite walls
Strong fortifications had at built in
solid
roofs of the casemates served as a
area than the necessarily
inside, since
latest
either be caught within the filling of the casemate or
into an even
flat
up with
construction aimed at minimizing the effects of
undermining and breaching
weaponry would
filled
and provide the walls with considerable width and
Finally,
movement on
by enemy
missiles,
the
which
of the battle zone. 7
were of the casemate type.
Many
certain times solid curtains which were often
segments that protruded and regressed
in turn while following
the contours of the topography. This arrangement ensured that the
breaching effect of the battering-ram did not spread over a wider area than the segment that was assaulted. If the battlements were crowned by
wooden
galleries, as
depicted on the Lachish
218
reliefs
from
Assyria, the pro-
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH truding and regressing wall segments permitted some kind of enfilade. In
more
other words, archers mounting the galleries could shoot parallel to the adjacent wall section
menting the enfilading example where the
one
is
solid,
or
century bc) wall
latest (sixth
less
approaches, comple-
its
of the towers, discussed below. Arad
Tire'
earliest (tenth
and the
and cover
is
one
casemated, the later
is
century) again casemated. Beersheva's
tenth-century bc walls were solid, and then a century later they were
changed into casemate
walls.
Kadesh-barnea, which was built in the
ninth or eighth century bc, was always a casemate structure; and more
examples could be given.
seems that there was no consensus of opin-
It
ion about the relative value of the solid and the casemate curtains: at different times opinion shifted.
be built in Palestine
Roman
down
Casemate
fortresses continued, however, to
end of the Byzantine period. In
to the
times they spread out from the east over
Roman
Empire, and fortresses in
Britain or
all
late
Roman very much
of the
Germany were
akin to those of the Israelites from a thousand years before.
The main drawbacks endemic depth in comparison with
any type of fortification
in
battle in the
open
are the lack
field as well as the lack
of
of flex-
To minimize the tactical handicap, the following devices were applied, one or more together: a double line of walls like those at Lachish, sallyports and passages as at Ramat ibility.
Fortifications are
all
Rahel (Beth-hakerem), a
which were found
latter,
there
and
easily visible.
glacis at the foot at
of the wall, and a moat. Both the
Lachish and Mizpah, had the joint purpose of
stopping the hostile assault short of the walls, beneath lines within adequate distance for the accuracy
and
effectiveness
of bow and
sling,
and protecting
the base of the walls from easy undermining and breaching.
Among
the major components of
all
major
fortifications
were the
towers that protruded from the curtains and dominated their battlements.
The
was manifold.
towers' purpose
When
at the
climax of any siege the
defenders on the battlements were unable to hit the
enemy
at the foot
of
the walls without exposing themselves dangerously to the attackers' missiles,
the
men
posted on the towers could shoot along the walls and their
immediate area from ing
fire
tions
has retained
which
relatively secure positions.
its
decisive quality even in present-day field fortifica-
are so designed as to afford a flanking field of fire to as
positions as possible.
The placement of towers within bowshot
each other was obviously the rule to ensure a
No
less
This enfilading or flank-
distance of
full enfilade.
important was the towers' height, for
this afforded a
of vision and consequently a wider range of accurate 219
many
Tire'.
wider
field
Moreover, the
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE height lent additional penetrating power to a discharge at a close-range
and enabled the defenders
target
of the walls.
The
ments. Even
if
to hit enemies
who had
reached the crest
towers also divided the curtains into separate compart-
the curtain was either breached or carried in any of these
sections, as long as the pair
of towers
at its sides
was
in
good
fighting order
the defenders stood a fair chance of pushing back the attacker with the aid
of the harassing
fire
men on
provided by the
sibly serve as a base for the counter-attack.
the towers, which might fea-
Moreover, there was no way of
spreading out along the battlements before the flanking towers were sub-
dued. To ensure that the towers were difficult to tlements, from classical times
assail
even from the bat-
onward easily-withdrawn wooden bridges or
ladders frequently connected the two. This device could well go back to
the First
Temple
period.
Special attention fortress.
In
guarded by
its
a
8
was paid
to the gates, the
most vulnerable spot
most sophisticated form the approach
double
set
of gate towers, such
as in
any
in
was
to the gate
Megiddo, Samaria and
would find himself which had firing positions
Lachish. If he penetrated the outer gate, the attacker
channelled into the passage between the gates, all
along, exposing
Even
if
him
to crossfire
from two, three or four
the entrance was defended by a single gate tower,
directions.
was usually a
it
very strong and deep structure with internal guard rooms and upper-floor firing apertures so as to harass the
had
at least a
double
set
enemy
The
inside the gate.
gateway passage could also be blocked
in
it.
Larger towns had citadels in which the defenders could
These served
towns
as well as arsenals
ble.
The
an additional manner between
the partition walls of the chambers flanking
stand.
gate towers
of gates on the outside and on the inside.
as quarters for the regular garrisons
make
a last
quartered in the
of weapons for the population in times of trou-
Their elevated position and towers served
as
command
posts for the
direction of the overall defence (see for instance the arrangements at
Hazor, Megiddo and Lachish).
A
secure water supply could
siege if
the assault failed.
The
make
all
the difference in withstanding a
engineers were able to tap very deep sub-
terranean water tables, or even to tunnel hidden passages to outside sources of water: Hazor, Megiddo,
Sometimes Jerusalem.
existing
installations
Gibeon and Azekah
are
good examples.
were used and elaborated,
e.g.
at
}
Roads leading up
to the gates
were planned so that the attacker had to
wheel round, which made him lose impetus and expose 220
his right side
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH (unprotected by his shield and so doubly vulnerable to the defenders). In situations like this the ambidextrous Benjaminites
since they could use their slings
and
still
came
in very
handy
guard themselves from the right
with a buckler.
Which
brings us to the matter of siegecraft.
without saying that the
art
To
man
it
goes
of defence and siege are complementary.
It is
the military
whether Vauban (ad 1633-1707), possibly the greatest
difficult to decide
Dutchman Coehorn
of all fortificatory engineers, or the
be remembered more
his close runner-up, are to
(ad 1641-1704),
as the builders
of fortifi-
means and ways to destroy them. It is thus almost axiomatic that, hand in hand with the development of the art of fortification, the Israelites from the days of the United Monarchy onwards became adept in all forms of siege warfare. cations or as the inventors of
The procedure of warning of the also against
When 'He he
it
a siege
and
set battering
prophesying Tyre's
shall
make
very concisely described by Ezekiel in a
doom
rams against at the
a fort against thee
shall set engines
thy towers'
is
and
(ibid.,
cast a
and
it
round about' (Ezek.
4:2).
lift
up the buckler
against thee,
of war against thy walls and with his axes he
shall
says:
and
break
26:8-9).
mount
ramp of soil and
against Jerusalem'
stones either by a
of planks of wood remained a
The ramps
camp
it,
hands of Nebuchadnezzar, he
Jeremiah visualizes the siege of Jerusalem trees
set the
fate awaiting Jerusalem: 'Lay a siege against
or banks were built to
(Jer.
wooden
common fill
as follows:
'Hew
ye
down
6:6). Strengthening the
skeleton or by the insertion
device
up any
down
to the
Middle Ages.
obstacles, such as moats, to
gain enough height to apply scaling ladders and rams. Dislodging stones
from the lower portion of the walls was not always the best means of battering a way into a beleaguered fortress; if the ram could be aimed higher, the
crumbling wall would carry with
tlements and
its
it
a proportion of the bat-
defenders. Moreover the fallen debris
would form
a
continuation of the ramp, which would afford a traversable approach into the breach.
But the at
biblical narrative has left
work, although there
almost no account of Israelite sappers
a passage from Joab's siege of Abel Beth-
is
maachah which proves that the Israelites applied all the above methods, and as early as David's time: 'And they came and besieged him [the rebel Sheba ben Bichri] in Abel and they cast a bank against him and it stood in the trench and all the people that were with Joab battered to cast it .
down'
(2
.
.
Sam. 20:15). 221
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
The ram was of course used from earliest times. When it was first used down walls, we do not know. It is first represented upon an Egypt-
to hatter ian
of the 12th Dynasty (twentieth century bc). In the Davidic
fresco
period
might well have been developed into a device with a hardened,
it
often ram-shaped head (hence
was either swung a
group
in a
of resolute
Hasan ram might
name), frequently metal-capped, which
its
harness secured to a fixed
men
wooden
scaffolding or by
charging whatever they wished to breach.
edge which can pry loose bricks and masonry by breaking the are the hantVOtoi
He/ekiah 26:8.
How
to follow the Assyrian lead in using in
armoured
v
cars
warfare,
The Beni
well have been of another type, the kind with a sharp
and towers
is
far the
joints.
These
Jewish kingdoms were able
more and more elaborate rams
beyond our knowledge.
which necessarily drew into
its
installed
10
orbit the entire
combatant population of the besieged town, was governed by a
non-
strict rule:
before any hostile action, peace' was offered in return for surrender to the
besieging
was
arm v.
liable
to
If
this offer
death and
was refused, the town's adult male population its
property to confiscation.
222
The same law
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH Assyrians besieg-
ing a
archers
city:
support a turreted ram, while
sappers under-
mine
the gate or
explore an under-
ground passage. Others are breaking the wall with
crowbars.
The
defenders try to catch the ram's
beam with hooks attached to chains.
remained valid until the nineteenth century ad, when for instance
which had refused
to surrender to
Napoleon
in
Jaffa,
March 1799, was handed
over for plunder to the victorious French besieger.
Another Old Testament law governing tioned:
'When thou
shalt besiege a city
thereof to force an axe against
(Deut. 20:19).
The
them
.
.
.
...
to
it
by the English
the
Hebrew
shalt not destroy the trees
employ them
explanation given for this ruling
straightforward reading of the biblical original,
being so that you
make war
against
it?';
itself
on
the tree a
While and what we would call
ethical
is
man's
if its
could be that both factors played their part in formulating
and
fortress towers
The
had
their great stores
life'.
stresses the eco-
nomic approach: what value will the captured town have livelihood are undermined by destroying its agricultural Fortresses
human
or in the interpretation given to
today 'ecological' considerations, the Authorized Version
the panoply of war.
in the siege'
contained in the
is
'for is
translators 'for the tree of the field
injunction bases
must be men-
siege warfare
thou
sources of
plantations?
It
this law.
both for victuals and
elongated store houses ranged alongside each
223
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE other in Beersheva covered an area of 600 square yards. Similar installations were
found
in
Megiddo, Hazor and
at Tell
In other places the casemates served as depots
Nor was food
el-Hesa and Tell Qasileh.
and magazines. 11
for the spirit neglected. Excavations at Arad, Lachish
and
Beersheva have proved that even the centralist clergy of the Temple in
bowed
Jerusalem
to long periods
to the
ized 'military chapels'.
the
first
tution
demand of the Judean
soldiers
who were
confined
of service on frontier bases, and provided them with
The
writer
inclined to see in this
is
legal-
phenomenon
step in the chain that later gave birth to that revolutionary insti-
which became the prototype
for
all
subsequent monotheistic places
of worship - the Jewish synagogue. 12
Another function of these garrison sanctuaries was probably what we
army education units'. One may even postulate missionary activities among peoples and tribes on the borders. As in later times, political and military activity was backed up and followed by cultural and religious domination. As with the actions of the Levites during the United Monarchy, the border sanctuaries must have operated both internally and externally to teach and propagate Old Testament religion, law and culture. It is common knowledge that the grasp for true monotheism was not completely comprehended by all throughout much of the monarchal period. Furthermore, political and commercial contacts demanding tolerance for other creeds fostered confusion.
would
call in
modern parlance
At times, these
'bases for
issues also affected military sanctuaries.
where the
case at Kuntillet Ajrud (see p. 232),
almost bewildering syncretism between Judean, elements.
1
This was the
religious practices reveal Israelite
an
and Phoenician
*
THE COMPOSITION OF THE JUDEAN ARMY The army manning fied
the defences
system comprised,
Kingdom, both
as in the
a regular
and operating from
inside this vast forti-
United Monarchy and
nucleus and the national
levy,
in the
Northern
the people in arms.
The regulars included the royal guards, the picked infantry (named the 'runners')
and, of course, the charioteers.
trained to fight as a tions,
and
seems
team with the chariots
foreign mercenaries from
Pelethi)
It
among
feasible that the 'runners'
in
were
mutually supporting forma-
the Sea Peoples (such as the Chereti
continued their traditional service with the House of David.
Excavations at the fortress of Arad uncovered ostraca (pottery shards) pertaining to their quartermaster.
They
include the order to furnish Greek
224
(?)
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH mercenaries with certain victuals and have been dated by their discoverer,
Yohanan Aharoni,
The state
to the time of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah.
14
of the regular army must have varied in accordance with the
size
of the country's economic prosperity. Troops were deployed in the
fortresses partly as stationary garrisons, partly as
manoeuvre and forces
fight
mainly in the open. The
was quartered,
field forces
as before,
'fifties'
The major
and
largest
contingent of mobile
with the king in Jerusalem. The
were formed in the by-now familiar
'hundreds',
mobile forces to patrol,
tactical divisions
of 'thousands',
'tens'.
difference between
Judah and
Israel
was the Judean prepon-
derance of the infantry as the main offensive arm.
The
defence of the
much
Judean mountains made the emphasis on foot-soldiers mandatory, as the
broad valleys and plains of the north demanded the development of
chariotry.
Still,
mand - 'my
horses as thy horses'
shaphat to Jehoram, Ahab's son,
campaign, chariotry.
when placing himself at Ahab's com- and the same phrase uttered by Jehoon the eve of their combined Moabite
Jehoshaphat's words
as well as other biblical allusions,
The
prove the existence of Judean
chariot was in fact the royal vehicle of war,
Judean king, like the kings of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon his troops in battle.
which
No
single chariot could
and
later Persia, led
go into combat alone, a
indicates the existence of a force of fighting vehicles,
And mention
from which the
however
fact
small.
of the captains of the charioteers and the chariots of King
Jehoram (see below) proves the existence of more than a token force. This was only logical, for whenever Judah extended its sway over the Negev
Edom and the Mediterranean coastal plain, mobile chariotry in sizenumbers could hardly be dispensed with. As to the importance of the infantry in the Judean armies at all times, we possess an unfortunately severely mutilated inscription from the war of into
able
the Syrian coalition headed by King Uzziah of Judah against Tiglathpileser.
The
Assyrian annalist ascribes his master's victory to the great feat
of vanquishing the Judean infantry. 15 These troops certainly included levies
from the national
information:
And
service army,
about which we also have some
Asa had an army of men that bare
targets
and
spears,
out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields
and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand:
were mighty
men
all
these
of valour' (2 Chr. 14:8).
The traditional tribal proficiencies in warfare were evidently carried on. The tribe of Judah provided the phalanx of pikemen, while the Benjaminites continued their tradition as archers. The numbers quoted 225
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
With
are nevertheless greatly overestimated.
million inhabitants,
is
it
questionable
if
even one-quarter of the male
at
one and the same time.
population could be marshalled for war
An army
list
a total population of half a
from the days of Jehoshaphat enumerates
five
main
div-
Adnah of Judah, commander over 300,000 men; Jehohanan of Judah, commander over 280,000 men; Amasiah of Judah, commander over 200,000 men; Eliada of Benjamin, commander of 200,000 archers; Jehozabad, commander isions
of the people's army under their commanders:
over 180,000 archers. 'These waited
king put in the fenced
The
people's
army was
cities
on the
throughout
king, beside those
all
whom
the
Judah' (2 Chr. 17:14-19).
therefore built in five divisions
which may,
like the
twelve divisions of the former United Monarchy, have furnished, according to a fixed schedule, 'reserves on active service' for a fixed period every year. If we cross
out one nought from each of the figures given above, the
whole of the 'people
in arms'
amounts
to
116,000 (about 50 per cent of
the male population), which theoretically could have been possible in
times of extreme emergency.
The
five divisions
recruited
seem
16
to have
been combat divisions which were
from the twelve administrative divisions of the kingdom. Jeho-
shaphat was able to reconstruct the Solomonic infrastructure of basing the
Captured Judean chariot from the booty taken eveh palace).
226
at
Lachish (Nin-
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH upkeep of his administration and army on twelve was responsible
power
in each
of these
district divisions,
districts
did not suffice for the formation of twelve
however, two or more
districts
had
nish the five divisions, which served either with a
about eleven weeks yearly
or,
each of which
districts,
one month. As the limited man-
for the provisions for
combine
to
full
to fur-
complement
for
with half their strength, served twice a year
about one month. 17
for
THE DEFENCE OF THE NEGEV The combined wars of
reigns of
Ahab and
Jehoram of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah have been described
in chapter
Israel
and Judah during the
7. It
remains to survey the Negev, the south of the Judean kingdom, which
was
basically a
Judean concern, though
about co-operation with the northern standing of the problems involved, Israelite
common
sister
it is
trade ventures brought
kingdom. For a better under-
best to survey in this context the
involvement in the Negev, from Solomonic times onward.
term Negev means 'dry country'.
It
The
comprises about 4,800 square miles
between Beersheva and Ezion-geber. With an average precipitation of
six
annum, the Negev could support only a nomad population. Since the Negev is a climatic border zone, fluctuations in even this minimum amount of rain are frequent, as well as in the subterranean sources feeding springs and wells. In dry periods the only means of salvation for the nomads was in gaining access, by fair means or foul, to the arable country, which was endowed with more enduring sources of water and a variety of pasturelands, as well as the crops and plants grown by the landed peasants. One of these inroads was the Midianite invasion met by Gideon in the Jezreel Valley, some 150 years before the foundation of the kingdom of Saul. After the foundation of the monarchy, the permanent task of its kings was to safeguard orderly and secure life in their country by maintaining a secure grip on the southern borders. In other words, a line of border defences specially adapted to repelling the raiders from the Negev and beyond was essential to the maintenance of peace in Judah. The natural inches per
line
of defence
is
that of the largely steep-sided, deep gorge of the Besor,
Beersheva and Malkhata
form a continuous priately fortified
line
rivers,
which
are tributaries
of one another and
of demarcation that can be turned,
and well
Actually, a line of fortified border strongholds can be this
line,
when appro-
patrolled, into an effective line of defence.
including Beersheva, Tell Masos (Hormah?), 227
18
made out along Ira,
Arad and
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE Malkhata. 19 To make raiders are
this line effective,
depth was needed, since the swift
from the desert were capable of penetrating any
linear defence.
We
beginning to uncover, between the main bases of the wadi line and the
upper slopes of the Hebron mountains, a constantly growing number of
which gave depth
sites
We have to
to the forward line.
becoming enmeshed
raiding parties
in a
fortified localities. If the raiders nonetheless fortified belt
on
way
their
vulnerable to interception their
way
succeeded in penetrating the
into the arable country, they
when
became
seriously
laden with loot and/or fattened flocks on
That interceptions
back.
imagine the desert
network of mutually supporting
like these
were possible, even without
the existence of properly functioning border defences,
is
demonstrated by
David's pursuit and interception of the party that had raided Ziklag while
he was
more
still
pay
a feudal condottiere in Gittite
an action of that kind would have been had
effective
of a permanent routine of border
The major
How much
Sam. 30).
(1
it
evolved out
forces!
Negev beyond the wadi line was as a connecting link between the land and sea commerce that converged upon Edom and the Gulf of Eilat on one side, and the Philistine plain on the other. Fittingly, when Strabo, about a thousand years after Solomon, describes Gaza, he
value of the
states: '...
There
is
said to be a passage thence across of 1,260
stadia to the city of Aila [Eilat], situated
Arabian Gulf
.
.
.
Travelling
is
And
sandy country' {Geography xvi.n.30). city
.
.
.
opposite to Gaza'
on the innermost
recess
of the
performed on camels through a desert and
(ibid., xvi.iv.4).
again:
Aelana
[Aila-Eilat]
Pliny the Elder, in about
ad
is
a
75,
mentions the other main trade centre with which Gaza and the Philistine coast was connected: \ IVtra [which
was the
.
Next
.
are the
Nabateans inhabiting a town named
biblical Selah, capital
of Edom]. At Petra two roads
meet, one leading from Syria to Palmyra and the other coming from Gaza (
Historia Natumtis vi.n.
The
districts
linked by
Negev,
who
44).
of Edom, the Negev and the Philistine coast were always
common
were interested
1
in
commercial
Both Edomites and
Philistines
maintaining good relations with the nomads in the
already included Arab tribes, so as to ensure the flow of goods
from one commercial centre Israelite
interests.
monarchy added
to
the other.
The
establishment of the
a fourth interested party. Israelite
over the whole Negev could be exploited passively by in the profits
supremacy
demanding
a share
of the existing trade, and actively by the development of new
trade routes through the diversion of part of the flow of trade into or via
the Israelite dominions. Both
methods were employed, the second by 228
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH diverting part of the north-south (or vice versa) trade along the Palestinian land-bridge into an easterly direction
and by capturing part of the
Egyptian Red Sea trade monopoly through the development of Eziongeber or nearby Eilat and channelling off some of the
Red Sea
traffic
from
Egyptian ports. All the other interested parties were united in their desire to sabotage
the newly arrived Israelite competitors.
To safeguard
the desert routes
and
the trade stations from Solomonic times onwards, the Israelites were
forced to fortify and control the trans-Negev desert routes and the sources of water in the wilderness. routes was clearly Solomonic,
The
first
main
system of fortified desert
and much of Pharaoh
Shishak's
campaign of
20
Whether it was his or his advisers' idea or a Phoenician suggestion, Solomon had the vision to make full use of the geopolitical realities created by the establishment of Greater Israel. With the assistance of Tyre the ancient naval and trade monopoly of Egypt in the Red Sea was challenged, and an alternative trade route between the latter and the Mediterranean was indeed established. The 'Early Israelite' fortresses at Hazeva, Yotveta and Tell el-Kheleifeh point to the use of the 924 bc was directed
Arava
against
trade
route,
the
first
while fortress
it.
Kadesh-
at
barnea stood guard over
the
oasis
that
served as crossroads
and
traffic
centre
on
the eastern outskirts
of the Negev. 21 Policing the
Negev
and maintaining roads
and
its
Egyptian ship.
traffic
meant maintaining
a wide-ranging
network of forts, strongholds, towers,
checkpoints, protected water sources, signal stations and the taining
all
these
meant the deployment of
a
like.
22
Main-
permanent force of many
The problems involved were manifold. How could even Solomon muster enough troops on a permanent footing, or reserves on a rotation schedule, just for this one task without neglecting other no less vital commitments? Furthermore, with all the logistic difficulties of maintaining a military presence in the Negev even in our day, how much more difficult it must have been then. True, we cannot compare the sophistithousands.
229
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
army with those of
cated needs of a twentieth-century
3,000 years before. Yet even then,
was a major
it
from Beersheva and the north, and
to have
its
counterpart
effort to bring all the supall
the basic maintenance,
servicing and, of course, production of equipment
- from composite bow
plies
to chariot axle,
and from shoe
to helmet
-
perma-
referred to the zone of
nent settlement from Beersheva northwards.
human element. Even if the Israelite much more frugal and less demanding than his - who is kept in good spirits by canteens, concerts
Last but not least, there was the
was
soldier of biblical days
modern counterpart
and shows, radio and even
television, as well as
with a quick and constant
home - ways and means had
postal connection with
still
to be
enable the troops stationed in the wilderness to go on leave and
homes and families in the The answer to all these the
same problems
Negev and selves.
23
difficulties
settlers
needs, the fortress
on
and
its
and the existence of the
a
the settlers them-
places a typical trinity
field
of view; a
on the
village
slopes,
in the valleys at the foot
of the
fortress hill.
garrisons provided the protection for the agricul-
nomad
fortress,
waterworks, tribes
vital to
the existence of both.
around, only by constant vigilance
both a deterrent and a refuge, was
civil life
Thus mutual concern for survival made the defenders and the homogeneous close-knit community. In fact, the natural develop-
ment would have been, the
upon
many
provided the soldiers with their victuals and other daily
Again, with the roaming
tanners
in
and extensive water-catchment and storage
fortress;
tural settlement, as well as for the
possible.
to
a well-chosen tactical position, usually
good all-round
works on the lower slopes and
While the
was the prototype of the solution
Negev observes
fortress or fort
a hilltop with a
visit their
subsequent ages: the permanent settlement of the
traveller in the
under the walls of the
to
of the country.
the imposition of the defence of the area
The
of construction: a
upon
in all
settled parts
found
if
not from the beginning then soon
after, to recruit
members of the garrisons from the settlers of the attached villages. know thai in the Second Temple period the Negev farmers were
We rural
border
militia,
a
granted their lands by the government; in return for
ownership or usufruct of their
plots, as well as other
sundry
benefits, they
were required to undertake the watch over the border. This duty was passed on from father to son. In the First
ments may well have
existed.
Temple
period, similar arrange-
In fact, taking as evidence the passage
quoted from 2 Chr. 26 together with archaeological the picture
we
finds, this
is
exactly
have. All these installations appear to have been planned
according to a single blueprint, and their construction seems to have been 230
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH simultaneous. Moreover, the extensive water-catchment, storage and
irri-
draw the admiration of the most sophisticated observer, could not have been built and maintained by private enterprise. The hand of the central government is everywhere in evidence. To be exact, the area of settlement was limited by the topographical gation works, which even today
Negev highlands, between the dunes in the north and the high mountains in the south. Even there, it was only the adaptation and sophisticated development of existing desert-fringe agricultural methods that made this ambitious enterprise possible. conditions to the central
Not
of the thirty-odd
all
fortresses so far discovered
cerned with the defence of the farmers.
work of
trade routes
outside.
Some will have doubled
tres.
This was
and diminished the
facilitated
belonged to the type
Some
as
by the
much
were primarily con-
stood guard over the net-
threat to their traffic
road stations or
in the
fact that all fortresses
favoured in
Israel,
such
cen-
Negev
with an open courtyard, the
walls of which were of the casemate' type (see p. 218). Since lations,
from the
as administrative
all
the instal-
were lodged in the case-
as living quarters, stores, stables, etc.,
mates, the open courtyard of these fortresses could serve as shelter to wayfarers, their beasts
and goods, and
tion in the casemates did not suffice.
The trans-Negev
traffic
for other purposes, if
did not benefit only from the protection
afforded by the fortresses and their services.
by producing food and fodder
we may assume
ation were recruited
The
for the caravans,
could provide various services for Finally,
accommoda-
24
man and
villages also catered to
and the
it
local craftsmen
beast.
Negev colonisfrom the surplus of population, which did multiply that the settlers for the central
under the prosperous conditions reigning during the United Monarchy.
We
thus see that the Solomonic development and exploitation of the
Negev was
a complex, inter-connected and multi-faceted undertaking.
As
indicated above, Solomon's great enterprise was totally destroyed by
Shishak in his endeavour to dislodge the
The
Israelites
reoccupation of the southern Negev (to
Sinai, the River
some of
natural
boundary with
of Egypt?) was the achievement of Jehoshaphat: 'Also
[the latter
two words
are inexactly translated]
brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute brought him
its
from the Negev. 25
flocks, seven
the Philistines
and the Arabians
thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven
thousand and seven hundred he tributes of the Philistines
silver;
26
goats' (2 Chr. 17:11).
and the Arabs
are
We
mentioned
note that the
together.
They
were brought to heel not only by the exercise of military power, but by the 231
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
economic pressure brought
to bear
by the Judean mastery of the Negev.
The third factor in the Negev also has a place in Jehoshaphat's activities. The Bible mentions, almost in a parenthetical way, that 'There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king' (1 Kgs. 22:47). The Edomite problem evidently was solved by complete annexation of the kingdom.
With
the stage thus
'Jehoshaphat
went
made
set,
the
way was open
not; for the ships were
broken
son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let ships.
But Jehoshaphat would
Northern
to
ships of Tharshish to go to
at Ezion-geber.
trade.
for gold: but they
Then
said
Ahaziah the
my servants go with thy servants in the 22:48-9). Rather than
not' (1 Kgs.
Kingdom become
renew the Red Sea
Ophir
too
closely
Jehoshaphat declined the offer of the
men
involved
of
let
who had by
Israel,
the
Negev,
the
in
then
gained some valuable nautical experience.
Of
special
interest
is
sanctuary and trade centre built on a high
fortress
bc
Kuntillet Ajrud, the ninth/eighth-century hill
that dominates the
surrounding desert, halfway between Al Arish and Eilat on the south-west borders of the kingdom. Dominating the water wells at rare perennial
water sources in
control the use of the water.
The
one of the
was able
interpretation of small finds
objects have convinced the excavators that this site
ing and protecting a
its feet,
this arid region, this fortress
was a
combined commercial venture of the two
kingdoms and the Phoenicians, exploiting the
and
vital link
to
cult
operatIsraelite
shortest overland route
between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. This enterprise must have been opposed strongly by Egypt and
all
those other local elements
their participation in that lucrative trade threatened.
Though
the Bible does not
mention
who
felt
27
either Jehoshaphat or perhaps
it,
Uzziah must have renewed the Solomonic naval venture in the Red Sea after
all.
Scholars agree that the frequent winds blowing inland at Ezion-
geber were responsible for the destruction of the Judean
fleet
and
interpret
the subsequent building of Eilat as the shifting of the naval base to a
scvure spot. Surely no one
would have taken
this trouble if ships
more
had not
been launched?
The
excavations of Tell el-Kheleifeh (biblical Ezion-geber) have
[Moved the existence of fortifications from the period of Jehoshaphat. other the
sites,
the fortress of Kadesh-barnea,
Negev from
Sinai,
and Arad,
now Two
on the southern approaches to of the wadi line (Wadi Besor-
in the rear
Beersheva-Malkhata), have definite strata of construction connected with this king.
Once
again, the spade has sustained the biblical account.
28
Recently the fortress of Kuntillet Ajrud was identified at Qureiye, about 232
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH thirty miles south of Kadesh-barnea.
The commercial and
cations have been discussed above. Strategically
the southernmost border of Judah in
its
religious impli-
location suggests that
its
heyday was established along a
topographically sound line of escarpments and wadi beds that skirts the
Thus we can
ancient road from Eilat to El Arish and Gaza, respectively.
imagine that track
much
the same dust that was stirred up along this border
by Egyptian patrol
cars until
1967 swirled
wake of Judean
in the
chariots 2,800 years ago.
JEHORAM'S CAMPAIGN AGAINST Jehu's revolt
and the subsequent weakening of
EDOM
had
Israel
its
immediate
repercussions in the south. In his [Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat's] days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. So Joram [Jehoram] went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents. (2 Kgs. 8:20-1)
At
first
reading, this passage does not
victorious, did the people
But on
closer inspection
make
abandon the
one can conjecture
Why,
sense.
battlefield
and
if
the king was
disperse in flight?
as follows.
After a difficult and tiring approach march, which necessitated
handling the chariots and possibly even dismantling them so tiate
as to
nego-
army redeployed
in the
(the biblical Kikar). Because of the
many
narrow, rocky and steep passages, 29 the Judean
plain south of the cracks, crevices
Dead Sea
and dry wadi beds
in the
for the chariots, the infantry, the train
the
army camped
in or near the oasis
the soldiers were probably
less alert
marly
and the
was
still
little
At night
of Zoar. Because of general
-
fatigue,
his chariots in difficult terrain,
who
similarly less attentive.
their largely irregular insurgent forces, they
chance against chariots in the open
had risked
hard going
auxiliary services.
the rebellious Edomites the appearance of chariots was
come. With
had
soil it
than usual, and the guard details -
each had to stand watch one-third of the night
To
man-
field.
most unwel-
knew
that they
Admittedly, Jehoram
broken country and, behind
that, the mountains of Edom. Yet the Judean charioteers were themselves mountain men and were probably better at manoeuvring in adverse topo-
graphical conditions than most. So
233
Jehoram thought that
his risk in
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
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234
ii^fein.
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH building his expedition around armour' was well calculated and worth-
while
-
the
more
so since
we know of no
reason
why
the 'runners' (the
choice infantry), well versed in co-operation and mutual supporting actions with the chariots, were not taking part in this campaign.
Hence
the Edomites were rightly troubled, but they did not panic.
cool appreciation of the situation had convinced
with the ing the
Israelites until
enemy in
that, as
A
was the case
Davidic times, their sole salvation lay in surpris-
a situation where he could not exploit his superior arma-
ment. The opportunity presented
Judean halt
them
itself
on the night of the exhausted
at Zoar.
Under cover of darkness, and jumped off for a sudden
the Edomites crept
up
to the
Judean camp
from a point quite close to the neglimain objective was the person of the king, the commanders of the chariots (in whose company he was camping), the chariots and the horses. By concentrating on these objectives, the attackers hoped to strike their enemy's offensive arm decisively. Luckily for assault
gently guarded perimeter. Their
Hittites break into the
camp of Rameses
II
in Syria.
taining the troops' tents, they approach the central
and ots
his staff.
and the
train.
The
On
lines
the right side, routine continues
Having overrun the
of the unharnessed horses. In a corner
perimeter
is
defended by upright
have looked similar
when
left
side con-
compound with the tents of the King among the baggage, the rows of chari-
shields.
is
a class of boys serving with the
King Jehoram's camp
at
Zoar must
surprised by the Edomites (2 Kgs 8:20-21).
235
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Jehoram, he was alerted in time to wake, arm and organize the defence of his
dismounted
charioteers. If the
that night, the 'runners'
the chariots. They, too,
Judean camp followed the usual pattern
must have camped
may have been
in the vicinity of, or around,
able to
make
alarm to grasp their arms and rush to the defence.
use of the last-minute It
seems that the king
and many an unsung hero acquitted himself very well that through
many
night,
deeds of personal valour the Edomites were beaten
and off.
Their defeat was such that Jehoram could make an unmolested retreat with the forces that had fought under his personal command.
While the king had been surrounded by attacking Edomites, he could exercise no command over the rest of the camp. There, with no knowledge of his
and
fate,
prise in the
in the
absence of appropriate leadership, the sudden sur-
dark of the night changed into sheer panic, and the stricken
soldiery dispersed in headlong flight. Deprived of a large portion of his
Jehoram was forced
forces,
troubles focused attention
dence
campaign, and when domestic
to call off his
on the home
front,
Edom made
its
indepen-
final.
Edom
was able to preserve
about thirty-five
years.
this
Judah was
independence for two generations,
at its nadir.
Deprived of
Israel's
shield
against the Arameans, because of the disastrous aftermath of Jehu's revolt,
Judah stood alone against the
full
might of Damascus
at the zenith
of
its
power. Hazael of Damascus was about to implement the age-old dream of
making Damascus its
in
mistress of the Palestinian land-bridge
highways under
to that
once again
world
affairs
equal
neighbours' were, as so often in a geopolitical setting,
a natural ally.
the west
much
living, albeit
Moab and Edom
preferred
distant
Philistines
Aramean hegemony
two decades of the ninth century bc, Hazael captured
last
the Kings
Highway
Moab, and then
in Trans-Jordan, linking
to
up
at the
first
Arnon River with
up with the
Philistines at Gath.
Philistines, as well as the
Edomites, were cer-
the Via Maris, linking
Both the Moabites and the
happy
some kind of
and the
in the east
independently, in the shadow of the Jews. In his campaigns
during the
tainly
in
of David and Solomon.
The 'neighbours in
all
dominant position
his direct control. If successful, his
world trade would have brought him to a position
by bringing
to act as carriers
and intermediaries
in
any trade
activities
emanating from Damascus. At
this point,
clusion.
It
Hazael failed to carry his plan through to
its
logical
could be that he correctly judged himself unable to do
con-
so, for,
by abstaining from conquering the Cis-Jordanian central massif of Judah 236
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZ1AH and Samaria, he
the Jews in
left
centre of the natural line,
mountain
Highway and
time until the appropriate
from
their
moment
mountain redoubt and and trade
this central interior
approaches to the flanks of both
the Via Maris. Consequently, they could bide
their
territories
of the watershed road in the
Moving on
bastion.
command the
the Jews continued to
the King's
command
presented
itself to issue forth
re-establish their authority over the lost
routes.
EDOM
AMAZIAH'S RECONQUEST OF The
first
were the Judeans. With Aramean
to take the initiative this time
attention focused
upon
the Assyrian front in
staged a campaign to reconquer
Edom.
It
c.
785 bc Amaziah of Judah
seems that his planning followed
that of Jehoram, while learning the lessons of the latter s to avoid
its pitfalls.
When
met
campaign so
as
some six on the reconquest of all of northern Edom, Selah (the Rock), whose name Jeho-
the armies
in the Vale of Salt,
miles south of Zoar, the Judeans inflicted a crushing defeat
Edomites that paved the way for the including the capital of the country,
ram changed There
are
to Joktheel (2 Kgs.l4:7).
three
interesting
Amaziah's Edomite campaign, 25.
icles,
The
first is
that there
definitely taken prior to
was an
official
planned
this
is
not hard to guess.
narrative
biblical
of
account in 2 Chron-
census of the male populaat fixed intervals,
but was
The second twenty. The rea-
large-scale military activities.
that the age of compulsory national service
son for
the
to
which may have been updated
tion in Judah
is
sidelights
as given in the parallel
The
was fixed
at
seventeen- to twenty-year-olds were
needed to take over the jobs vacated by the national levy and to help the elders
and women keep up
doing
so,
In an age
their farms,
enterprises. In
they were able to develop their physical strength to
when
to join a
ence on the
full
maturity.
the primary training in the exercise of arms was passed from
father to son, these youngsters
enough
workshops and other
may
not yet have been considered dextrous
major military expedition.
home
On
front assured that the rear
the other hand, their pres-
was not completely denuded
of males capable of defending the homesteads in unforeseen contingencies.
Amaziah was
a very
strong-minded and strong-willed
reaching aspirations. In his time
we have
the
first
evidence for a corps of cavalry in the Judean army. For drive, however,
among
Amaziah
failed to wrest
from
all
with
his successes
Israel the status
the Jewish kingdoms. Nevertheless, the
237
ruler,
far-
strong, albeit indirect,
and
of primacy
outcome of this competi-
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE tion
was the re-implementation of the
kingdoms, which served Israel. Its
active alliance
as basis for the
between the two
second Golden Age of
biblical
external expression was, as indicated earlier, the re-extension of
Jewish dominion over the major part of the territory of the former United
Monarchy.
UZZIAH Amaziah was
to Uzziah, his son,
forger of the tools to be used
by
his
later
was
to
Apropos Alexander,
strength.
'the Great'. Surely
factors than military matters,
must remember
is
which
upon
Uzziah deserves to be
called 'Uzziah the Great' because of his achievements in
government. Since national security
has
it
the Western custom since the Hellenistic age to bestow
outstanding rulers the attribute
all
Alexander — the
son and heir to bring the kingdom to
and
a high standard of prosperity
become
what Philip
many
branches of
many more these pages, we
always influenced by
are the subject of
that cultural, social, religious
and economic
were
forces
instrumental in enabling Uzziah to achieve his feats of arms.
And he [Uzziah] went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities [castles] about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. And God helped him
against the Philistines,
and against the Arabians
and the Mehunim. And the Ammonites gave
that dwelt in Gur-baal,
Uzziah: and his
gifts to
name
spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly. (2 Chr. 26:6-8)
Uzziah thus reduced the Philistines once more to a
state
of absolute vas-
saldom. To ensure his grip, he dismantled the fortifications of some of their
main towns and put Judean garrisons
tory, for
whose protection he erected
The geopolitical Philistines,
(Edom)
in Philistine
towns and
terri-
special castles.
and geo-economic inter-relationship between the
the Arab tribes of the
Negev and Southern Trans-Jordan With the reduction of
has been described earlier in these pages.
Philistia, the
Negev
tribes
were economically
at the
their trade outlets. In the circumstances they did the
and accepted Judean hegemony with
possible
all
mercy of Judah
for
only rational thing
the strings attached.
Their submission was the more complete as in a further Bible passage (2 Kgs. 14 22) Uzziah :
is
said to have 'built Eilat
238
and restored
it
to Judah'.
The
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH chronology tine coast,
not clear but, either before or
is
and crowned
Ophir
on the
this intriguing
by
and
Philis-
his father
at Eilat.
An
store-city excavated at Tell
outskirts of modern Tel Aviv bears the inscription: 'Gold of
Beth-horon
to
conquest of the
Edom begun
by refurbishing the naval base
his achievements
inscribed pottery shard from the market
Qassila
after the
Uzziah completed the reduction of
'
...
document
thirty shekels. is
30
The
simplest interpretation of
that the regimental chest of the garrison then
stationed in the Israelite fortress of Beth-horon received an assignment of
Ophir gold from the commander or paymaster stationed
in the royal store-
which was the forerunner of present-day Tel Aviv. The most
direct way become legal tender in Israel was through a renewed alliance with Judah, which had revivified - either with or without Israelite co-operation - the naval ventures in the Red Sea from Eilat. The 'Mehunim' (Menuim) have traditionally been identified with those city,
for the
Ophir gold
semi-nomadic in Jordan.
to
tribes that inhabited the
Mention of them
country around present-day
as well as
Maan
of the Ammonites emphasized
Judah's control over not only the King's Highway, but also the by-passes
along the fringe lands in the Desert.
Much
east,
between the plateau and the Arabian
of the resilience of the Ammonites or any other people sub-
sequently holding these desert-fringe tracks grew out of the conquerors' inability (due to inferior
knowledge of the
desert) to control these by-
The special importance of Ammon lay in its position as guardian over the Wadi Sirhan, the highway from Arabia to the Palestinian landbridge. With the triangle Ashdod and Philistia-Eilat-Petra (Selah or, at the time we are discussing, Joktheel) firmly in Uzziah's hands, the Ammonites well knew where their economic interests lay. passes.
Lately, the
Mehunim
have been identified with tribes mentioned in
Assyrian documents as inhabiting northern Sinai or the Kadesh-barnea region.
31
This work cannot help to establish their
latter identification equally well, since
identity.
They
fit
the
Uzziah had extended Judah's sphere
of influence even beyond the Brook (or River) of Egypt (Wadi El Arish). It is
impossible to
fix
the exact location of the entering into Egypt', but
the region was between the fortresses of Pelusium
and Migdol,
in the area
between Tine, Romani and Kantara. Ptolemies and Seleucids, Crusaders
and Saracens, Turks and Mameluks, tians
British
and Turks,
and many more have subsequently clashed
a line of fortifications along the isthmus of Suez
Egypt'.
32
Uzziah's achievement
Israelis
in this area,
and Egyp-
where often
guarded the entering into
was the control over the two branches of
the Via Maris that crossed northern Sinai, and possibly 239
its
southern
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE detours as well.
The
control was achieved by garrisoning the fortified
water-sources that have forced the roads to adhere to their original layout
throughout
This task was,
history.
as
we observed when
discussing the
Exodus, usually undertaken by the Egyptians, from both commercial and strategic considerations.
Only
the coincidence of Pharaonic weakening
and Judean mounting strength forced the Egyptians hold over the
to relinquish their
approaches to their country, and thus enabled the
vital
Judeans to step into their position along the desert roads.
THE SOUTH AND THE RURAL MILITIA Another of Uzziah's great achievements concerns the Negev proper:
many
Also he built towers in the desert, and digged cattle,
both
low country, and
in the
dressers in the mountains,
Hebron mountains]:
These
for
and
in the plains:
wells: for
husbandmen
he had also,
much
and vine-
Carmel [on the Ziph ridge of the southern
in
he loved husbandry. (2 Chr. 26:10)
terse sentences indicate that,
most probably, Uzziah considerably
enlarged the existing settlement and agricultural exploitation of the southern region of his realm. As far as research, he did not venture to
we can
trust present-day archaeological
renew the Solomonic enterprise
tral
Negev highlands, but concentrated on
and
activities in the
in the cen-
intensifying rural settlement
Judean piedmont, Beersheva valley and on other
suit-
able desert-fringe areas.
propose that the garrisoning of
I
these
parts
should
be allocated
all
to
but the central fortifications in
the
rural
following
militia,
the
Solomonic example. Uzziah was most probably not the re-inventor of the Negev border militia.
Jehoshaphai
is
a
much
likelier
candidate.
the renewal
And possibly the extension of
genuity of
all lies
it
in the joint solution to
To Uzziah nonetheless goes
this great enterprise.
many
The
in-
different problems; each
combined they made the whole scheme feasexample, the overpopulation of Judah. Whenever
alone was 'problematic*, but ible.
We may
take, for
ludah prospered and the population grew above a certain
problem
of reserves of arable land arose.
the desert bordering
were
in the
Hemmed
on Edom, the only land
in
maximum,
by the
sea, Israel
reserves available to
the
and
Judah
Negev. By directing the overflow of the population into the
Negev, the Judean kings simultaneously eased the pressure on the settled
240
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH parts of their realm, created
amount of land under
new homesteads
and defence of the Negev
for trade
network of fortifications
manpower There
by
their
who
and created the
and road defence and
to finance these
33
on the Solomonic tradition. Although and probably more securely than ever
in turn carried
weaken the
made no attempt hereditary enemy and
neighbours
who had
before, Uzziah
to exterminate or even decisively to
the most dangerously sited of Judah's
never missed an opportunity to attack Judah in
was attacked by superior
it
was that the
Philistines served
forces elsewhere.
Judah much
tions guarded as trade secrets,
much
afraid to cut off the
much
branch that made
by not razing
preferential treatment,
the Philistines to a
more
positive
reason for this Israel, as
With commercial connec-
their walls,
working
like his ancestors,
was
of his trade enterprises mean-
could well be that by according towns
ingful. It
its
of the overland trade through the
and Uzziah,
also in Philistine hands,
The
Tyreans served
as the
the maritime carriers of their national trade.
Negev was
depth to the
raids,
own handiwork.
the Philistines were subdued,
when
nomad
another case where Uzziah followed the precepts of
is
Jehoshaphat,
rear
fringes, gave additional
built to prevent the
to undertake the border
efforts at least partly
for the needy, multiplied the
cultivation, created a secure logistic infrastructure
like
Gaza and Ashkelon
Uzziah hoped to induce
relationship.
AND ARMY
UZZIAH'S GENERAL STAFF
Every student of matters military remembers Wellington's complaint that
he could do either of two things: comply with tape, as
try to
demanded by
win
his battles.
tape has bedevilled will agree that
we
the British secretary of war, or lead his troops
On
a tactical operation.
staff
work
is
niah,
Three functionaries are mentioned: a
who commanded
the
army
of Uzziah's general head-
chief-of-staff, called
work
(his
who
Hebrew
kept the army
title sofer
-
Hana-
in the king's absence; Jeiel the 'Adjutant
General', according to British nomenclature, or 'G
sonnel Section',
the other hand, they
one of the prerequisites of victory. So
are thankful to get even a very small glimpse
quarters.
and
Every old soldiet will agree with Wellington that red
many
sound
the administrative red
all
rolls
and was
literally 'scribe'
1
- Chief of the
in charge
- denoted
of
Per-
all clerical
the additional
whose duties included the overseeing and enforcing of the orders emanating from and possi-
duty of chief of intelligence); and the
shoter,
GHQ
bly the running of the logistics department, or parts of 241
it.
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE Uzziah's forces were
armed with the
Uzziah prepared for them throughout
traditional
all
Judean weapons: 'And
and
the host shields
spears,
and
helmets and habergeons and bows and slings to cast stones' (2 Chr. 26:14).
From Davidic
times onwards,
arms and armament
for the
we have
records of repeated preparations of
Judean army. This repetition
of course,
is,
explained both by wear and tear and the loss of weapons in exercises as well
Though we do not know of any radical change in 'small arms', minor changes and adjustments may have been introduced from time to time, and these would demand re-equipment. Lasdy, there was much to be as in action.
said even in those days for a unification of armament. Besides, sible
it
was impos-
to force the poorer soldier to equip himself with the prescribed
weapons out of
his private purse.
Uzziah was the
first
who brought
king
about a complete unified rearmament of the entire national army, or the
first
to have this act recorded.
are shiryoniyot, translated in the
mail) but
King James version
meaning body armour
at least
Among the items of armament mentioned in general.
as
habergeons (coats of
We may deduce that according to their various types
of
arma-
offensive
ment and
tasks,
each
corps wore different
The famous Judean phalanx may have worn helmets, armour.
mail shirts and heavy
much
sandals
their Assyrian
like
coun-
terparts.
One more component of Uzziah's military
establish-
ment
deserves
tion:
the
men-
hereditary
caste of the gibborei
hay it,
men
the
'mighty
of valour' in the
King James translaThese seem to
tion.
Second- and first-millennium
BC
us at least partly the daggers.
offspring of David's
242
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH elite
guard of gibborim
permanently or
('heroes'),
as fiefs,
who were
and who formed
given land by the king, either
a knightly caste that served as the
backbone of the army - though, being landowners, they were rather more a part of the people in arms' than of the regulars. certain leisure, they
had the time
number
gently than ordinary citizens. Their
and under
families,
With
As men of means and arms more dili-
to exercise in the use of is
given plausibly at 2,500
was the national levy
their hand'
these forces Uzziah achieved his
many
(2 Chr. 26: 12-13).
military victories.
At
34
their
head he proudly stepped into the place of the deceased Jeroboam n of of the Syro-Palestinian coalition and led his army and that
Israel as chief
of his
As
at
north
allies as far
as
Hamath on
the Orontes to meet the Assyrians.
Qarqar, the outcome of the battle of
have been an impasse.
35
Hamath
c.
739 bc seems
to
This time, however, the might of the Assyrians
was not broken. In 738 Tiglath-pileser renewed coalition
in
had broken up, he was able
his invasion, and, as the
to capture the
whole of Syria.
According to the Assyrian annals, even Uzziah was compelled to pay
homage to the victor. Yet it seems Judean armed forces was among the from pressing
his
when he began
reasons
home and
advantage
his
certain that healthy respect for the
why
Tiglath-pileser refrained
penetrating further south. Even
southern campaigns in 734, Tiglath-pileser stopped
short of pushing into Judah proper.
THE ARMY ON THE MOVE The
logistics
discussed
we What do we know
involved in Uzziah's Syrian campaign were the same as
when
considering Ahab's march to Qarqar.
about the order of marching, camping, communications and lutions of the
Judean
field forces? Luckily, the
tactical evo-
Book of Numbers
has pre-
served interesting details of the exodus from Egypt which certainly
may be
applied to practice in the Judean kingdom.
According to Numbers chapter 10, the march through potentially hostile territory
divisions each. sion,
and the
was
The
in four
major combat formations divided into three
headquarters and the staff
field sanctuary,
between the second and third
moved
after the first divi-
train, moved The main column was preceded
presumably together with the divisions.
by an advance guard that had among
its
duties the choice
and marking out
of the camp for the next night.
These arrangements until
modern
times.
are not basically different
The
from those followed
posting of the headquarters behind the 243
first
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
combat formation allowed for its immediate security if the head of the column came upon the enemy. Enough troops were forward to deal with the most immediate problems and the commander was both sufficiently advanced to gather first-hand impressions of the situation and sufficiently
removed from the
first
contact with hostile forces to deliberate and decide
on the most appropriate uncommitted. In
yet
even
earlier
but in
his troops
the advance guard
as
would frequently provide an
warning.
To make good tle
of action while the bulk of his troops were
line
fact,
all
use of the time
and men
available,
and not only
in bat-
commander needed to deploy and direct conventional signals. The Israelites used for this pur-
circumstances, the
with short
pose both standards and wind instruments, as was the custom with
all
armies until the introduction of the field telephone.
Numbers 10:4-6
modern language: (1) one blast of trumpet gathering of the 'O Group' e.g. the meeting of the commanders with the commander-in-chief to receive orders and
instructions; (2)
above)
-
eastern
has the following standing orders, translated in
one sounding of the alarm
wing of your
battle
- advance;
(a different
(3)
sounding) of the alarm - right wing advance;
tone from the
two soundings
(or
second
(4) the wings alerted shall
acknowledge the reception and execution of the order by an answering
The
use of standards and ensigns to transmit tactical
dent from such passages
and they ensign
.
to bring retire,
.
and gather
.
about
suv
bination
it
as
come with
shall
Jeremiah 5:26: 'And he will
not' (Jer.4:6).
lift
Jeremiah mentions a different
movement:
'Set
blast.
is
evi-
an ensign
speed' or ibid., 11:12: 'And he shall set
together.'
a retrograde
movements
...
up an
flag-signal,
up the standard towards Zion,
Instruments and standards were used in com-
only to draw attention in the heat of battle to the signals
flashed by the voiceless ensigns (Isa. 18:3).
When moving assigned to tinctly
it
into
camp
each unit marched off directly to the area
by the advance party which had the exact
sites
marked
dis-
by the respective ensigns. This, and the fact that the formations
camped
as a rule in
the
same
part of the
camp, did
a great deal to reduce
camp and disorders arising out of this, one of the most vulnerable moments in any campaign. A sufficient example comes from the siege of Jerusalem in ad 70 when twice the tenth Roman legion was subject probably to the greatest danger of the whole war, when it was the time
taken to pitch
attacked by massive
sallies
Rather curiously the is
from Jerusalem while pitching camp. 36
Israelite
very similar to the famous
camp
Roman 244
as described castra,
by Numbers chapter 2
which has been
called the
JUDAH THROUGH THE REIGN OF UZZIAH
described as divided into four, the parts,
which
Roman army. The Israelite camp is Roman either into three or four major
achievement of the
greatest logistic
are
permanently allocated to the same
forces.
Both camps
have their headquarters, shrine and commander's tents in the centre, and
both use the unit insignia for demarcation purposes. The great Dutch general
and military
thinker,
William Louis of Nassau (1560-1620), ded-
icated a couple of research papers to reconstructing the Israelite camps,
and used them as a model for the camp to be adopted by the Dutch in their war of independence. His writings served as a basis for many of the subsequent European army reforms. 37
What form and endowed
ing (Gen. 49). bols,
shape had the Judean standards?
Modern
lore has
the twelve tribes with heraldic symbols taken from Jacob's bless-
The
ancient Israelite tribes might well have had tribal sym-
but unfortunately
we have no
idea if these insignia were related to the
symbols used by Jacob. Professor Yadin recently conjectured that the
winged
beetle forms
and other
similar discs carried
the royal standards of Judah.
The
now
that Professor R.
in the British
Museum,
upon long poles were on metal dishes,
standards are depicted
D. Barnett has established
came from Judah as part of the tribute paid to one of the Assyrian kings. They are carried by ensign bearers in a procession. 38 One wonders if those standards, which were clearly at least partly made of metal, could not have been used in
battle, inter alia, to flash signals
by
reflected sunrays,
Joshua had done either with his sword, spear or shield
Throughout
his reign
(758-742
off
its
When Ammon
overlordship,
of Ai.
Jotham succeeded in maintainJudah had attained under his father,
exploited the
Jotham made
lowing here too in his
at the battle
as
bc?),
ing the prosperity and strength that
Uzziah.
much
waning strength of
Ammon
Israel to
throw
pay tribute (2 Ch. 27:5),
fol-
father's footsteps.
The Bible records his strong fortifications in Jerusalem and in the wooded inner regions of Judah (2 Chr. 27:3-4). Archaeological research supports his maintaining the watch on the
fertile
northern Negev fringes.
Although the excavators have assigned the construction of Aroer days of Mannasseh, strategic considerations would
to the
make dating
this
stronghold, as well as a network of small fortifications covering the whole region, as early as
Jotham eminently
sensible.
245
39
CHAPTER
1
JUDAH'S LAST CENTURY
There was no hope of Judah's being able without outside
to withstand Assyrian pressure
But whatever the reason, Ahaz, Uzziah's grandson,
aid.
Aramean Damascus and Pekah ben Remaliah of Israel in against Assyria. Perhaps Ahaz felt that as long as he preserved an
refused to join their league
and did not
alliance with distant Assyria
such
as free
Egypt,
it
movement along
would not be
Judean mountains.
It
interfere
with any Assyrian designs,
the Via Maris in any future conflict with
in Assyria's interest to
become entangled
was certainly not foolhardy
to try to ride out the
impending mutual blood-letting of the Great Powers of Judah and to await further developments. Israel
and
was otherwise. Both were on the
in
any future Assyrian bid
for
would be
land-bridge, their existence refused to join the league of
in the relative security
The situation of Damascus and
direct axis
more
in the
of Assyrian operations,
direct control
in peril.
of the Palestinian
Consequently,
when Ahaz
Rezon of Damascus and Pekah of Israel, both
kings invaded Judah with the intention of coercing Judah into an alliance.
They went
Although the prophet Isaiah the two
against
Ahaz and the Davidic
so far as to try to depose
tails
tried
dence and internecine warfare with
Negev were once more
A
nations destiny
is
of the severest nature.
imbue Ahaz with confidence
to
of these smoking firebrands', Ahaz panicked and
called Tiglath-pileser to his assistance.
the
lost to
Israel,
Judah
often shaped by
The
During
ot France,
this
Edom,
period of lost confi-
Philistia
and much of
(2 Kgs. 16, 2 Chr. 28, Isa. 7).
its
ability to stand
up
to challenges
very gravity of these challenges acts as an invig-
orating and unifying factor and spurs the nation tall
dynasty.
on
to
major exertions. The
Dunkirk and the German Luftwaffe's bombing of Britain
1940 were the factors that broke the shackles of British lethargy and Britain
on the road
to victory over the all-powerful Nazis
of Samaria in 722 bc had a similar
and
in set
their allies.
upon
many
ways, the
fall
Judeans,
who were
torn by internal strife and apathetic to outside events.
In
Out of the trauma of the
loss
effect
and deportation often out of the twelve
246
the
tribes
judah's last century that
made up
the Jewish people arose a spiritual renaissance that
Judeans ready for physical national identity
and exertions not only
sacrifice
and independence, but
much of former
physical sway over as
made
the
to preserve their
to try to spread their spiritual
and
Israel as possible.
THE REIGN OF HEZEKIAH It
of course, the right people in the right places and the right
requires,
leader at the right time to steer
it
in the direction
make good
use of a national upsurgence and
of national salvation. Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz,
was such a man. His thirty-year-long reign (which began rightly earned the highest biblical praise. far as to
claim that
' .
.
.
after
The
him was none
724) has
c.
biblical chronicler goes so
like
him among
all
the kings
of Judah, nor any that were before him' (2 Kgs. 18:5). In his internal reforms, Hezekiah, like Jehoshaphat before him, fol-
lowed the Davidic precedent and made the Levites the harbingers and agents of his cultural, administrative and religious reforms. In security affairs, his first efforts
were aimed
Negev and Edom. To achieve
a
at re-establishing his
sway over the
permanent and secure presence
in both,
he fostered the expansion of the surplus Simeonite population into these
and
areas
their
permanent settlement
Northern Kingdom was preceded by
religious emissaries
Bethel and Samaria and called
altars as far as
to sacrifice in Jerusalem
and accept
His advance into the former
there.
it
upon
who
as their spiritual centre. Further-
more, to strengthen the population in Judah, he transplanted
from
as far
north
as
Asher and Zebulun into
certain stage,
And
the Lord was with him;
that.
the
to the fenced city. (2 Kgs.
relations 2
From
and served him
not.
He
forth:
smote the
even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the
Philistines,
The
dominion.
and he prospered whithersoever he went
he rebelled against the king of Assyria
watchmen
his
Israelites
1
Hezekiah proclaimed open rebellion against Assyria:
At a
and
destroyed
the remaining Israelites
with the Philistines were somewhat more complicated than
extra-biblical evidence
common
18:7-8)
foe
had served
between Judah and the
to
Philistines
we know
that the overriding danger of
alleviate
the mutual hatred existing
which had been kindled anew when,
in
had occupied the Judean piedmont between Gimso, Ajalon and Socoh. Moreover, the various Philistine comthe dark days of Ahaz, the Philistines
247
BATTLES OF munities, which were by
now
THE BIBLE
exposed to conflicting
political
promises
and pressures from the Great Powers, had developed divergent, even conflicting attitudes. Hezekiah was able to exploit these, and the league with anti-Assyrian Ashkelon was formed. This enabled Hezekiah to recapture
most or
all
Gaza under
of the
and
lost territories
his sway.
to bring
much
of the domains of
Together with Zidka of Ashkelon, Hezekiah deposed
King Padi of Ekron and confined him ian ruler in his stead. In this
way
in Jerusalem, placing
an anti-Assyr-
the future field of battle was cleared for
the inevitable contest with Assyria. possible that
It is
by that time Hezekiah had already opened up nego-
with the Babylonians, 3
tiations Assyria's
who began
dominion by an uprising within Mesopotamia, which was a
mainstay of Assyria's power. At
events, with the large Israelite deporta-
all
tions to the interior of the Assyrian tainly
Empire and
to Babylon,
Hezekiah
had good and constant information about happenings
The Egypt.
to pose a serious threat to
cer-
in Assyria.
third partner in the Judean-Ashkelonite alliance was, of course,
The
Pharaohs,
who had
never recovered their former might, were
nevertheless always sensitive to the fact that Palestinian land-bridge by
permanent occupation of the
any other Great Power was
a potential prelim-
inary step towards the conquest of the country of the Nile, famous for
fabulous resources and riches. Pharaoh Shabaka was thus an active ber of the alliance.
Hezekiah was
its
mem-
4
clearly conscious
of the grave danger to which he was
committing the Judean kingdom by throwing down the gauntlet before Sennacherib, long
He made ample
of Assyria.
provisions for the Assyrian
onslaught and spared no effort to put Judah in a state of highest preparedness.
Among
his fortifications,
himself And built up
all
Jerusalem was foremost: 'Also he strengthened
the wail that was broken,
towers, and .mother wall without,
and repaired Millo
and made darts and shields
in
he repaired the breaches
the walls of Jerusalem,
in the
days
titution,
o!
Aha/ and,
in
1
lill
since.
The
and
Jotham: 'Moreover Uzziah built towers valley gate
up
to the
of David,
which had been made of security or des-
basic enlargement of the
new
quarters
on the West-
of the walls had already been achieved by Hezekiahs
great-grandfather, the great Uzziah,
and the
it
in the city
either because of a false feeling
had not been mended
in the girdle
raised
abundance' (2 Chr. 32:5). In other words,
Jerusalemite defences and the inclusion of the ern
and
and
at the
in
this
work was continued by
Jerusalem
at the
corner gate,
turning of the wall, and fortified them.' 'He 248
JUDAH [
LAST CENTURY
S
Jotham] built the high gate of the house of the Lord, and on the wall of
the
Ophel he
built
much'
(2 Chr. 26:9; 27:3).
The
of the twenty-
traces
foot-broad wall and of an intricate gate complex that were excavated by
N. Avi Gad some
six to sixteen feet
beneath the
street level in today's
Old
City must be attributed to the endeavours of one of these two kings.
These discoveries have furnished the Western Hill into
final
proof for the inclusion of the
pre-exilic Jerusalem, the suggestion
branded, perhaps not always for
of which had been wishful
strictly scientific reasons, as a
notion to enhance ancient Jerusalem.
The
around the gate
trace of the wall
clear in detail.
in the north
not yet completely
is
However, one cannot escape the impression that the Judean
engineers did conceive a sophisticated gate-protection of the
common
(pincer) type,
Side)
and re-invented
in early
modern Europe. Accordingly,
traced in a 'U' (pincer) shape, structed,
one
'tenaille'
in ancient Greece (e.g. in Athens, in Perge
and frequently two
end of the
at the outer
pincers'
the walls were
of gates were con-
sets
and one
and
lethal killing
The enemy
at their base.
courtyard created by the pincer' arms funnelled the penetrating into a large
and
bow and sling shot, 'pincers'. The more the pen-
ground, exposing him to
(rear) gate and the crests of the bunched up, the easier a target they became, other objects cast from above as well. 5
both from the etrators got
for spears
and
all
We see that major attention was paid to strengthening the natural weak points of any fortress: the entrances and the angles in the walls that create
dead ground
for the defender.
The remedy
applied was the construction
of protruding towers that would expose the flanks of assault parties to the missiles
of the defenders stationed
and above them. According
in
traditional translation of the chronicler, Uzziah
missile-shooting
And
engines:
armed
to the
these towers with
he had made in Jerusalem engines,
invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to
shoot arrows and great stones withal' (2 Chr. 26:15).
The Hebrew
'
passage
khesbonoth makhasheveth khoshev\ which the
King James version has rendered
as 'engines
invented by cunning men',
obscure and open to various interpretations. If translation, first
lier
we
is
accept the traditional
which follows the Septuagint, the above passage becomes the
mention
in written records of artillery ordnance.
than any proven, and 300 years
earlier
It is
500 years
ear-
than any assumed missile-
shooting contraption. But this fact does not automatically challenge the Septuagint translation.
With our growing knowledge and
ancient Jewish dexterity in technical
skills,
249
appreciation of
one cannot deny that a small
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE country - because of
its
ever-precarious security
How
inventiveness to military innovations.
cockpit of the ancient world?
among
else
By the way, Roman
invention of missile-shooting engines region. Yet
- was
is
forced to apply
could
it
tradition
its
survive in this tells
us that the
credited to the Syro-Phoenician
the arguments against the identification of khesbonoth
as catapults or the like
is
the fact that not a single mention or pictorial rep-
resentation from the vast
amount of
written and graphic material from
a)
Canaanite, Jebusite and Israelite
Plan
Wall
Wall of Nehemiah and the Hasmoneans
--.'1A c
,-*-V^
j to
spring
cro«-secnon
all
b) Cross-section
of Nehemiah
•noneans
Surface: First
Temple period
.Surface:
Hasmonean period
Canaanite. Jebusite and Israelite
Wall
Modem Building
VA__b3
Spring
28 Jerusalem: plan and cross-section of the original Jebusite or earlier Tzinor' with later extensions, and of the tunnel built by Hezekiah
250
JUDAH Assyria, the foremost military
S
LAST CENTURY
power of the
day, can be cited for these.
had not themselves invented these machines, they
Surely, if the Assyrians
would have adopted them (if serviceable) or at least mentioned their capture and destruction? With this in mind, Professor Yadin has proposed that we recognize in the word khesbonoth the Semitic root for 'wood' and translate the passage as wooden galleries and breastworks', which we know so well from ancient pictorial sources. These were wooden structures built on scaffolding that were added to the walls and towers so as to give additional height 6 to the defences and gain extra space to marshal troops wherever necessary. To protect these wooden structures against fire-bearing arrows and sundry combustibles, as well as to safeguard the troops manning them against hostile missiles, the soldiers' shields - and, if necessary, additional shields,
- were
bucklers and targets
known
were
tures
wooden beams.
Similar struc-
and town defences
as late as the
fastened to the
to reinforce castles
The main problem is that because of the easy inflammability of wooden structures in the East, the negative influence of the hot summer sun and winds on their stability, and the desire to mount
sixteenth century ad.
these structures (one of the few devices of surprise available to the defenders)
only upon the actual approach of the enemy,
vating interpretation
is
not
fully
convincing
Whatever Uzziah's constructions and
this original
and
capti-
either.
devices,
we
trust
Hezekiah to have
incorporated them in his fortifications. Intriguingly, the above-quoted passage from 2 Chronicles 32, which records Hezekiah's military works in
Jerusalem, includes the construction of 'darts and shields in abundance'.
This enterprise
fits
the preparation of additional shields for
wooden
folding and of an ample reserve of missiles for the defenders.
hand, the
and
pults
'darts'
sieges,
the
fall
ammunition
for cata-
of the country's fortresses for want of food during
Hezekiah provided
the increase of corn
and
as necessary
scaf-
the other
ballistas.
To prevent long
could also have served
On
his 'fenced cities'
and wine, and
oil;
the
with 'storehouses also for
stalls for all
manner of beasts,
cotes for flocks' (2 Chr. 32: 27). In the absence of ample stores of meat
and other preserved foods, the rations
installation
of a reserve of livestock
was a well-founded move. But probably the greatest
feat
as iron
was the
provision of a safe permanent source of water for Jerusalem in case of siege: 'This
same Hezekiah stopped the upper water course of [the] Gihon
[Spring]
and brought
(ibid,
30).
v.
What
it
straight
down
to the west side of the city
of David'
Hezekiah's engineer did was to close the outlet of the 251
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE Spring of Gihon at the foot of the City of David and divert the spring
water through a subterranean tunnel over 1,700 feet long and between eleven and three feet in diameter into a specially constructed pool inside
1880 the now-famous
the city walls. In
commemorate
the tunnel to
ment .
.
.
its
inscription,
which was placed
completion, was found. 7
The
in
existing frag-
reads as follows:
and
was the matter of the boring: when yet the hewers were
this
pick, each towards his fellow,
lifting the
and when yet there were three cubits
to be
bored, heard was the voice of each calling to his fellow; for there was a fissure
even from south to north.
And on
the
end of the boring, the hewers struck
each to meet his fellow pick against pick, then went the waters from the issue to the pool for
two hundred and
a
thousand cubits, and a hundred cubits was
the height of the rock above the head of the hewers.
Hezekiah's manifold preparations served
avalanche started moving in 701 bc. paign, his division of forces
drawal from Judah with
have been related
One
in
The
and prolonged of
loss
chapter
him
well
when
the Assyrian
course of Sennacherib's cam-
sieges
and
face, leaving the
his
subsequent with-
kingdom independent,
9.
pre-arranged, last-minute step of the Judeans must be cited:
And when Hezekiah saw his princes
and
without the together,
his
city:
who
was come
that Sennacherib
mighty men
to stop the
...
he took council with
water of the fountains which were
and they did help him. So there was gathered much people
stopped
all
the fountains, and the brook that ran through the
Why
midst
of the land, saying,
much
water? (2 Chr. 32:2-4)
should the kings of Assyria come, and find
Memorial HOIK commemorating the cutting by order of King Hezekiah (726-697 BC) of the tunnel diverting water from the Spring of
Gihon
to a pool within the city.
nelling began at both ends.
252
Tun-
JUDAH Although these the term
steps are
(e.g. as it
LAST CENTURY
S
no 'scorched-earth
of
policy' in the full sense
was practised by the Russians
1812 and again
in
in
1941-2), they were very severe and had detrimental consequences for the rural population, farmers
and shepherds
alike.
By
'feudal'
acquiring their consent to be an example to the entire pop-
ulation in plugging the sources of water
on
yeomen farmers was gained and
small
carry out these steps
were the gibborim, the
received. Instrumental in this enterprise
landlords.
To
Hezekiah required the co-operation of the populace, which he
effectively,
their lands, the goodwill
of the
the invaders were further
ham-
strung by the dearth of water. Historical narrative often lacks the description of the attitude
actions of individuals of the rank a hiding place of
who
These people,
town gave vent walls. us';
Their
Him,
the
almighty, the
These ships are
and
their delivery
graffiti also
earth, the
this
ple close to
Thy
a
man
in prayer.
enemy
Do
The
or Egyptian vessels, and
lyre
Two
of the people
and the second with
his
they represent the fugitives themselves or peo-
this context the third
common
the scribblers
'God
in:
dwelling!'
allusions to the naval craft of the Ashkelonites with
wearing a coat of mail and
of the helmets
to
of Jerusalem's suc-
hideout found expression
has favoured as
be Levites, one playing the
them? In
deliver
mountains of Judea belong
expressed the hope for succour sent from Egypt by sea.
hands raised
the cave's
include drawings of ships and of three people.
most probably
may
8
of the Judean realm by 'The
their joy at the tidings
from
Mount Moriah thou
survival
whom the Judeans were allied against Sennacherib, depicted
on
graffiti
was expressed by the cry of distress, 'God almighty
and
re-
Sennacherib's siege of Lachish.
pent-up emotions by scribbling
is the God of the whole God of Jerusalem'; while
cessful stand
and
A stroke of luck brought to light
hid in a spacious burial cave in the vicinity of the fortress
their prayer for the success
Almighty
file.
some Judeans during
to their
fear
and
to the armies
on the cave
person
is
even more intriguing:
plumes, indicating the crest
of those days. Was
it
and plumes
the effigy of the
wall were scratching or have they pre-
served by chance the crude image of the Judean 'Tommy', 'GI', 'poilu or
whatever
name
the chips are
The
is
used for the anonymous combat
down, the outcome of all
soldier,
on whom, when
military engagements depends?
Bible mentions one item of psychological warfare used by the
invaders that strikes us as rather modern: the Assyrian harangue of the
besieged Jerusalemites in Hebrew. In a succession of arguments terror, ridicule, futility
of
it all
promises, slanted information and
-
'logical'
- using
proof of the
the Assyrians tried to break the defenders' will to 253
resist.
IATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Both the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles quote the chief Assyrian If
commanders
as addressing the
defenders personally in Hebrew.
we
they really were able to parley without the assistance of interpreters,
would have proof of the
relative
weight of the Jewish commonwealth in
international affairs in the closing years of the eighth century (2 Kgs. 18;
2 Chr. 32).
The
choice of the spot for the attempted 'brainwashing' was opposite
Gihon waters flowing through
the upper pool, the receptacle for the recently completed tunnel.
It
possible that this spot
is
impress the Jerusalemites with the fact that, tions notwithstanding, there
all
their efforts
and prepara-
was no escape from Sennacherib. Some of
The
the arguments seem to be rather beside the point.
Assyrian general
derided Hezekiah's failure to have built an adequate corps of cavalry.
wonders whether the defenders on the walls attempt
futile
at
any time, and
measures, on making Jerusalem
The
in concentrating instead,
immune from
If this
source
is
to be trusted,
the lost districts in the plain, and Hezekiah even
appease Assyria publicly. In spite
so
far
of
this,
much
envoy
was
other
thirst.
more shameful because of the appreciation
had been imminent.
cial
a rather
among
Assyrian annals try to gloss over the sudden retreat from Jerusalem
(see p. 213), the
tige,
One
didn't bless their king's fore-
from competing with the Assyrian horsemen,
sight in refraining
the
was chosen to
to
H(
its fall
deemed
it
expedient to
9
Sennacherib's retreat did
much
to
enhance Judah's pres-
so that Merodach-baladan, king of Babylonia, sent an offi\
from
(681 -669
that
Judah did not regain
•)
lezelriah
with
On
broken.
renewed
letters
the
and
gifts.
contrary,
their relentless
10
However,
Assyria's strength
Sennacherib and Esarhadon
campaigning with the goal of con-
quering Egypt But the outcome and experience of the 701 bc campaign
had paved the way for a
tacit
de facto understanding with the Judeans.
While Judah abstained from interference with
Assyria's designs
and military
Operations along the Via Maris, Assyria refrained from attacking Judah. In
669 Esarhadon succeeded
Tirhakah, and
in
in
conquering Lower Egypt from Pharaoh
663 Ashurbanipal completed the Assyrian conquest by tar as the first cataract of the Nile. Assyria's power
capturing upper Egypt as
was now supreme, and King Manasseh of Judah, Hezekiah's son, saw no choice but to toe the line and accept Assyrian overlordship, even to the extent oi providing Assyria with auxiliary forces for In his
its
military enterprises.
wish to appease his masters, or at their insistence, as well as in his
anxiety to be
on good terms with
his neighbours,
254
he threw Judah open to
JUDAH
S
LAST CENTURY
Heads and butts of Philistine
lances.
facilitated the upright driving
The
forked butts
of the lances into the
ground when not being used.
pagan
practices.
This compromise, and his harsh steps against dissenters,
combined with the strongly
fortified borders, preserved the integrity
of the
Judean heartland and enabled Manasseh to undertake comprehensive military preparations reign,
when
and reorganizations on the eve of his
fifty-five-year-long
internal troubles loosened Ashurbanipals grip over the far-
flung empire. These were accompanied by religious reforms in the spirit of his father,
with the aim of bolstering the Jewish consciousness and morale,
entailing the cautious reduction of foreign practices.
One tainly
11
of the major defensive measures assigned to Mannasseh and cer-
maintained by him was the securing of one of the main western
approaches to the Beersheva Valley by means of the strongly fortified fortress-town of Aroer. Aroer's walls were
among
those constructed as a
succession of solid salients and re-entrants, with a width of thirteen feet
and eight
feet respectively.
The narrower
by optimal enfilade from the adjacent
tem of curtain construction were such
mended by
re-entrants were well protected
salients.
that
The
it
advantages of this sys-
was among those recom-
the great military architect Philo in the third century bc,
about 1,000 years
later.
12
JOSIAH The
true heir to Hezekiah's policy
was Josiah (628-609 bc),
exploited Assyria's growing weakness by the spearhead of his political expansion.
255
making
The
who
cleverly
his religious emissaries
discovery of the
Book of
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Deuteronomy try
in the
Temple served
as
an incentive for cleansing the coun-
of alien influences, and Judah underwent a rapid process of religious
rejuvenation.
The
spirit
erless Israelite rural
of national elation served
as a
magnet
for the lead-
population on both sides of the Jordan, as well
the foreign ethnic groups
who had been
adapted themselves to the Jewish
cult.
as for
transplanted in Israel and had
Consequently, during the
first
decade of his reign, Josiah achieved virtual rule over most of former Israelite
The
Cis-Jordan, as well as over parts of Gilead. Bible does not speak of his fortifications, but archaeological
brought to
activity has
light a strong fortress
on the
seashore, about 7Vi
miles north of Ashdod, that can definitely be identified as Josiah's build-
purpose was twofold: guarding the frontiers with the Philistines
ing. Its
and blocking
hostile
movement along
cates Josiah's uneasiness fears
the coastline. 13
about Egypt's
revival
The
latter task indi-
and possible
designs. His
were not unfounded. Judah's security depended on a balance of
power between As long
Big Three' of those days: Egypt, Assyria and Babylon.
as these three cancelled
sion, there states.
'the
was
a
out
much of each
good chance of more than mere
None was more
other's surplus aggres-
survival for the smaller
keenly aware of this situation than the king of
Judah, whose realm was situated on the traditional warpath of the Great Powers.
14
Hezekiah had already played
his part in
power. Manassehs temporary captivity had time. But siikc then, Assyria nia
bringing about this balance of
made Assyria paramount
had been torn by internal
rivalries,
in his
Babylo-
and Media having combined to deprive her of most of her eastern pos-
sessions including Nineveh, the capital. At the
her liberty, and Psamtik,
new
first
same time, Egypt regained
Pharaoh of the 25th Dynasty, strove hard to
By coming to the aid him to have lost their preponderance for the foreseeable future, he hoped to quench any Babylonian aspiration to become the formal successor as the sole or main power. He wished to 1
1
p the
tripartite power-balance in his favour.
of the Assyrians,
who seemed
acquire this position for
to
Egypt
NECHO'S CAMPAIGN As
it
was precisely
frustrate, ritories
Egyptian objective which Josiah feared and tried to
he refused Pharaoh Necho free passage through the Judean
when
Assyria in
this
the Pharaoh
its last
embarked
in
609 bc on
his
campaign
ter-
to aid
stand against the 'Neo'-Babylonians. Josiah was playing 256
JUDAH for very high stakes. trality,
S
LAST CENTURY
Not only did he
disregard the Egyptian offer of neu-
but he chose not to impede the progress of the Egyptian army
through the coastal plain, or
its
passage through the notorious Iyron Pass
Instead, he took up his own posiopen country near Megiddo, where the Iyron Pass gave out
which traversed the Carmel mountains. tion in the
into the Jezreel Valley.
The
setting
was the more dramatic
as, for
the
first
time since the Exodus, Jew and Egyptian crossed swords in a major battle in the
open
In choosing his battlefield, Josiah was well aware of the
field.
psycho-political advantages. His plan
of Judah over Egypt in a
ity
was
to prove the military superior-
open
set battle in the
field.
He hoped
that
by
doing so he would create a lasting deterrent impression on any would-be invaders. Tactically, he
balance as
huge
it
the
which
and
attack of chariots all
his
to
A flight or even retreat through the Carmel
infantry.
way back to
Egypt, with exposed flank towards the Judean disaster.
plan was certainly audacious.
accounted for the moral strength to take
match
his
for that of
this calculated risk.
Necho. That evaluation
may
Religious fervour
cannot but assume that Josiah judged both the a
off
pass, and on making the Carmel range a pound and crush the Egyptians with a general
mountains, would have meant Josiah's
enemy disorganized and
emerged from the
anvil against
and then
banked on catching
size
have
However, one
and quality of his army
in itself
is
a
good indicator of
having brought the Judean armed forces up to a high pitch. By the
way, Josiah seems not to have overlooked what he thought would be the unlikely case of a Judean reverse. In this contingency, the fortress of
Megiddo was the
many
at
hand
to serve as a safe harbour for the defeated, as were
natural caves in the
Necho must have sensed effect
an
orderly, full
Carmel mountains.
the Judean intention to attack before he could
deployment
in the valley.
Presumably he formed
his
massed archers into an advance screening force to break, or at least slow down, the expected Judean attack on his deploying formations. Moreover, like Hazael, he directed his archers to try to identify the Judean king and concentrate their
worked.
fire
We have to
on the
imagine
royal chariot.
As
Josiah erect in his
at
Ramoth,
war
this
stratagem
chariot, charging con-
spicuously at the head of his troops, being mortally hit by an Egyptian
arrow in the
With
initial stages
of the battle (2 Kgs. 23:29; 2 Chr. 35:19-24).
the death of the king, the battle was
lost,
and with the
Judah's plan to maintain the international equilibrium
Seen from
Megiddo
this angle, the
obscure archer
who
lost battle,
to nothing.
killed Josiah in
fired the first shot in Judah's final downfall.
257
came
609
at
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE 29 The Fall of Judah Nebuchadnezzar's army
1
captures Judean cities and lays siege to Jerusalem
2 The Babylonian hold around Jerusalem is weakened when the Egyptians move up to join forces with Judah 3
The Siege of Jerusalem
renewed
is
Egyptians are defeated; Jerusalem is captured after the
4 Zedekiah is taken captive while fleeing to the Judean
mountains 5
Hostile neighbours such as
the the
Edomites make raids into weakened Judah
258
JUDAH
LAST CENTURY
S
605 bc the Judean kingdom, humbled and weakened by the its charismatic leader, became a vassal-state of Nebuchadnezzar, king and master of the mighty Neo-Babylonian Empire. In about
unexpected death of
But even in strength
this abject situation, the
and
nation did not lose
The
shake off the foreign yoke.
ability to
belief in
its
its
religious enthusi-
asm brought about by Josiahs reforms (precipitated by the discovery of the Book of Deuteronomy) was so persistent and deep-rooted that people from
all
walks of life refused to take matters
isolated voice
of the prophet Jeremiah,
Against the
at their face value.
who
preached temporary submis-
sion to Babylonia as a divinely sanctioned step within the concept of
diplomacy
of the possible,
as the art
many a
'false'
prophet called for active
measures and rebellion.
To quench
of rebellion on the strategic land-bridge, in 598
this spirit
Nebuchadnezzar despatched a siege to Jerusalem
special
army which succeeded
in laying
and forced the complete submission of Jehoiachin, who
accepted personal exile and the total despoliation of the Temple in order
from
to save Jerusalem
utter destruction. Together with the king, 10,000
captives were carried off, including the great nobles
the gibborim to deprive
and
the craftsmen and smiths'.
'all
Judah both of its leaders and
its
and
officers
The obvious
technicians
of
state,
intention was
and craftsmen,
to
prevent her from mounting another rebellion. Yet Nebuchadnezzar's step was of no
avail. It
naval demonstration off the Phoenician coast and
One
cannot but wonder
at the
what had become
and physical resources
in
preparations were once
more spurred on by
time was also used see that his cause
some Egyptian landing
591 to induce Zedekiah, the new king, to prepare
parties in the year
another uprising.
took only an Egyptian
magnitude of resilience
a very
religious fervour,
as a lever for social reforms, so as to
was worth fighting
and the anti-Babylonian
alliance
for.
and
in
make
which
this
every citizen
Egypt's assistance was enlisted,
began to mature. But Nebuchadnezzar
sensed the need to act before this alliance could preparations,
minor country. The
make comprehensive
588 he hurried down through Syria
subdue the
to
rebellious Jews.
Judah's defences were reduced after heavy fighting. gle a faint
Of this
but nonetheless pathetic and vivid echo has come
Excavations at Lachish have brought to light a
number of
epic strug-
down
to us.
ostraca that
were despatches from the commander of a small outpost by the name of
Hoshayahu, who came under the ernor of Lachish.
One
terse
command
of Yaush, the military gov-
message was penned during the crucial phase 259
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Artist's reconstruction
of an Assyrian ram in action
260
JUDAH
S
LAST CENTURY
of the assault upon the
Judean heartland: the
signal
we
Lachish
for
of
are watching,
according to
all
my
which
'...
stations
the signs
lord
gives,
because
we do not
see [the
signals]
of Azekah'. 15
Azekah already
had thus and the were mar-
fallen,
Babylonians shalling
the
for
vast
their
forces
upon
assault
Lachish and other strong-
They knew
holds.
better
than to penetrate into the
mountains before having cleared the approaches. In
came
the end, Jerusalem
under the
its last
siege prior to
Babylonian
A
exile.
Egyptian attempt
futile
at
only strengthened
relief
Nebuchadnezzar's conviction
long
that as
Judean
as
the
existed,
the
position
on
state
Babylonian
the Palestinian land-bridge
was
not
defenders
secure. their
in
The turn
understood only too well the gravity of the situation
and held out years:
And
for over
the
city
two was
besieged unto the eleventh
year
of king
And on the
Zedekiah.
the ninth day of
fourth
month,
the
famine prevailed in the 261
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE city,
and there was no bread
and the
...
city
was broken up
...'
(2 Kgs.
25:2-4).
at
The king made a last attempt at preserving the head of some of his household troops to
sibly
from the Judean
carry
on the
desert. Before getting to the safety
fighting, pos-
of
this natural
Zedekiah was intercepted and taken captive. The leader-
refuge, however, less city
the resistance and escaped
was systematically destroyed by the Babylonian army under the
command of Nebuzaradan's 'captains of the guard', who also burned down the Temple that Solomon had built. 16 The exiles and emigrants who left Judah in the wake of the Babylonian conquest preserved their warlike character even in their in foreign lands.
settlements both in Babylonia and in Egypt to the
Roman
voluntary no
new
settlements
Jews began to figure prominently in armies and military
and
their
down
dependencies
period. Experts have concluded that mercenary service,
less
than compulsory, was
among
the reasons for the quick
expansion of the Jewish diaspora in the eastern half of the Mediterranean
r These
main reasons why Cyrus, king of Persia, permitted and actively promoted the return of the Babylonian exiles to Judah. After capturing Palestine in the wake of the great Persian conquest that wrested supremacy from Babylonia in about
world.
martial qualities were also one of the
540 bc, he wished
to have the
country secured by a population
enough
warlike and loyal, but not strong
to
make
itself
at
once
independent.
What
better
tailed
Judah, with hostile neighbours checking any attempt at throwing
way than
to grant the
Jews the right to return to a very cur-
off benevolent Persian overlordship? triates
built
were able to
lay the
Thus
in
537 bc the
foundations for the Second
around the Second Temple.
262
first
wave of repa-
Commonwealth,
PART
II
CHAPTER
12
EARLY MACCABEAN BATTLES
THE ORIGINS OF THE MACCABEAN REVOLT The
of the Maccabees brought forth one of the great captains of
battles
history,
Judah the Maccabee. They were the
first battles
in recorded his-
What distinguishes who departed radically
tory to be fought over the issue of religious freedom.
them
is
the military genius of Judah the Maccabee,
from the
tactics universally applied at the
time and instinctively adapted
the principles of war in an entirely novel manner.
The Maccabean
revolt
opened
in
167 bc
after
an extended period in
which no organized Jewish force had engaged in warfare. Indeed, the last battle in which a major Jewish force had taken up arms had been in 586 bc, over
400
years earlier,
when
the Jewish defenders of Jerusalem fought
a losing battle against the invading forces of Nebuchadnezzar. to time Jews fought in the armies of other nations. hills
But
for
From time
400
years the
of Judea had not echoed to the sound of Jewish armies on the march.
In the middle of the second century bc, Judea was a small province of It had been so since the Seleucid monarch Antiochus in wrested the area of Palestine from the Ptolemies of Egypt and incorporated Judea into his empire in 198 bc. In the days of
the Syrian-based Seleucid Empire.
Judah the Maccabee, the province was
a rectangular-shaped area covering
about 1,000 square miles, each side of the rectangle measuring some thirty
The area itself was mountainous, broken by villages or down to the Mediterranean Sea in the west or to the Jorand the Dead Sea in the east. The population of the province
to forty miles.
wadis running
dan Valley time
at the
In
is
estimated in the region of 200,000 to 250,000.
332 bc Alexander the Great of Macedonia, one of the greatest gendefeated the Persians and took control of the Persian
erals in history,
Empire, which extended deep into Asia, including Judah, latinized Judea.
On
the untimely death of the youthful Alexander in
Minor in the west to India Macedonian generals, who fought
lands he had conquered, from Egypt and Asia in the east,
were divided among
his
265
as
323 bc, the
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE over the inheritance. Ptolemy was assigned the satrapy of Egypt, where he
soon established himself as a monarch based in Alexandria. Seleucus,
who
had been apportioned the satrapy of Babylon, likewise crowned himself king, with his capital in Seleucia.
He
new
control into Syria, establishing a
later
extended the area under his
capital at Antioch,
on the Mediter-
ranean, in the north-west corner of Syria.
The in
long-standing rivalry between the ruling power in Syria and that
Egypt manifested
itself
once more. For obvious
area of Palestine
strategic reasons, the
was coveted by both the Ptolemies
in the
south and the Seleucids in the north. For over a hundred
Empire. But in
and Judea remained part of the Ptolemaic 198 bc Antiochus m, the father of the
emperor against
whom
years, Jerusalem
Palestine
the Maccabees were to revolt, took
from the Ptolemies, making
it
part of the Seleucid
Empire.
The Jews had enjoyed
a fairly benevolent rule
under the
Ptolemies. Apart from the requirement of a heavy annual tribute,
Judea was in
effect
were
free to
administer their
their religion
The firsthow the Jews
an autonomous region.
century ad historian Josephus Flavius describes
own
affairs in peace, to practise
without molestation and to conduct the
tional Jewish rites in their
Temple
in Jerusalem.
tradi-
This policy
of tolerance towards the practice of the Jewish religion and respect for the domestic
autonomy of
the Jews in Judea was
maintained when the Seleucids, under Antiochus control of Palestine.
1
But
it
in,
gained
changed with the accession of his
son Antiochus iv Epiphanes. 2
When (
Antiochus iv came to power
would
in
175 bc, he realized
undoubtedly find himself in conflict
'ompositc
that while he
how
with his southern neighbour, Egypt, the main threat to the
with
the inward
bend
ot the
Second
Temple period and later.
would inevitably come from the growing power of Rome, which he respected and feared. Judea there-
Seleucid Empire
fore
assumed added importance, because of
Egypt and the
fact that
from the Judean
its
proximity to
hills it
dominated
the historic coastal route connecting Syria with Egypt. Judea
did not pose a military threat to Antiochus, nor did he fear
any military problems from ing
him on
his
this area.
However, with the danger threaten-
southern and eastern borders, where the Medes and the
Parthians posed a constant threat, he resolved to secure the vital strategic
266
EARLY MACCABEAN BATTLES province of Judea by imposing Greek culture and thus ensuring a
common
loyalty
and
ried out not only for religious
assumption of the authority of Jewry; and the
who remained
this process
would be
car-
ends but for political purposes.
social
168 bc
Egypt
as
appoint a High
to
Priest,
who was
the
between the 'Hellenized' Jews and traditions and faith, caused a rebellion
split
true to their
News of
to break out in Jerusalem.
this uprising
reached Antiochus in
he was withdrawing northwards along the coastal road from
after
abandoning the
been a humiliating move, intervention. forces
population,
process of Hellenizing Judea and especially Jerusalem; the Seleu-
spiritual leader
those
its
he believed, unifying his empire. The
instrument for unity would be Hellenism, and
cids'
on
This was the method he proposed to adopt in order to weld
his empire.
his subject peoples together, thereby,
The
rites
and uniformity of practice throughout
It
as
siege of Alexandria.
he had
was therefore
left
mood
in a
The withdrawal had
Egypt under the threat of Roman of anger that he despatched
under one of his generals, Apollonius, to deal with
this
new
situa-
tion in Judea.
The
Seleucid troops engaged in a massacre of the Jewish population in
Jerusalem.
They burned and
many of the
pillaged
and broke into the Temple,
precious holy vessels. Thereafter the Temple was converted
into a Hellenist shrine dedicated to the offering of a pig
A fortress
crowned
known
ing the Temple and
was stationed
on the
stealing
this
as the
rebellious Jews
profane act of desecration.
it,
hill fac-
and a permanent Seleucid garrison
were soon taken to impose the
and
sacrificial
Acra or Citadel was constructed on a
commanding
there. Steps
Olympian Zeus, and the
will
of Antiochus
eradicate the influence of Jewish rites
and
cus-
toms. Jews were forbidden, on penalty of death, to congregate in prayer, to observe the
Sabbath and religious
to adhere to the dietary laws. rituals,
festivals, to
They were
carry out circumcision or
obliged to participate in pagan
including sacrificing pigs and partaking of their
THE
RISE OF
flesh.
THE MACCABEES
After subduing Jerusalem, Antiochus pursued his goal of 'de-Judaizing'
Judea by moving into the countryside with troops under orders to enforce the regulations against Jewish religious practices.
under an foothills lage,
officer
named
One
of these units,
Modiin in the set up in the vil-
Apelles, arrived in the village of
of Judea, north-west of Jerusalem.
An
altar
was
and before the assembled population Mattathias, the Jewish 267
priest,
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
was ordered to perform a
When
his five sons.
sacrifice
and
eat
Mattathias did not
assembled Jews moved forward to the
of the pigs
With him were
flesh.
move from
his spot,
one of the
obey the order and perform
altar to
the sacrifice. Mattathias thereupon rushed forward in a fury, slew the traitor,
and
wiping
killed Apelles.
it
out.
His sons led the
Thus began
villagers against the
Greek
unit,
the revolt of the Maccabees.
Mattathias led the people of his village into the
hills
of Gophna, a sec-
tion of the Judean hills immediately north-west of present-day Ramallah.
This area was chosen because of
its
relative inaccessibility to the Seleucid
and because the mountainous
garrison in the coastal plain
who had
taken up arms could organize as a guerrilla group, train, defend
They numbered
themselves and plan and develop the course of the revolt.
about two hundred, of whom probably not more than ied
terrain lent
band of farmers
defensive measures and evasion. There the small
itself to
fifty
were able-bod-
men, and they lacked any military training whatsoever.
For approximately a year the rebels peace.
They
their ranks.
Emphasis was
Judaism
which they were
for
made
trained in guerrilla warfare laid
their preparations in relative
and recruited new members to
on the re-affirmation of the
fighting.
principles of
They defended themselves when-
ever necessary but initiated few operations while organizing their base.
the
same time, they strengthened contacts with the
tryside
and spread the story of the
revolt.
Soon an
villages in the
At
coun-
effective intelligence-
gathering organization was developed as a people's militia grew under the leadership of Judah the Maccabee. Mattathias had designated Judah, his
middle son, to succeed him before the aged
during the
priest died
first
vear ot the revolt.
Armed with farm implements of weapons such
pve
as the
battle to an up-to-date
and
well organized
and
mace and the
light infantry,
'artillery units
a primitive nature
sling, Judah's small
and home-made
group prepared to
Greek army. The Seleucids were well
tried in battle.
heavy and
Their ranks were
light cavalry, chariots,
trained,
composed of heavy elephant units and
operating ballistas (engines for hurling huge stones), not to
mention the various javelins, spears,
bows,
service
Their weapons included swords,
units.
slings, ballistas
and battering-rams.
Judah analysed the seemingly hopeless situation and merated the elements that could be put to work
instinctively enu-
Though the manpower and arms,
in his favour.
Seleucid troops enjoyed overwhelming superiority in
they were trained only for a set piece battle in conventional fighting form.
They were mercenaries with
little
or no 268
commitment
to a cause. Facing
EARLY MACCABEAN BATTLES
them would be sons of the country fighting on their own soil, for their people, and prepared to die for their religious beliefs and freedom.
own
Since the Seleucids were trained in conventional warfare, the military reply to
them must be
trained to fight
by
in terms of unconventional warfare. Since they
day, the Jewish military reply
must be
were
to strike at night.
Furthermore, Judah's forces, diminutive as they were, enjoyed one of the basic requirements of a guerrilla force. later,
from the
populace in the
ulation
when
Mao Tse-tung expressed it thou-
they were like a fish in water: Judah's fighters came
sands of years local
As
villages
and could melt back into the pop-
necessary.
As they proceeded with their training and gained confidence, Judah's guerrillas developed and strengthened their supply lines to the villages scattered over the countryside. By the end of the first year, the force had grown to a total of several hundred men bearing arms. An elaborate informal intelligence system was developed whereby Judah commanded full knowledge of the situation in Judea and the region of Samaria to its north. Gradually offensive guerrilla patrols,
activities
were directed against Seleucid
which were ambushed and wiped
out.
Soon the purpose of these
hit-and-run tactics was not only to disrupt the occupying forces but also
an arsenal of modern arms for the Jewish
to create
Judah's activities increased, entire areas
rebels.
of the countryside came under
the effective control of the Maccabees, and the Seleucid garrison in
Jerusalem was cut
off.
Seeing that the situation was deteriorating and the
Maccabees had gained the upper hand
and commander of Antiochus'
in Judea, Apollonius, the
governor
who was
based in
forces in the region,
Samaria, decided to intervene. Judah and his forces were to face their
first
full-scale military operation.
SELEUCID BATTLE TACTICS The
core of the Seleucid
sisting
army was
the phalanx, a tactical formation con-
of heavy infantry drawn up in close order. The troops advanced
towards the
enemy
in a tight mass, with the
men
in each rank shoulder to
shoulder and almost on the heels of the rank in front. tical
The
principal tac-
element of the phalanx was the syntagma, comprising some 250 men,
which could be compared
to the
sixteen ranks with sixteen
measuring of over
1
men
fifteen yards square.
,000 men.
Two
such
modern company. This body comprised in each rank,
in other
words a unit
Four such syntagmae created a chiliarchia chiliarchiae,
269
numbering some 2,000 men
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
270
EARLY MACCABEAN BATTLES
and extending over
width of 120 yards and to a depth of 1 5 yards, constituted the smallest phalanx used in warfare at that time. a
As the phalanx advanced on the enemy their spears horizontally, while the
force, the first five ranks held
remaining eleven held them
vertically.
them were ready to engage the enemy. The entire phalanx would enemy once battle was joined. It thundered forward crushing everything in its path when the enemy was weak, and meeting in a fearful, head-on clash when the enemy was equal to it. The complex was protected on the flanks by cavalry and light forces, which skirmished before the main forces.
All of
press against the
The weakness of this
organization lay in the fact that
it
was cumber-
some and precluded exploiting the element of surprise. As a result, one of the main tactics of war was absent in this deployment. The progress of a marching column deployed as a battle-ready phalanx was a slow and tedious one. Both sides were in
full
was joined, the developments were
The concept of
ciples.
battle
in accordance with fixed tactical prin-
achieving tactical or even strategic advantage by
interfering with the enemy's
done
view of each other and, when
deployment did not
exist. It
was simply not
at the time.
Judah's natural military instincts saw the advantages to be gained from refusing to allow the cally, his
enemy
and
to dictate the field
approach was influenced by the
political
style
and
of
social
battle. Basi-
problems
fac-
ing his people at the time. Just as today the reserve and militia systems that exist in Israel reflect social,
economic and
did the organization of Judah's forces
political considerations, so
reflect similar
then
problems among the
Jewish population of Judea.
THE DEFEAT OF APOLLONIUS In 166 bc Apollonius' force
moved along
Samaria southwards towards Jerusalem.
the
mountain watershed from
He
took the direct Samaria-
Jerusalem route, which passes along the flank of the
According to Major-General battles
force
Avisar's detailed
Gophna
area.
book on the Maccabean
published in Hebrew, 3 Apollonius advanced into Judea with a
numbering some 2,000 men, while facing them was
a Jewish force
under Judah of approximately 600. As Judah analysed the problem facing him, he resolved to take advantage of the element of surprise and
make in
use of the terrain to neutralize the effect of the Seleucid superiority
both manpower and weaponry. The Seleucids' advantage would be on 271
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE open, ley.
flat
The
ground; Judah therefore decided to attack in a defile or a val-
assumed the normal preparation
large force
for a set piece bat-
Judah would attack them on the march, when they were neither prepared for battle nor able to assume the positions in which they had tle;
been trained to
fight.
The site Judah chose for the engagement was in Nahal el-Haramiah, some three to four miles north-east of Gophna. At this point the route southwards from Samaria enters a narrow defile that winds uphill for more than a mile. The enemy was approaching in columns of four. Judah decided to block the march and then push the Seleucid troops into a
sit-
uation that would force them to create a front on one of their flanks. This would place the enemy in a position for which he was least prepared and in which he would be most vulnerable.
Judah divided at the
his forces into four units.
southern end of the
One was
to act as a sealing unit
A second unit would be the main attack-
defile.
ing force along the eastern side of the defile, towards
of the enemy would be compelled to turn.
A third
the western side of the defile, while a fourth
which the main
unit
would
would be held
force
from
attack
at a short dis-
tance north of the main attacking unit on the eastern side, ready to close
and thus complete the
the northern entrance to the defile It
was
when
afternoon
late
columns of
the defile in
The Seleucids men each, with
four.
chitiardriaeoi approximately 1,000
lonius riding in
between.
The forces advanced
compact group, with the men behind At the signal, the sealing unit
at
entire Seleucid force
the eastern
at
its
the
commander Apol-
tightly
bumping
bunched up the
end of the
men
in a
in front.
defile fell
upon
column. The main body, unaware of
the head of the column, pressed forward, as the
was jammed into the
slope appeared
Encumbered by
actually
the southern
the leading troops or the Seleucid
what was happening
trap.
came marching into marched in two separate
the Seleucid forces
defile.
At
this
point the unit on
and attacked the column from
its
flank.
heavy weapons, which were unsuitable for fighting in
column turned to meet this new onslaught, column continued to press into the defile. At
the narrow defile, the Seleucid
while the rear element of the this rear.
east
point the forces on the western slopes emerged and attacked from the
The Seleucids were
now
trapped under devastating
fire
from both
and west.
Hearing the noise of
battle,
chiliartkia, spurred his horse
He was
killed
Apollonius,
who was
leading the second
forward in order to see what was happening.
by the murderous
fire
272
from both
hills.
When
the entire
EARLY MACCABEAN BATTLES Seleucid force was in the defile, Judah led the fourth force and closed off the northern entrance to the defile.
The
Seleucid troops were completely
trapped, fighting leaderless under conditions for
which they had never
been prepared. The entire force was destroyed and
equipment
fell
He
had an
forces.
tactics
on the Jewish population the national leader and was now able to
electrifying influence
was accepted
impose discipline upon His
weapons and
into the hands of the Jews.
Judah's victory
of Judea.
all its
as
his people.
Moreover, volunteers rushed to join his
had been vindicated,
He had
accepted methods of warfare.
ple could fight successfully against a
as
was
his decision to ignore the
proved that a small and weak peo-
mighty army and that the
can
spirit
be mightier than numbers. In essence, Judah had demonstrated the
importance of that great principle of war - morale. His approach to battle,
with
its
inherent flexibility and adaptation to circumstances, gave
play to his capabilities as a
commander -
as
opposed
full
to the set piece
approach followed by the enemy. In addition, Judah learned the great importance of eliminating the leader of the opposing side sible in the battle, particularly ible
when
the
enemy
is
as early as
committed
an
to
pos-
inflex-
approach.
After the defeat of Apollonius' troops, Antiochus realized that he faced a serious situation in Judea. battle,
but
it
was
No
clear that the
to flout his authority in
tactical
conclusions were drawn from the
emperor could not allow
a
group of rebels
such a blatant manner. Rather than embark upon
a re-evaluation of the political
and military situation
in Judea, however,
Antiochus decided to undertake a major operation to restore law and order in the province and to take firm and unequivocal action against
who opposed
those
his forces.
THE BATTLE OF BETH-HORON Antiochus thereupon despatched to Judea General Seron,
who
conceived
means of enhancing his military reputation in an easy campaign against a group of lightly armed guerrillas. He set out early in 165 bc, marching southwards to Judea. Rather than fall into the trap that had led to Apollonius' downfall, he
his mission of avenging Apollonius' defeat
as a
resolved to advance along the coastal road. This route guarantees a safe
approach march.
On
reaching the general area of Jaffa, Seron turned inland, advancing
eastwards past the
site
of the present-day international airport 273
at
Lod, and
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE reached the foothills of Judea. His force was day's
now some
fifteen miles, or a
march, from Jerusalem and the nearest Seleucid garrison. His plan
up with the Jerusalem garrison and then, based in Jerusalem, to fan out across Judea in a punitive expedition that would destroy the Maccabean revolt and crush all Jewish resistance.
was
to join
According to
1
Maccabees 3:16, Seron made
for the pass
of Beth-
horon. This same pass, a secondary route to Jerusalem, was taken by the British
90th Division under General Allenby advancing on Jerusalem
against the Turks in 1917.
It
was
also the route
advance on Jerusalem in the 1967 Six
Old City from
chosen by
Day War
Israeli forces to
in order to
move on
the
the north.
Judah was heavily outnumbered. Seron's force was approximately double that of Apollonius, namely a guard phalanx of four chiliarchiae
numbering some 4,000 men. Indeed
1
troops, while
Judah had approximately 1,000
Maccabees describes the atmosphere of apprehension with
which the Jewish forces, entrenched in the Judean hills, viewed the approach march of the Seleucid forces across the Valley of Ajalon, and Judah's sharp reminder to their families
and
them
their belief in
3 1
2
that they were fighting for their
God.
The
1
Battle of Beth-horon
Seron's troops advance through the Judean Hills
Judah's army moves
down from 3
The
the
Gophna mountains
battle
of Beth-horon
274
to attack the Seleucids
homes,
EARLY MACCABEAN BATTLES
Once that
ambush
again Judah decided to
would
the advancing forces in terrain
numbers and
neutralize the enemy's advantage in organization,
weapons. The ascent to the pass of Beth-horon runs through a long
commanded on both
sides
by steep
slopes.
Judah would again
from the pass and then attack the column from both This time the Seleucid general, Seron, rode For Judah, the elimination of the enemy
was a primary mission because of the of the enemy
forces.
at the
is
mighty,
we
head of his troops.
it
early in the battle
would have on the morale
According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Judah's
orders to his troops were that 'regardless of the
who
flanks.
commander
effect
defile
seal the exit
will
numbers of the enemy,
advance together and reach Seron'.
This time Judah could not hope to trap the entire enemy force,
as
he
had done with Apollonius' troops, for the Seleucid forces now marched into the hills with wide gaps between their units. Thus their column was
To have attempted to trap this entire column would have meant dispensing with the element of surprise - because of the time factor - and this Judah was unwilling to do. Seron's forces set out at dawn on what was to be their last day's march
over a mile long.
The
before reaching Jerusalem.
front syntagma of the
began the long winding ascent into the slow advance,
as the troops
hills
tree
covered
hillsides,
watched
chiliarchia
towards Beth-horon.
were weighted down by
among
heavy weapons. Judah's look-outs, hidden
first
their
It
was
a
equipment and
the rocks
and the
silently as the Seleucid forces
olive-
advanced
slowly up the ascent to the Beth-horon pass.
This time Judah, wielding the sword he had taken from Apollonius (which was to remain with him in
all
his battles), led the sealing unit.
the Seleucid vanguard approached the ambush, Judah's
enemy
forces.
They
cut
down
men
the leading Seleucid ranks,
As
charged the
which had been
immobilized by the surprise, and made for Seron. The rear units of the leading chiliarchia advanced, pushing forward, while the lead units stag-
gered backwards under the fierce attack of Judah's sealing unit. At this point, the flank units
and
on both
slings, increasing the
slopes launched a barrage
confusion in the pass,
from
their
bows
and then attacked the
Seleucids with swords in close combat.
With forces fled
the leading chiliarchia decimated,
broke and
fled.
As panic
and Seron dead, the Seleucid
spread, the following chiliarchiae turned
towards the coastal plain, leaving over 800 men, the bulk of the
iarchia,
dead on the batdefield. Judah led
troops, following
them 'down
his
men
in pursuit
of the fleeing
the pass of Beth-horon as far as the plain
275
and
first chil-
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Judah had now destroyed two Seleucid armies and caused heavy losses in equipment, which he put to good use in arming his own forces. He had reinforced his prestige in the eyes of the populace and was able to create an army which,
it is
numbered 6,000 men. He had made full and morale, had dictated the battlefield, enemy command. He now stood at the head of
estimated,
use of the principle of surprise
and had struck
first at
the
a well-trained force, bolstered
by the
taste
of victory, strengthened by
combat experience against overwhelming odds, and confident in the knowledge of mass popular support.
THE BATTLE OF EMMAUS It
was
finally clear to
Antiochus that
faced a major rebellion.
of Judea campaign
his forces in the province
The emperor was about
to
embark on
a
against the rebellious elements in the eastern part of the Seleucid
when
the news of Seron's defeat reached him.
He
the situation in Judea just as he was about to leave to ensure additional revenues for his
dwindling
Empire
realized the gravity
on
his
of
own campaign
coffers. Accordingly,
he
4k L_L
L_J 1
1
1 1
3 Miles
32 The Battle of 1
3
On
Seleucid forces advance and camp
at
Emmaus
Emmaus
(phase one) Judah assembles his army
Emmaus, Judah advances his forces to the 4 Gorgias decides to make a surprise attack on the Israelite camp Warned of this. Judah orders bonfires to be lit in the Israelite camp and leaving only a rearguard of 200 men
reports of the Seleucids' halt at
5
2
276
at
Mizpah
south-east of at
Emmaus
night
then withdraws,
EARLY MACCABEAN BATTLES
member of
appointed Lysias, a
guardian of his son Antiochus
He had no
the royal family, as his viceroy and
(later
Antiochus v Eupator) until
his return.
option but to transfer a considerable proportion of the forces
assigned to his campaign to Lysias for operations against Judea.
Antiochus' orders to Lysias were to destroy Judah's forces by the use of
any and
all
means
at his disposal
and
uproot and destroy the strength
'to
of Israel and the remnant of Judea, to blot out
and
the place, to settle strangers in the territory
memory of them from
all
allot the
land to the
set-
Mace. 3:35-6). Lysias chose three generals to lead the expedition
tlers' (1
against Judea: Ptolemy, Nicanor
and Gorgias. Under them the Seleucid
expedition set out along the coast in the spring of 165 bc and reached
Emmaus, where
a major base
camp was
established. This time they
were
obviously not going to be lured into the Judean mountains to be trapped, as in the case
The camp
of the two previous expeditions. at
Emmaus
(present-day Imwas, adjoining the village of
Latrun) was located in the foothills just above the Valley of Ajalon and was sited in
such a way
as to ensure the topographical conditions for battle
required by the Seleucid forces.
campaign
is
given in
1
The
Maccabees
Seleucid strength employed in this
40,000 infantry and 7,000
at
while 2 Maccabees puts the force at some 20,000 troops. (The ure
is
generally believed to be the
more
acceptable.)
to develop operations against Jerusalem
doubt, by the garrison inside Jerusalem
extend
activities
Judah had
horon
from
The
this base
itself,
and
cavalry,
latter fig-
Seleucid plan was
camp, aided, no
thereafter gradually
throughout the province of Judea.
in the
to prepare his
meantime taken advantage of
men
approximately half the
new
to face this
his victory at Beth-
expedition,
which comprised
of the Seleucid army.
total strength
He
intensified
the recruiting campaign, raising a force of some 6,000 men, and began to
army into sub-units, which bear a remarkable resemblance to those used in modern armies. He divided his force into units equivalent to battalions, numbering 1 ,000 each. These in turn were sub-divided into company-like units of 100 mean each. Each such unit was again
organize his
divided into platoon-like units of 50
divided into five section-like units of
men each, while men each. 4
each platoon was
1
So confident were the Seleucids of victory (they were
now
joined by
reinforcements from Idumea, on the southern border of Judea, and from the coastal plain) that their followers
and
command
invited large
slave dealers to join the troops at
2 Maccabees 8:11, Nicanor offered Jewish 277
numbers of camp
Emmaus. According
slaves to the coastal
to
towns
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
33 The Battle of
Emmaus
(phase two)
Gorgias, believing the whole Israelite army to be there, attacks the camp. Seeing the rearguard withdrawing up the main valley towards Jerusalem, he follows it. He is then harassed by the rearguard 2 Meanwhile, Judah prepares to attack the Seleucid camp, and sends a force of 1 ,500 men to the north of Emmaus; he then attacks the phalanxes from the south-west 3 The northern group attacks the Seleucid camp from the north 4 The Selcuckfa flee towards the coast 5 Gorgias' army returns towards their base camp but, on seeing the rout, also flees towards the coast 1
'undertaking to deliver them
at the price
of ninety to the
merchants brought large quantities of gold and
silver,
talent'. Slave
together with
chains, in anticipation of profitable trade.
On
the Jewish side, Judah prepared his forces by dividing
them
into
men. Each of the first three groups was combrothers - Simon, Johanan and Jonathan -while he
four equal groups of 1,500
manded by one of his took personal
command
Mizpah, some
five miles
of the fourth unit.
He
assembled his army
at
north-west of Jerusalem on the road to Beth-
horon. Here he consolidated his forces and devoted time to raising their morale, for once again they were severely outnumbered. In addressing his forces,
Judah emphasized
their links with the past
and issued orders
in
accordance with biblical custom: for example, following biblical law, he released
from service newly-weds or those
who had
built a
new home.
At Mizpah Judah was well located to cover any approach by the enemy forces into Judea, for
that the
it
became
him from the reports of his patrols Emmaus. Accordingly he moved his
clear to
enemy was basing himself at
278
EARLY MACCABEAN BATTLES
Emmaus, concentrating
forces to the south-east of
in the hills above pre-
sent-day Latrun.
The two camps were now
one another, with the
clearly visible to
Seleucid forces under constant observation. This time Judah decided to
let
enemy make the first move for, from the patrol activity and preparations being made by the Seleucids, it was clear that they were planning to initiate an attack on the Jewish base. the
tactics Judah had used earlier. His plan up into the hills of Judea under cover of darkness, surprise the Jewish camp and destroy Judah's forces. He naturally assumed that Judah would not expect a Seleucid attack at night, as the Seleucids
Gorgias decided to imitate the
was
to lead a force
were unaccustomed to night fighting. Accordingly, Gorgias moved up into the
the head of 5,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry troops.
hills at
Judah was obviously well informed of these plans when he prepared his counter-attack. He decided to employ a ruse to draw Gorgias' contingent deeper into the
hills
of Judea and away from the main body of
the Seleucid force. First he ordered a large
number of bonfires
camp, indicating the existence of a
in the Jewish
to be
lit
large concentration
of
troops there. But under cover of darkness, Judah withdrew his forces
from the camp, leaving
it
occupied by only a small rearguard of some
200 men.
When as
camp at night, they found to their was empty, but they observed the rearguard withdrawing -
Gorgias' forces attacked the
surprise that
it
they were intended
his forces in pursuit
ley leading
As Gorgias'
up
to.
Believing
to Jerusalem,
forces
to be the
it
main
force,
Gorgias urged
of this rearguard, which withdrew into the main
known today
advanced up the
Judah had stationed there
defile,
as
he was attacked by the units
in advance.
Meanwhile, 15,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry had been
enemy camp take
it
by
at
Emmaus. Judah now prepared
surprise.
He
north of the Seleucid
sent one group of 1,500
camp and move
under attack by the main
force,
to attack this
men
left at
camp had come
with Judah in command. Leading 3,000
men, Judah moved against the enemy camp at dawn but found, to his enemy forces had been alerted and were formed up for a phalanx
on the
the
camp and
to wait in an area
into action once the
prise, that the tle in
val-
Shaar Hagai (Bab el-Wad).
sur-
bat-
plain before the camp.
Judah could no longer attack the camp to deal with the Seleucid forces
element of surprise had been
as
he had planned, for he had
drawn up in battle array facing him. The and for the first time in the wars of the
lost,
279
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Maccabees he was up against an organized phalanx and obliged to fight a type of battle for which his forces were not particularly well trained. But Judah nonetheless surprised the enemy,
time
this
tactically, for to
have
fol-
lowed the accepted pattern of a military engagement would have spelled
doom
for the Jewish forces.
He
again revealed a flexibility of thought
He
unusual in military leaders of that time.
immediately adapted his moves to
The enemy
force
was arrayed
flank, it
up.
as
men
while
at the
each.
One
battle
meet the on its western and to try to roll
his
light cavalry,
command
it
into three groups of
of these sub-units engaged the cavalry in units each insinuated
The
in bitter
this
battle,
them-
phalanx, which had been trained to give battle
front in direct confrontation, began to disintegrate as
engaged
At
under
to attack
enemy's flank and began to penetrate the ranks of the pha-
lanx in small groups. its
forces
and
therefore decided not to
same time the remaining two
selves into the
on
He
would be expected, but
Judah divided the
situation
it.
where the phalanx was protected by
1,000
up the
in a phalanx facing south. Judah's forces
were to the west of the phalanx. phalanx head on,
sized
its
ranks were
hand-to-hand fighting.
men - unaware of Judahs
point the northern group of 1,500
with the phalanx and assuming that Judah's forces had attacked the
camp of Emmaus, which still contained approximately 10,000 men and 2,000 cavalry men - attacked the camp from the north. The forces in the camp were unprepared for battle, having assumed that base
infantry
Gorgias' forces in the tively small
hills to
the south had taken care of the compara-
Jewish force and confident in the knowledge that a protective
phalanx was covering the approach to the camp. penetrated the
camp and engaged
its
The Jewish
force thus
surprised occupants in battle. In this
way, Judah succeeded in fragmenting the Seleucid forces. Gorgias with
6,000 troops was chasing an elusive force
in the
mountains; Judah's forces
had broken into the flank of the phalanx and were engaged
hand
fighting,
and the force under
his brothers'
against the surprised troops in the base
The phalanx broke and reigned, as horses
fled
battling
pandemonium
and elephants milled around amongst fighting troops
the panic spread. Nicanor's forces broke
Some 3,000 of them were
killed.
At
this
camp and
followers began to run fled
towards the coast.
point Judah again proved himself
commander, controlling the battle at all times, for he pursuit and issued orders forbidding the taking of booty.
to be an outstanding
stopped the
hand-to-
camp.
towards the camp. There
while the large numbers of slave traders and as
in
command was
280
EARLY MACCABEAN BATTLES
Judah knew that he had yet to contend with Gorgias. He therefore concentrated his forces at Emmaus and set fire to the enemy camp. Gorgias soon received reports that his base
back hills.
his forces,
But
they, too,
camp was
which were being harried by the
as the scene in the valley
were seized by panic and
aflame.
He turned
light Jewish forces in the
below was revealed to Gorgias' men,
fled to the coast, this
time with Judah's
forces in hot pursuit.
The
defeat at
Emmaus
constituted a most serious blow to Antiochus
and, indeed, prejudiced his entire campaign in the eastern provinces of the
empire. In fact the very existence of the Seleucid dynasty was
now
threat-
ened, for this defeat was to have serious consequences in the future. Judah, for his part,
had again gained time and was
in fact in total control of
Judea, with the exception of the Seleucid garrison in Jerusalem (which was
destroyed,
and purposes cut off). Another large Seleucid army had been and considerable quantities of weapons and equipment, in
addition to
much wealth and valuable
to
all
intents
booty,
a result Judah could equip his army,
had
fallen into his hands.
10,000 men.
Reconstruction of a Hellenistic stone-shooting 'palintolon', an
example of the Maccabean period artillery.
281
As
which by now numbered some
CHAPTER
13
FROM FREEDOM TO INDEPENDENCE
THE BATTLE OF BETH-ZUR The
Seleucids were not long in preparing to avenge the defeat. Lysias him-
self set all
out from Antioch
at the
head of a force determined once and for
put an end to the humiliating situation in which the Maccabees had
to
inflicted
Lysias
one defeat
made
another on the mighty Seleucid armies. This time
for Jerusalem in order to join
Based
fortress.
after
in this fortress, his plan
up with the garrison
was
in the
to fan out into Judea,
Acra
mount
punitive operations and finally crush the Jewish forces. Lysias plain.
marched
his
army on
But he did not enter the
the traditional route along the coastal hills
of Judea along the routes previously
taken
by the Seleucids, where Judah's forces had waited outskirted Judea, marching southwards
ambush. Instead he
in
on the coast
to the general area
of Ashkelon, turning inland towards Marisa (Mareshah) and thence to
Hebron. His route traversed
territory friendly to the Seleucids.
section passed through the land of the Idumeans,
Then his Judean border fortress some
Jews and friendly to the Hellenist
wards to Betrw.ur,
where they 1
ysias
set
a
rulers.
who were
The
last
hostile to the
forces continued north-
miles from Hebron,
six
up camp.
army has been estimated
in the region
of 20,000 infantry and
4,000 cavalry troops, approximately the same force that Judah had engaged
at
Emmaus. Facing
Lysias at Beth-zur
was
a
10,000 men. Judah had followed the progress of keeping pace with thai be in
it
as
it
finally
Judean force of some Lysias'
army
closely,
moved up from the south. He enemy camp, as he had succeeded
realized
could not rely on splitting the
doing when he encountered Nicanor and Gorgias.
A
direct assault
on
Lysias' forces
would be fraught with
because of the relative strengths of the forces.
282
He
great danger
therefore resolved to
[
FROM FREEDOM TO INDEPENDENCE Lod«
5Km
—————
1
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
5 Miles
34 The Battle of Beth-zur Lysias approaches Judea from the coast, via the fortress of Marisa, thus avoiding the difficult and dangerous terrain of the Judean Mountains 2 Judah's forces move to meet Lysias 3 The Seleucids are ambushed at Beth-zur 4 Lysias' troops flee towards Hebron 5 Judah travels to Jerusalem; the Temple is rededicated 1
make
on the road leading northwards to Jerusalem and chose a sector in which he would meet the Seleucid phalanx not in battle array but marching in columns and therefore most vulnerable to full
use of the terrain
attack.
He
sought a sector whose topographical nature could be exploited to
offset the
enemy's numerical superiority and chose an area immediately
north of Beth-zur, probably in the vicinity of what heiran.
The
is
today Hirbet Beth-
route northwards traversed high ground bisected at
points by ravines and wadis, which afforded excellent cover for
ing forces. At the same time, the narrow route, by fined the advancing forces and prevented
formation. 283
its
them from
many
ambush-
very nature, con-
lining
up
in battle
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Judah divided his forces into four groupings, the first consisting of 3,000 men; the second and third of 1,000 men each; and the fourth consisting
of 5,000 men.
He
estimated that, despite the difficult nature of the
would be in a position to concentrate up to 10,000 men in That is why Judah held back the fourth group of 5,000 men as a reserve, ready to intervene and turn the tide of the battle. The Seleucid forces moved northwards in a column of march. They entered a long defile, and as they emerged from it Judah's first force issued forth from the ravine where it lay in ambush and launched a surprise attack on the left flank. The Seleucid lead unit was severely mauled by the sudden heavy assault, and the leading phalanx was thrown into confusion as Judah's first formation spread out and engaged the enemy follow-up units from both sides of the gully. Now the second and third groups of Judah's forces began their advance, moving forward along a front approxterrain, Lysias
certain sectors.
imately half a mile wide.
As
units of the lead Seleucid phalanx were beaten back, panic spread
among
the following phalanxes
when
they discovered that they were
trapped in a gully with Judah's forces arrayed along the slopes of both
sides.
number of untested recruits, and before long his lead units were in full flight. The fleeing forces reached the base camp, in which there were still some 8,000 troops. For this encounter Judah had Lysias' forces
included a large
set aside his reserve force
of 5,000 men, but the base troops panicked and
with the remainder before the reserve unit began
fled
its
attack.
Judah decided against pursuit of Lysias' forces, which fled towards
Hebron, because despite
his success
he hesitated to be drawn into hostile
country. Lysias, discouraged by the low fighting quality of his mercenaries,
retired
with a
loss
to put
up
and withdrew a fight
tary weakness.
army
to Antioch.
of some 5,000 men. But
to fight
It
His army had been soundly defeated his
was due primarily to
withdrawal without any attempt
political reasons rather
than mili-
was obvious to Lysias that he would require a stronger
Judah.
On
the other hand, he was primarily preoccupied
with pressing internal problems and a renewed struggle for power in the Seleucid Empire. tory,
And though Judah had
he had no illusions about the
real
again scored a remarkable vic-
reason for Lysias' quick withdrawal.
THE REDEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE The
battle
army -
led
of Beth-zur had been the most serious defeat that the Seleucid
by the viceroy himself and enjoying considerable superiority 284
FROM FREEDOM TO INDEPENDENCE in
men and weapons - had
suffered at the hands of the Maccabees.
estimated that he had gained a breathing
waned and
that, internally, the
As
carious situation.
spell, that
Judah
Seleucid prestige had
now in a very unstable and prehad won his struggle for the
empire was
a result, he assumed, he
time being and that some time would pass before the Seleucid forces
would return their people, ical
to Judea. The Maccabees had achieved religious freedom for and now Judah's thought turned to the achievement of polit-
independence. His
step in that direction
first
would be
go to
to
Jerusalem, rededicate the holy Temple, and affirm before the entire Jewish
nation the attainment of freedom of religion.
Once
in Jerusalem,
Judah decided to postpone an attack on the Acra,
the formidable Seleucid fortress facing the at the
Temple
Temple Mount. Upon arriving at a distance from the Acra by
were engaged
area, his forces
the Seleucid garrison. Judah's forces contained
entered the Temple, removed
all
the profanities, built a
the interior of the
Temple and consecrated
Kislev (the ninth
month of
was dedicated. The Talmud
A
single cruse
burned
in the
of pure
oil,
candelabrum
annually in the Jewish
them while
it.
On
the Jews
new altar,
the Jewish calendar) in 164 bc, the
in the
Temple, sufficient for one day,
for eight days.
festival
Temple
of the miracle that followed.
relates the story
found
restored
the twenty-fifth day of
This event
is
commemorated
of Hanukkah.
THE RESCUE EXPEDITION The emergence of Jewish
nationalism and the expression
it
received in the
province of Judea, where the Maccabees held military sway, created a reaction in the entire region bordering
on the province. Pro-Hellenist
unable to stand up to the Maccabees in the
field
of
battle,
forces,
turned their
wrath on the Jewish communities scattered throughout the region, across the Jordan River
and
in Galilee. In an attempt to demonstrate Jewish
vulnerability, they persecuted the local Jews,
assuming that they could act
with impunity.
Urgent pleas came from Galilee reporting that 'Ptolemais
and Sidon had mounted
their forces to
powers had attacked the Jews calls for
help
make an end of
in Gilead, across the Jordan,
came from Dathema,
a fortress
some twenty
[Acre], Tyre
us'.
The
local
and desperate
miles east of the
Sea of Galilee (on today's border between Syria and Jordan), advising Judah
army under the command of Timotheus was besieging the fortified town and that the losses to the Jewish communities were very heavy. that an
285
ATTLES OF THE BIBLE
Kamaim
^^
/X\
Raphon
-
v
-.
35 The Rescue Hxpcditions of Judah and Simon 1
FofCtt from
communities Judah sends his brother Simon to Galilee IB similar reports of persecution from Gilead. Judah and Jonathan set out through Trans-Jordan S BOD defeats the Phoenician allies and rescues the Jews of Galilee 3b Judah 's force relieves Bostra 4a Simon returns to Judea with rescued Jews 4b Judah moves on to relieve Bosora, Alema. Maker. Kaspein and Kamaim 5 Judah defeats Timolheus at Dathema 6 A counter-attack by Timotheus at Raphon fails 7 Judah returns with the rescued Jews, through hostile territory, to Judea ..ih carries out punitive expeditions against Jaffa and the Idumeans 1
Ion join with those of Ptolemaic to persecute local Israelite f
this,
286
FROM FREEDOM TO INDEPENDENCE Judah
realized that his reaction to this
his ability to
He
dence.
command
new
situation
the struggle for religious
decided that in
campaign
this
would operate
would be
a test of
and national indepen-
to save the Jews in the sur-
army and would avoid weighing themselves down with heavy equipment and supply trains. rounding lands,
He
his troops
proven
also realized that his
ability to
as a guerrilla
maintain forces in Judea while
at the same time operating with expeditionary forces outside its borders would have the desired effect on all the powers observing the struggle in and around Judea - above all on the Roman Empire, which was taking an increasing interest in development in the Seleucid and Ptolemaic spheres. Judah sent his brother Simon into Galilee on a relief expedition with 3,000 men, while together with his brother Jonathan he moved across the
Jordan River into the Trans-Jordanian desert
men
8,000
at the
head of
a force
of
en route to Gilead. Simon's forces, unhindered by Seleucid
reinforcements, defeated the local forces in Galilee and rescued the Jews of the area, bringing
made
way
his
them back triumphantly
to Gilead,
to Judea. Meanwhile, Judah where the Jewish populations were being held
prisoner in fortified towns such as Bostra, Bosora, Alema, Kaspein,
and Karnaim. These towns ily east
in northern Gilead
Maker
were concentrated primar-
and south-east of the present-day Golan Heights.
Judah opened
his
campaign with an attack on Bostra, some
north-east of Philadelphia (present-day successfully,
moving from one town
Amman). He waged
to the next until
sixty miles
his
campaign
he came to Dathema.
This was the main centre of Jewish resistance and was invested by Timotheus' forces.
arrived at
Approaching the town from an unexpected
dawn
to find the
cations of Dathema. less
The
enemy
direction,
already scaling the walls
and
Judah fortifi-
situation of the beleaguered Jews appeared hope-
when Judah suddenly launched his attack, taking the besieging forces rear. The besieging units were defeated, the city was
by surprise from the
saved and Timotheus' attack at
army
fled.
Timotheus then attempted
a counter-
Raphon, twenty miles north-west of Dathema, but Judah again
defeated his forces and sacked the
Gilead and, fighting his
city.
He
way back through
gathered
all
the rescued Jews of
hostile territory,
brought them
safely to Judea.
Following his campaign in Trans-Jordan, Judah carried out a number of
whose territory Lysias had passed en route to Beth-zur) and against Jaffa, where he burned the harbour with all the shipping in it in reprisal for the drowning of its small Jewish community. He had now asserted himself as the leader
punitive expeditions against the hostile Idumeans (through
287
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE of a military force to be reckoned with not only in Judea but throughout
He was
the surrounding area.
also in absolute control
of Judea (with the
exception of Acra), and the borders were comparatively secure. Judah
could
now begin
to guide his people towards the concept
of national inde-
pendence.
Meanwhile, the fortunes of the Seleucid Empire were
low ebb.
at a
Before his death, Antiochus rv appointed Philip as regent over his empire until
Antiochus Eupator came of
age.
this final act precipitated a struggle for
who had son.
But rather than securing
stability,
power between Philip and
Lysias,
previously been entrusted with the guardianship of Antiochus'
Judah decided
the Seleucid forces
to exploit this situation
- and
- which obviously hampered
attack the Acra fortress
and the Hellenist Jews
in
Jerusalem. Aided by the siege equipment he had captured, he proceeded to invest the citadel. It
had been obvious
to
Judah that he could not acquiesce indefinitely
the presence of a Seleucid fortress in the heart of Jerusalem.
By
its
in
very
presence, the Acra reminded the Jews that the area was not entirely free
and reminded the
rulers
of Antioch that
maintained and strengthened. Early
on the
but
fortress,
it
failed
and
in
its
imperial garrison had to be
162 bc Judah mounted an attack
his troops
were beaten back.
He
then pro-
ceeded to lay siege to the Acra. Emissaries from the besieged garrison hurried to
Antioch and pleaded with Lysias to save them. Influenced by
his
desire for revenge against Judah, Lysias decided to risk the possible return
Antioch of
to
his rival Philip,
ders of the empire, sive against
and
who was campaigning on
leave for Judea in order to
mount
the eastern bora
renewed offen-
Judah.
for the first time made a serious error of military and politijudgment He had gambled on Lysias being tied down in Antioch by
Judah had cal
the internecine struggle for the Seleucid crown. But Lysias had set out for
young Antiochus v Eupator, and brought with of war elephants - in defiance of a treaty with the Romans
Judea. accompanied by the
him
a unit
whereby the Seleucids had renounced the use of elephants of incurring the wrath of the
in warfare.
Romans
decided to take the
risk
that the elephants,
which the Maccabees had never before
in the
faced,
He
hope
would
prove to be the factor that could turn the tide of battle and bring about the quick defeat of the rebels.
At the head of more than 30,000 troops, some thirty elephants and a force of cavalry
few years
earlier
and
chariots, Lysias
took the same route he had taken a
and approached Jerusalem from the south. Upon reach288
FROM FREEDOM TO INDEPENDENCE ing Beth-zur, he placed the town under siege, forcing Judah to abandon his
own
siege
of the Acra in order to meet
this threat.
Having analysed
all
options open to him, Judah apparently came to the conclusion that this
time the only viable
tactic
piece battle, because the
was
He
but the conventional one. fend for
itself
and decided
miles north of Beth-zur
The
to face the Seleucids in a conventional set
enemy would be expecting to
therefore
make
every form of strategy
the garrison at Beth-zur to
left
a stand at Beth-zechariah,
some
six
and twelve miles south of Jerusalem.
Beth-zur garrison eventually surrendered, and Judah's troops had
meanwhile taken up positions on the high ground the road to Jerusalem. to Beth-zechariah
ing army.
The
The
sight of Lysias' forces
was calculated
scene
is
Beth-zechariah along
to instil fear in the hearts of the oppos-
described in
the elephants, the light infantry
marched the heavy
at
marching across the plain
Maccabees. Leading the army were
1
and the
infantry, ready to
light cavalry.
form up
in
Behind them
phalanx formation, with
the heavy cavalry protecting their flanks. Each elephant 'had a strong
wooden
turret fastened
on
its
tection, carrying four fighting
the cavalry Lysias stationed
enemy while themselves
back with a special harness by way of pro-
men
on
as well as
an Indian
either flank of the
protected by the phalanxes.
driver.
The
rest
of
army
to harass the
When
the sun shone
on the gold and bronze shields, they lit up the hills which flashed like torches' (1 Mace. 6:37-9). It is evident from this description that Lysias had learned his lesson from the previous encounters with Judah, for this time he retained control of the high ground flanking his axis of approach. The same 1 Maccabees describes how part of his army was deployed over the heights and part over the low ground. They advanced confidently and in good order. All who heard the din of this marching multitude and its clashing arms shook with fear. It was a very great and powerful array indeed'. For the first time the Maccabees were to fight from defensive positions. Judah
sited his
enemy and
forward units with the intention of causing attrition to the
him down. Thereafter the phalanxes would main Maccabean forces arrayed in the rear. Lysias, on
gradually wearing
be engaged by the
the other hand, planned for his advance units, supported by the elephants, to
weaken the
units
down the forward which would move up and
fighting capacity of the Maccabees, wear
and then make way
for the phalanxes,
crush the main Maccabean army.
When
the two armies clashed in fierce battle, the elephants
unnerving
effect
on the Judeans and created 289
had an
a psychological disadvantage.
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
5
11)111
Km
— —— l
1 I
l
1
5 Miles
36 The Battle of Bcth-zcchariah 1
Lysias'
army
Judah moves to intercept the Seleucids, halting at Beth-zechariah 3 Lysias takes Beth-zur 4 The battle of Betlwecharia: Elea/ar the Maceabee is killed by an elephant, and the Maeeabean army is defeated 5 Judah flees back to the Ciophna mountains, and Lysias advances to Jerusalem to storm the Temple Mount 2
290
FROM FREEDOM TO INDEPENDENCE Observing
younger brother Eleazar
this situation, Judah's
must demonstrate
to his
men
realized that
he
that the elephants were vulnerable. Sighting
an elephant bearing the royal arms, he fought his way through the prosurrounding the beast, came under the elephant, thrust his
tective forces
sword into
on him to
fall
on
its
underbelly and killed
and he was crushed.
in battle. Yet his sacrifice
Reading the
inexorably.
less,
Judah decided
withdrew
The
it.
He was was
battle
But
the
as
first
he did
of his army.
He
broke off contact and
of Beth-zechariah emphasized to Judah the mistake inherent
battle
successful career as long as
it
The Jewish army would
remained true to
better equipped, adapted, organized
one and could therefore
and
trained.
its
original
which the enemy was
guerrilla-type tactics instead of adopting tactics for
a regular
pushed
was hope-
that the situation
mountains to Jerusalem.
his forces across the
its
fell
of the Maccabean brothers
in the attempt to imitate the enemy's tactics.
continue
elephant
in vain, for Lysias' phalanxes
and seeing
to save the bulk
so, the
The
army was
Seleucid
train over long periods to fight in pha-
lanx formations. Judah's army, however, was a civilian reserve militia that
was
called to the colours as circumstances required.
But even
in retreat
Judah had demonstrated
his mettle as a leader in
war. His greatest quality remained his ability to adapt himself to
changing circumstances in the heat of
battle.
new and
Appreciating his error and
the direction of the tide of battle, Judah remained master of the situation
and, without hesitation, drew his conclusions and issued his orders, painful though they
may
have been.
After Judah's withdrawal, Lysias pressed
now wide open the
Temple Mount, and then withdrew they could
forces, so that
on
to Jerusalem,
live to fight
to
Gophna with
the remaining
When
Lysias reached
another day.
Jerusalem and stormed the Temple Mount, the
behind fought Lysias
valiantly.
The
The Maccabees prepared supplies.
forces
Judah had
left
attacking forces were thrown back, and
found himself compelled
to resort to siege.
for a
Lysias, however, their situation
and
which was
before him. Judah had passed through Jerusalem, fortified
prolonged
resistance.
Unknown
to
was desperate because of a shortage of food
They were saved
literally at
the
last
moment when news
reached Lysias that Philip was moving back towards Antioch with a view to taking over the
government. Lysias faced a
within his grasp but
decided to
make
now
bitter
dilemma. Victory was
he would have to withdraw. Accordingly he
the best of the situation
and
offer a peace
agreement
granting the Jews liberty of conscience and freedom of worship. 291
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
His proposal So
let
is
recorded in
us offer these
it
Maccabees:
new terms and make peace with them and
nation. Let us guarantee
used to do, for
1
them
rights to follow their laws
their
and customs
whole as
they
was our abolition of these very customs and laws which
aroused their resentment, and produced
all
these consequences. (1
Mace.
6:58-9)
When
Judah accepted
engaged
Philip, defeated
his
proposal, Lysias hurried back to Antioch,
him and resumed
his
power
as ruler
of the Seleu-
cid Empire.
Many tive.
of the Jews in Judea
They
felt
the time had
patterns of living
felt
that they
come
had now achieved
their objec-
homes and their old armed forces. But Judah
to return to their
and proposed dissolving the
Jerusalem
37 The Battles of Capharsalama and Adasa Nieanor sets out Irom Jerusalem to subdue the Maccabeans 2 Judah ambushes and defeats him at Capharsalama 3 Nicanor sets out to meet reinforcements from the plain 4 Hie Seleucid armies meet near Upper Beth-horon 5 The combined forces are ambushed en route to Jerusalem at Adasa 6 The fleeing Seleucids are harassed by Jewish villagers 1
292
FROM FREEDOM TO INDEPENDENCE had come
to the conclusion that only
by attaining
political
freedom and
independence would the Jews of Judea achieve true freedom of worship. Therefore the army had to be maintained intact and adopt
aim
independence.
total national
He
as its
primary
believed that the weakness of the
Seleucid throne, the intrigue in the court at Antioch and the watchfulness
of the Romans offered great and exciting
possibilities.
Accordingly, he
resolved to continue the fight.
In the meantime, a bitter and bloody struggle for the Seleucid throne
developed in 162 bc. Ultimately Demetrius, cousin to the nine-year-old
Antiochus v Eupator, returned from
Rome
(where he had been held
hostage), gained the support of the local population and seized power,
v Eupator to death. Demetrius then new High Priest, Eliakim, in Jerusalem, who - contrary to - executed many Hasidim (Orthodox Jews). At the same
putting Lysias and Antiochus
appointed a expectations
1
time the Seleucid general Bacchides,
Judea to bolster the area of
Gophna
new High
whom
Demetrius despatched to
Priest's authority, killed
many Jews
in the
suspected of Maccabean sympathy.
This return to an oppressive policy roused Judah to renewed action. Together with his brothers and battle-tried commanders, he reactivated the Jewish militia ers.
The
latter
and began
to harass Eliakim
appealed to Antioch for
diately despatched a force led
routed by Judah at
Emmaus
aid,
and
his Hellenist support-
whereupon Demetrius imme-
by Nicanor, the general who had been
three years earlier, to deal with the
Mac-
cabees.
Reverting once again to guerrilla
Nicanor
at
tactics, Judah's forces
ambushed
Capharsalama (Kfar Shalem), on the road between Jerusalem
and Beth-horon, and routed the Seleucid forces. Nicanor withdrew to Jerusalem and awaited reinforcements from Antioch. When they finally reached the borders of Judea, he moved his forces down from Jerusalem in order to
horon
meet and protect them
as
they
moved through
the Beth-
pass.
Judah bided his time and only when the two armies had met and merged did he ambush the combined force at Adasa, five miles north of Jerusalem, attacking from the right flank.
The
Seleucids, over-confident
because of their combined strength, were taken by surprise. Nicanor early in the battle.
by Judah's
forces,
joined Judah's
withdrew
fell
His troops panicked and, being cut off from Jerusalem fled
army
towards the coastal plain.
The Jewish
villagers
in the pursuit, harassing the Seleucid forces as they
in defeat.
293
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE Following the victory over Nicanor in the spring of 161 bc, Judah again became master of the country and once more reviewed the political situation in the Seleucid Empire. In view of the attempt by Timarchus, satrap
of Media and Babylonia, to renounce his allegiance to Demetrius,
was
Demetrius did not enjoy the support of Rome. Judah therefore
clear that
make
decided to
overtures to the
Rome met
despatched to
between
it
Rome and Judea
Roman
(1
The embassy which he
Mace. 8:23-30). For the
Babylonian Exile, Judea was regarded
none other than the major power
as
in the
enough, howevet, the
Ironically
Senate.
with success and concluded a treaty of alliance first time since the an independent power - and by
world
Roman
at the time!
alliance,
which was perhaps
Judah's greatest political success, proved to be the immediate cause of his
downfall.
break in
2
The
Seleucids could view a periodically successful guerrilla out-
Judea with equanimity, for they were convinced
right opportunity, they could easily master the situation. allied itself to
Rome
that, given the
But when Judea
and, indeed, became a protege of that imperial power,
the court in Antioch could not help but perceive great danger inherent in the situation. Furthermore, an independent Judea, supported
would enhance the
threat to the Seleucid
Empire from Egypt,
by Rome,
for this
new
Jerusalem
38 The Battle of Elasa and the Death of Judah Bacchides camps at Beeroth 2 Judah moves south Judah is defeated and killed. The Maccabeans flee 4 Judah's body, rescued from the battlefield, is taken back for burial in the family village of Modiin 1
3
The
battle of Elasa:
294
FROM FREEDOM TO INDEPENDENCE power could ultimately lead to an alliance between the Alexandria and Judea, a development which would bring the
constellation of
Ptolemies in
dynasty in Egypt almost to the Seleucids' doorstep.
rival
With
this
imminent danger threatening him, Demetrius did not
hesi-
His decision was strengthened by reports from Judea indicat-
tate to act.
ing that the Jewish resistance had weakened, because
it
was no longer
motivated by the drive to overcome the sources of religious oppression. By granting religious toleration Demetrius' predecessor, Lysias, had removed
Thus Demetrius was able to concentrate Maccabean forces and weaken the Jewish revolt. Indeed, evaluation was vindicated by events. In the spring of 160 bc,
the source of Jewish discontent.
on the his
rebellious
at the head of a force of some 20,000 and 4,000 cavalry through eastern Galilee taking the direct route Jerusalem. As Demetrius had rightly calculated, Judah was unable to
Demetrius despatched Bacchides infantry to
muster more than '3,000 picked men.
JUDAH'S LAST BATTLE Bacchides based himself some eight miles north of Jerusalem in an area
town of Ramallah. As he moved northwards,
that today includes the
Judah manoeuvred bypass his
him and
his forces in a south-western direction in
cut
him
manoeuvre and the armies clashed
horon.
The
six miles east
overwhelming superiority
bers caused the courage in Judah's ranks to battlefield
some
at Elasa,
sight of the Seleucid army's
Judah on the
an attempt to
off from his base. However, Bacchides countered
with 800 men, and
Many
fail. 1
of Bethin
num-
deserted, leaving
Maccabees describes how,
on his small band desmove to attack and see if we can defeat him from attacking, urging him to resort
faced by impossible odds, this brave leader urged perately calling
them.' His
men
on them:
'Let us
tried to dissuade
to their early guerrilla tactics, melt later.
But Judah
do such
is
away
in the hills
and return
recorded as having replied: 'Heaven forbid that
a thing as run away. If our time
is
come,
let
to fight I
should
us die bravely for our
fellow-countrymen and leave no stain on our honour.'
Judah estimated that, were his most loyal forces to flee before the enemy, following the numerous desertions that had already occurred, it
would bring on the demoralization of his people and could mean the end of the Jewish resistance movement. Instead he believed struggle to the death against impossible odds would inspire those who followed him. His decision was a
classic
example of 295
a
commander weighing
the
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
war and deciding that the
principle of morale against other principles in
men was
of his
spirit
his
most
effective
weapon
in a political as well as a
military context.
At the head of his 800
The
troops.
battle
The [enemy]
is
valiant
described in
men, Judah engaged Bacchides' 20,000 1 Maccabees as follows:
cavalry was divided into
two detachments; the
slingers
and the
archers went ahead of the main force, and the picked troops were in the front
The phalanx came on
Bacchides was on the right.
line.
in
two
divisions.
When
Judah saw that Bacchides and the main strength of his army was on the flank, all his stout-hearted
then he pursued them
right;
.
.
rallied to
When
.
his
men, attacking them
Judah had concentrated
the [enemy]
in the rear.
his attack
...
on the enemy's
achieve his
main purpose, namely
right flank
under Bacchides broke and
sued Judah's forces, flank forces. in tle
saw that
right flank,
successful,
their
fled,
Judah and
which
but he did not
to kill the Seleucid general.
who
and the Seleucid
in turn
When
men
his
the
followed
left
Then Bacchides turned
ensued with the
many
fallen.
casualties
All
to give battle.
mourned many days and
said
on both
made
Israel
flank wheeled
and pur-
were pursuing Bacchides and his right
between the forces facing him and the pursuing
among of
left
hot pursuit. But the Jewish forces assigned to hold the enemy's
in
flank were overwhelmed,
left
on the
Mace. 9:11-16)
(1
was being led by Bacchides. His attack was
them
right
him, and they broke the [enemy's]
had been broken, they turned about and followed on the heels of Judah
right
and
men
"How
is
sides.
great
Judah was sandwiched left flank.
A bitter bat-
Judah the Maccabee was
lamentations for
him and
the mighty one fallen, the Saviour
Israel!"
By
his self-sacrifice
tinue the fight.
and
later
dream
of
The
and example, Judah had inspired
leadership passed
Simon, who,
and
is
Jonathan 3
evident from the accounts of his battles. In
battlefield tactics
by the adverse
ratio
outnumbered by
all
his enemies. Indeed, his
were dictated to a very considerable degree
of forces which he invariably faced.
analysis of Judah's battles leads result
people to con-
long and bitter struggle, achieved Judah's
after a
the major clashes his force was
forces
his
to his brothers, first
independence. 4
Judah's military genius
strategy
on
A
cold military
one to the conclusion that they were the
of a combination of Judah's innate military genius, the bravery of his
and the moral
principles
which activated them. 296
FROM FREEDOM TO INDEPENDENCE
An
analysis
to attack
of Judah's
- on
tactics reveals that his
that only an offensive military policy Seleucids,
bound
as
inflexible phalanxes.
keeping the
He
would guarantee
appreciated
success against the
A second
initiative in his
principle
hands.
He
which guided Judah was that of
invariably endeavoured to use local
and thus never
to allow the
enemy
to dictate the
of battle.
The
Seleucid strategy was based
revolt to be
enemy
on
a policy that required the Jewish
subdued. This required the Seleucids
whereabouts of the Jewish their
principle of war was
they were to a set piece type of warfare based on the
terrain to his advantage field
main
every occasion and in every circumstance.
forces,
manner they knew, bound
in the only
to discover the
first
by seeking them out, and then as
to engage
they were to the tra-
Conscious of this inflexible strategy, Judah on influencing the enemy's approach route and the location of the
ditional phalanx-based tactics. relied
of course, he could put to
battle area; and,
brilliant use the principle
on which he based much of his tactics. The Maccabean strategy required a highly organized and
of
surprise,
gence
efFort. It is
obvious from
all
perfected a military intelligence system which served
without an
efficient intelligence
effective intelli-
the accounts of Judahs battles that he had
him
well. Indeed,
network, the principles of war on which he
based his moves would have proved ineffective. Judah also benefited from
movement at night. He
the fact that the Seleucid forces avoided
by putting the darkness superiority and, at the tiative in his
above
all,
learn this lesson
effective in the
in
good
flexibility
stead.
their encounters
make
offset the
retain a greater
was Judahs
it
him
from
they continued to
The
measure of battlefield
ini-
of thought and approach,
Seleucids never
managed
to
with the Maccabees. For instance,
use of cavalry forces, although these were never very
as his
as Judah took advanmeans of warfare adopted by his enemy he was victorious. army grew and acquired modern, sophisticated weapons, he
tended to copy the enemy's
tactics.
This proved his undoing
zechariah, although he saved his forces just as
before him.
realized that
enemy's numerical
mountains and valleys of Judea. As long
tage of the rigid
However,
same time,
hands. But
that stood
good use he could
to
The
imminent
at
defeat
Beth-
loomed
Seleucid forces maintained their battlefield strength.
On
the other hand, the Jewish forces, which had reached a peak strength of
15,000, began to decrease as internal political differences eroded their ranks.
Only 800 men fought with Judah to the principle of morale,
hopelessly
outnumbered
in his last battle.
But
faithful to the last
he insisted on entering battle
force rather than
297
withdraw
at the
in retreat.
head of a
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
it
Judah was destined to rouse his people, to forge the nation and prepare to implement his dream of independence. For the first time in history,
he led a nation in a struggle for religious freedom. hero, a general
and
a national leader in times
He was
a fighter, a
of great tragedy and extreme
circumstances. In Judah the greatness and courage of the spirit joined
with an unusual practical ability for action and leadership of the highest quality.
He was one
of the great captains of history.
298
ABBREVIATIONS
AASOR ABD ANET
Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research Anchor Bible Dictionary Ancient Near Eastern
ed. J. B. Pritchard (Princeton,
Texts,
1955)
AV
Holy
BA BAR BASOR
Biblical Archaeologist
EB HJP
Encyclopedia Biblica [Hebrew]
Bible,
Biblical
Authorized Version
Archaeology Review
Bulletin,
The American
Schools of Oriental Research
A History ofthe Jewish People, I —III,
ed.
H. Ben Sasson (Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts, 1976)
HUCA
Hebrew Union College Annual
IEJ
Israel
JNES JPOS
Journal for Near Eastern Studies
JQR
Jewish Quarterly Review
JSOT
Journal for the Study of the
JSS
Journal for Semitic Studies
LB
The Land of the Bible, Y. Aharoni (London, 1979) The Military History of the Land ofIsrael in Biblical Times, J. Liver (Jerusalem, 1964) [Hebrew]
MHBT
Exploration Journal
Journal of the Palestine Oriental Society
Old Testament
ed.
NEAEHL New
Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land, I-IV, ed. E. Stern et al. (Jerusalem, 1993)
PEQ
Palestine Exploration Quarterly
RB RE
Revue Biblique Pauly's Realenzyklopddie der Klassischen Altertumswissenschaft,
ed.
G. Wissowa
et al. (Stuttgart,
VT
Vetus Testamentum
Yadin,
The Art of Warfare
Warfare
1893-1964)
in the Biblical Lands, Y.
Yadin (London,
1963)
ZAW
Zeitschrift fur Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
ZDPV
Zeitschrift des
Deutschen Palastina Vereins
299
NOTES TO THE TEXT
The
conclusions of the authors contained
book
in this
are based
on
their personal
military appreciation of the Bible as a fac-
unbiased source. Although legitimate
tual,
been levelled
textual criticism has
on
Bible
at the
several grounds, the authors
have
followed the sequence of its account of milappears to them to be
itary matters as this
and convincing.
logical
The works of
on
recent writers
biblical
in
reconstructing
the
of the Bible. Besides the
itary episodes
impossibility of inventing the details,
we cannot
satisfactorily
explain
the
motive for their invention and the
most
neglect, in
cases,
of the
of
details
personal deeds of valour, so dear to
ancient bards.
The scope of biblical archaeology is summed up by Myers, E. M., 'The Bible
BA 47 (1984), pp. 36-40. For the multi-faceted problems
and Archaeology',
matters, as well as other sources, have been
invaluable
refutes aetiology as the basis for the mil-
geo-
graphic and political setting of events, and
involved and attempts at their solution
the following chapter notes give precise
see the articles
The author of
references to such works. Part
however, avoided consulting
has,
I
works dealing with the purely military aspects
of the Bible, although
reading
may have
m
this
concepts
him uncon-
wishing to compare the
sciously. Readers
views
influenced
previous
hook with
military ideas
by
expressed
other
and
scholars
should consult the works of Y. Aharoni, Liver, A.
Malamat.
Yadin and arc
due
S.
to
B.
Yietvin;
them
G. Dever, quoted
views as to the intrinsic veracity of
the details of the biblical battle reports
any influences of
is
sustained by the school of thought that
claims for
much
of the Bible narrative
the authenticity of the 'Sitz
which means
im Leben',
that the matter
under
dis-
cussion truly reflects the social, techno-
and
intellectual
background of
the period of their composition: Buss,
apologies and thanks
for
Our
logical
J.
Mazar, E. Oren, Y.
W.
by
throughout these notes.
The
Idea of Sitz
im Leben',
J.,
ZAW 90
(1978), pp. 158-70.
which the author is unaware and which are therefore not mentioned in the chapter
Attitudes towards the historical value of
notes.
evident from
the Bible accounts, other than ours, are
ter
(H) indicates published in Hebrew
1,
Supp.
notes
many 1
ZAW
notes, such as chap-
and
100
17.
Soggin,
(1988)
observes that later redaction in
Notes to Foreword 1
See Child, B.
S.,
The
4, pp.
25-397
and bibliography, including the basic works of H. Gressmann, M. Noth and A. Alt.
Much
A.,
itself does
not cancel out authenticity of events.
Etiological Tale
Reexamined', ITxxxiv,
J.
correctly
of the present volume
300
Useful introductions to biblical research are:
Rendtdorff, R., The
Old Testament
(London, 1985), and Schmidt, Introduction to the
don, 1984).
W.
H.,
Old Testament (Lon-
51
NOTES TO THE TEXT Chapter
H.
1
ANET,
1
Pritchard,
2
The only other country on
J.
B.
(ed.),
$>.,
Official History
War of 1914-1918
pp.
227-8.
ofAustralia in the
rv (Sydney, 1923),
pp. 743-75.
ian land-bridge independent for any
length of time, the Crusader
its reli-
JSS 33 (1982),
rior',
kingdom
of Jerusalem, also derived from
The Noble War-
9 Muffs, Y., 'Abraham
the Palestin-
cit.
10
81-107 and
pp.
of Grotius there.
ANET,
Whatever the attempts
p. 378.
gious ideals and dedication, as far as
to disqualify the veracity
they went, the strength and stamina to
the authenticity of the stele stands, and
balance the
Muslim preponderance
in consequence, the
in
The
numbers.
of its contents,
mention of 'Israel'.
determinative (explanatory sym-
Mediterranean shores upon the security
bol) of 'people' and not of 'country', which accompanies the name of Israel,
of Israel in historical retrospect', in The
points at the possibility that they were
3 Gichon,
and
Sea
M., 'The influence of the
not yet
the Bible (Haifa,
1970), pp. 'Did the King-
71-96. Cf. Yeivin,
S.,
doms of Israel have
a maritime policy?'
mJQR 50 (1960), pp. 193-228. 4 See notes 19 and 20 below.
recent Theories',
G. A.,
A
His-
and n
see
Winlock, H.
E.,
(New
Thebes
far,
known war
are the
first
pp.111-13. don, 1893),
Warfare,
Beni Hasan
E.,
PI.
I
(Lon-
28, 30-31.
13 See below, pp. 109-10, and note 16,
half of the third
millennium bc. Cf. Yadin,
Am
ment (Philadelphia, 1909); De Vaux, Ancient Israel (London, 1961),
12 Newberry, P.
Sumerian four- and two-
wheelers of the
For the
21).
R.,
so
chariots,
Kgs.
(1
The Ancient Hebrew Parlia-
Ha-arez,
York, 1947), pp. 91ff.; Alt, A.,
earliest
Sam. 11-12) and Ahab
regime, see Sulzberger, M.,
Israelite
Die Herkunft der Hyksos in neuer Sicht (Berlin, 1954); Mazar, B., Canaan and
The
(2
and Naboth
The Rise and Fall
Israel (Jerusalem, 1964), pp. 64ff. (H).
tried to avoid
In this context, see the stories of David
(Paris,
of the Hyksos,
of the Middle Kingdoms in
Even the most
an open showdown with the prophets.
and Uriah fate
and
over-centralized
to
high-handed of the kings
1933-8).
6 For the origin and
Israel
(1991), pp.
Prophetism was one of the major autocratic tendencies.
Geography of the Holy Land (London, 1894), and Abel, A., La geoi
JSOT49
counter-weights
torical
graphie de la Palestine
ANET, and
1-26. 1
5 For the physical geography of biblical Palestine, consult Smith,
finally settled. See
Bimson, A., 'Mernephtah's
chapter
5.
14 Jarvis, C.
S.,
'The Forty Years'
Wan-
PEQ
pp. 36ff.; Salonen, A., Notes on Wag-
dering
gons in Ancient Mesopotamia (Helsinki,
(1938), pp. 32fT. For a completely different
1950).
7 For Abraham and the Patriarchs, see
Malamat, A., Albright,
W.
Christianity
in
HJP
F.,
I,
pp. 37ff. (H);
From Stone Age
(Baltimore,
1940),
to
pp.
all 1
of the
Israelites',
70
approach and a summing-up of
theories, see note
Diodorus Siculus
i,
16 Strabo, Geography 17 Frederick
ii,
1
8 below.
30, 4.
in, 17.
Die Instruktion Friedrichs
179ff., and Boehl, F. M., Das Zeitalter Abrahams (Leipzig, 1930). 8 McMunn, G., and Falls, C, Military Operations in Egypt and Palestine n, 2
18 Harel, M., The Sinai Wanderings (Tel
(London, 1928), pp. 560-95; Gullet,
Aviv, 1968), pp. 90ff. (H). Harel sur-
301
des Grossen fiir seine Generale von 1747, Foerster, R.
(ed.)
(Berlin,
1936), pp.
38ff., 42.
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE veys
all
proposed routes and marshals
mastica
another one. Accord-
ANET,
evidence for
still
Asher
ing to him, the Israelites took a central
course
from Ras Sudar
barnea.
One
Kadesh-
to
of the Egyptian fortresses
time of Seti
niotvi (1973), pp. 101-4. 19 For the conquest of Canaan,
ground and sequence,
HJP
Israel,
102-20;
pp.
Schriften
Kleine
A.,
Alt,
89ff.;
by
civilians
terly
lOOff.
22 See note 19 above. Chapter 2
Rowley, 1
See note
chapter
17,
my
support of
D. H. Mayes,
im A.T.', 255-62.
zum
'Beobachtungen
The Story of Israel between Settlement and Exile (London, in
ZAW
1983). For peaceful penetrations and
2 See note 3 below.
gradual non-violent disappropriation of
3 Garstang,
BASOR
Conquest',
Israelite
(1980), pp. 61-73. Finkelstein,
Archaeology
1988.
Jerusalem
84-100,
50
(1987),
more balanced
J.,
In
initial
Schulte, H.,
see
Begriff der
104
Zona
(1992),
pp.
Foundations of Bible His-
Joshua and the Judges (London,
136-8. Earthquakes have
1932), pp.
The
above.
many
caused
physical
upheavals
Palestine since earliest times, see
in
Ami-
ran, D., 'A revised earthquake catalogue
of Palestine'
pp.
223-46. For
in IE], pp.
picture.
the archaeological evidence of the con-
has repeatedly criticized
quest of Jericho, see Kenyon, K. M.,
gives a
W. G. Dever
241
I.,
Idem, 'Conquest or
BA
Settlement',
tory:
Settlement,
Israelite
of
'The
V.,
1,
opinion of the
meaning of Zonah,
Fritz,
Army Quar-
first assault' in
89 (1964), pp.
of Canaan (Istanbul, 1971). Partly conour interpretation is that of A.
see
upon wounded
Israel
trary to
Canaanites
dozen
a also
he could fully scrutinize the
Napoleon's
H. H., From Joseph to Joshua (London, 1950); Yeivin, S., The Israelite Conquest
the
and
defences. See Gichon, M., 'Acre 1799,
Malamat,
zur Geschichte des Volkes
(Munich, 1953), pp.
i
see
before
Mazar, Canaan and
pp. 5 Iff.;
I,
onwards.
the intelligence of an officer
back-
its
i
years before
Qadmo-
railway station. See Oren, E.,
mention the tribe of Canaan from the
all
upon information gathered
Abd
el
477,
as existing in
21 At Acre, for instance, Napoleon relied
blocking the main road has not long
ago been excavated near the Bir
(Oxford, 1917), p. 193; and
I
p.
the mutually conflicting arguments of
Digging up Jericho (London, 1957), pp.
modern
256ff.
to
theorists If well
.is
their failure
answer basic questions arising from
their theories,
much
debatable
dence:
Israelite
archaeological
'Archaeological Data
e.g.
Settlement',
the
'How Profoundly c jmaanized Were Early
[araditet?',
ZDPV
108
Handbook for
Topographical
pp.
Falls,
F.
Mit den Turken zum Suezkanal 171-91.
We are using the term though probably it
Official
126-63; Kressenstein,
(Berlin, 1938), pp. 5
Military Opera-
175-204; Gullet,
'via maris', since,
a historic
aptly describes the great
misnomer,
highway
tra-
versing Palestine and bifurcating north
of the Carmel into two branches, one
(1992), pp. 1-7.
20 Egyptian documents J.,
K. V.,
284
origin ol the Israelites, see Kempinski,
and
History, pp.
on the
BASOR
McMunn tions,
evi-
(1991), pp. 70-90. For the Canaanite
A.,
4
which depend upon too
cited
the Study
Lists
by Simons,
towards Phoenicia and the other one
of Egyptian
towards Damascus and in a parallel
Western
branch towards Beth Shean. Changes
relating to
Asia (Leyden, 1937), nos. 4, 8, 17, 23;
in the exact trace did occur.
See bibli-
Gardiner, A. H., Ancient Egyptian Ono-
ography
'The Via
302
in:
Beitzel,
B.
J.,
1
NOTES TO THE TEXT
BA
Maris',
54 (1991), pp. 64-75.
6 Gichon, M., 'The conquest of Ai' (Zer L'Gevurot), Shazar volume, Yearbook of
1
56-73
his detach-
i
by means of flashes from reflected sunbeams was not an isolated stratagem. A famous example comes from the Battle of Marathon between the Athenians and the Persians (480 bc). Herodotus relates that Persian sympathizers contacted the Persian set
it
'New
O.,
on the Maryannu',
light
on
its
(1950-1), pp. 309ff. Cf. Reviv, R.,
'Some comments on the Maryannu',
ments
and
above.
Jahrbuch fur Kleinasiatische Forschungen
(H).
7 Joshua's device of alerting
off Marathon
1,
12 For the Marianu, see Callaghan, R. T.
the Israel Society for Biblical Research
(1973), pp.
Armada, were an act of God. See notes 19 and 20, chapter
IEJ 22 (1972), pp. 218ff. Not only the chariots but the Canaanite military establishment as a whole was well organized and sophisticated in comparison to the Israelite tribal contingents. See,
fleet
course to
for instance, Rainey, A. F.,
'The mili-
personnel of Ugarit',
JNES 24
tary
occupy undefended Athens. Only the
(1965), pp. 17-27, and his Social Struc-
mad
ture of Ugarit (Jerusalem, 1967), pp. 73—80. On the war chariot, see note 6,
rush of the Marathon
alerted the
runner
weak and unsuspecting
gar-
rison in the nick of time (Herodotus,
Holy Land,
115). In the
vi,
telegraph
made
its
chapter
the sun
reappearance
as
a
5,
13
above, and note 28, chapter
1,
below.
The need
time to get armed,
for
mechanically sophisticated tool in the
counted and arrayed has always been
wake of Allenby's forces in World War One. From that time until the estab-
wheeled troops. For the same reason,
lishment of the State of
during World
it
Israel in
1948,
remained an important method of
communication
for the often isolated
Jewish settlements, which
little
weak point of mounted and
the
thought
forces
camped
wagon
trains
of the Wild West, and in
danger zones a percentage of the vehi-
they were making use of an ancient and
cles
locally inspired device.
to be ready for
9 Fuller,
J.
F.
the Western
kept their engines running in order
14 There was
8 See p. 278.
C, The
merom,
Decisive Battles of
World and
their Influence
rivulet.
upon History u (London, 1955), pp. 72,
ance
509.
(cf.
10 Severe weather conditions
War Two armoured
in a circle, rather like the
it
immediate action.
also
a
named
town
after
Because of
its
called
the
Me-
adjacent
strategic import-
had been destroyed by Ramses n
Malamat,
HJP
t
For the con-
p. 61).
troversy about this battle, read Aharoni,
critically
LB, pp. 22 Iff. and footnotes. Arch-
impeded Allenby's advance
into
Judean mountains. See
his
chief of
aeological evidence corroborating our
Wavell, A.,
Palestine
view
account,
staffs
Campaigns (London, 160-2. There is no need biblical
episode
embellishment. batants
in the direction
Y.,
mythological
15 Fritz,
again
of
wooden
V.,
'The
in,
p.
254ff.
Conquest',
Israelite
(1980), p. 88.
16 Habiru: consult Lemche,
sudden change the
of the biblical
Hazor (London, 1975), pp.
BASOR 241
com-
of the wind that caused
conflagration
as to the correctness
sequence has been marshalled by Yadin,
pp. to relegate the
Time and as the
Y.,
1931),
have concluded that natural
phenomena, such the
to
the
M.
P.,
ABD
95 ('Hebrew'), and pp. 7-10
('Habiru').
17
The absence of
walls, frequently
used
an argument for a peaceful takeover
defence wall at Masada, or the great
as
storms that severely mauled the great
of places mentioned in the Bible,
303
is
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE explained by the general weakness then
economic and
existing,
caused the inhabitants to
phy.
which
other,
make do with
5 For Canaanite
and Ai); or on topography or on the
war
chariots, see Yadin,
to rely either
ots
formed
together with Canaanite infantry
bearing the triple sickle-shaped sword,
which throughout history
see Yadin, p. 206; for charioteers
Canaanite pikemen, and for Canaanite
Book of, pan
mail-clad infantry, see Yadin, p. 242.
Cf. Boling, R. G., 'Joshua,
On
pp. 1002-15, differing in
with our conclusions.
Thutmose's Megiddo campaign, Faulkner,
see
R.
'The Batde of
O.,
Megiddo', Journal ofEgyptian Archaeology xxvin (1942).
Chapter 3 See notes 19 and 20, chapter
6 For the textual analysis of the
above.
1,
narrative
MaJamat,
final editor's purposes, see
'Charismatic leadership
A.,
in the
Book of Judges', Magnalia Deu
Cross.
F.,
Lemke. W..
D.
Miller,
(1995),
p.
states
Canaanites were prominent
hodgepodge
socio-ethnic the
unsettled
Palestine
and
nation or
Israel.
proem
of
parts
o\
between the
Pcvcr
tails
however in
betore
Israel
in
was
to
explicitly
McrncphtahL
tioned by
was
had
take
men-
The nucleus
which had alone adopted monotheism as its distinct religion, so Israel,
alien
to
other ethnic groups that
all
united with
Aharoni.
I
or the
p.
battle
of the Waters
the battle with Nisera' in
100(H). Hagojim,
pedia JtuLttCM,
5.
p.
consult
Encyclo-
1347 and bibliogra-
304
1963),
9
The ity
EB
S.,
vi,
col.
LB, pp. 263-4.
swift cross-country manoeuvrabil-
of
made
nomad
raiding
parties
always
their interception the task of
distinct
forces.
The as
larger
many
two
and
less
avenues of
retreat as possible so as to give the other
smaller and
chance
more mobile group
direction. For over five
its
hundred years
was the basic concept of
Roman
desert
Roman
the
pursue the raiders in the right
to
border defence on
frontiers
Frontier
1968), pp.
problem of the identification of
Haroshct
Ophrah: Kleinmann,
Imperial
The
Mcrom and
MHBI.
8
this strategy
it.
Y..
in military
(April,
pp. 13-21 (H).
mobile had to block
the tribal confederation of
fact
Maarachot
retrospect',
a
of a
175-93, and
pp.
'The defence of the Negev
to
within one or two generations
place (i.e.
ptDCCM
development', Bonner Jahrbiicher
in its
Beiheft xix (1967),
others collea and into which thev arc This
175 (1964), pp. 51-4.
Limes Palaestinae and the major phases
the
this kind, the existence
BASOR
the
dominant ethnic nucleus, conscious oJ its distinct nationality, around which absorbed.
exist?',
7 See Gichon, M., 'The origin of the
western
main ingredient
'Did a Treaty
and the Kenites
F.
that
colo-
into
crystallized
rhe
tor
Wlfll
among that
C,
Israelites
Feusham,
see
200ff..
pp.
which
211,
(1989), pp. 28-49.
For the Israelite-Kenite understanding,
Ethnicity and the Question of Israels
BA 58
ZAW 101
Sisera',
(eds.)
York. 1977), pp. 152-68. 2 See recently: Dever, D. W., Ceramics,
Origins'',
Neef, H. D.,
'Der Sieg Deboras und Baraks uber
a-
especially
biblical
and the interpretation of the
For the nature of the office of judge, see
nized
and
a 'natural' perimeter defence.
ABDUl,
A
the
Warfare, pp. 86ff.; for Canaanite chari-
outskirts,
3
of
'Battle
earlier walls (as in Jericho
courtyard and the house-walls on the
1
Aharoni,
Cf.
Waters', pp. 99ff.
(cf.
Studies
191fT.).
all
Gichon, M., (Tel
Aviv.
The people who.
according to Judg. 7:2, were 'too many'
should be understood for the pursuing force,
as
unnecessary
which had
to be
1
NOTES TO THE TEXT and light-footed
as agile
Whether
warriors.
down
whittled
open
nomad
as the
the
number was
their
to only three
hundred
be taken for granted that the
employed with the blocking
forces.
p.
Only
the
History of Saul and David',
ZAW97
pp. 116-17. 11
(1985), pp. 190-209.
4 For instance, in the
Mameluk commander was
too quick for Reynier and succeeded in
Gichon, 'Carta's
shutting the gate in the nick of time
Smail, R.
C,
the
(July
Art of
Chapter 4
rise
of
summing up
6
'The Philistines and the
B.,
and Tyre',
Israel
BASOR24S
Western
it
should be noted that they have been
set
by Allenby to capture Michmash on 12
towns
in the days
first
was
dence.
The
where
legend
deposited
Hill
the
War
has
it
Campagnes d'Egypte
9 Kellermann, D., 'David and Goliath im Lichte der Endokrinologie',
et
de Syrie n
ment: Brown,
VTxxi
Napo(Paris,
ZAW 102
(1990), pp. 347-57. Goliath's arma-
(Judg.
campaign (Napoleon Bonaparte,
Jonathan's
along the exact
1914, pp. 158ff.
Samson
16:3), figured decisively in the
leonic
copy
8 See note 7, chapter 3, above.
as well as
that
to
stealth,
Kleist's famous play 'Der Homburg'. Becke, A. F., Napoleon at Waterloo vol. n, London,
of Indepen-
of Gaza
the
Com-
Prinz von
of Ali el-Muntar,
gates
his
route taken by him.
Kgs. 14). There was fighting in these
Israeli
of the
Bible,
7 Cf. H. von
Rehoboam's time (see p. 199). and Jehoash fought here for the supremacy of their relative kingdoms (2
World War One
eve
Officer to call off the frontal
and approach by
from Amaziah
during the
the
Major persuaded
manding
The
On
reading his
assault
fortress
areas during
1917. after
Brigade
major
of Jehoshaphat.
royal
a
assault,
strategic importance. as
Holy
provided by the 181st Brigade
February
though
figure
is
of the 60th Division which was detailed
Jesreel Valley',
the scope of these pages,
Zorah and Eshtaol
Principes
n,
Guerre (Berlin, 1748),
la
A vivid and illuminating example of the
Land
(1991), pp. 17-28.
major
(London, 1975), pp.
to topographical features in the
2 Samson's legendary exploits are outside
in areas of
I
Frederick
consistency of tactical values attached
Academy
ofSciences and Humanities I (Jerusalem, 1964), 7. Also Raban, A., 'The Philistines in the
78fT.
chapter 11.
Philistines, see the
Israel
and
Crusading Warfare 1097-
Wan
315-35.
Generaux de
by Mazar,
1616. See
Atlas', pp. 65, 74,
5 Cannae: e.g. Dellbriick, H., History of
1964), p. 160(H).
For the
of Ain Jalud
in
1193 (Cambridge, 1956), pp.
Cf. Gichon, M., 'The sands of El Arish
and Mount Tabor', Maarachot
battles
1260 and Radanija
in
before the faces of the charging French.
1
p. 118.
286. Also Peckham, B., 'Deuterono-
mistic
MHBT,
(London, 1948). Malamat, A.,
to Tel Hai',
(1974), pp. 85, 104,
3 For the general background, see LB,
The Good Soldier
P.,
n
and bibliography,
people were not just dismissed but were
10 Cf. Wavell, A.
from Bethther
Military History
of the
rest
Gichon, 'Carta's Atlas of
Cf.
Palestine
is
to argument. It should, however,
Wars of 1956 and
Israeli-Arab
1967.
J. P.,
'Peace Symbolism',
(1970), pp. 1-32.
Sam. 28-30.
10
1
1
For Philistines in the northern see
Rowe,
A.,
valleys,
The Topography and His-
1947), pp. 39-40) as well as during World War One (McMunn and Falls,
pp. 23ff.; Garstang, Foundations, pp.
pp. 270ff.) and
31 Off.; Alt, A., 'Das Stiitzpunktsystem
Military Operations
I,
305
tory
of Beth-shen (Philadelphia, 1930),
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE der Pharaonen Beitrage zur Biblischen',
und
Landes
Alter turns kunde
(1950).
12
The
term
biblical
Pentapolis,
thought to be derived
is
from the same root for 'tyrant'. In
as
rest
of the town second,
ing of "Ijr David' as 'City of David' faulty insofar that
it
has been chosen to designate the mili-
more
tary rank of captain.
fortress'. Cf.
The
. .
nine exemplary knights of Chris-
meaning of
restricted
2 Sam. 5 9
'.
city's
'a
2 Chr. 26:6 which should
Ashdod of the
fixes the location
:
citadel at the northern tip
of the
city,
which David connected by means of a
Judas Maccabeus, Hector, Alexander,
fill-in
Charlemagne
Arthur,
JPOS
189ff.,
and
Yonah
(ed.),
(1930),
(Jerusalem,
Simons,
Avi-
Jerusalem,
7 See Yeivin,
Kenyon, K. M., Jerusalem: Excavating
MHBT,p.
Years
pp. 9—53.
northern
but part
presumed
its
tower if it
5).
M - may belong to
was
a gate
tower
as
it
The
DO
it
mat, A.,
large
and, even
of
1
Chr.
(ed.)
The
Arameans'
in Peoples
Weiseman D.
Testament,
of J.
(Oxford, 1973), pp. 134-5. Cf.
i4ADi,pp.338ff.,345ff. 10 For
the
European
view of topography
O. Kenyon,
and fortification
Old
the
Miss Kenyon
could be the most logical,
from the point
Kgs. 11:14-15;
Mazar, Canaan and Israel, pp. 245-69. For the Arameans, see Mala-
believes, the location ol the citadel adja-
cent
1
9 See
of the town, was not
excavated (Kenyon, plan
in
156.
18:12.
the
site,
cit.
'The Wars of David',
S.,
8 2 Sam. 8:13;
of History (London, 1967), citadel has not yet been
The
identified,
and
131fF.,
n, s.v. Jerusalem,
6 Kenyon, K. M., Digging up Jerusalem,
see
3000
NEAEHL
pp. 84rT. Shiloh, Y., loc.
pre-Davidic
and
name. Cf.
pp. 70-4.
1956), pp.
pp. 163ff.
3 For
its
Jerusalem in the Old Testa-
J.,
Shiloh, Y.,
IE] 5 (1955),
107ff. (H); Avigad, N.,
Temple
this fill-in,
ment (Leiden, 1952), pp.
pp.
Yerushalayim,
Sefer i
10
the
to
seems to have acquired
JahrbuchlA (1928), pp. 79-81; Mazar, (Maisler),
'Millo')
In later days, the citadel was
probably extended over
Godefroi of Bouillon.
B.
(the
mound.
and
2 For the Jebusites, see Alt, A., Paldstina
K. M.,
the
USSR
'neighbour's history,
and
neighbour'
see Tsarist
Prussia,
in
Russia,
and Germany,
Poland; Habsburg, Bour-
Digging up Jerusalem (London, 1974),
in relation to
pp. 77ff.
bon and Franco's Spain, and Germany, in relation to France; and Scotland and
Yadin,
Warfare,
pp.
268-9, and see
note 5 below. 5
.
is
tendom, consisting of Joshua, David, Caesar,
•*
it
has also the
"Ijr'
read 'and he built citadels in
Chapter 5 1
is
should be pointed out that the render-
Greek word
as the
present-day revival
its
first,
and the
of sequences in the Hebrew original,
of the rulers of the Philistine
title
two-stage conquest of the citadel
implied by the straightforward reading
denoting the
'Seren',
Concerning the
military point of view.
lxviii
France
For the tzinor see the diagram on
250
ol this
book and Kenyon, Digging
up Jerusalem, pp. 84ff.
The many
fetched expLin.it ions for 2 Sam.
and by
1
t'hr.
Mazar,
p.
1
far-
5:6-9
1:4-6,
summed up
Sefer
Yerushalayim,
partly
1
in relation to
England.
Grateful thanks to Colonel Eric Patterson, re, for providing these facts, in particular the
name of
in question.
12 Gichon, 'Carta's Atlas', pp. 36, 37, 201
and bibliography. See
pp.
108-10, look unconvincing from the
306
and
the regiment
I.
S.
O., et
al.,
also
Playfair,
History of the Second
NOTES TO THE TEXT bowmen, Swiss pikemen and
The Mediterranean and
World War:
berdiers
13 Loss of either the coastal road(s) or the
Highway meant
King's
that
hostile
forces could operate along the flanks of
17
kingdoms or bypass them on the land-bridge. This became painfully evident whenever the kingthe Jewish
doms were
when
chapters), or
Crusaders
command
lost
tracts
was all-important to the control
four half-tribes
ated separately. For a
S.,
back,
as
demanded. 3,
chapter
1,
Mazar
'The Philistines and the Rise of note
(see
1,
and Israel, ble
above.
Ancient
match
it is
common
Only with
the newly
Israel,
Its
De
of the
and
Life
Vaux,
R.,
Institutions
ZAW
Benajahus',
Platz
90
(1978), pp. 20-4.
no
one may
for the Israelites, yet
sphere of interest.
'Der
apparent that
think of some kind of a
For other,
(London, 1962), pp. 214-67, Yadin, Warfare, pp. 275ff, and Zeron, A.,
From
21st dynasty was
enfeebled
the
Canaan
divergent discussions
Davidic armies, consult
Israel'
argues for an Egyptian over-lordship of
the biblical accounts
and
pp. 183-207, and compara-
bibliography there.
partly
in
chapter 4, above), p. 19,
the Philistine shore at that time.
Israel
(Jerusalem,
(ed.)
1961), pp. 47-61 (H).
18-19.
'Carta's Atlas', pp.
14 See note
Kingdoms of
18 For the 'Thirty' see Mazar,
Gichon,
Cf.
the
Judah, Malamat, A.
shift their
from Syria to the Negev and
diver-
Yeivin,
cf.
The Administration in Ancient
in
Israel in
634 bc
forces
somewhat
gent view of the Negiddim,
of hostile forces accustomed to desert permitted the Muslims to
and
inhabiting Cis-
Trans-Jordan respectively are enumer-
of the desert-fringe
conditions. Their loss in about
possibly
twelve tribes and forgetting that the
of Trans-Jor-
Command
the
Chr. 27:16-22 must be an
1
caused by his counting twelve for the
in a later age the
dan.
in
oversight by a later copier,
following
the
(see
their hereditary mode of fighting. The absence of Gad and Asher from list
moun-
driven back into the
bastions
tain
hal-
and Croatian and related lighthorsemen were in constant demand for
Middle East! (London, 1956).
19 See Mazar, 'The Philistines and the Rise
of
Israel',
Cheretites,
For
187.
p.
Albright,
see
W.
F.,
the
'A
regenerated Egypt in Solomon's declin-
Colony of Cretan Mercenaries on the
ing years are overt moves to oust the
Coast of the Negev',
The
latter feasible.
abstention, at the
pp.
height of his power, by Solomon, and later lets
Kerethim
et
les
20 Mazar,
B.,
193-205. Cf.
ical reasons.
Levitenorte
tions: Clark,
ern
desert-fringe
D.
R.,
Jordan',
16 For the
BA 57
at
Tel
I
West-
Order of
Battle
ster,
G.,
Roman
(London, 1969), pp. 124-55. As
late as
later
graphical
sense
periods makes no geo-
according
political situation,
arguments relegating
WebRoman Army
vincing.
auxilia, see
The Imperial
in Kleine
306-15. The proposal
be dated to
changed
at
Arbela, see Arrianus, Anabasis in, 8,
3-15; on the
xxviii
that the roster of Levitical cities should
Umeri,
(1994), pp. 138-48.
Persian
VT
Cretois',
im Lande Juda'
Schrifien n, pp.
fortifica-
'The Iron
Defense System
(1921),
VT, Supp. 7 (1960), pp. Alt, A., 'Festungen und
be attributed to military or purely polit15 Trans-Jordan
I
(1978), pp. 409-22.
by Uzziah, from Judaizing the out-
of the trans-Negevite trade cannot
JPOS
187-99, and Declor, M., 'Les
it
the
to
nor are the
to fiction con-
See Ben Zvi, E.,
JSOT
54
(1992), pp. 77-100.
21
the sixteenth century Genoese cross-
307
The phalanx
goes back to the third
millennium bc Sumerians. Such
is
the
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE evidence of the relief stele of King Ean-
charioteer
is
natum of Lagash:
'Shalish'
(2
1948),
(Paris,
22 Divisible by
Num.
2
see Parrot, A.,
Tello
four:
Kgs. 10:26, 20:15*;
1
or
three,
mentioned
specifically
as
evolved out of the
30 See note
those references
all
marked with an asterisk, also Judg. 1 Sam. 13:5; 2 Sam. 18:2. 23 Mazar, 'The Gibborim of David' in Canaan and Israel pp. 189-90.
The
Defences of the
Solomonic Kingdom'
in
PEQ
(1968),
note
semble and of the individual
with
alliance
Tyre,
itime trade enterprises
challenging
numbers quoted
The
open
Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer, are not
tions
40,000
stalls.
Wc
I.,
who
that
urwot'.
i.e.
bv
arc not helped /.ss
suggests in
I
horses'.
of
is
realistic
other
Solomonic
the
fit
when
in
(
hr.
ron i,
daiie
The SoloOKMlk chariots. Vadin. argues
fadin smaller
quoted
number
number in
vehicles
of
the Bible. Yet
of
2.000
if
U./r tor
than
United Monarchy 29 Yadin.
Warfare
p,
its
see
to
especially
has recently expanded.
LB,
pp.
unter n,
303-20; Salomon'
pp.
Alt,
'Israel's
in
Kleine
76-98; Yeivin, 1
The
7 above.
Chapter 6 Mazar, VT, Supp. 4 (1975), pp. 57-66. 2 Glueck, N., Tel el Khaleifa', NEAEHL ii,
p.
582.
3 For the Arameans
Canaan and Israel
peak.
366.
do
realm,
1
Ahab
proportion for the
u
for far-
is
i
to be out of
need
Besides,
the
usually their
Administration, note
a
cceptcd 1,400 does not
seem
it
the greater
\ss\rian annals for the reign of
denying
rulers
Schriften
quoted bv the
as
by
The
34 For the Solomonic administration, OOmuh (and note divergencies) Aha-
pp. B6ff.
28
criticized
fortifications.
strengthening
two other
instances o| 'urwot' in the Bible (2
sighted
as
not
is
given this translation, which
anv CMC docs not
BASOR 277/8,
G., ibid., pp.121-30.
when
gers
urwot
number
1'hc
T.,
former ignores the then existing dan1989)
wc draw an analogy with
scmitk languages and read
W.
Dever,
)j\
x\\i\
Hasty conclusions,
Whitman, G.
5-22, have been
pp.
or
stables
excavations.
e.g. in
men-
Kit
1
at
convincing, even after complemen-
tary
to
doubt, although they are not necessarily
wrong.
and the
adjacent curtains, excavated by Yadin at
all
are
Solomonic
the
to
as
dates of the six-roomed towers
monopoly-
Egyptian
the
chapter 10, below.
33 Recent doubts
there. Sec pp. 126, 229ffi
26
594-605. Gezer: Dever, W. G., ii, pp. 502-6. Tamar: see note 21,
ibid,
combined marin the Red Sea,
cessfully exploited for
fortresses
32 Megiddo: Shiloh, Y., NEAEHL m, pp. 1016-23. Hazor: Ben Tor, A., ibid, n, pp.
cemented by ceding Cabul, was suc-
ANET,
of King Solomon.
above.
1,
chapter 3, above;
26, for a detailed account of the en-
The which Solomon
chapter
3,
may have
one.
See Gichon, 'The Defences', pp. 113-
31
pp. 113-14.
25 See
5,
first
Man
30 (1979),
246.
p.
7:16;
24 Gichon, M.,
Third
"salis" the
pp. 124-54. These functions
27:1; 2 Chr. 14:8*, 26:13. Divisible by
divided into three:
etc.).
and court
in the Chariot?', VT, Suppl.
Chr.
1
'Was the
B. A.,
4:13, 7:4*. 8:3*; Judg. 7:8*, 20:15,
20:34;
9:25
7:2,
military
functions have been suggested: Mastin,
12:37*;
Exod.
see
but Gad), 31:5*; Josh.
(all
Kgs.
other
Recently,
PI. vib.
usually identified with the
The third
4
308
1
v.
Israel, see
pp.
245-69.
Kgs. 15:27, 16:15.
Mazar,
1
NOTES TO THE TEXT For Tirzah and
5
Vaux,
De
fortifications, see
its
RB
fbuillcs a Tel-el Farah',
before the telephone
been
58 (1951),
6 Yadin, Hazor,
p. 199.
The author
7
feasible
of action.
typical
sherds, such as Samaria-ware bowls
and
75 n
on pp. 195ffand
and
(b) in
Amiran,
tery
ofEretz Israel (Jerusalem, 1963).
R.,
PI.
the
see
5
McMunn
For the
ANET,
Chapter 7 of Mesha,
p.
Gichon,
mandeur
Sukenik,
north-west through is
added
the
8
(cf.
to protect the
Samarian heartland,
as
When
quadrilateral
of
is
North
ancient
solution seems a bet-
Israelites'
Italy,
1
Kgs. 20:7 and 14.
four.
all
i
verse 12
it is
Ben-hadad was already encamped before Samaria and besieging the city. The elders and district governors must therefore have been evident that
309
p.
213;
pp.
150,
Israel
and
1921),
211-12. 1
For
relations
Assyria, consult Israel
between
Malamat, 'The Wars of
and Assyria'
in
MHBT,
pp. 24 Iff.
12 Yadin, Warfare, pp. 382ff. 13 Yadin,
Warfare, p. 297. This passage,
however, could just
as well
mean
that
both rode chariots. 14
ANET,
pp. 278-9.
15 For an extreme view, see
From
Howmay the
The Wars of Marlborough (Oxford,
77?^ Decisive Battles,
Fuller,
the
ter one.
3
309.
p.
River valley. F.,
1702-9
eighteenth-nine-
teenth-century
king-
has had the opportunity of
under no consideration
10 Taylor,
and
compared with the famous Habsburg this
Aramean
events of the battle be transferred to the
points d'appui for offensives from four separate directions.
complete
the
for
381, notes 14 and 15.
p.
Yarmuk
of fortifications ideally designed
well as to serve as springboards
The author
ever,
Samaria and Tirzah, one gets a quadrilateral
invasion.
not consistent with the
personally testing
Wright,
E.,
renewal of
prior to the second campaign.
9 Cf. LB,
Dotan
a
Aramean
first is
7 Yadin, Warfare,
to the three strongly
of Shechem
this
needed
dom
the
Shechem: The Biography of a Biblical City (London, 1950), p. 150),
G.
Paldstina
during the year immediately
reorganization of the
north through the Jezreel Valley and
fortified cities
und
20:26 implies
Kgs.
time
(a Levite city) that
guarded the approaches from
Valley,
1
However
vation report. If the as yet unexcavated
the
Divisionskom-
tiirkischer
1937), pp. 248-61; Gichon,
following the
fortifications, see
W., Kenyon, K. M. and E. L., The Buildings at J.
of Yibleam
Official
692-712;
pp.
'Carta's Atlas', p. 109.
6
see Albright,
Samaria (London, 1942), pp. 5ff. This refers to the Reissner and Fisher excafortress
Military Opera-
Kleinasien
in
hostilities its
Falls,
416-546; Gullet,
Guhr, H., Als
320.
2 For Samaria and
Crowfoot,
and
History of Australia,
24-5, 71.
stele
pp.
De Vaux, Ancient Israel,
cf.
tions n, 2, pp.
(Berlin,
1
Warfare,
pp. 220-1.
The Ancient Pot-
ages,
'Carta's Atlas', pp.
Yadin,
(Cf.
4 For ne'arim,
(a)
8 For the fortresses of the Naphtali line
throughout
to
305ff).
cooking-pot fragments, similar to those referred to
commander
from a headquarters miles distant from the field
thirty-nine
some
collected
a
for
would not have
it
troops
direct
pp. 409ff.
In the days
the city already.
inside
campagne de
'La troisieme
R.,
Naaman, N.,
Tel-Aviv 3 (1976), pp. 89-106. Part of the
argument however has no
rele-
vance: see our text.
16 Gunter,
E.,
Sketch Book
The
Officer's Field
and
Note and
Reconnaissance Aide-
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE Memoire (14th
and
revised
edition,
the Netherlands, a bridge country with
many
rewritten) (London, 1912), pp. 58ff.
17 See note 14, chapter
7,
above.
Aram and
of interests between
Canaan and
Mazar,
see
in,
Yair', in
Egypt was con-
that stage
supply of cedar
Israel,
Israel,
and Mazar, 'Havoth pp. 66-7.
245fF.,
At
cerned amongst other things about
For the northern Gilead zone of clash
1
geographical features similar to
Israel.
which was
pp.
EB
its
its
wood from Lebanon, the maintenance of
vital for
navy.
6 Mazar (Maisler),
Untersuchungen
B.,
zur alten Geschichte und Ethnographie Syriens und Paldstinas (Giessen, 1930); Tadmor, H., in HJPi, pp. 122ff. 7 Biran, A., and Naveh, J., 'An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan', IE] 43
Chapter 8 1
2
ANET, p. 320. ANET, para. (25). Aroer excavations, see NEAEHL, Avi-Yonah (ed.), pp. 99-100.
3
(1993), pp. 81-98. Ibid. 45 (1995),
Mit den
Kressenstein,
Tiirken,
4 See Liver,
'The Wars of Mesha,
J.,
tion of
KingofMoab', PEQ 99 (1967), p. 30. The other part of the Bible passage, 2 Kgs. 3:27,
is
not very
clear:
'And there
'wrath')
precisely
and
Kings
Israel? P.
HUCA
He
Adadniranis
liv
mentions however
was the Edomite heir
ficed
who may case,
Version
the
in
further
a
as 'a
both
e.g.
10 Lipinski,
Hamat?',
support
ot effective
Threatened cation,
when
attacked, etc.
communi-
in their lines
of
Israelites
beat
the
a
hasty
1 Kgs. 7:6
mentioni Anunean torebod-
ings of in
Egyptian threat too. Con-
between Jehoram and Egypt were
in line
with Egypt'l policy of counter-
balancing any acquisition of supremacy
by one ot the
.state*-
on the Palestinian
land-bridge, by assisting the apparently
weaker
Amos 6:13
thing of nought', but
name of
biblical
a
it is
town mentioned
and external sources,
'An
E.,
VT21
Israelite
reliefs
King of
(1971), pp. 371-3.
See Biran and Naveh, op.
12 For
wrongly
is
by the Authorized
cit.
new
depicting the Assyrian
model army,
see Yadin,
Warfare, pp.
406fT.
retreat.
tacts
1
108 (1992),
2 Sam. 17:27.
omission
Israel:
Solomon.
a
ZDPV
in',
literally
in fact the
explanation tor the wrath' as Kdomite recriminations against
5
translated
(ibid. p. 26). If that
we may have
David and
9 'Lo-debar' of
have been captured
during the fighting
was the
to
who
critics,
doubt upon the very
42-67.
pp.
the proposal that the royal prince sacri-
throne,
and thus put
'zealous'
mounting pressure of the Assyrians on Aram: Weipert, M., 'Die Feldziige
the
(1993), pp. 1-14, does not offer a con-
vincing answer.
shame those
existence of a
D. Stern's 'Of
Moabites',
men-
8 Obviously, Jehoash profited from the
against
Why
and they departed'.
Israel
wrath against
first
King David and King Ahaziah
needlessly cast a
was great indignation (Hebrew 'Ket-
more
the
is
in a non-biblical source, to
A New Frag-
Inscription:
ment', pp. 1-18. This
181ff.
zef,
Dan
'The Tel
pp.
party.
Britain's
One
'balance
is
reminded of Great of power'
policy
towards the Continent, and especially
310
13 For a historical synopsis of the
phase of the kingdom of
mor, H.,
in
HJP
i,
Israel:
last
Tad-
pp. 133ff.
14 For insight into the intricate political situation,
consult:
Ehrlich,
C.
'Coalition Politics in 8th cent. Palestine',
ZDPV
107
(1991),
B.,
BCE pp.
16-23. 15 Mittmann,
S.,
'Gabbutuna',
105 (1989), pp. 56-69.
ZDPV
NOTES TO THE TEXT 9 Tadmor, H., 'The Campaigns of Sar-
Chapter 9 1
gon
For a detailed account with relevant
M., 'The
bibliographies, see Gichon, Fortifications of Judah', in
410-25. Cf.
some divergent
Tadmor
pp.
10
F.,
'Cestius' instead
W.,
de Guingand,
see
Operation
phus
BARjx
(1983), pp. 6-8. Mazar, A., 'Iron
Age
Judean Hills', PEQ 114(1982), pp. 87-109. 4 E.g. Kochavi, M., ed., Judaea, Samaria
1495-7;
pp.
cal Results
Cohen,
I
McCown,
Archaeological
(The
C,
C.
and
see
Tell
Histori-
(New Haven, Conn.,
Gibeah,
for
1947);
W.
Albright,
F.,
AASOR rv (1922-3), and Sinclair, A., AASOR xxxv (1954-6), pp.
NEAEHL
I.,
Bello Judaico
Jews) n, para. 542fF.
For Mizpah, see en Nasbeh
and the Golan, Archaeological Survey 1967-1968 (Jerusalem, 1972). Horvat Uza: Beit Arieh,
153 (should read
Chapter 10 1
Fortresses in the
iv,
p.
of 'Crassus'!) Cf. Jose-
De
Flavius,
Wars of the
(London,
Victory
that
Memoirs ofNapoleon
246ff.
1947), pp. 139ff. 3 See note 15, chapter 11, below.
Geba
L. 5fif.
has not been excavated. Weighty
doubts have been cast on the veracity of
Kadesh-barnea:
Ethiopians, as was assumed by older
wars between Abijah, son of Rehoboam, and Jeroboam (2 Chr. 13): Klein, R. W., 'Abijah's Campaign',
commentators, but a semi-nomadic
ZAW 95
843-7.
R., ibid, in, pp.
the
6 The Kushites of Serach are not the
people of the same
name
the Bible for Africans,
as that
who
are
used in
known
been
Palestine
bc.
Cf.
ture
pp. is
and
as
ity
255-7.
i
The
siege
of
R.
D.,
Palace
3 See relevant entries in the
Sera:
8 A. van der Kooij's 'Das assyrische Heer ...',
ZDPV
campaign. Note his bibliographical
According to
his
textual
Assyrian
army
interpretation,
the
decamped
thorough blockade of
after a
the city, but before
works and
Seger,
commencing
siege-
J.
NEAEHL.
D., 'The Location of
Ziglag',
Biblical
Mauern Jerusalems
for identi-
Ziklag has also been identified at Tell
on the Sculp-
102 (1986), pp. 93-110, gives insight into the discussion surrounding this
(Rome, 1962-4);
with Beth-hakerem see pp. Eighth-century pottery was
122-3.
of Babylonia and Persia (London,
references.
ii,
picked up at Bether by the author.
Nineveh:
Assyrian
their Influence
and
fication
depicted in detail in a relief at
of frequent clashes before an equi-
librium was established.
1960), pp. 44-9.
vor den
Judah
2 Aharoni, Y., Excavations at Ramat Rahel
Barnett,
Reliefs
as favourable for
und
Geschichte
from Sennacherib's palace see
from
described, the account reflects the real-
Ethnographie, pp. 46—7.
Lachish
far
on the southern borders of from the second millennium Mazar (Maisler), B., Unter-
suchungen zur alten
ANET,
(1982), pp. 210-17. Never-
though the outcome may have
theless,
to have lived
7
Bourienne,
(Edinburgh, 1830),
F.
5
De
boam', Encyclopedia Judaica 10, pp.
2 For Alam el-Halfa,
Note
advocates the attribution of
this particular siege to Sargon.
ideas,
'The Kingdom of Reho-
Z.,
Kallai,
for
MHBT,
of Assur', Journal of Cuneiform
ii
Studies 12 (1958), pp. 80ff.
BA 47
(1984),
4 For Horvat Rasham, see Rahmani, L. I.,
5
Yediot 28 (1964), pp. 209ff.
Kochavi, the
M.
(ed.),
Judaea, Samaria
311
and
Golan Archaeological Survey 1967—
1968 (Jerusalem, 1972). The following Age n sites could be fortresses built by Jehoshaphat or his successors: Iron
Judean
desert, nos. 4, 92, 93, 145, 199,
202; Judah, nos. 28, 79, 166.
assault operations.
pp.
47-53.
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE
A detailed description of all
6 2 Chr. 8:5.
aspects of the biblical fortifications
not within the scope of
book, nor
this
Egypt; in the
archers that secured
(Josephus, Contra Apion.
and
Antiquities xvii, 2, 3);
interpretation, see the appropri-
its
(ed.),
the second century ad, in the cohort of
Jewish horse archers from Syrian Emesa
A
survey
shorter
To
Old Testament
times.
Int.
Limeskongress
Carnuntum 1986,
ed.
The
Vetters and Kandler (Wien, 1990), pp.
by For strength
of
Empire,
121-42
pp.
I,
period),
biblical
10 Yadm.
1^).
18 While
J
NEAEHL
(Tel Aviv.
(ed.),
s
19
276-88;
on
service
with
the
Israel
I62ff
present-day anti-tank obsta-
as
The
The
Beersheva,
still
under progress, have already shed
light
excavations
at
existence ot the sanctuaries in Northern
on these strongholds
Kingdom
of defensive, offensive and administra-
could
fortresses
have been
learned from the Bible. For both king-
tive bases for the
doms
Beersheba
Ah.ironi
rod
1
lists
Dan, Bethel, Geba,
tactical
ichtfh.
Meshel. /..
NEAEHL
Horvat, pp.
4S8-64 and
Aharoni,
iv.
I
(ed.).
With
their
unchanged these sites turn Greek, Herodian and
value
Te.man.
became
in
Roman
border fortresses: see Gichon,
sa
Arad',
ami:
IE] 17 (1967), pp. 27-55. As late as the fate of Palestine
World War One
vm
ot Yaudi'i Script*
(1961), pp.
232-
was decided by Allenby's capture of Beersheva
October
in
Gichon, 'Carta's
p.
6 An. hery remained
a
main proficiency of
the Israelites until the destruction of the
Judean border. See
Aharoni
M., 'Idumea and the Herodian Limes',
admor, H., 'Azriyau
7is
i,
in the triple role
bibliography
Hebrew Osir.ua from
Hierosolymitarui
1
Josh.
cles.
ffi/15, pp. 1-15. l
wadis
Beer-
there.
14
in
Gaue unter
Alt, 'Juda's
the usefulness of large sections of these
Storehouses',
IE] 18, pp.
V.,
given
list
Defence Force, the author established
pp
Aharon..
\r.id 1
The
Ah.ironi. Y.
I,
the
is
by
The
Aharoni, LB, pp. 347-56.
Warfare, pp. 36ff
V..
Herzog, Z., sheba
in
the
garrisoned
2 Chr. 17:2).
Kleine Schriften n, pp.
Josia',
French and
Lightfoot (London, 1989).
9 See relevant entries
15:21-4. Cf.
(applicable to
ed.
and
(cf.
towns
of these
The Eastern Frontier of the Roman
the
comprises
district
father
his
Jehoshaphat
Gichon, M., 'Estimating'
garrisons, see
twelfth
a
southern Benjaminite towns captured
193-214. above.
more complete
source than that used by the canon.
Akten des 14
7
from
eleventh, taken
in
note
Bible the Septuagint adds an
See:
Gichon, M.,
in
the ten districts enumerated in the
Hebrew
examples, yet apply
administrative dis-
civil
preserved in Josh. 15:21-62.
tricts are
Roman
cohors).
s.v.
17 Jehoshaphat's
7 Their peculiarities, although demon-
to
295,
1, col.
(London, 1932).
strated in
Roman army (RE rv,
that served in the
is
dia of the Holy Land, Negev, A. (ed.)
8 See
22. Idem,
as late as in
NEAEHL, Avi-Yonah
bibliography.
also
i,
and
which includes a comprehensive
offered by the Archaeological Encyclope-
12
Herodian Batanaia
given. For the archaeological evidence
ate articles in the
1
mounted archers on his march to regiment of mounted the
that joined Alexander
and sources be
will detailed references
among
evident
is
Second Temple and
after.
The Ben-
jaminitC tradition (p. 221 in the text)
is
312
NEAEHL
i,
Kempinski, B. Malatha:
Herzog,
Beersheva:
liography).
1917
pp.
161-73.
J., ibid,
Kochavi,
m,
M.,
(see
105 and bib-
Atlas', p.
S.,
Masos:
pp. 986-9. ibid.,
pp.
NOTES TO THE TEXT 934-6. Arad: Aharoni, 75-8.
Ira:
Beit Arieh,
642-6. 20 See pp. 126-7. 21 Hazeva: Cohen,
Y., ibid, I.,
150-68
(H). in,
Meshel, Z.,
First
Idem, 843-7. Yotveta:
and commerce extended from southern
pp.
Arabia to the Mediterranean sea coast.
1517-19.
'Zwei Beitrage zur A.T. Wissenschaft',
ZWA
and Maan. 32 Gichon, M., Sinai
Cohen,
original could
la Palestine n, p.
either
33 Diligent survey has enabled B. Rothenberg to define a special type of Iron Age
. .
'
.
or
II
receive
he
...'.
articles
Meshel,
a centrally organized settlement policy,
and
is
shown on Senna-
depicting the siege of
handling of chariots, see Yadin, after Botta, L. E.,
1849),
(Paris,
B.,
PI.
p.
426,
Modern
the local culture
especially
scholars
Glasgow
tend
Ancient
Israel,
University
since
the
pp. 69-70. hayil
...',
Oriental Society
Transactions xvii (1959), pp. 28-37.
35 For Uzziah
at
the head of the anti-
Assyrian coalition, see note 15, chapter 10, above.
20.
The Excavations at Tel Qasile
Mehunim beyond
De Vaux,
McKane, W., 'The Gibbor
Monument de Ninive
Qerusalem, 1950). 31
handicrafts,
was assimilated by them. 34
226 of this book; note 7, chapter 9, above; and Yadin, Warfare, p. 301. For the dismantling and man-
i
much of
assimilated
S.,
Lachish: see p.
30 Mazar,
who
autochthonic 'Midianite' population
Judean chariot relief
assump-
southernmost Jewish remained semi-nomadic
the
that
tribes,
51-2 (H).
cherib's
calls 'Midianite'. It is a safe
pending
in
Hadashot Archeologiot (October 1975),
A
pottery typical of the Negev, which
tion
For the southernmost cf.
and sanctuary has been exca-
fortress
vated by Z. Meshel; see Qadmoniot 36
'from the Philistines did Jehoshaphat
Qureiye,
el
A Judean
(1977), pp. 115ff.
mean
Arad, consult the relevant
218. Migdol=Tell
Kher, Pelusiam=Tell Farama.
27 See note 13 above. 28 For Ezion-geber, Kadesh-barnea and
29
rele-
the
in
part of the Philistines brought
pp.
a Frontier Area in
Gichon, 'Carta's Atlas' for
17ff.;
note 21
cit.
and Roads Negev', pp. 80-126.
at
as
vant maps; Abel, F. M., Geographie de
Negev; idem, op.
NEAEHL.
to
Historic Retrospect (Tel Aviv, 1969), pp.
25 below.
above/Fortresses
fortress
94 (1982), pp. 250-1, hold
connection between Me(h)unim
the
24 See note 7, chapter 10, above. 25 Cohen, R., NEAEHL m, pp.1 126-33,
the
to
and Tadmor, H.,
Palestine. Borger, R.,
below.
see
seem
have extended from western to eastern
IE] 17
Rivers in the Desert: a History of the Negev (London, 1959), pp. 168ff. For his detailed accounts see BASOR,
connection does not
if this
stand, their tribal territories
period, see Aharoni, Y.,
1953—60. Final Analysis:
the Bani Main, the 'Minaioi'
Yet even
during the
23 See the summing-up by Glueck, N., in
'a
129,
Mehu-
Kadesh-barnea:
of the Limes',
26 The Hebrew
BASOR
nim with
1-17, and see note 25
s.v.
F.,
in
scholars, for
of classical sources whose caravan trade
(1967),
R., note
W.
Tadmor
En
at
J. et al.,
'Forerunners pp.
see
Some
pp.
'The Fortress
R.,
fortifications
Temple
pp. 266ff.
instance Albright,
ibid, iv, pp.
22 For Negevite
MHBT,
pp. 10-24, have connected the
Hazeva'. Eilat, ed. Aviram,
NEAEHL
of ancient Judah:
pp.
i,
ibid, n, pp.
to
place
the
36 Josephus Flavius, De para. 73-97. 37 Webster,
the southern borders
313
Bello Judaico v,
The Imperial Roman Army,
pp. I66ff. For a
camp
partitioned into
BATTLES OF THE BIBLE and headquarters,
plan of
For the
and
210-11.
headquarters, see Birrens and Fendoch.
10 See note
See also Hahlweg, W., Die Heeresreform
1
three
Novaesium;
see
for partition into four
der Oranier (Wiesbaden,
1973),
our book pp.
in
see
siege,
chapter 11, above.
3,
Loewenstamm,
EB
S. E.,
v, s.v.
Man-
nasseh, cols. 41-5.
pp.
12 Lawrence, A. W., Greek Aims in Fortifi-
362-7. 38 Barnett, R. D., European Judaism 8 (1968),
Judaism 8, p. 6*. 39 Aroer: Biran, A., 89-92.
cation (Oxford,
European
Yadin,
l*-6*;
pp.
System'. This relates to his
like
NEAEHL
i,
1979), translation of
Philo there: (84), p. 87, 'The Meanderfirst
system: see (1)— (38), pp. 75ff. Aroer:
pp.
NEAEHL
Biran,
i,
pp. 89-92.
Mezad Hashaviahu, see Naveh, IEJ12, pp. 89-99 and 10, 129-39.
13 For
Chapter 1
1
1
Chr. 4:41-3, 2 Chr. 30, 31:1.
endeavours
successful
14 For the political background of Josiah's
have
to
sively dealt
Temple of Jerusalem. From 2
permanently cabaeus
(see
recently
the
State
of
realized
in
augment
to
by enlisting Jewish manpower
rrom abroad
in
order to withstand for-
eign pressures. 2
Kp. 20:12
3
2
M.ispcro.
2^ 1-3
l
2
\\
Philistines
MHBT,
Tadmor.
Assyria, see
•i
the
r.
pp. 138ff.
(London, 1900), pp. (obsolescent but still worth
tive
views concerning interpretation of
various problems. 1
5
Torczyner, H., et
\vi
(
led, N.,
1964),
pp.
322.
(|erus.ilem.
i'ortjficdtions
(1
I
'pprr C.ity
ondon,
1
971
),
chapter
8.
6 Y.ulm, Warfare pp. 326-7. .l.Y/7, Baikic.
p. |.,
321. I
My
ANET,
is
from
ands and Peoples of the Bible
(London, 1932), p. \3. 8 Naveh, J., 'Old Inscriptions 9
Sennacherib
(a),
'The Lachish Let-
Harding,
should be noted
(ed.),
ANET,
that, as
regulations,
biblical times there
L.
4;
with
already
in
was a proper proce-
method of communication when signals
had been used by the
Israelites since the
visual
sig-
was impossible. Fire and times of the Judges,
other methods of oral
communication described
previously (see Judg. 20:38). Their use
was posts.
usually
confined
Napoleon used
to fire
stationary
and smoke
signals in Galilee as late as 1799. See
quotation
Cave', /// 13 (1963), pp.
It
present-day
in addition to the
ofJerusalem 1980). Winter,' F. E., Greek The
al., i,
(London, 1938): Ostracon
and 5
Lachish
in
ters'
smoke
His-
J.
of Egypt (London,
preparing this
nalling direct
A
H.,
work was not
me when
dure for switching to an alternative
Chr. 32:31.
The Pttttng of the Empires
(..,
while reading); Breasted, tory
and
1937). This
to
book. Note divergencies in our respec-
p.
He/ekiah
lor
available
Hezekiah
found,
was imperative
it
(Stuttgart,
Israelites
and more
5)
1937: der Wiederaufbau des
taments
government of the
also
Israel
his forces
Mace.
1
E., in Beitrage
Heerwesens des Reiches Juda unter Josia
Judah. As Judas Mac-
first
with by Jung,
zur Wissenschafi der Alte und Neue Tes-
Chr. 31:6 we gather that he also succeeded in transplanting some
pp.
296ff. His military reforms were exten-
participate in the religious service
the
MHBT,
consult Malamat,
reign,
the
of the former Northern King-
Israelites
dom at
The
speaks extensively of Hezekiah's
text
J.,
also Vegetius Renatus, itary
Manual
The Roman Mil-
in, 5: 'Per
noctem flam-
mis per diem fumo' - flames by night in a Burial
74-92. pp.
and smoke by day, with one's
compare
287-8.
314
allies.
to
communicate
For the ancient East,
Dossin,
G.,
'Signaux
.
NOTES TO THE TEXT
16
lumineux du pays du Mari', Revue
Hellenize Judaism,
Archeologique xxxv
they took
The
and
political
of Judah's
last
(1
938)
strategic
background
decades
have been
described by Malamat, A., 'The twilight
of Judah', VT, Suppl. 28 (Edin-
Solomon
it
is
the
call
'Hasidim'.
Pharisees
The name 'Hasidim' may be of 'Essenes', the
the origin
groups
pietistic
who
around the shores of the Dead Sea
lived
about a century or so
burgh, 1974).
unlikely that
up arms. The Psalms of
later
and were
17 For the extent of the diaspora, see
themselves opposed to the successors of
Hypomnemata apud Jose-
Judah the Maccabee, who had become
Strabo, Hist.
Hasmonean
phus, Antiquities xrv, pp. 114-18. For
the
military service as a major cause of the
Later Jewish revivalist groups in Ger-
extent of the diaspora, see Hengel, M.,
many
Judentum und Hellenismus, Tubingen, 1973, pp. 27-31.
Hellenizing
in the Middle Ages and Poland and Lithuania from the eighteenth century were also called Hasidim.
Although the source of this
Chapter 12 1
Seleucus rv (187-176 bc)
on
his father,
when he had
Rome had imposed
Antiochus in (2 Mace.
The
story of Antiochus
cabean revolt
is
cabees, there
and the Mac-
recounted in the First
and Second Books of Maccabees, which
no reason
to
is
the
Mac-
doubt
its
by Judah's
successors, the
but in
it
itself
became
when
it
by the upper
classes
and
and
their rich
Hasmoneans,
a source of conflict
was supported only
-
the rulers, priests
influential supporters,
the Sadducees.
Jonathan was appointed High Priest by
by different anonymous authors.
the Seleucid ruler, Alexander Balas, an
Antiochus' persecutions are echoed in
appointment which Judah had never
are
the
Book of Daniel and Josephus
also
3 Avisar, E., The Wars ofJudah the
Mac-
4 Following the organization attributed by
Moses (see chapter 1), and used by David (see chapter 5).
the Bible to
office.
Chapter 13
Though
Jonathan's appointment was later
In 142 bc.
monean
thoroughly opposed to any attempts to
315
the descen-
dynasty, taking the hereditary
'High Priest and Ethnarch of the
The Romans renewed their agreement with the Jews through Simon in
Jews'.
they were
From then on
dants of Mattathias became the Has-
title
Literally 'pious ones'.
not
the source of tension in Judea.
cabee (Tel Aviv, 1965).
also
tried to secure because his family did
have the hereditary qualifications for the
recounts the story of the Maccabees.
1
is
1
The agreement was renewed
existence.
within Judea
3:7®. 2
alliance
strongly pro-Jewish writer of
Although the Temple treasury of Jerusalem was plundered on the orders of to raise the tribute
dynasty.
139 bc.
INDEX
Aalma, 107 Aaron, 37 Abel, 221 Abel-beth-maachah, 148, 149, 221 Abel-meholah, 77 Abijah of Judah, 216 Abimelech, 62, 79, 115 Abishai, 105, 106
Amaziah, King of Judah, 175,
237
Amenhotep Amenhotep ton),
Pharaoh, 119
II,
IV,
Pharaoh (Ikhna-
49
Asa, King of Judah, 150, 210,
216-17, 225 Ashdod, 214, 238, 239, 256 Asher, 73, 77, Asher, tribe
Amman, 169, 287 Ammon, Ammonites,
of,
247 63
Ashkelon, 241,248, 253, 282
82-3
77,
Ashurbanipal, King of Assyria, Asia,
Abner, 99
and Israelite invasion of Canaan, 43; David's reduction of, 105-8, 113; rebellion
Abraham, 35-5
against Israel, 145; Israel re-
Assyria, 148, 237, 241;
Absalom, 112, 115
conquers, 151, 193; strength
KingofGath, 94
Achish,
112
238-9 288-9
Acra, 282, 285,
Acre(Acco), 213 Adadnirari
HI,
King of Assyria.
175 (cirv).
46. 77, 169
Amorites, 43, 45. 54-6
Amos. 175, 193 Amosis Pharaoh, 36 Amraphael of Shinar, 34 I.
Antioch, 266. 284, 288, 291
Antiochus
Adasa.
Adnah of Judah.
III,
King of Syria, 265,
266
2
Adoni-zedck. Kini;
(it
Jerusalem.
iv
Hpiphanes, King of
73.276-7,
AniKKhus
l
l
151
\
Elipator,
King of
286;
see also battering-rams;
cavalry
Athaliah, Princess, 174
Azekah, 56, 199, 202, 206, 214,
217,220,261
Apdlcs. 268
Israe'
•
Aharom. Yohanan. 22^ Aha/. King of ludah. 195 •\h.i/iah. King ot Israel. loK,
Baalath, 117, 120
Baasha, King of
Svna. 277, 288,
125 of
major campaign against lands west of the Euphrates, 1 59-66; conquest of Syria and Palestine, 174-5, 194, 195-8; campaigns against Judah, 210-14, 243, 252-5; Hezekiah rebels against, 247-9; decline of,
281, 288
Adoraim. 199, 203 >'>. Adullam. 202
Ahak King
125
Asia Minor, 107-8, 118
Aviezer clan, 73
Antiochus Svr:.
Africa,
cam-
paigns against Judah, 210,
Achshaph, 64
Adam
against Assyrians, 160;
255
Apfadk.93-4, 157, 166. 175 Apollon.uv 267, 269, 271-5
Babylonia, 27, 248, 256, Bacchides, 293, Balawat, 159
Aha/iah. Km*; ot ludah. 174
Arabian Desert. 33 Arad. 43. 217,219, 224,227,
Bar Kokhba, 29
Am Am
232 Aram. Arameans, 33; alliance with Ammonites, 105-7; wars
Husub. 120 )<>. Aialon. 202
with
l
l
A,alon Yalles
Israelites.
6, 150,
113. 117,
152-9, 164-9, of Israel, 195-6;
Alamcl -Halt..
175; and
Alem.i
wars with Judah. 236—7
Alexander
t
he
(
ireat.
King of
Macedonia, ft 109, 112, 196,
tall
Aroer,
169.245,255
Am.iM.ih ot Judah. 22h
68-9
battering-rams, 218,
222
Beeroth, 51 Beersheva,
121,219,224,227,
230, 232 Beersheva River, 227
Amalckitev 72, >2 \ma\a ben Jeter.
1
Barada gorge, 34 Barak, 66,
Beersheva Valley, 32, 43, 202,
River, 33. 168,
1
Banias, 149
Am, Arnon
1
295-6
Arnanus, 109 Ark of the ( ovenant, 48
Alcxandr.a. 266, 267 l
149-50,
259-62, 294
Aqaba. 128
Arabah Valley. 120
cl-Sult.i:
Israel,
216 Bab el-Wad, 279
Arqad, 160 Arvad. 160, 163
316
169,236
240, 255 Ben-hadad 1, King of Syria, 148-50 Ben-hadad II, King of Syria, 152-9, 160, 163, 166
,
INDEX Benaiah ben Jehoiada, 112
Damascus, 34, 117, 120, 121,
Beni Hasan, 37-8, 222
Benjamin
145, 148, 193, 195,
(region), 87, 90, 126,
199, 206,
Benjamin,
216 52-3, 110,
tribe of,
221, 225
236
Eltekeh, batde of,
Dan, 113, 148, 149, 174, 193, 218 Dathema, 285, 287 David, King of Israel, 94, 128,
Besor River, 227
228; quarrel with Saul, 83, 93;
Beth-hakerem (Ramat Rahel),
and Goliath, 93, 124; reign of, 97-116; captures Damascus,
216,219 Beth-horon, 117, 121,239
117; army, 109-16, 242; see
Beth-horon pass, 55-6, 87, 121, 202, 274-5, 277, 293 Beth-shean, 93, 120 Beth-shemesh, 206, 217
also chariots
Beth-zechariah, battle of, 289,
Dead
Sea,
289
247 Bethlehem, 199, 204, 216 Bethel, 51-4, 91, 216,
31,32, 203
Debir, King of Eglon, 54
Deborah, 60-1,65-9 Demetrius, King of Syria, 293,
Bidkar, 160
Eben-ezer, batde
Biqa, 148, 149
Edom, Edomites, of, 1
Bosora, Bostra,
169-71;
of,
82
Esarhaddon, King of Assyria, 214, 254
Etam, 199, 204, 216 Euphrates, River, 106 Exodus, the, 36-^40 Ezekiel, 221
Frontinus, Sextus Julius,
of,
vassal
33;
rainfall,
48
of Judah, 175; in, 225;
Gad,
tribe of, 45,
Galilee, 32, 33,
149, 285,
110
57-9, 63-5, 113,
287
Judah's campaigns
Galilee, Sea of, 149,
trade, 228; rebels against
Gath, 102, 105, 112, 199,202,
Judah, 233, 235-7; Judah reconquers, 237-8,
247
157
236, 238
Gaza, 72, 215, 228, 233,241, 247, 248
Caleb, 43
Edrei gap, 107, 166
Canaan, Canaanites, Egypt con-
Egypt, conquers Canaan, 27, 36,
48-62,
169
Es-Salt,
43, 108, 117,
Calah, 194
invasion, 41-3, 45,
217
Ephraim, Mount, 68-9, 175 Ephraimites, 68-9, 77
120-1, 148-50, 199-215, 217-24
Cabul, 117
quers, 27, 34, 41; Israelite
En-gedi, 125,
fortresses,
David conquers, 106;
287 287
276-81, 282
Endor, 73
229, 232
126, 168; geography
57
56
Bliicher, Marshal,
210
battle of,
Ezion-geber, 125, 127-8, 227,
Dibon, 168 Diodorus Siculus, 39 Dor, 64, 68, 124
Bezek, 83
Blenheim, battle
Emmaus,
Esdraelon, 32
294-5
291 Beth-zur, 199, 204, 212-15,
173-4, 175
Elisha,
40; Hyksos, 34, 36; Exodus,
36-8; Red Sea crossing, 38-40; and Israelite invasion
Geba, 87, 90, 150,216 Gedera, 120 Genossar Valley, 149
210
63-79; Philistines attack, 80; wars with Israelites, 113; see
of Canaan, 49; Sea Peoples
Gezer, 116, 120
also chariots
attack, 80; trade routes,
Gibbethon, 145, 147 Gibeah, 82, 87, 216 Gibeon, Gibeonites, 49, 5 1 54-7, 59, 61, 62, 216, 217,
Capharsalama, 293 Carchemish, 119
107-8; chariots, 118; invasions of Israel, 120-1, 127-8; trade,
Carmel mountains, 27, 68, 94,
229, 232; loses control of Via
120,240,257 casemate fortresses, 218-19 Cassius, Mount, 39
Judah against
113,
cavalry, Assyrian, Israelite,
1
59-60;
160
58—60, 65, 66-8,69, 113, 118-19; Egyptian, 113; possible use by
chariots, Canaanite,
David, 120; Solomon's, 121; after division
of the Kingdom,
147; Israelite army, 163;
Judean army, 225 Charlemagne, Emperor, 112, 124, 165 Chereti, Cheretites,
1
12,
224
Maris, 239; alliance with Assyria, 248;
Assyria conquers, 254; batde
108,
115,227
Gihon
lonian alliance, 259; rules
Gilboa, 73, 94, 102
Judea, 266; October 1973
Gilead, 33, 73, 77, 128, 166;
war, 48; see also chariots Eilat, 31, 34, 125, 175, 195,
229, 232, 233, 238-9 Eilat,
Gulf of, 124, 127-8,228
Elah,
King of
Israel,
Spring, 101, 251-2,
Israelite invasion,
Ammonites
145, 146,
148 120, 124, 202
Cis-Jordan, 40, 49, 54-5, 62, 64,
El Bira,
195,233
49
El Jib, 51
Coele-Syria, 148
Elasa, battle of,
Crete, 112
Eleazar,
295-6
Crusades, 46, 128, 171,239
291 Eliada of Benjamin, 226
Cyrus, King of Persia, 262
Eliakim, 293
defences, 120, 147; Israel re-
Israel,
rail
of
195; Josiah rules, 256; in,
285, 287
Gilgal, 54, 61
Gimso, 274 Gindibu, 160 Golan Heights, 33, 106, 120, 124, 145, 148, 156, 157 Goliath, 93, 124
Gophna,268,291,293 Gorgias, General, 277, 279,
280-1, 282
317
David
uses as trade base, 106;
Jews persecuted
Elah Valley, 92, 94, 102, 104,
254
43, 44;
invade, 82;
conquers, 193; and
Ein el-Turabe, 217
El Arish, 77. 79, 97,
256
220 Gideon, 62, 69, 72-3, 75-9,
with Josiah, 255-7; anti-Baby-
Cinneroth, 148-9 92, 124, 236,
Gerar,
INDEX 34
257; geography, 32; Deborah's
Goshen, 36
Isaac,
Gur-baal, 238
Isaiah, 123,
246 Ishbosheth, King of Israel, 99
war, 67, 68-9; Philistine cam-
Habiru, 62
105; defences, 120; Midianite
Hamath, 107, 117, 120, 193, 243
Defence Forces, 112 Israelite army, development of, 37-8; under David, 109-16; under Solomon, 117-20, 123-4; under Saul, 124; after division of the Kingdom, 146-8; see also cavalry, chariots Issachar, tribe of, 63, 110 Ittai the Gittite, 112
Hananiah, 241
Iyron Pass, 120, 257
Hanukkah, 285 Hanun, King of Ammon, 105
Jabbok
Israel
Hadad, 117 Hadadezer, King of Zobah,
1
07,
120 Hadrian, Emperor, 29
Haganah, 112 Haifa Bay, 68
Haran, 33 Harod, 75 Haroshet of the Gentiles
64,69 Jacob, 33, Jael,
Hauran Mountains, 33, 166 Hazael, King of Syria, 174, 193, 236, 257 Hazeva, 120,229
Jaffa, 99,
Hazor, 57, 64, 155; destruction
Jehoash (Joash), King of
1
20; water supply, 220; store
houses,
224
Heber the Kenite, 61 Hebron. 99, 199.204. 228. 240. Helam, 107 Hermon, Mount, 31. 141 193
Hid
ot ludah.
256
the Bcthchic
Hiram. Kinp Hirbct
ot Tvrc. 117,
n
i
>.
173
ot
1
kbfM
Hon,
Israel,
loshr.i. King ot Israel. 196 Hulch. Like' 149 1
HulehVaBej I,
lis
2
lion. 31. 120. 148,
149
,
2S
liulo Iranian-
217, 227
Iraq,
iso
Irhulcni o(
the
Kingdom, 126; Egyptian
199, 202, 216-33; becomes
fchonbad, 7 Ichu. King of tad, 160, 174,
Maccabean 282-98 Judah, tribe
of Babylonia, 259; revolt, 265-81,
of,
72-3
Judah the Maccabee, 265,
268-9,271-81,282-98 Judean army, 225-6, 242-5 Judean desert, 87, 90, 202 Judean mountains, 48-61, 80, 82,
103,225
Judges, the, 62,
63-79
Kadesh-barnea, 41, 43, 218, 219,
Icnm. 69
229, 233, 239
II.
216 King of
Israel,
97,
l
)
l >
Xi\ ui i.iptwres,
101; Solomon's
army
in,
Temple, 125, 145, 1S1.224.2-S4.2V). 262 121; first
dctcni.es.
282,
205
6, 21(>; sieges
211. 221. 244 261-2; Hezekiah fortifies, 248-52; water supply, 251-2,
Second Temple, 262; under Seleucids, 266-7, 281;
Maccabean 2
1
l.unath. lOO
Kantara,
239
Karnaim, 175, 287 Karnak, 127 Kaspein, 287
Kedesh, 64, 65, 68, 149 1
revolt,
285, 289,
Kerak, 171
Kfar Shalem, 293 Kikar, plain of (Vale of Salt),
105,233 King's Highway, 33, 34, 108, 120, 166,
195,237,239
Kir-hareseth (Kir-moab), 171
Kishon River, 67, 68-9 Kue (Que), 160 Kuntillet Ajrud, 224,
Kushites,
232
210
>1
Jezreel Valley,
199,202,211,217, 218-20,224,253,259,261
Lachish,
Jezebel. 151 1
80, 82;
vassal-state
ot.
Idumca. Idumcans,
Ira.
in,
Jehohanan of Judah, 226 Jehoiachin, King of Judah, 259 Jehoram, King of Israel, 168—75, 22S. 233. 236, 237 Jehoram, King of Judah, 173 Jchoshaphat, King of Judah, 166- 7 168. 210, 217, 22S. 22o. 231-2, 240. 241
Jerusalem. 146;
1
King of Judah, 214, 255-7, 259 Jotham, 245, 248 Judah (Judea), 27; geography,
invasion, 127-8; defences,
193
194
Ocean,
287, 296 Jordan River, 29, 33, 44-6, 77 Jordan Valley, 32-3, 120, 147
Jehoash, King of Judah, 175
laobotm
Hosh.iv.ihu
liuli.in
239
under David, 99; division of
175, 193
12S. 145,
Rasham. 217
Hykm
Joktheel, 237,
32; Philistines
Jebusites,
44 8, 49, 61,62,217 Icroboam I. Kingol Israel, 127,
1
lorv.it
King of Lachish, 54 100-1
Japhia,
Jericho,
HontCN. J3 Norm.. 1
105, 120, 145,215,
223, 273, 287
Icrcm.ah. 221. 259
King
112, 113,221
Joan of Ark, 65 Jogbehah, 77 Johanan, 278 Jokneam, 64
Ic.cl.
Hobtl loh.ini.
227
Josiah,
125
Bctlvlu-ir.ii
Hittitcs. 58, 118,
1
36,41,245
68, 69
.
Hodriah, Kim; 210-11,214
invasion, 33,
Joab, 101, 105, 106, 107, 111,
Josephus Flavius, 125, 266, 275 Joshua, 43, 44-62, 79
Hartin, battle of, 31, 128
61, 148; defences, 117,
David conquers,
93;
Jonathan the Maccabee, 278,
33 Jabesh-gilead, 83-5 Jabin, King of Hazor, 57, 60-1, River,
Hasmonean Kingdom, 65
of,
in,
Jonathan, 87, 90-1, 94
Jabneh, 120,238
(Haroshet Hagojim), 65
paigns
64-5, 73, 173,
318
,
INDEX Modiin, 267
Lapidoth, 65 Latrun, 277,
Moreh,
279
Lebanon, 148 Lebo-hamath, 193 Ledja, 107
113,145,224,247,253
Levites,
Libnah,211 Lo-debar, 175 Lod, 120, 273 Lybia, 127 Lysias, 277, 282-4, 288-92, 295 Maacah, 106 Maccabean revolt, 265-81, 282-98 Maginot Line, 119 Maker, 287 Malkhata, 228, 232 Malkhata River, 227 Mameluks, 121, 171,239 Manasseh, King of Judah, 254, 255, 256 Manasseh, tribe of, 45, 73, 77 Mareshah (Marisa), 199, 202, 210, 282
78
267-8
Pharaoh, 27
I,
Persian Empire, 262,
Moses, 36-7, 38-43, 46 Mughar, 120
Pesibkhenno
Mugheir, 217 Musri, 160
Philadelphia,
265
Pharaoh, 116
II,
239 287
Petra, 175, 228,
Philip, Regent, 288, 291, Philistines, 163,
Naaman, 172 Nabateans, 228
treaties
with
wars with
Nabopolassar, King of Babylon,
196 Nadab, King of Israel, 145 Nahal el-Haramiah, 272 Nahash, King of Amnion, 83, 105 Naphtali, 64, 65-8, 73, 77, 110, 124 Naphtali line, 148, 149, 150 Nebi Samwil, 55 Nebi Yusha, 149 Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, 214, 221, 259 Nebuzaradan, 262
Necho, Pharaoh, 120, 214, 256,
257 Negev, 30, 31-3, 72, 124, 126; Saul's war with Amalekites,
Marjayoun, 31 Mattathias,
Pepi
Hill of, 73, 75,
292
202, 205, 236;
Israelites,
Israelites,
30, 125;
80-3,
87-91, 92-4, 102-5, 108, 145-6; in Israelite army, 112; campaigns against Judah, 210, 238; trade, 228-31; relations with Judah, 241; in league with Judah against Assyria, 247 Philo,
253
Phoenicians, 30, 108, 151, 163, 173, 173,
232
Piram, King of Jarmuth, 54
228 256 Ptolemies, 121,239,295 Ptolemy, General, 277 Ptolemy I, King of Egypt, 266 Puah, 75 Pliny the Elder,
Psamtik, Pharaoh,
Pul,
194
Medeba, 106 Medes, 266, 294
92; nomads, 99; Egypt invades, 127; trade routes,
Qarqar, 160, 164, 174, 193
Mediterranean, 108, 124, 125,
175, 203; defences, 207,
Qureiye, 232
232 Megiddo, 64, 117;
227-37, 240-1; Judah's campaigns in, 225; Judah rules, 238; Hezekiah re-conquers,
battle of, 67;
in defence system, 120, 155,
220;
stables, 163; store
house,
224; Josiah's campaign against
Necho, 257 Mehunim, 238-9 mercenaries, 112, 225 Mernephtah, Pharaoh, 37 Merodach-baladan, King of
Babylon, 254
Merom,
battle of, 59,
62
Mesha, King of Moab, 151, 168-71 Mesopotamia, 107, 108, 121 Methegammah, batde of, 105
Qalat el-Hasa, 171
247 Nicanor, General, 277, 280, 282, 293-4 Nineveh, 196, 210, 256 Nubia, 127
Ramat Rahel (Beth-hakerem), 216,219 Rameses Rameses
October 1 973 war (Yom Kippur War), 48, 175 Omri, King of Israel, 145-6, 148, 151-2, 166 Ophir, 124, 232, 239 Ophrah, 73 Orontes, River, 160, 193, 243
Michmash, 87, 90-2
II,
III,
Pharaoh, 62 Pharaoh, 80
Ramoth-gilead, 166, 168, 173-4,
193,257 Raphon, 287
Red
Sea, 34, 39, 124, 126, 127,
229-32, 239 Rehob, 287 Rehoboam, King of Judah, 116, 117, 126-8,
Midianites, 33, 72-8, 210,
227
Migdol, 239 Migron, 90
Padi,
Rephaim
KingofEkron, 248
Palmach, 112 Palmyra (Tadmor)
Miriam, 65 Mishor, 168
Paneas, 149
Mizpah
Paris,
,
1
06,
1
21
125
(Tell el-Nasbeh), 150,
216, 219; Hasmonean, 278 Moab, 43, 44, 163, 236; geography, 33; David conquers,
105-6; rebels against
Rabbath-bene-ammon, 107 Rahab, 45 Ramah, 150 Ramallah, 268, 295
Israel,
120
Reuben, tribe of, 45 Rezon, King of Syria, 117, 121, 195,
246
roads, 33, 121,
123
Roman
Empire, imperium, 46; battle of Cannae, 85; army,
196
Parthians,
199-217,214
Valley, 102-5,
266
Pekah, King of
Israel,
194,
195-6, 246
109, 245; batde of Zama, 114; siege of Syracuse, 196;
Pekahiah, King of
Israel,
194
112,224
fortresses,
219;
as threat to
Seleucids, 266, 287; prohibits
145; Israel re-conquers, 151,
Pelethi, Pelethites,
168-73, 193; Mesha frees from Israel's control, 168; campaigns against Judah, 210
Pelusium, 39, 239
Seleucids the use of elephants,
Penuel (Tulul el-Dahab), 77,
288; treaty with Judea, 294
Romani, 48, 239
155
319
INDEX Sorek, Valley of, 94, 105, 120,
Saladin, 128
205-6
Salome Alexandra, 65 Salt, Vale of (Plain of Kikar),
228
Succoth (Tell Deir 128
Samaria, 128, 145, 175, 196,
Suez,
Omri, 151; Arameans
Sumer, 117
153-5, 173; siege capture, 237;
Maccabean
to
246;
fall of,
revolt,
fails
269
239 King of Assyria, 198,
Saracens, 31,
Sargon
II,
225, 232, 238-43, 248, 249
Hyksos
Syria, 119;
in,
34, 36;
214 Saul, King of Israel, 83-94, 97, 99, 108, 124, 128
151-9, 173, 174;
Israelites,
wars with Assyria, 160, 164,
173—4; Assyria invades, 193; fall of Israel, 193-5; wars with Judah, 236, 243; under
and
265-81,282-98; October 1973 war, 43 Taanach, 64, 69
239
Selah, 175, 237,
Vespasian, Emperor, 29
Via Maris, 214, 236, 237; importance of, 49, 108; defences, 113, 120, 149;
Uzziah controls, 239; and Assyria, 239, 246,
254
Seleucids,
Sea Peoples, 80, 112,224 Sebastopol, 196
Alexander the Great captures, 196
Uzziah, King of Judah, 97, 193,
157
Syracuse, 196
trade routes, 121; wars with
Samson, 81 Samuel, 81-3, 90, 93, 109
108, 117, 125,
Uni, 27, 30 Usanata, 160
Susita ridge,
196;
of,
defences, 220; Hazael
Alia), 77,
239
247; geography, 32; under attack,
Israel,
127, 151, 163, 172, 174;
Strabo, 39,
237
105,
with
Tabbath (Ras Abu Tabat), 77 Tabor, Mount, 67, 68, 78
Wadi Barbara, 157 Wadi Besor, 232 Wadi Beth Haninah, 216 WadiElArish, 31,97, 239
Serbonian Sea, 39
Tebez-Bezek, 155
Wadi el-Hesa, 171 Wadi Farah, 147 Wadi Muheisin, 53 Wadi Mujib, 169 Wadi Sirhan, 33, 239 Wadi Suweinit, 90, 91,216 Wadi Tirzah, 155
Seron, General, 273-4, 276
Tekoa, 199,204,210
War
Shaar Hagai. 2~
Tell
Seleucid Empire, 239, 265-81,
Tadmor
282-98 Seleucus
King of Syria, 266
I,
Semites, 33
Sennacherib, King of Assyria,
210-14,248,2^:
l
(Palmyra), 106, 117,
121, 125
Talmud, 285 Tamar, 120 Tartan, 211
>
Damiyeh, 46
Shabaka, Pharaoh, 214. 248
Tell el-Amarna, 49,
Shallum, 194
Tell el-Dibbin, 149
Shalmanezer III, King of 1S9-60. 164, 174, 214 Shalmanezer V, King of Assyria, '•
Tell Khluweilfe. 2
fell
Miriam, 90
fell
Qasileh,
Tell Qassila,
Tsaphu
fell
Vcshua.
Shian. 160
Tharshish.
ShimrcM
Thutmosc
126 239
s.
Pharaoh, 116. 120, >. 2io. 145, 150, l
i
>
Simeon,
Amor
31,36, 72, 299
Sim, Sh n.n w.u.
1967, 149
Sooofa (Shoco),
:-r Solomon, King 2-4,
l l
>
l
>.
River,
215
River, 33, 107, 166,
173
239
Yaush, 259
2P
Yemen, 125
Yom
}
Pharaoh, 67,1 19
ill,
III,
King of
Kippur War, 1973 war Yotveta, 229
see
October
T.rhakah. Pharaoh, 211.254 SS I
Tivon hills, 68 Tob. 106 towers, 219-20; Trachona, 107
see also fortresses
Trans-jordan. 33. 40, 62, 63, 72,
105-8, 128,287 1
193,
Zebulun, 66, 73, 110,247 Zedekiah, King of Judah, 259,
261-2 Zerah the Ethiopian, 207, 210, 211 Zered River, 33, 168, 171 Zidka, King of Ashkelon, 210,
248 Ziklag, 94, 217,
Zimri, King of
169,239
Ivre. 118, 221, 285; alliance
320
228
Israel,
146
Ziph, 199,203,240 Zoar, 217,
14
lurkev. 35,
Israel,
194
239
Tirzah. 145,
Troia,
125, 128, 103. 22')
Yarkon
Zachariah, King of
202. 200.
of Israel.
King of Persia, 39
Yarmuk
Titus, Emperor. 2 l)
tribe ot.
the M.u^.ik
Xerxes,
Assvr.a. 148, 194, 195, 214,
line,
2^h
11(>
7
Iimotheus. 28S, 287
Sooofa
SihoO, Kmj; of the
Sinai,
1
l
Sidon, 108
Simon
Waters of Merom, 57-60, 64
[unaichus,
ShiKo.
220;
254
232
224
Tiglath-pilcscr i.
fortresses,
22^
Tell
Sh.shak
water supply,
Jerusalem, 251-2,
Tell el-Khele.feh. 22').
Shechem.02. ^). US. 120, 1SS shcphcLh. 80-1.93
Shin.it
62
Tell el-Hesa. 22-i
Tell Masos.
196 sharcn Plain, 93, 105 Sheba. Queen of 125 Sheba ben Richn. 221
of Independence, 1947-8,
149
233,235,237
Zobah, 107, 117 Zorah, 199,202,206
\
Chaim Herzog served in the British Army during World War II and then in the Israel
Defence Forces, and was
thereafter Director
of
Military
Israeli
Governor of the West Bank, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations and President of Israel. His other books include The Arab-Israeli Wars and his newly pubIntelligence, Military'
lished autobiography Living History.
Mordechai Gichon, who
an
is
expert in the military history, geog-
raphy and archaeology of
Israel
in
earlier periods, served in the British
Army during World War
II
and
in
the Israel Defence Forces in a variety
of senior Intelligence posts.
He
has
major academic positions
held
and archaeology
military history
in
at
Tel Aviv University, and has written
many
and excavation reports,
articles
and three
full
books.
Front cover drawings by Judith Dekel from The Conquest ofLachish by Sennacherib by David Ussishkin © copyright by the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, 1982.
Gibbons,
jacket design by David
Jacket
For
©
a
DAG
Publications
Lionel Leventhal Limited, 1997
complete catalogue of military
history
titles,
write to
Greenhill Books Lionel Leventhal Limited Park House 1
Russell
London
Gardens
NW11 9NN
Stackpole Books
5067
Ritter
Road
Mechanicsburg PA 17055
USA Printed
in
Great Britain
Chaim Herzog
MORDECHAI GlCHON
90000>
