Sling (weapon)
A Sling is a type of weapon which involves swinging a rock round to gain speed before throwing it. The sling is an ancient weapon which was used in the Roman Empire. A skillful slinger can hit a target 10x10 cm at 20 metres distance. A sling has operational range for some 200 metres.
The most famous user of sling was David, the future king of Israel, who killed Goliath by slinging a stone on his forehead.
In the Middle Ages, Spanish peasants used slings against Moorish cavalry. A hit on the horse's head could kill the horse.
Biblical accounts
The sling is mentioned in the Bible, which provides what is believed to be the oldest textual reference to a sling in the Book of Judges, 20:16. This text was thought to have been written c. 6th century BC,[1] but refers to events several centuries earlier.
The Bible provides a famous slinger account, the battle between David and Goliath from the First Book of Samuel 17:34–36, probably written in the 7th or 6th century BC, describing events that might have occurred c. 10th century BC. The sling, easily produced, was the weapon of choice for shepherds fending off animals. Due to this, the sling was a commonly used weapon by the Israelite militia.[2] Goliath was a tall, well equipped and experienced warrior. In this account, the shepherd David persuades Saul to let him fight Goliath on behalf of the Israelites. Unarmoured and equipped only with a sling, five smooth rocks, and his staff, David defeats the champion Goliath with a well-aimed shot to the head, followed by a decapitation with Goliath's own sword.
Use of the sling is also mentioned in Second Kings 3:25, First Chronicles 12:2, and Second Chronicles 26:14 to further illustrate Israelite use.
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Footnotes
- ↑ Knoppers, Gary, "Is There a Future for the Deuteronomistic History?", In Thomas Romer, The Future of the Deuteronomistic History, Leuven University Press, 2000 ISBN 978-90-429-0858-1 Search this book on
., p. 119.
- ↑ Yigael Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands (Jerusalem: International Publishing Company, 1963), 34–35
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