Window into the Bible
Swords, Spears and Daggers
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Gold Dagger
Date: 2600 – 2300 BC.
Place: Grave goods, Ur [Iraq]
Photographed at the British Museum, London, England.
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Sickle Sword
Date: 2nd Millennium BC. |
Place: Egypt (possibly sword of Rameses II)
Photographed at the Louvre Museum, Paris, France.
Equipment for Warfare
Date: 2nd - 1st Millennium BC.
Place: Luristan
Photographed at the M. C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
This display features a range of weapons and other military equipment from several time periods. They include: spearheads, arrowheads, daggers, sword hilt, horse bits, finials, and part of a military standard.
Gold and Iron Dagger
Date: Bronze age.
Place: Anatolia (Turkey)
Photographed at the Museum of Anatolyan Civilisation, Ankara, Turkey.
This dagger is an example of both fine craftsmanship and the fact that iron was being used for weapons even during the bronze age when the vast majority of weapons would have been made with bronze. Those with iron weapons would have been at a great advantage since iron was muck harder and could break bronze quite easily.
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Dagger
Date: 1759 – 1600 BC Place: Egypt
Made of bronze, wood, ivory and glassy faience
Israel's judge Ehud possibly used a dagger like this of Eglon, king of Moab:
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Ehud then approached him [Eglon] while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose from his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. (Judges 3:20-22)
Bronze Dagger
Date: 1200 - 800 BC.
Place: Luristan (bordering Assyria)
Photographed at Bibleworld Museum & Discovery Centre, Rotorua, New Zealand.
A weapon sometimes used in battle (see 2 Samuel 2:15-16).
This example is well worn and has been sharpened repeatedly over a long period of time. The handle would have once had a wooden, bone or ivory insert.
Bronze Spearhead
Date: 1200 - 800 BC.
Place: Luristan (Bordering Assyria)
Photographed at Bibleworld Museum & Discovery Centre, Rotorua, New Zealand.
This spear would have been a hand-held thrusting weapon rather than the javelin type of spear which were much shorter and lighter. This spear head was made in a mould and has a ridge along its length to give it strength. Mould made items were generally not as strong as forged items.
Bronze Dagger
Date: 530 - 331 BC.
Place: Persian
Photographed at the M. C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
This dagger has a cuneiform inscription near the hilt of the handle.