Bible Dictionary
ARMOR-BEARER
An armor-bearer carried the shield and weapons of a king, commander, captain, or champion. Such attendants could also assist their leaders in battle or in moments of death.
Definition
An armor-bearer carried the large shield and possibly other weapons for a king, commander, captain, or champion. The attendant could also assist the leader during combat or in a moment of death.
Biblical Usage
The narratives mention armor-bearers serving Saul, Jonathan, Abimelech, David, and distinguished warriors. Jonathan’s armor-bearer is portrayed as courageous and resourceful, while Saul refused his armor-bearer’s assistance in killing him.
Historical Background
Shield-bearers were known in the chariots of Egypt, Assyria, and the Hittites, where they protected their fighting companions during engagement.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>ar'-mer-bar'-er (nose' keli; Greek uses a phrase, ho airon ta skeue, literally "the one carrying the armor"): One who carried the large shield and perhaps other weapons for a king (1Sa 31:4), commander-in-chief (2Sa 23:37), captain (1Sa 14:7) or champion (1Sa 17:7). All warriors of distinction had such an attendant. Rather than perish by the hand of a woman, Abimelech called upon his armor-bearer to give him the finishing stroke (Jud 9:54), and when King Saul's armor-bearer refused to do this office for him that he might not become the prisoner of the Philistines, he took a sword himself and fell upon it (1Sa 31:4). David became Saul's armor-bearer for a time, and Jonathan's armor-bearer was a man of resource and courage (1Sa 14:7). The shield-bearer was a figure well known in the chariots of Egypt and Assyria and the Hittites, his business being to protect his fighting companion during the engagement.</p><p>T. Nicol.</p>