Bible Dictionary
Javelin
A javelin was a spear or lance used as a weapon. Scripture distinguishes lighter throwing lances from heavier military spears.
Definition
A javelin was a lance or spear used as a weapon. One Hebrew term denotes a flexible lance, while another denotes a heavier lance used by heavily armed troops and named for its piercing force.
Biblical Usage
Javelins or lances appear in accounts of warfare and personal conflict, including Saul’s attempts against David and Phinehas’s use of a heavier spear.
Historical Background
The biblical terminology distinguishes a flexible lance from the heavier weapon of heavily armed troops.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(1.) Heb. hanith, a lance, from its flexibility (1 Sam. 18:10, 11; 19:9, 10; 20:33). (2.) Heb. romah, a lance for heavy-armed troops, so called from its piercing (Num. 25:7). (See ARMS.)
Smith's Bible Dictionary
[Arms, Armor]
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>jav'-lin, jav'-e-lin.</p><p>See ARMOR; ARMS.</p>