2 Chronicles 26:15 (KJV)
And he madein Jerusalem engines inventedby cunning mento be on the towersand upon the bulwarksto shoot arrowsand great stoneswithal And his name spreadfar abroadfor he was marvellously helped tillhe was strong
Cross-references
cunning men. 2Ch 2:7 2Ch 2:14 Ex 31:4
spread far. Heb. went forth. Mt 4:24
to shoot arrows.These engines, it is probable, bore some resemblance to the {balistæ} and {catapultæ} of the Romans, which were employed for throwing stones and arrows, and were in reality the mortars and carcasses of antiquity. With respect to the towers which Uzziah built in the wilderness, (ver. 10,) Mr. Harmer appears to have given a truer view of the subject than commentators in general have done, who suppose that they were conveniences made only for sheltering the shepherds from bad weather, or to defend them from incursions of enemies; for they might rather be designed to keep the nations that pastured there in awe, and also to induce them quietly to pay the tribute to which the 8th verse seems to refer. William of Tyre describes a country not far from the Euphrates as inhabited by Syrian and Armenian Christians, who fed great flocks and herds there, but were kept in subjection to the Turks, in consequence of their living among them in strong places.
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