H7050a H7050a
A sling, the handheld weapon used to hurl stones at enemies or prey.
The sling was one of the most effective ranged weapons of the ancient Near East, consisting of a pouch attached to two cords that could launch a stone with lethal force and precision. Its most famous appearance is David's defeat of Goliath with a single stone from his shepherd's sling (1 Sam 17:40, 50). The metaphor in 1 Samuel 25:29, where Abigail contrasts being 'bound in the bundle of the living' with enemies slung out 'from the hollow of a sling,' powerfully evokes the violent trajectory of the weapon. By the time of the Chronicler, slings were standard military equipment issued to garrison troops (2 Chr 26:14).
Senses
1. sling (weapon for hurling stones) — A sling — a weapon consisting of a leather or textile pouch with cords, used to propel stones at high velocity. German 'Schleuder' and Spanish 'honda' both denote this same weapon precisely. Attested in the narrative of David and Goliath (1 Sam 17:40, 50), in Abigail's vivid metaphor of divine protection versus divine judgment (1 Sam 25:29), in military inventories (2 Chr 26:14), in theophanic warfare imagery (Zech 9:15), and in Job's description of Leviathan dismissing sling-stones as stubble (Job 41:28). 6×
AR["المِقلاعِ", "الْمَقَالِيعِ", "الْمِقْلَاعِ", "الْمِقْلَاعِ.", "بِـ-المِقْلَاعِ", "وَ-مِقْلاَعُهُ"]·ben["এবং-তার-গুলতি", "গুলতি-দিয়ে", "গুলতির", "ফিঙার", "সেই-গুলতির"]·DE["[קלע]", "[קלעים]", "der-Schleuder", "mit-der-Schleuder", "und-Schleuder-sein"]·EN["a-sling", "and-sling-his", "sling", "slings", "the-sling", "with-the-sling"]·FR["[קלעים]", "avec-le-fronde", "et-fronde-son", "fronde", "le-fronde", "קלע"]·heb["ב-קלע", "ה-קלע", "ו-קלע-ו", "קלע", "קלעים"]·HI["और-गोफ़न", "गोफन-के", "गोफनों-के", "गोफ़न-की", "गोफ़न-से"]·ID["dan-umbannya", "dengan-umban", "pengali", "umban"]·IT["[קלע]", "[קלעים]", "a-sling", "con-il-fionda", "e-fionda-suo", "il-fionda"]·jav["bandhil", "ketapel.", "lan-bandhil-ipun", "mawi-bandhil", "sang-banthilan"]·KO["그-물매로", "그리고-그의-물매가", "무릿매의", "물매의"]·PT["a-funda", "com-a-funda", "e-sua-funda", "funda", "funda.", "fundas"]·RU["и-праща-его", "пращевые", "пращи", "пращой"]·ES["con-la-honda", "honda", "hondas", "la-honda", "y-honda-suya"]·SW["kombeo", "kutupa", "kwa-kombeo", "na-kombeo-lake"]·TR["-sapanın", "ile-sapanla", "sapanların", "sapanın", "sapanın-", "ve-sapanı"]·urd["اور-گوپھن", "فلاخن-کے", "فلاخن-کے۔", "فلاخنوں-کے", "گوپھن-سے"]
Related Senses
H2719 1. sword, weapon of war (410×)H4196 1. altar (place of sacrifice) (403×)H7393 1. chariot, chariotry (117×)H7198 1. bow (weapon) (72×)H7979 1. table (71×)H7782 1. ram's horn trumpet (69×)H4294 2. staff, rod, scepter (63×)H4043 1. shield, defensive weapon (60×)H0646 1. ephod (priestly garment) (49×)H8504 1. blue (violet-blue yarn/fabric) (49×)H2595 1. spear, lance (48×)H2671 1. arrow, projectile weapon (46×)H4818 1. chariot, war-chariot (44×)H3658 1. lyre, harp (stringed instrument) (42×)H1537 1. Gilgal (place name) (41×)H0713 1. purple (fabric/dye) (38×)H0905 3. poles, staves (37×)H7392 1. Qal participle: rider, charioteer (37×)H4501 1. cultic lampstand (menorah) (36×)H0212 1. wheel (35×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. קֶ֫לַע n.[m.] sling;—abs. ק׳ 1 S 17:50, כַּף הַקָּ֑לַע 25:29 hollow of the sling (fig.); sf. קַלְעוֹ 17:40; אַבְנֵי־קָ֑לַע Jb 41:20 2, so א׳ קְלָעִים 2 Ch 26:14; א׳־קֶלַע Zc 9:15 is difficult: MartiKau כְּא׳־ק׳; We Now בְּנֵי ק׳ sons of———?