bows of the bible

[KenH]

Bowyer/metalsmiths on the Indian subcontinent have made steel bows for hundreds of years.  A good bronze alloy with plenty of spring action should be do-able.

[Jake Levi]

There are two problems with getting olive wood for bow staves, first it is a very crooked growing tree, any useable staves would be short, 4'-5' would be long, longer staves would be rare,

but the bigger problem is the availability of any olive wood, its a very productive tree into very old age, I know of trees that are many hundreds of years old, several thousands. Unless a tree is removed for some other reason few if any are cut.

Acaicia is much more available.

Metals were not plentiful in the Biblical era and expensive, wood and leather replaced much metal in useage, so any metal bows would have been exceptions, not the rule, I have talked with curators in museums and none had ever heard of one being found, or made. The verse quoted is discussed in commentaries as being allegorical, not actual.  The Stone Edition of the Tanach discusses it as such, thats one of the leading editions of the Tanach( Old Testament that we call 'Original Testament '  ) Joke, not preaching.

[JackCrafty]

Interesting topic.  There is a very long time period covered in the old testament but I think the majority of the bows were composite...probably horn and sinew combination....and small, "Cupid" types.

Bronze was known to be very strong (i.e. armor), but I don't think the bows of the time were made form it.  For one, bronze was VERY expensive and two, the bible often uses metaphors to get the point across.  JMO

[Pelar]

Hey guys!

A very interesting and relevant discussion for me, since I live in Israel and struggle to discover bowmaking woods here.
So far I can testify for olive, cypress and almond as suitable for bows (with cypress being a bit weak, and almond not really tested by myself in actual bowmaking - only in smaller-scale tests). After researching some academic material - it seems popular bow woods were ash (mostly imported from northern regions such as Syria) and several types of desert acacias (shitim in Hebrew).

I'm currently working on three selfbows - one olive, one cypress and one acacia saligna (an Australian invasive species).
Please note I'm a beginner bowmaker, and my experience's very limited...

[dmassphoto]

My experience of Northern Iraq was that there weren't many trees at all, but the ones I did notice grew fairly straight.  Most of the hills had short bushy things I wouldn't even call trees, or small skinny, scraggly bushes.  The actual "trees" that grew, though, seemed straight.

Close to the border of Iran, near Saluminea (sp?)


My "home" in Mosul, skinny trees that grew straight, but these were most definately groomed that way


Here's the only actual "forrest" I knew of in the area, although it was still pretty small by our standards. 




Here's a link to Google Maps that shows the area I'm talking about. It's pretty small.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=mosul,+iraq&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=49.57764,113.818359&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Mosul,+Ninawa,+Iraq&ll=36.376152,43.124449&spn=0.012404,0.027788&t=h&z=16

I have no idea what kinds of trees those are, but I'm willing to bet some of you guys know.  Considering the area I worked in consisted of just about the whole of Northern Sumeria, this is a good representation of what can be found there.

[Christophero]

The cedars in Lebanon were noted for their majestic size, in King David's time period, and used extensively in his palace constrution as well as for his son, Soloman's temple and palace.  It could be, too, that they were utililzed for war and hunting bows, as well.
Also, Mertle grows only in in Israel and the Pacific NW of the US, from what I read in a shop in Oregon or Washington (that was over 23 years ago, excuse my lack of presice locale for that).  The mertle tree is only mentioned once or twice in the Bible, as I recall, in one of the major prophets, Isaiah, if memory serves me correct, but I don't think it was in context of bow making but in the asthetics of the land and God's blessings on it. 
I have seen where mertle is used in fg laminate bows for risers and limbs but I don't know the charactoristics of it to be used as a self bow.

[Pelar]

Thanks Christophero - I'll check it out, although myrtles tend to grow pretty small here as far as my experience goes.

dmassphoto - I believe those are mostly eucalyptus. Australian in origin, probably brought to Iraq by the British(?), for its perceived benefits as a genus that flourishes in arid environments. I think I can recognize some cypress (the tall, narrow ones. also man-cultivated, mostly as a wind-breaker set around groves), and pines (brighter green). The big one in the first pic I'm not sure about (I'm thinking maybe oak or carob?). A closer view might help =)
I'm also pretty sure the tigiris and and euphrates have more vegetation growing along their banks (such as palm trees and reeds), and that the deserts might prove to host the acacias we find in our own dry areas.

In any case, the story of Solomon's temple and the cedars, along with other sources show how widespread and effective commerce was even in the earlier periods. The Sumerians, for example, imported goods all the way from Africa and India, including woods.

[medicinewheel]

The cedars in Lebanon were noted for their majestic size, in King David's time period, and used extensively in his palace constrution as well as for his son, Soloman's temple and palace.  It could be, too, that they were utililzed for war and hunting bows, as well.
...

Just stumbled over this thread, didn't read it all, but I can assure you that the famous Lebanon cedar will NOT make a bow, much rather will pine or even fir make a bow!
In these regions described in the bible they had hornbows at very early times; Hittite, Egyptian, Persian and later Indo-Persian types.

[Jude]

My experience of Northern Iraq was that there weren't many trees at all, but the ones I did notice grew fairly straight.  Most of the hills had short bushy things I wouldn't even call trees, or small skinny, scraggly bushes.  The actual "trees" that grew, though, seemed straight.
I have no idea what kinds of trees those are, but I'm willing to bet some of you guys know.  Considering the area I worked in consisted of just about the whole of Northern Sumeria, this is a good representation of what can be found there.

I've served a couple stints in Iraq now, as well as one in Afghanistan.  I'm not sure what the tree in the first pic is, but the others are Yellow Box Eucalyptus, really common in both countries, but it's an Australian native, imported by the British, when they controlled the area.  The cedars would have been true Cedar, and not a very good bow wood, but Juniper is native to the area.  Whether Juniper was ever used, I can't say.  There's a tree here that looks like something in the Apple family, that I have yet to positively identify.  I'll try to remember to get some pics before I leave.

[dmassphoto]

I've served a couple stints in Iraq now, as well as one in Afghanistan.  I'm not sure what the tree in the first pic is, but the others are Yellow Box Eucalyptus, really common in both countries, but it's an Australian native, imported by the British, when they controlled the area.  The cedars would have been true Cedar, and not a very good bow wood, but Juniper is native to the area.  Whether Juniper was ever used, I can't say.  There's a tree here that looks like something in the Apple family, that I have yet to positively identify.  I'll try to remember to get some pics before I leave.

Thanks for the info on the Eucalyptus.  I always thought that forrest looked out of place and planted. 

I'm also pretty sure the tigiris and and euphrates have more vegetation growing along their banks (such as palm trees and reeds), and that the deserts might prove to host the acacias we find in our own dry areas.

Most of the palms I saw were in the city areas, and along the Tigris, but I'll confess I didn't really pay much attention, and only remembered how the trees looked and how little they were.  It's amazing how green things get around the rivers and how it contrasts against the dry climate. 

[jbnizzle]

Hey, hey, hey,
                   I've been there and agree with the Eucalyptas. I've seen white Mulberry too.

[rileyconcrete]

I would think that people from that time would have copied bows from the Egyptians.  After all Gods people were slaves to the Egyptians for quite some time.

Tell

[denny]

I am a history buff and love the bible, That of my LORD that is. Most bow wood was imported. Africa and minor asia used baboo and horn composites. The egyptions bows used wood, horn and bamboo. This is about all I can speak of at this time,as I ain't no scholar either.

[dmassphoto]

Here's a list of bow references in the Bible that I found. 

http://www.bible-topics.com/Bow-The.html

[KenH]

Certainly not all the bows of the Middle East were composite bows.  Archeologically datable Old Testament sites date back to the Neolithic period, if I remember correctly, and composite bow technology is much more recent than that. The composite bow was by all accounts introduced to Egypt by the Hyksos, in the period known as the Second Intermediate (1700-1775 BC).

I did some data-mining, and discovered a British Museum Technical Report on Egyptian self-bows in their collection.  All of the specimens have been dated to pre-Christianity, and as far back as pre-dynastic Egypt (the New Stone Age).  You can download your own PDF of the report at this address:

www.britishmuseum.org/.../BMTRB%202%20Cartwright%20and%20Taylor.pdf

FYI, Christ's Thorn Jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) is a tropical evergreen tree (but not a pine) common to North Africa and the Middle East. It grows in Israel in the valleys and low elevations below 1500 ft.

Abstract
The woods of 15 Egyptian  wooden archery  bows from the collections of the British Museum,
ranging in date from the Neolithic period to the New Kingdom have been scientifically identified. The objects
studied included bows from Asyut and from the tomb of Mentuhotep II at Deir el-Bahri. Microscopical
examination of millimetre-sized samples revealed that all the bows were made from indigenous Egyptian
woods. Acacia (Acacia sp.) and Sidder (Ziziphus spina-christi) woods were preferentially selected, with seven
bows of acacia and six of Sidder. These woods have a high proportion of the properties needed for optimum
functioning as archery bows, i.e. resilience, flexibility, elasticity and strength. Tamarisk wood (Tamarix sp.),
a less suitable choice of timber for bows, was used for the remaining two artefacts.

Across Europe, the Mediterranean region and the Middle East, three main forms of bow have been recog-
nized. The earliest form, the self bow, was made from a single piece of wood, often a long stave to allow addi-
tional draw length. The use of a single piece of wood reduced the risk of mechanical weakness or fracturing.
The other two forms of bow were backed bows (made from two layers of wood glued together) and composite
bows, the most sophisticated form, in which the wood was bonded to other materials such as antler, horn
and sinew. With the exception of one, whose attribution as a bow is uncertain, the artefacts in this study are
self bows.