It should be noted that the sequence of events which this passage describes coincides exactly with the sequence in
VII,9-IX,9 and that other details such as the weapons also correspond where comparison can be made. There is no doubt, therefore, that both VII,9-IX,9 and the present passage derive from a single battle-plan, although there are developments pec uliar to each passage which have subsequently taken place, A further discussion of the implications of this will be found below, pp.90ff.
f. VI,llb-E The Weapons of the Cavalry
Between the end of subsection (e) and the present passage is a statement which has been inserted at a later stage, ',i'l
) xo Ti'9Î>K qion ioi tv . Hence the present
passage proper begins with the words aonn b . The reasons for classifying the above statement as secondary will be found in the next chapter, where the whole question of the exact structure of
46
the army and its disposition is discussed. At this point it need only be remarked that the tribe ( B a w in lib) has no relevance to the division of the army on the battlefield, but is a conscriptional or organisational unit.
The present passage is rather haphazardly arranged, as the following list of contents will show:
llb-13b description of the cavalry of the skirmishers
13b-l4a ages of the cavalry of the skirmishers
l4b-15 ages and weapons of the cavalry of the heavy infantry
16 weapons of the cavalry of the skirmishers (?)^^
According to the scheme governing the whole of V,3~VII,7, the present subsection ought to be devoted to the arms of the
cavalry. This information is certainly contained here, but. in a not very orderly manner, and other details are included also. Our task here is to explain, if possible, the arrangement of the text here.
We can presume that the compiler responsible for the final state of the passage is using more than one source, since in line 13 the riders are called 'D'*lDn , but in line l4 they are
called , In l4f. the order of subjects is reversed when
the ages of the cavalry are given before a description of their weapons, whereas in lines llb-l4b the ages are mentioned last. Were the passage the work of one hand a more logical sequence would surely have emerged.
The explanation which most economically accounts for the phenomena is that the compiler's major source comprises yi,llb-l4a
(to D ’Vng.) ), end l6f. This source provides all the informa
tion about the cavalry who accompany the skirmishers - their qualities, ages and weapons. Lines l4b-13 are from another source; perhaps even the compiler himself inserted these lines, deducing the information from the age-limits and weapons of the heavy infantry itself. For all the relevant information about the heavy infantry is presented together, whereas the data re garding the other cavalry, who accompany the skirmishers, is spread on either side of this.
The mention of age-limits for the cavalry leads to the pro vision of age-limits for all the other groups in the army also. This has been assembled together with other miscellaneous infor mation and forms the final subsection,
g, VI,S-VII,7 Miscellaneous Rules, Etc,
46.
age limits (VI,E-VII,3a)î rules about ineligibility (VII,3b-6b); purity of the camp (VII,6c~7), Between the three subjects there is a natural association. The first part, age limits, is neces sitated by the mention of age limits in the previous subsection. General rules of eligibility follow quite logically, since these also determine who shall fight and who shall not. Since consid eration of purity are paramount in the matter of eligibility,
48 remarks about the purity of the camp are appended.
The age-limits themselves are interesting and may be tables as follows:
23-30 non-combat activités, such as despoiling the slain,
guarding the weapons, burying the dead
30-45 cavalry accompanying the skirmishers (and presumably
the skirmishers themselves)
4o-50 cavalry accompanying the main (heavy) infantry, the
heavy infantry itself, and officers called -p ' . 49
50~dO camp supervisor
It will be remembered that laymen over the age of fifty are eligible to serve in the Temple, and this coincides with the upper limit of active service. The limits for active service are
30-50,, with 25 and 6o as outer limits for non-combat services.
According to Num. i,3ff.; xiv,29j xxvi,2,4 the age of conscrip tion or eligibility to serve as an active soldier is 20, not 25, and this is.confirmed by II Chron, xxv,5. A closer correspond ence to the age-limits given in lOM is found in Num. viii,24 where
25 is the lower limit for service in the tent of meeting by a levite, and Num. iv, where 30 is given as the limit. According to Num. viii, 25-26, a levite at the age of fifty retires from regular service, but may continue to perform lesser duties. The inner and outer age limits might therefore be traced back to lev-
itical regulations. The age limits of officers of the sect at
C Q
perhaps unwise to draw any firm conclusions from these data* The age limits in I.)M might be drawn from Jewish military practice, about which we know very little.
The rules regarding ineligibility begin with a ban on women or young men.entering the camp "when they go forth from Jerusalem to go to war, until they return" (3b,4a). The period of a soldier's active service thus seems to have extended from
51
the very beginning of the campaign until the end. It is not unlikely that this regulation is formulated specifically to apply to the campaigns of the forty years’ war outlined in col. II; each of these campaigns presumably would have started from Jerusalem, and for the final return to Jerusalem afterwards, we have the evidence of III,10bf,:
and upon the trumpets for the way of return from battle with the.enemy so as to come to the congregation to Jerusalem, they shall write ’Rejoicings of God in peaceful return,’ "
The disqualifications in 4b, forbidding those halt, blind, lame or with any permanent physical disability to serve as soldiers is very similar, to that of Lev, xxi,17-21, which, gives
disqualifications for priests. Again, any direct connection is
doubtful - the disqualifications given are perfectly natural and most of them apply even today. No doubt these reflect ancient as well as modern military practice.
The rules regarding purity of the camp (6c-7) are cert ainly drawn directly from 0,T,, from Deut. xxiii, 10-15. There are slight differences, however. In Deut., the distance between the latrine and the camp is not given; and whereas Deut, xxiii,15 states that nothing unseemly should be seen in the campi because "Yahweh your god walks in the midst of your camp", we find here the phrase "for holy angels are in communion with their hosts".
48,