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Actually regarding Judah's defeat from the inhabitants with the iron chariots, it was because they were afraid of them and not trusting God (see Judges 2:1-3).

Actually regarding Judah's defeat from the inhabitants with the iron chariots, it was because they were afraid of them and not trusting God (see Judges 2:1-3). They did defeat them latter on (Judges 4:3,15)

dalke 12y ago
I'm not sure your point with "Actually"? They were still chariots, with wheels. I could have quoted Exodus 14:7 - "And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them." That's the other one which which comes quickly to mind. (Well, the other topic; there are several verses which mention those Egyptian chariots.) But the qualifier "chariots of iron" gives an idea that they've been around long enough to need a qualifier. (Chariots are from the Bronze Age.) FWIW, there are 60 references to chariots in the Bible, of which three use "iron".
- cafard 12y ago
  The curious thing about chariot warfare is that nobody seems to have a very clear idea of the tactics. The book The Coming of the Greeks offers a picture of the spread of Indo-European languages through a military elite that has mastered chariot tactics, but can't say what they were or how they declined. Homer is pretty shaky on chariot warfare. And when Darius tried to bring back chariots with scythed wheels to defeat Alexander, it just didn't work.
  - dalke 12y ago
    I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/chariots/scythedchariots.html http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/mis... has more details. "Although intermittently appearing on the battle field for six hundred years, the scythed chariot was curiously ineffectual. Their use by the Seleucid king Antiochus III at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, can serve as an example. ... Antiochus had expected that they would throw the enemy into confusion, but for Livy it all was a "silly show." Placed in front, the horses were terrified by the shouts and missiles directed at them and bolted wildly, without bit or bridle."

dalke 12y ago

I'm not sure your point with "Actually"? They were still chariots, with wheels. I could have quoted Exodus 14:7 - "And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them." That's the other one which which comes quickly to mind. (Well, the other topic; there are several verses which mention those Egyptian chariots.) But the qualifier "chariots of iron" gives an idea that they've been around long enough to need a qualifier. (Chariots are from the Bronze Age.) FWIW, there are 60 references to chariots in the Bible, of which three use "iron".

cafard 12y ago
The curious thing about chariot warfare is that nobody seems to have a very clear idea of the tactics. The book The Coming of the Greeks offers a picture of the spread of Indo-European languages through a military elite that has mastered chariot tactics, but can't say what they were or how they declined. Homer is pretty shaky on chariot warfare. And when Darius tried to bring back chariots with scythed wheels to defeat Alexander, it just didn't work.
- dalke 12y ago
  I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing. http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/miscellanea/chariots/scythedchariots.html http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/mis... has more details. "Although intermittently appearing on the battle field for six hundred years, the scythed chariot was curiously ineffectual. Their use by the Seleucid king Antiochus III at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, can serve as an example. ... Antiochus had expected that they would throw the enemy into confusion, but for Livy it all was a "silly show." Placed in front, the horses were terrified by the shouts and missiles directed at them and bolted wildly, without bit or bridle."