In 1 Samuel 17, the Bible records a young shepherd named David defeating the Philistine giant, Goliath, by means of a slingshot. He gathered five smooth stones and met his opponent in the Valley of Elah on the way to the Philistine stronghold of Gath. The hand sling of his day was not the pull-back, rubber band model of a child’s playtime, but a lethal weapon, well-known to a youthful shepherd protecting his family’s flocks. Measuring about a yard in length, the leather or woven wool sling was a long, narrow length with a concave depression/pouch in the middle. With one swift, underhanded movement (think softball pitch), the slinger let go of one end and the rock hurled forward.
Archaeology indicates that slingshots of the Late Bronze Age, just before David’s time, approximated the size of tennis balls (!) and could be released in windup at speeds equalling a car on the highway. Researchers have experimented to test these theories and found that an overhand sling is not nearly as fast nor as accurate as underhanded. Who knew? Archaeologists cite reliefs from the Assyrian siege of Lachish, rich in illustrations of siege warfare, to back up their findings of slingshots (photo of relief housed in the British Museum, London). In short (a poor use of terms!), slingers could out-distance archers about 2:1.
By the Greek and Roman time periods, shots excavated at archaeological sites shrink to golf-ball size and include not only lithics (stone), but also hardened pottery-ball projectiles (easy to make and store in their spare time), as well as lead shot. Ow! No wonder some were inscribed with messages on them: Take this!
Calculating that an American football field measures 120 yards in length, Roman records inform that archers regularly set their targets at 200 yards, while the slingers could take aim at objects 440 yards in the distance. That’s 1/4 of a mile away! At the Burnswark Roman site in Scotland, archaeologists discovered approximately 400 small, lemon-shaped, lead slingshot “bullets”, weighing 1.8 ounces (50 grams) each. Reenactors confirmed that not only did they have an accuracy distance of 130 yards, but 10% of the bullets contained small holes resulting in “weird and unworldly” noises when sailing toward their target.
Psychological warfare. Frightening. Painful. Deadly.
“But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love your name be joyful in You” (Psalm 5:11). David had a good idea of what he was talking about. God’s got you covered today!
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