The War Scroll 3
The Rule for the ordering of the battle divisions to complete a front formation when their host has reached its full number
1 The formation shall consist of one thousand men ranked seven lines deep, each man standing behind the other.
2 They shall all hold shields of bronze burnished like mirrors.
3 The shield shall be edged with an interlaced border and with inlaid
ornament, a work of art in pure gold and silver and bronze and
precious stones, a many-coloured design worked by a craftsman.
4 The length of the shield shall be two and a half cubits and its width one and a half cubits
5 In their hands they shall hold a spear and a sword. The length of the spear shall be seven cubits, of which the socket and spike shall measure half a cubit.
6 The socket shall be edged with three embossed interlaced rings of pure gold and silver and bronze, a work of art.
7 The inlaid ornaments on both edges of the ring shall be bordered with precious stones - patterned bands worked by a craftsman - and
(embossed) with ears of corn.
8 Between the rings, the socket shall be embossed with artistry like a pillar.
9 The spike shall be made of brilliant white iron, the work of a craftsman; in its centre, pointing towards the tip, shall be ears of corn in pure gold
10 The swords shall be made of pure iron refined by the smelter and
blanched to resemble a mirror, the work of a craftsman; on both sides (of their blades) pointing towards the tip, figured ears of corn shall be embossed in pure gold, and they shall have two straight borders on each side.
11 The length of the sword shall be one and a half cubits and
its width four fingers. The width of the scabbard shall be four thumbs.
12 There shall be four palms to the scabbard (from the girdle), and it shall be attached (to the girdle) on both sides for a length of five palms
13 The hilt of the sword shall be of pure horn worked by a craftsman, with patterned bands in gold and silver and precious stones... vacat
14 When... shall stand, the ... they shall order the seven battle divisions, division after division... thirty cubits where the me[n of the division] shall stand ... seven times and shall return to their positions.
15 And after them, three divisions of foot-soldiers shall advance and shall station themselves between the formations, and the first division shall hurl seven javelins of war towards the enemy formation.
16 On the point of the javelins they shall write, "Shining Javelin of the Power of God;" and on the darts of the second division they shall write, "Bloody Spikes to Bring Down the Slain by the Wrath of God;" and on the javelins of the third division they shall write, "Flaming Blade to Devour the Wicked Struck Down by the Judgement of God."
17 All these shall hurl their javelins seven times and shall afterwards return to their positions.
18 Then two divisions of foot-soldiers shall advance and shall station themselves between the two formations.
19 The first division shall be armed with a spear and a shield, and the second with a shield and a sword, to bring down the slain by the judgement of God, and to bend the enemy formation by the power of God, to pay the reward of their wickedness to all the nations of vanity.
20 . And sovereignty shall be to the God of Israel, and He shall accomplish mighty deeds by the saints of his people.
21 Seven troops of horsemen shall also station themselves to the right and to the left of the formation; their troops shall stand on this (side) and on that, seven hundred horsemen on one flank and seven hundred horsemen on the other.
22 Two hundred horsemen shall advance with the thousand men of the formation of foot-soldiers; and they shall likewise station themselves on both [flanks] of the camp.
23 Altogether there shallbe four thousand six hundred (men), and one thousand cavalrymen with the men of the army formations, fifty to each formation.
24 The horsemen, together with the cavalry of the army shall number six thousand: five hundred to each tribe.
25 The horses advancing into battle with the foot-soldiers shall all be stallions; they shall be swift, sensitive of mouth, and sound of wind, and of the required age, trained for war, and accustomed to noise and to every (kind of) sight.
26 Their riders shall be gallant fighting men and skilled horsemen, and their age shall be from thirty to forty-five years.
27 The horsemen of the army shall be from forty to fifty years old.
28 They [and their mounts shall wear breast-plates,] helmets, and greaves; they shall carry in their hands bucklers, and a spear [eight cubits] long
29 [The horseman advancing with the foot-soldiers shall carry] bows and arrows and javelins of war.
30 They shall all hold themselves prepared ... of God and to spill the blood of the wicked ...
31 The men of the army shall be from forty to fifty years old. The
inspectors of the camps shall be from fifty to sixty years old. The
officers shall be from forty to fifty years old. The despoilers of the slain, the plunderers of booty, the cleansers of the land, the keepers of the baggage, and those who furnish the provisions shall be from twentyfive to thirty years old.
32 No boy or woman shall enter their camps, from the time they leave Jerusalem and march out to war until they return.
33 No man who is lame, or blind, or crippled, or afflicted with a lasting bodily blemish, or smitten with a bodily impurity, none of these shall march out to war with them.
34 They shall all be freely enlisted for war, perfect in spirit and body and prepared for the Day of Vengeance.
35 And no man shall go down with them on the day of battle who is impure because of his ‘fount’, for the holy angels shall be with their hosts. And there shall be a space of about two thousand cubits between all their camps for the place serving as a latrine, so that no indecent nakedness may be seen in the surroundings of their camps.
36 When the battle formations are marshalled facing the enemy
formation facing formation, seven Priests of the sons of Aaron shall
advance from the middle gates to the place between the formations.
37 They shall be clothed in vestments of white cloth of flax, in a fine linen tunic and fine linen breeches; and they shall be girdled with fine cloth of flax embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet thread, a manycoloured design worked by a craftsman.
38 And on their heads they shall wear mitred turbans. These shall be battle raiment; they shall not take them into the Sanctuary.
39 The first Priest shall advance before the men of the formation to
strengthen their hand for battle, and the six other Priests shall hold in their hands the trumpets of Summons, and the trumpets of the
Reminder, and the trumpets of Alarm (for massacre), and the trumpets of Pursuit, and the trumpets of Retreat.
40 And when the Priests advance to the place between the formations, seven Levites shall accompany them bearing in their hands seven rams’ horns; and three officers of the Levites shall walk before the Priests and Levites.
41 The Priests shall sound the two trumpets of Sum[mons for the gates of] war to open fifty shields (wide) and the foot-soldiers shall advance, fifty from one gate [and fifty from the other.
42 With them shall advance] the officers of the Levites, and they shall advance with every formation according to all this R[ule].
43 [The Priests shall sound the trumpets, and two divisions of foot-]
soldiers [shall advance] from the gate [and shall] station [themselves] between the two [formations] ... the trumpets shall sound to direct the slingers until they have cast seven times.
44 Afterwards, the Priests shall sound for them the trumpets of Retreat and they shall return to the flank of the first formation to take up their position.
45 Then the Priests shall sound the trumpets of Summons and three divisions of foot-soldiers shall advance from the gates and shall station themselves between the formations; the horsemen shall be on their flanks, to the right and to the left.
46 The Priests shall sound a sustained blast on the trumpets for battle array, and the columns shall move to their (battle) array, each man to his place. And when they have taken up their stand in three arrays, the Priests shall sound a second signal, soft and sustained, for them to advance until they are close to the enemy formation.
47 They shall seize their weapons, and the Priests shall then blow a shrill staccato blast on the six trumpets of Massacre to direct the battle, and the Levites and all the blowers of rams’ horns shall sound a mighty alarm to terrify the heart of the enemy, andtherewith the javelins shall fly out to bring down the slain.
48 Then the sound of the horns shall cease, but the Priests shall continue to blow a shrill staccato blast on the trumpets to direct the battle until they have thrown seven times against the enemy formation. And then they shall sound a soft, a sustained, and a shrill sound on the trumpets of Retreat.
49 It is according to this Rule that the Priests shall sound the trumpets for the three divisions.
50 With the first throw, the [Priests] shall sound [on the trumpets] a mighty alarm to direct the ba[ttle until they have thrown seven times.
51 Then] the Priests [shall sound] for them on the trumpets[of Retreat a soft, a sustained, and a shrill sound, and they shall return] to their positions in the formation.
52 [Then the Priests shall blow the trumpets of Summons and the two divisions of foot-soldiers shall advance from the gates] and shall stand [between the formations.
53 . And the Priests shall then blow the trumpets of] Massacre, [and the Levites and all the blowers of rams’ horns shall sound an alarm, a mighty blast, and therewith] IX they shall set about tobring down the slain with their hands.
54 All the people shall cease their clamour but the Priests shall continue to blow the trumpets of Massacre to direct the battle until the enemy is smitten and put to flight; and the Priests shall blow to direct the battle.
55 And when they are smitten before them, the Priests shall sound thetrumpets of Summons and all the foot-soldiers shall rally to them from the midst of the front formations, and the six divisions, together with the fighting division, shall take up their stations. Altogether, they shall be seven formations: twenty-eight thousand fighting men and six thousand horsemen.
56 All these shall pursue the enemy to destroy him in an everlastingdestruction in the battle of God.
57 The Priests shall sound for them the trumpets of Pursuit, and they shall deploy against all the enemy in apursuit to destruction; and the horsemen shall thrust them back on theflanks of the battle until they are utterly destroyed.
58 And as the slain men fall, the Priests shall trumpet from afar; they shall not approach the slain lest they be defiled with unclean blood. For they are holy, and they shall not profane the anointing of their priesthood with the blood of nations of vanity.