wall, and fortified them. 10And he built towers in the wilderness, and hewed out many cisterns, for he had much cattle; in the lowland also, and in the [1]plain: and he had husbandmen and vinedressers in the mountains and in [2]the fruitful fields; for he loved husbandry. 11Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their reckoning made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains. 12The whole number of the heads of fathers' houses, even the mighty men of valour, was two thousand and six hundred. 13And under their hand was [3]a trained army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. 14And Uzziah prepared for them, even for all the host, shields, and spears, and helmets, and coats of mail, and bows, and stones for slinging. 15And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by
the turning of the wall] Mentioned Neh. iii. 19, 24. See G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, II. 120.
10. the wilderness] i.e. the southern pasture land of Judah. Cp. Ps. lxv. 12. Fortified towers have always proved effective for controlling the Bedouin and keeping the desert roads open.
in the lowland also, and in the plain] For the "lowland" (Heb. Shephēlah) see i. 15 (note). The "plain" (mg. table land; Heb. Mishōr) is the name of the high pasture lands east of Jordan; apparently the part occupied by the Ammonites whom Uzziah had subdued is meant here. (For a different view see Smith, Jerusalem, II. 119, n.)
11—15 (no parallel in Kings). Uzziah's Army.
13. three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred] Cp. xxv. 5 (Amaziah's army), and the notes on xiv. 8 and xvii. 14 (the forces of Asa and of Jehoshaphat).
14. stones for slinging] Such stones needed to be carefully chosen, for they had to be smooth and of a suitable size, cp. 1 Sam. xvii. 40. Bows and slings appear to have been favourite weapons in Benjamin, cp. 1 Chr. xii. 2; Jud. xx. 16.
15. engines] Doubtless contrivances similar to the Roman catapulta and balista. It is questionable whether such engines of war were really in use as early as the time of Uzziah, at least among the Israelites (see Smith, Jerusalem, ii. 121, 122; and the Ency. Bib. s.v. siege, esp.
