Shield, Shield Bearer

A shield is a strong object that a soldier holds to protect the body from an enemy’s weapons. A shield bearer is a person who carries a shield and helps protect another warrior.

The shield was one of the oldest forms of protection. It created a barrier between a soldier’s body and an enemy’s weapon.

During the time of the judges and the early kings of Israel, important warriors were sometimes protected by a very large shield. A shield bearer carried this shield and stayed close to the warrior he was assigned to protect (compare Judges 9:54; 1 Samuel 14:1; 17:7; 2 Samuel 18:15).

The shield bearer usually stood on the warrior’s right side. This side was less protected because the warrior held weapons in the right hand and a shield in the left hand. The shield bearer helped guard this open side (1 Samuel 17:41; compare Psalm 16:8).

At that time, Israelites sometimes anointed shields before battle. This means that they rubbed oil on the shields as part of preparing the warrior and his weapons for war (compare 2 Samuel 1:21).

See also Armor and Weapons.