And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
And a certain man drew a bow at a venture. There is no evidence that this archer was one of the captains who had received special instructions from their Syrian master to search for Ahab. He is called simply 'a man,' for "certain" is a supplement introduced by our translators: it is equivalent to 'one drew a bow,' and that person, too, did it without any particular aim. "At a venture" х lªtumow (H8537)] - in his simplicity; i:e., without any hostile or destructive purpose. [The Septuagint, in opposition to the Hebrew text, renders the word by: eustochoos, with a good aim.]
And smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness х beeyn (H996) hadªbaaqiym (H1694) uwbeeyn (H996) hashiryaan (H8302)] - between the openings and between the coat of mail; i:e., between the joints of the harness (as it is called in our version); i:e., armour. Some, less likely, render, the armpits (cf. Jeremiah 38:12). [Septuagint, ana meson tou pneumonos kai ana meson tou thoorakos, through the thorax and the lungs.] Dr. Meyric, an authority on ancient armour, remarks on this incident as follows: 'Beneath the breastplate were belts, plated with brass or other metal, and the uttermost of them was bound upon the bottom of the tunic, which connected the pectoral with the belts, and all of them together formed a tolerably perfect armour for the front of the whole body. These belts were generally two, one above the other, and appear similar to those that are represented in ancient Greek sculpture, though in some degree higher up.
This mode of arming perfectly explains the passage in Scripture where Ahab is said to have been smitten with an arrow between the openings or joints, that is, of the belts, and between the thorax or pectoral. The pectoral of the Egyptians was made of linen; and perhaps anciently that of the Jews was the same. In later times they seem to have been covered with plates of metal, and in the New Testament we meet with the words "breastplates of iron" (Revelation 9:9). The military sagum, or cloak, is called in our translation a habergeon, but the original is of doubtful signification, and occurs only twice. But of whatever kind the garment may have been, it had an aperture at the upper part, through which the head passed when it was put on the body. Strutt conjectures that it was the tunic upon which the thorax was put, and had the same relation to the thorax that the ephod had to the sacred pectoral or breastplate.' The corpse was conveyed to Samaria; and as the chariot which brought it was being washed in a pool near the city, from the blood that had profusely oozed from the wound, the dogs, in conformity with Elijah's prophecy, came and licked it.