Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.
Thou shalt build bulwarks against the city. It is evident that some sort of military engines were intended; and, accordingly, we know that in Egypt, where the Israelites learnt their military tactics, the method of conducting a siege was by throwing up banks, and making advances with moveable towers, or with the testudo (Wilkinson). Forts or towers were constructed with planks of timber, when intended to be stationary; but they were made of a lighter frame, covered with wicker-work, when movable (see 'Nineveh and its Remains,' 2:, p. 368, 9).