Sling

The sling was a simple but devastatingly effective weapon of the ancient world, consisting of a leather or woven pouch with two cords attached. The slinger placed a smooth stone in the pouch, whirled it overhead or at the side, and released one cord to hurl the projectile with great force and accuracy. Judges 20:16 mentions seven hundred Benjamite left-handed slingers so accurate they could hit a hair's breadth without missing. The sling was standard equipment in ancient Near Eastern armies alongside bows and spears.

David's defeat of Goliath with a sling and a single stone from the brook (1 Samuel 17:40–50) is the most famous biblical use of the weapon — David reached into his bag, took a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine in the forehead. This victory became symbolic of divine deliverance through unexpected instruments: God's power made effective through the weakness of a shepherd boy against a heavily armed giant. The same image recurs in Zechariah 9:15, which prophesies that the sons of Zion will be like a warrior's stones in a sling.