umm...

[cmacq]

Slingers were often used enmass in the ancient world, but if you look at the musters in the Bible, the size of the specific units of slingers compared to infantry that were raised from the Tribes of Israel were quite small. (plus, regardless to say, there were many more units of infantry) And Israelites at this time were a shepherd people. 'Units' of slingers were drawn from individual families/tribes, and so were not very big. Also, I think that a bigger distinction needs to be made between professional and nonprofessional slingers, AND that the shield factor needs to be higher. I am sick of saying this, and I am making my own rebalance, so I am not gonna check this thread much/at all until I complete it.

If one wants to be taken seriously, one must be specific. Also if one wants to be specific and cite a reference, please do so. For example:

II Kings 3:25
׃וְהֶעָרִ֣ים יַהֲרֹ֡סוּ וְכָל־חֶלְקָ֣ה טֹ֠ובָה יַשְׁלִ֨יכוּ אִישׁ־אַבְנֹ֜ו וּמִלְא֗וּהָ וְכָל־מַעְיַן־מַ֤יִם יִסְתֹּ֙מוּ֙ וְכָל־עֵֽץ־טֹ֣וב יַפִּ֔ילוּ עַד־הִשְׁאִ֧יר אֲבָנֶ֛יהָ בַּקִּ֖יר חֲרָ֑שֶׂת וַיָּסֹ֥בּוּ הַקַּלָּעִ֖ים וַיַּכּֽוּהָ׃

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Thus they destroyed the cities; and each one threw a stone on every piece of good land and filled it. So they stopped all the springs of water and felled all the good trees, until in Kir-hareseth only they left its stones; however, the slingers went about it and struck it.

King James
And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.

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Also by use of Tribes of Israel indicates the period from the late middle Bronze age up until the end of the united monarchy. So I believe you're talking about the Near Eastern Late Bronze or Early Iron ages. After this period Israel was not but a pleasant fiction. I'm not entirely sure how that would compare to the EB time frame, that is unless you’re intent is to imply that detailed information that was included for the Tribes of Israel context, actually relates to the late 1st millennium BC. The period in which the text was composed, rather than the period mentioned in the texts?


CmacQ