Buckler
(1.) A portable shield (2 Sam 22:31; 1 Chr 5:18).
(2.) A shield surrounding the person; the targe or round form; used once figuratively (Ps 91:4).
(3.) A large shield protecting the whole body (Ps 35:2; Ezek 23:24; Ezek 26:8).
(4.) A lance or spear; improperly rendered “buckler” in the Authorized Version (1 Chr 12:8), but correctly in the Revised Version “spear.”
The leather of shields required oiling (2 Sam 1:21; Isa 21:5), so as to prevent its being injured by moisture. Copper (= “brass”) shields were also in use (1 Sam 17:6; 1 Kgs 14:27). Those spoken of in 1 Kgs 10:16, etc.; 1 Kgs 14:26, were probably of massive metal.
The shields David had taken from his enemies were suspended in the temple as mementoes (2 Kgs 11:10). (See Armour, Shield.)
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), by Matthew George Easton.
