2 Chronicles 26:15

15 And he made in Jerusalem engines of diverse kind, which he set in towers, and in the corners of walls, that those should cast out arrows and great stones (from which they would send out arrows and great stones); and his name went out far, for the Lord helped him, and had made him strong.

2 Chronicles 26:15 Meaning and Commentary

2 Chronicles 26:15

And he made in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to
be on the towers, and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great
stones withal
Such as with the Romans were called "catapultae", "ballistae" ^F21, "scorpiones" ^F23 and by this it appears that these were not first invented in Greece and Rome, but in Judea. It is said ^F24, that the Romans received the machine to batter cities from the Greeks, and that the Trojan horse was no other than a battering ram; but if they did, the invention of them must be ascribed, not to them, but rather to the Syrians and Phoenicians, according to Pliny {y}; though others ^F26 suppose the Carthaginians, who were a colony of theirs, to be the inventors of them; yet, after all, they seem to be the device of some skilful men among the Jews, in the times of Uzziah; according to Diodorus Siculus ^F1, they were not found out when Nineveh was besieged in the times of Sardanapalus:

and his name spread far abroad;
in distant countries, for his warlike dispositions and preparations, which made them stand in fear of him:

for he was helped until he was strong;
he was wonderfully helped by the Lord to build fortified places, raise a numerous army, and provide all sorts of armour for them, and invent such machines as would greatly annoy the enemy, whereby he became very potent, and injected dread round about him.

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FOOTNOTES:

F21 Cicero. Tusculan. Quaest. l. 2. Tacit. Hist. l. 3. c. 23.
F23 Ammian. Marcellin. l. 23.
F24 Vid. Valtrinum de re militari Roman. l. 5. c. 6.
F25 Nat. Hist. l. 7. c. 56.
F26 Vitruvius de Architectura, l. 10. c. 19. Tertullian. de Pallio, c. 1. & Salmasius in ib. Vid. Turnebi Adversaria, l. 29. c. 18.
F1 Bibliothec. l. 2. p. 113.

2 Chronicles 26:15 In-Context

13 And under them was all the host, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that were able to battle (who were well able for battle), and fought for the king against (his) adversaries.

14 And Uzziah made ready to them, that is, to all the host, shields, and spears, and basinets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones. (And Uzziah had made for all his army, many shields, and spears, helmets, and breastplates, and bows, and slings to throw stones.)

15 And he made in Jerusalem engines of diverse kind, which he set in towers, and in the corners of walls, that those should cast out arrows and great stones (from which they would send out arrows and great stones); and his name went out far, for the Lord helped him, and had made him strong.

16 But when he was made strong, his heart was raised up into his perishing; and he despised the Lord his God (for he defied the Lord his God); and he entered into the temple of the Lord, and would burn incense upon the altar of incense.

17 And anon Azariah, the priest, entered after him, and with him sixty priests of the Lord, men full noble; (And at once, the High Priest Azariah went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the Lord, all very noble men;)