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BATTLEMENT
Defensive wall, with openings for shooting, on top of a fortress; by extension, a parapet or railing around any flat roof. Houses in the Near East were built with flat roofs, which were used for many different purposes. Rahab hid two Israelite spies on her roof (Jos 2:6). Saul slept on Samuel’s roof (1 Sm 9:25). King David from his roof saw Bathsheba taking a bath (2 Sm 11:2). People celebrated on rooftops (Is 22:1-2). Peter prayed on his roof (Acts 10:9). With so much activity on rooftops, it is easy to understand the need for the law “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if any one fall from it” (Dt 22:8, rsv).
City walls often had battlements at the gates and corners from which the city could be defended from attack. Hebrew words for such fortifications are often translated “towers” (2 Chr 26:15; Zep 1:16).