weapons were basically the same. A sword was a piercing or cutting weapon, with which a warrior might stab or slash an enemy. Some swords were designed to pierce, others to slash. All swords had two parts, a handle or hilt and a blade. The blade was usually straight, but one unusual variation was the sickle sword. This weapon featured a curved blade with the sharp edge on the outside. Swords were the basic weapon of a Hebrew soldier. The Biblical phrase that identified a man as a soldier was that