ירמיהו, פרק מ״ו, פסוק ג׳

A prophetic vision captures the tense moments before a major battle between superpowers, sounding a military call to ready weapons and step onto the battlefield. There are two primary ways to understand the target of this command. It might be directed at the Babylonian army led by King Nebuchadnezzar, ordering his forces to prepare for an assault on Egypt. Alternatively, the call is aimed at Pharaoh's Egyptian army, urging them to brace for the incoming Babylonian invasion [רד״ק].

Approached from this second perspective, the command carries a tone of sharp irony and mockery [מצודת דוד]. Egypt, a nation that had already ceased launching military campaigns beyond its own borders, is told to go through the motions of arming itself. The soldiers are instructed to make all the preliminary preparations for war, even though it is entirely clear they will not be able to survive the coming onslaught [מלבי״ם].

The order to prepare involves carefully arranging and readying military gear [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Specifically, the focus is on two distinct types of defensive armor meant to keep soldiers safe from harm. While both serve to protect, they are completely different in their design and function [רד״ק, מצודת ציון]. The first type of shield is crafted from processed, boiled leather, which soldiers would rub with oil just before entering combat [רש״י]. This shield is primarily designed to protect against incoming arrows [מלבי״ם]. The second type is a much larger, wider shield made of wood [רש״י]. It is built to surround the soldier from three sides [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ], providing a heavy defense intended to absorb and block close range strikes from swords and spears [מלבי״ם].