MANTELET, man’ təl ĕt (סֹכֵֽכְ, meaning uncertain, KJV “defence,” Nah 2:5) A movable shelter used to protect besiegers.

The word occurs only in Nahum 2:5 (RSV) in a prophecy of the final attack on Nineveh. The Heb. root can mean “to weave together” as well as “to screen, cover.” Both the LXX (prophylakē) and the Vul. (umbraculum) took the word to be a type of protection. Assyrian bas-reliefs depict thick shields made of reeds behind which the besieging archers stand (ANEP, #368, 369). See Armor, Arms.