Biblical Lexicon

H7198 H7198

Prep-b | 76× in 2 senses

Bow — a weapon for shooting arrows in warfare or hunting; also the rainbow as God's covenantal sign in the sky.

In the Hebrew Bible, qesheth most often refers to the warrior's bow, a primary weapon of ancient Near Eastern combat. The bow symbolizes military strength (Gen 49:24; 1 Sam 2:4) and its breaking signifies divine disarmament (Hos 1:5; Ps 46:9). In four memorable passages, however, the same word denotes the rainbow — God's bow set in the clouds as the sign of His covenant never again to destroy the earth by flood (Gen 9:13-16; Ezek 1:28). Most languages use a single term for both, though several translations distinguish the celestial sense with a compound like 'rainbow.'

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Senses

1. bow (weapon) — The weapon bow used to shoot arrows in battle or hunting. This is the dominant sense across 72 occurrences, confirmed by translations uniformly rendering it as a weapon: Spanish 'arco,' French 'arc,' German 'Bogen.' It represents military might — Joseph's bow remained strong (Gen 49:24), Jonathan's bow never turned back (2 Sam 1:22), and God breaks the bow to end war (Ps 46:9). The 'Song of the Bow' (2 Sam 1:18) is David's lament for the fallen warrior. 72×

ARTIFACTS › Artifacts › Bow Weapon Rainbow

AR["القَوْس", "القَوْسَ", "الْقَوْسَ", "الْقَوْسِ", "قَوسٍ", "قَوْسًا", "قَوْسٌ", "قَوْسٍ"]·ben["-ধনুকের", "তীরের", "ধনু", "ধনুক", "ধনুকের", "ধনুর"]·DE["Bogen", "der-Bogen"]·EN["bow", "the-bow"]·FR["arc", "le-arc"]·heb["קשת"]·HI["केशेत", "धनुष", "धनुष-का"]·ID["Busur", "busur", "panah"]·IT["arco", "il-arco"]·jav["Panah", "gandhewa", "gandhèwa", "gandhéwa", "panah"]·KO["활", "활-을", "활과", "활을", "활의"]·PT["Arco", "arco", "de-arco", "do-arco", "o-arco"]·RU["Лук", "из-лука", "лук", "лука", "луком", "луку"]·ES["Arco", "arco"]·SW["Upinde", "upinde"]·TR["yay", "yayiin", "yayı", "yayın"]·urd["کمان", "کمان-کے"]

Gen 49:24, 1 Sam 2:4, 1 Sam 18:4, 1 Sam 31:3, 2 Sam 1:18, 2 Sam 1:22, 2 Sam 22:35, 2 Kgs 9:24, 2 Kgs 13:15, 2 Kgs 13:15, 1 Chr 5:18, 1 Chr 8:40 (+38 more)

2. rainbow (bow in sky) — The rainbow, God's bow placed in the clouds as a covenant sign after the Flood. Found in Genesis 9:13-16 and Ezekiel 1:28, the multilingual evidence shows some languages use the same word as the weapon bow while others employ a distinct compound ('rainbow' in English, 'arco iris' in some Spanish renderings). The possessive 'my bow' (Gen 9:13) frames the rainbow as God's own weapon, now hung up in the sky as a pledge of peace. 4×

ARTIFACTS › Artifacts › Bow Weapon Rainbow

AR["الـ-قَوْسِ", "الْ-قَوْسُ", "قَوْسِي"]·ben["-ধনুকের", "আমার-ধনুক", "রংধনু"]·DE["Bogen", "der-Bogen", "meinen-Bogen"]·EN["my-bow", "the-bow"]·FR["arc", "le-arc", "mon-arc"]·heb["ה-קשת", "קשת-י"]·HI["ते-धनुष", "धनुस", "मेरी-धनुस"]·ID["busur-Ku", "pelangi"]·IT["il-arco", "mio-arco"]·jav["gandewa-Kula", "ing-kluwung", "kluwung-punika"]·KO["그-무지개-가", "그-무지개의", "나의-무지개"]·PT["arco-Meu", "o-arco"]·RU["радуга", "радуги", "радугу-Мою"]·ES["el-arco", "mi-arco"]·SW["upinde-wa-mvua", "upinde-wangu-wa-mvua"]·TR["-gökkuşağı", "gökkuşağımı", "görünüşü"]·urd["دھنک-کی", "قوسِ-قزح", "قوسِ-قزح-اپنی"]

Gen 9:13, Gen 9:14, Gen 9:16, Ezek 1:28

BDB / Lexicon Reference

† קֶ֫שֶׁת n.f. Gn 9:14 (appar. m. 2 S 1:22 but v. AlbrZAW xvi (1896) 91) bow (orig. √ perhaps קושׁ, meaning unknown; NH id.; Assyrian ḳaštu; Ethiopic ቀስት: Arabic قَوْسٌ, pl. قُسِىٌّ, قِسِىٌّ, etc.; 𝔗 קַשְׁתָּא and (ט for ת after ק) קוּשְׁטָא (rare), all bow, קַשָּׁתָא bowman; Syriac ܩܶܫܬܳܐ bow, ܩܰܫܳܬܳܐ bowman; Old Aramaic קשת bow, Mand. כשטא (Frä 206); Palm. קשטא bowman);—abs. ק׳ Ho 1:7 +,…