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.'

Read in Bible → Strong's / BibleHub Blue Letter Bible

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)

▼ 1 more sense below

Senses

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 +,…