HEBREW WORD STUDY

(Rainbow) (1)qešeṯ Of the seventy-seven occurrences of qešeṯ () in the OT, virtually all of them refer to the familiar weapon that shoots arrows (2 Kings 9:24) used by the hunter (Gen. 27:3) and the warrior (1 Sam. 31:3). The bow is a truly ancient weapon, mentioned first in Genesis 21:20 (about 2000 bc) as being the weapon of choice of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and the Egyptian woman Hagar, but unquestionably existing before him. It was the common long-distance weapon (300-400 yards) of the Egyptians, Syrians (1 Kings 22:34), Philistines (1 Sam. 31:3), Elamites (Isa. 22:6), Lydians (Jer. 46:9), and ultimately the Hebrews (2 Sam. 1:18), of the which the Benjamites were experts (1 Chron. 8:40). The Septuagint uses the equivalent toxon (, Rev. 6:2). Used figuratively, the bow symbolized victory (Ps. 7:12), as well as falsehood and deceit (Ps. 64:3, 4; Hosea 7:16; Jer. 9:3). It also pictured disease or calamity sent by God (Job 6:4; Ps. 38:2), which leads us to the other use of qešeṯ. A Hebrew Word for the Day: Key Words from the Old Testament.Genesis 1:1