keshet · bow

What it means

keshet (קֶשֶׁת) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “bow”.

The weapon for shooting arrows; also the rainbow, which God sets in the clouds as a sign of his covenant.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. A curved wooden weapon with a string, which shoots arrows.
2. The rainbow, sign of the covenant.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Bow, the weapon for shooting arrows; in Genesis 9, the bow in the cloud. BDB: a bow, for shooting; from there an archer; also the rainbow.

• “My bow I have put in the cloud” Genesis 9:13
• The bow of the hunter or the warrior Genesis 27:31 Samuel 18:4
• “Take a bow and arrows”: Elisha's sign 2 Kings 13:15
• “Not in my bow do I trust”; “I will break the bow” Psalms 44:6Hosea 1:5
• The bow in Ezekiel's vision Ezekiel 1:28

Historical and cultural background

David's lament for Saul and Jonathan is called “the song of the Bow”, and it was taught to the sons of Judah (2 Samuel 1:18).

How we translate it

“Bow” 66 times and “bows” 8. In Genesis 9:13-16 and Ezekiel 1:28 it keeps “bow”, as the Hebrew says, without adding “rain”; the context (“in the cloud”) shows which bow it is.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• bow ×66
• bows ×8
• archer ×1
• bowshot away ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×7
• Joshua×1
• 1 Samuel×3
• 2 Samuel×3
• 1 Kings×1
• 2 Kings×5
• 1 Chronicles×5
• 2 Chronicles×4
• Nehemiah×2
• Job×3
• Psalms×10
• Isaiah×8
• Jeremiah×10
• Lamentations×2
• Ezekiel×3
• Hosea×4
• Amos×1
• Habakkuk×1
• Zechariah×3

• Genesis 9:13

  my bow I have put in the cloud, and it will be for a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

• Genesis 9:14

  And it will happen, when I bring clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the cloud,

• Genesis 9:16

  And the bow will be in the cloud, and I will see it to remember the eternal covenant between Elohim and every living being of all flesh that is on the earth.”

• Genesis 21:16

  Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about a bowshot away, for she said, “Let me not see the death of the child.” And she sat opposite him, lifted up her voice, and wept.

• Genesis 27:3

  So now, take, please, your gear, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me,

• Genesis 48:22

  And I have given you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

• Genesis 49:24

  but his bow remained steady, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, from there, the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel,

• Joshua 24:12

  And I sent the hornet before you, and it drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorite; not with your sword and not with your bow.

• 1 Samuel 2:4

  The bow of the mighty is broken, and those who stumbled have girded on strength.

• 1 Samuel 18:4

  Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his garment, and even his sword, and even his bow, and even his belt.

• 1 Samuel 31:3

  The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers, men with the bow, found him, and he trembled greatly because of the archers.

• 2 Samuel 1:18

  and he said to teach the sons of Judah the song of the Bow. Look, it is written in the Book of the Upright:

• 2 Samuel 1:22

  From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, and the sword of Saul did not return empty.

• 2 Samuel 22:35

  He trains my hands for war, and my arms bend a bow of bronze.

• 1 Kings 22:34

  But a man drew the bow in his simplicity, and struck the king of Israel between the joints and the breastplate. He said to his chariot driver, “Turn your hand and take me out of the camp, for I am wounded.”

• 2 Kings 6:22

  He said, “You shall not strike them. Would you strike those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, and let them eat and drink and go to their master.”

• 2 Kings 9:24

  Jehu filled his hand with the bow and struck Joram between his arms, and the arrow came out from his heart, and he sank down in his chariot.

• 2 Kings 13:15

  Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took for himself a bow and arrows.

• 2 Kings 13:16

  He said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the hands of the king.

• 1 Chronicles 5:18

  The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, of the valiant, men who carried shield and sword, who drew the bow, and trained for war, were forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty, who went out to the army.

• 1 Chronicles 8:40

  And the sons of Ulam were men, mighty men of valor, who drew the bow, and had many sons and sons’ sons, a hundred and fifty. All these were of the sons of Benjamin.

• 1 Chronicles 10:3

  And the battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers, men with the bow, found him, and he trembled because of the archers.

• 1 Chronicles 12:2

  Armed with the bow, using the right hand and the left with stones and with arrows from the bow, they were of the brothers of Saul, from Benjamin.

• 2 Chronicles 14:8

  Asa had a force carrying large shield and spear: from Judah, three hundred thousand; and from Benjamin, carrying shield and drawing the bow, two hundred and eighty thousand. All these were mighty men of valor.

• 2 Chronicles 17:17

  And from Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, and with him those armed with bow and shield, two hundred thousand;

• 2 Chronicles 18:33

  But a man drew the bow in his simplicity, and struck the king of Israel between the joints and the breastplate. He said to the chariot driver, “Turn your hand and take me out of the camp, for I am wounded.”

• 2 Chronicles 26:14

  Uzziah prepared for them, for all the army, shields, spears, helmets, coats of mail, bows, and stones for slings.

• Nehemiah 4:13

  So I stationed in the lowest parts of the place behind the wall, in the exposed places; I stationed the people by families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

• Nehemiah 4:16

  It happened from that day on that half of my young men were doing the work, and half of them were holding the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and the officials were behind all the house of Judah.

• Job 20:24

  He will flee from the weapon of iron; the bow of bronze will pierce him.

• Job 29:20

  My honor is new with me, and my bow in my hand is renewed.’

• Job 41:28

  The son of the bow does not make it flee; into stubble are turned for it the stones of the sling.

• Psalms 7:12

  If he does not turn back, he will sharpen his sword; he has bent his bow and made it ready.

• Psalms 11:2

  For look, the wicked bend the bow; they have made ready their arrow on the string to shoot in the darkness at the upright in heart.

• Psalms 18:34

  He trains my hands for war, and my arms bend a bow of bronze.

• Psalms 37:14

  The sword the wicked have drawn, and they have bent their bow to bring down the afflicted and the needy, to butcher the upright in their way.

• Psalms 37:15

  Their sword will enter into their own heart, and their bows will be broken.

• Psalms 44:6

  For not in my bow do I trust, and my sword does not save me.

• Psalms 46:9

  He brings an end to wars to the edge of the earth; the bow he breaks and cuts in two the spear; the wagons he burns in the fire.

• Psalms 76:3

  There he broke the flames of the bow, the shield and the sword and the war. Selah.

And 36 more times.