Topic
Battle-bow
6 passages cited, from 2 classic reference works.
These works date from 1897–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Zechariah 9:10Easton · ISBE
And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
- Zechariah 10:4Easton · ISBE
Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.
- 2 Samuel 1:18Easton
(Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)
- 2 Kings 9:24ISBE
And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.
- Psalms 18:34ISBE
He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
- Habakkuk 3:9Easton
Thy bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even thy word. Selah. Thou didst cleave the earth with rivers.
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 4 references
The war-bow used in fighting (Zech. 9:10; 10:4). “Thy bow was made quite naked” (Hab. 3:9) means that it was made ready for use. By David’s order (2 Sam. 1:18) the young men were taught the use, or rather the song of the bow. (See ARMOUR, BOW.)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 4 references
bat'-'-l-bo: Found in the striking Messianic prophecy: "The battle bow shall be cut off" (Zec 9:10). The prophet is predicting the peace that shall prevail when Zion's king cometh, "just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass." The words convey their full significance only when read in the light of the context: "I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off; and he shall speak peace unto the nations" (compare Zec 10:4). The battle-bow was sometimes made of tough wood, sometimes of two straight horns joined together (Hom. II. iv.105-11), and sometimes of bronze. In Ps 18:34 the Revised Version (British and American) we find "bow of brass," but it probably should be of "bronze" (nechosheth), a metal very different from our brass, which is a mixture of copper and zinc. The point of the passage in this connection ("He teacheth my hands to war; so that mine arms do bend a bow of bronze"), as well as of that in 2Ki 9:24 ("And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength") is that it required great strength to bend the battle-bow.
George B. Eager
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.