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Sunday, November 24th, 2024
the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
Bible Encyclopedias
Battle-Bow
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
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bat ´'l -bo : Found in the striking Messianic prophecy: "The battle bow shall be cut off" (Zechariah 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 Zechariah 10:4 ). The battle-bow was sometimes made of tough wood, sometimes of two straight horns joined together (Hom. Il . iv.105-11), and sometimes of bronze. In Psalm 18:34 the Revised Version (British and American) we find "bow of brass ," but it probably should be of "bronze" (נחשׁת , neḥōsheth ), 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 2 Kings 9:24 ("And Jehu drew his bow with his full strength") is that it required great strength to bend the battle-bow. See ARCHERY; ARMOR .
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Bibliography Information
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'Battle-Bow'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​isb/​b/battle-bow.html. 1915.