BATTLE-BOW

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. II. 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" (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 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.

George B. Eager

The war-bow used in fighting (Zechariah 9:10; 10:4). "Thy bow was made quite naked" (Habakkuk 3:9) means that it was made ready for use. By David's order (2 Samuel 1:18) the young men were taught the use, or rather the song of the bow. (see ARMOUR, BOW.)