| Word | American Tract Society - Definition |
| BOW | A weapon much used in ancient times, both for hunting and for war. It was made of wood, horn, or steel, Ge 27:3 Ps 18:34; and the foot was sometimes used in bending it. It was carried in a case, when not used, Hab 3:19. The Benjamites were celebrated for their skill in the use of this weapon, 1Ch 12:2 2Ch 14:8 17:17. See ARMS. The phrase, "a deceitful bow," to which the people of Israel are compared, Ps 78:57 Ho 7:16, means an ill-made or twisted bow, which does not shoot the arrow as it is aimed. In 2Sa 1:18, we read. "Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow." Here the words, "the use of," are not in the Hebrew. The use of the bow in war had long been common among the Jews, Ge 48:22; and to "teach them the bow," is by some supposed to mean, teach them by some supposed to mean, teach them the song of THE BOW, the lamentation over Saul and Jonathan, which follows; so called from the mention of the weapon in Ge 48:22, as the first four books in the Bible take their title in Hebrew from the first word in each. See ARROW. |