In the Bible, the bow is often used figuratively to convey various spiritual truths and principles. This imagery draws from the bow's role as a weapon of war and a tool for hunting, symbolizing strength, power, and sometimes judgment or deliverance.

1. Symbol of God's Judgment and Power: The bow is frequently associated with God's judgment and might. In Habakkuk 3:9, the prophet describes God's readiness to execute judgment: "You brandished Your bow; You called for many arrows. Selah. You split the earth with rivers." Here, the bow signifies God's preparedness to act decisively against His enemies.

2. Instrument of Deliverance: Conversely, the bow can also symbolize deliverance and protection. In 2 Samuel 22:35, David praises God for equipping him for battle: "He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze." This metaphor highlights God's empowerment of His servants to overcome adversaries.

3. Metaphor for Deceit and Falsehood: The bow is sometimes used to depict deceit and treachery. In Psalm 64:3-4, the psalmist describes the wicked: "who sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows, ambushing the innocent in seclusion, shooting suddenly, without fear." Here, the bow and arrows represent the harmful and deceitful words of the wicked.

4. Symbol of Covenant and Peace: The bow also appears as a symbol of covenant and peace. In Genesis 9:13, God sets the rainbow in the sky as a sign of His covenant with Noah: "I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth." The rainbow, a bow of many colors, signifies God's promise to never again destroy the earth with a flood, representing peace and divine faithfulness.

5. Representation of Human Strength and Pride: The bow can also symbolize human strength and pride, which are ultimately futile without God. In Hosea 1:5, God declares, "On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel." This breaking of the bow signifies the end of Israel's military power and self-reliance, emphasizing the need for dependence on God.

6. Image of Spiritual Warfare: In the New Testament, the concept of spiritual warfare is illustrated with the imagery of a bow. Revelation 6:2 describes a rider on a white horse: "He held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out to overcome and conquer." This figure, often interpreted as a representation of Christ or a conquering force, uses the bow as a symbol of spiritual victory and divine authority.

The figurative use of the bow in Scripture serves to communicate profound truths about God's nature, human reliance on divine strength, and the spiritual realities of judgment, deliverance, and covenant. Through these vivid images, the Bible conveys the multifaceted role of the bow in the divine narrative.Genesis 49:24
But his bow stayed in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
Nave's Topical Index

Job 16:13
His archers compass me round about, he splits my reins asunder, and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground.
Nave's Topical Index

Job 29:20
My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand.
Nave's Topical Index

Psalm 78:57
But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
Nave's Topical Index

Lamentations 3:12
He has bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.
Nave's Topical Index

Hosea 1:5
And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel, in the valley of Jezreel.
Nave's Topical Index

Habakkuk 3:9
Your bow was made quite naked, according to the oaths of the tribes, even your word. Selah. You did split the earth with rivers.
Nave's Topical Index

Revelation 6:2
And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given to him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
Nave's Topical Index

4133. motah -- a pole, bar (of a yoke)
... Feminine of mowt; a pole; by implication, an ox-bow; hence, a yoke (either literal
or figurative) -- bands, heavy, staves, yoke. see HEBREW mowt. 4132, 4133. ...
/hebrew/4133.htm - 6k

The Second Commandment
... image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone to bow down unto it ... to signify
his power, yet it is absurd, from such metaphors and figurative expressions, to ...
/.../watson/the ten commandments/2 2 the second commandment.htm

Living Stones on the Living Foundation Stone
... The context explains the figurative expression, in the very next verse or two, by ...
reach out its tendrils towards, and grasp, and twine round Him, bow our wills ...
/.../expositions of holy scripture ephesians peter/living stones on the living.htm

Introduction.
... Certain figurative lessons, differing from the parable on the one hand, and the ... At
Elisha's request, Joash, King of Israel, shot arrows from a bow, in token of ...
//christianbookshelf.org/arnot/the parables of our lord/introduction.htm

The Great Assize
... Christ." "For, as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me ... and great, stand
before God; and the books were opened" (a figurative expression, plainly ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 15 the great assize.htm

Hid in Light
... The 'face' of God is so strongly figurative an expression that its metaphorical ... the
radiant arrows of Apollo shot forth from his far-reaching bow, wounded to ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture j/hid in light.htm

Jairus' Daughter and the Invalid Woman.
... at Jesus' feet, ^a and worshipped him [It was a very lowly act for the ruler of
a synagogue thus to bow before the ... [Jesus used this figurative language with ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lviii jairus daughter and the.htm

The Lord's Supper --Preliminary Observations.
... Reason must ever be taken captive and made to bow before the heavenly things ... A will
is the last place where one would use ambiguous or figurative language. ...
/.../chapter xiii the lords supperpreliminary.htm

On the Baptism of Christ.
... Son also we bow, that the same end may be fulfilled: we bow also before ... him with
the clean and fair apparel; teaching us by the figurative illustration that ...
/.../gregory/gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/on the baptism of christ.htm

The Scope of the Apocalypse is Indicated by Its Place in the ...
... of the horse and the fact that no arrow is seen attached to the bow, suggests bloodless ...
Second, they supply a figurative description of the Emperor himself. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/the scope of the apocalypse.htm

Chapter xxxiii
... because there is another expression which signifies the deepest bow in which ... worship
of God." Since the expression is plainly figurative, Procksch introduces ...
/.../leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xxxiii.htm

What does it mean that Jesus has the name above all names? | GotQuestions.org

What are the Catholic Ten Commandments? | GotQuestions.org

What is the definition of idolatry? | GotQuestions.org

Bow: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus