What does קֶשֶׁת (qešet) mean in the Bible?
קֶשֶׁת (qešet): Weapon of warfare whose strength becomes metaphor for human might and divine power in covenantal contexts.
Hebrew · H7198
קֶשֶׁת
A bow , for shooting (hence, figuratively, strength ) or the iris
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קֶשֶׁת H7198
Pronunciation qešet
What does קֶשֶׁת (qešet) mean in the Bible?
קֶשֶׁת (qešet): Weapon of warfare whose strength becomes metaphor for human might and divine power in covenantal contexts.
Full entry for קֶשֶׁת (H7198) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H7198?
The BSB source-word alignment has 76 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the bow (14), . . . (11), his bow (9), bow (5), a bow (4).
Where does קֶשֶׁת (qešet) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 9:13. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (10), Psalms (10), Isaiah (8), Genesis (7).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It the bow 14× 2 Samuel 1:22, 2 Kings 13:16, 1 Chronicles 5:18, 2 Chronicles 14:8
. . . 11× Genesis 21:16, 1 Samuel 31:3, 1 Chronicles 8:40, 1 Chronicles 10:3
his bow 9× Genesis 49:24, 1 Samuel 18:4, 1 Kings 22:34, 2 Kings 9:24
bow 5× Psalms 78:57, Jeremiah 49:35, Hosea 2:18, Hosea 7:16
a bow 4× 2 Samuel 22:35, 2 Kings 13:15, Psalms 18:34
and bow 2× Genesis 27:3, Genesis 48:22
arrow 2× Job 20:24, Job 41:28
bows 2× 2 Chronicles 26:14, Nehemiah 4:16
or bow 2× Joshua 24:12, 2 Kings 6:22
The bows 2× 1 Samuel 2:4, Ezekiel 39:9
their bows 2× Isaiah 5:28, Isaiah 13:18
[and] their bows 1× Jeremiah 51:56
[the Song of] the Bow 1× 2 Samuel 1:18
[their] bows 1× Psalms 11:2
and bows 1× Nehemiah 4:13
and my bow 1× Job 29:20
and the bow 1× Zechariah 9:10
and the rainbow 1× Genesis 9:14
and their bows 1× Psalms 37:15
And whenever the rainbow 1× Genesis 9:16
archers 1× Isaiah 21:17
as My bow 1× Zechariah 9:13
by bow 1× Hosea 1:7
in my bow 1× Psalms 44:6
like bows 1× Jeremiah 9:3
My rainbow 1× Genesis 9:13
of a rainbow 1× Ezekiel 1:28
with bow 1× Isaiah 7:24
with bows 1× 2 Chronicles 17:17
with his bow 1× Isaiah 41:2
without a bow 1× Isaiah 22:3
Your bow 1× Habakkuk 3:9
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 9:13 קַשְׁתִּ֕י to My rainbow Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular Genesis 9:14 הַקֶּ֖שֶׁת to and the rainbow Article | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 9:16 הַקֶּ֖שֶׁת to And whenever the rainbow Article | Noun - feminine singular Genesis 21:16 קֶ֔שֶׁת to . . . Noun - feminine singular Genesis 27:3 וְקַשְׁתֶּ֑ךָ to and bow Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular Genesis 48:22 וּבְקַשְׁתִּֽי׃פ to and bow Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular Genesis 49:24 קַשְׁתּ֔וֹ to his bow Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular Joshua 24:12 בְקַשְׁתֶּֽךָ׃ to or bow Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular 1 Samuel 2:4 קֶ֥שֶׁת to The bows Noun - feminine singular construct 1 Samuel 18:4 קַשְׁתּ֖וֹ to his bow Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 9:13
Aligned rows 76
Books represented 19
Genesis 7 Joshua 1 1 Samuel 3 2 Samuel 3 1 Kings 1 2 Kings 5 1 Chronicles 5 2 Chronicles 4 Nehemiah 2 Job 3 Psalms 10 Isaiah 8 Jeremiah 10 Lamentations 2 Ezekiel 3 Hosea 4 Amos 1 Habakkuk 1 Zechariah 3
Source forms
קֶ֣שֶׁת 10x qe·šeṯ 2 Kings 13:15, Job 20:24, Psalms 46:9, Isaiah 21:15
קֶ֔שֶׁת 4x qe·šeṯ Genesis 21:16, 1 Chronicles 5:18, 2 Chronicles 14:8, Jeremiah 50:14
קֶ֗שֶׁת 4x qe·šeṯ 1 Chronicles 8:40, 1 Chronicles 12:2, Psalms 11:2, Jeremiah 4:29
קָ֑שֶׁת 4x qā·šeṯ 2 Samuel 1:18, Job 41:28, Psalms 76:3, Psalms 78:9
בַּקָּ֑שֶׁת 3x baq·qā·šeṯ 1 Samuel 31:3, 1 Chronicles 10:3, 1 Chronicles 12:2
קֶ֥שֶׁת 3x qe·šeṯ 1 Samuel 2:4, 2 Kings 13:15, 2 Chronicles 17:17
בַּקֶּ֙שֶׁת֙ 2x baq·qe·šeṯ 1 Kings 22:34, 2 Chronicles 18:33
הַקֶּ֖שֶׁת 2x haq·qe·šeṯ Genesis 9:14, Genesis 9:16
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine singular 24x Genesis 21:16, 2 Samuel 1:18, 2 Kings 13:15, 1 Chronicles 5:18
Noun - feminine singular construct 9x 1 Samuel 2:4, 2 Samuel 1:22, 2 Samuel 22:35, Job 20:24
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular 7x Genesis 49:24, 1 Samuel 18:4, Psalms 7:12, Isaiah 41:2
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular 6x 1 Samuel 31:3, 1 Kings 22:34, 2 Kings 9:24, 1 Chronicles 10:3
Article | Noun - feminine singular 5x Genesis 9:14, Genesis 9:16, 2 Kings 13:16, Ezekiel 1:28
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural 2x 2 Chronicles 26:14, Isaiah 13:18
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural 2x Nehemiah 4:13, Psalms 37:15
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular 2x Ezekiel 39:3, Habakkuk 3:9
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Weapon of warfare whose strength becomes metaphor for human might and divine power in covenantal contexts.
Source Gloss
a bow , for shooting (hence, figuratively, strength ) or the iris
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Weapon of warfare whose strength becomes metaphor for human might and divine power in covenantal contexts.
a bow, for shooting (hence, figuratively, strength) or the iris BDB: bow Usage: × arch(-er), arrow, bow(-man, -shot).
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Figurative: God's bow in the sky as sign of covenant, symbol of divine strength
Literal: weapons of war, archer's instrument for military conflict and destruction
Literal: archer's weapon broken in judgment, symbol of strength removed from enemies
Literal: military weapons of invading army, instruments of warfare and conquest
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 76 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
קֶשֶׁת is built from these roots:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain