What does קֶשֶׁת (qešet) mean in the Bible?
H7198 is a Hebrew noun for a bow used to shoot arrows and, by the same curved shape, the rainbow. Genesis 9:13 names God's bow in the clouds as the sign of His covenant with the earth after the flood.
Hebrew · H7198
קֶשֶׁת
A bow , for shooting (hence, figuratively, strength ) or the iris
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קֶשֶׁתH7198
Pronunciationqešet
What does קֶשֶׁת (qešet) mean in the Bible?
H7198 is a Hebrew noun for a bow used to shoot arrows and, by the same curved shape, the rainbow. Genesis 9:13 names God's bow in the clouds as the sign of His covenant with the earth after the flood.
Reader summary
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).
What This Word Actually Means
H7198 is a Hebrew noun for a bow used to shoot arrows and, by the same curved shape, the rainbow. Genesis 9:13 names God's bow in the clouds as the sign of His covenant with the earth after the flood. Zechariah 9:10 promises that the bow of war will be broken as the coming king proclaims peace to the nations. Second Kings 6:22 refuses the proposed killing of captured enemies and instead directs that food and water be set before them.
Many other texts describe archers, battle training, wounds, weapons, judgment imagery, or the breaking of military power. H7198 opens covenant remembrance, skilled force, vulnerability, disarmament, and peace. It corrects romantic readings of ancient warfare and the opposite error of ignoring the texts' real violence, grief, defense, and judgment by turning every bow into a harmless spiritual metaphor.
How the Bible Uses It
H7198 ordinarily names the curved weapon used by archers and can stand for military strength or ranged attack. The same noun names the rainbow in covenant and glory settings. Weapon, sign, and poetic image must be distinguished by scene and syntax.
- Gen.9.13
I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.
God sets His bow in the clouds as the covenant sign between Himself and the earth after the flood.
- Zech.9.10
And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the bow of war will be broken. Then He will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
The promised king's reign includes the breaking of the bow of war and the proclamation of peace to the nations.
- 2Kgs.6.22
“Do not kill them,” he replied. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and then return to their master.”
Elisha forbids killing the captured enemy force and commands that food and water be provided before they return home.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itthe bow14×2 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 bow9×Genesis 49:24, 1 Samuel 18:4, 1 Kings 22:34, 2 Kings 9:24
bow5×Psalms 78:57, Jeremiah 49:35, Hosea 2:18, Hosea 7:16
a bow4×2 Samuel 22:35, 2 Kings 13:15, Psalms 18:34
and bow2×Genesis 27:3, Genesis 48:22
arrow2×Job 20:24, Job 41:28
bows2×2 Chronicles 26:14, Nehemiah 4:16
or bow2×Joshua 24:12, 2 Kings 6:22
The bows2×1 Samuel 2:4, Ezekiel 39:9
their bows2×Isaiah 5:28, Isaiah 13:18
[and] their bows1×Jeremiah 51:56
[the Song of] the Bow1×2 Samuel 1:18
[their] bows1×Psalms 11:2
and bows1×Nehemiah 4:13
and my bow1×Job 29:20
and the bow1×Zechariah 9:10
and the rainbow1×Genesis 9:14
and their bows1×Psalms 37:15
And whenever the rainbow1×Genesis 9:16
archers1×Isaiah 21:17
as My bow1×Zechariah 9:13
by bow1×Hosea 1:7
in my bow1×Psalms 44:6
like bows1×Jeremiah 9:3
My rainbow1×Genesis 9:13
of a rainbow1×Ezekiel 1:28
with bow1×Isaiah 7:24
with bows1×2 Chronicles 17:17
with his bow1×Isaiah 41:2
without a bow1×Isaiah 22:3
Your bow1×Habakkuk 3:9
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 9:13קַשְׁתִּ֕יtoMy rainbowNoun - feminine singular construct | first person common singularGenesis 9:14הַקֶּ֖שֶׁתtoand the rainbowArticle | Noun - feminine singularGenesis 9:16הַקֶּ֖שֶׁתtoAnd whenever the rainbowArticle | Noun - feminine singularGenesis 21:16קֶ֔שֶׁתto. . .Noun - feminine singularGenesis 27:3וְקַשְׁתֶּ֑ךָtoand bowConjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singularGenesis 48:22וּבְקַשְׁתִּֽי׃פtoand bowConjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singularGenesis 49:24קַשְׁתּ֔וֹtohis bowNoun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singularJoshua 24:12בְקַשְׁתֶּֽךָ׃toor bowPreposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular1 Samuel 2:4קֶ֥שֶׁתtoThe bowsNoun - feminine singular construct1 Samuel 18:4קַשְׁתּ֖וֹtohis bowNoun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 9:13
Aligned rows76
Books represented19
Genesis7Joshua11 Samuel32 Samuel31 Kings12 Kings51 Chronicles52 Chronicles4Nehemiah2Job3Psalms10Isaiah8Jeremiah10Lamentations2Ezekiel3Hosea4Amos1Habakkuk1Zechariah3
Source forms
קֶ֣שֶׁת10xqe·šeṯ2 Kings 13:15, Job 20:24, Psalms 46:9, Isaiah 21:15
קֶ֔שֶׁת4xqe·šeṯGenesis 21:16, 1 Chronicles 5:18, 2 Chronicles 14:8, Jeremiah 50:14
קֶ֗שֶׁת4xqe·šeṯ1 Chronicles 8:40, 1 Chronicles 12:2, Psalms 11:2, Jeremiah 4:29
קָ֑שֶׁת4xqā·šeṯ2 Samuel 1:18, Job 41:28, Psalms 76:3, Psalms 78:9
בַּקָּ֑שֶׁת3xbaq·qā·šeṯ1 Samuel 31:3, 1 Chronicles 10:3, 1 Chronicles 12:2
קֶ֥שֶׁת3xqe·šeṯ1 Samuel 2:4, 2 Kings 13:15, 2 Chronicles 17:17
בַּקֶּ֙שֶׁת֙2xbaq·qe·šeṯ1 Kings 22:34, 2 Chronicles 18:33
הַקֶּ֖שֶׁת2xhaq·qe·šeṯGenesis 9:14, Genesis 9:16
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine singular24xGenesis 21:16, 2 Samuel 1:18, 2 Kings 13:15, 1 Chronicles 5:18
Noun - feminine singular construct9x1 Samuel 2:4, 2 Samuel 1:22, 2 Samuel 22:35, Job 20:24
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular7xGenesis 49:24, 1 Samuel 18:4, Psalms 7:12, Isaiah 41:2
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular6x1 Samuel 31:3, 1 Kings 22:34, 2 Kings 9:24, 1 Chronicles 10:3
Article | Noun - feminine singular5xGenesis 9:14, Genesis 9:16, 2 Kings 13:16, Ezekiel 1:28
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural2x2 Chronicles 26:14, Isaiah 13:18
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural2xNehemiah 4:13, Psalms 37:15
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular2xEzekiel 39:3, Habakkuk 3:9
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not use ancient Israelite battles or divine-warrior poetry to authorize a present war, militia, weapon purchase, threat, or act of retaliation.
- Do not demand that people facing immediate danger remain unprotected; peace teaching should accompany wise safety planning and lawful help.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every H7198 occurrence is a covenant rainbow; most occurrences concern a weapon or its associated power.
- Do not claim that possessing or rejecting a modern weapon by itself proves faithfulness; the cited texts require fuller moral and legal discernment.
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 definitionSource: 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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
H7198 holds together two sharply different images. The bow can project violence beyond arm's reach, and Scripture records armies trained to use it, kings wounded by it, cities terrified by archers, and proud military power brought down. These accounts should not be polished into adventure stories. They name death, vulnerability, and the limits of martial skill.
Yet the curved bow also appears in the clouds as God's covenant sign after judgment. Later hope pictures the bow of war broken under a king who proclaims peace. Second Kings gives a striking narrative practice: captured enemies are not slaughtered but fed and sent home, and raids cease for a time. The canon does not turn these scenes into a simplistic policy for every threat, nor does it authorize believers to identify their own violence directly with God's judgment imagery.
It teaches communities to distrust weapons as saviors, protect those exposed to harm, pursue restraint and mercy, and long for peace under God's rule. Responsible teaching names trauma and defensive questions honestly while refusing recruitment rhetoric that baptizes nationalism, revenge, or fascination with force.
Anchor passage
Zech.9.10
Doctrinal connections
- H7198: the bow in the clouds serves as a covenant sign of God's remembered commitment to the earth after judgment.
- H7198: military skill and ranged power remain fragile and cannot replace trust in God's saving action.
- H7198: Scripture records the terror and injury caused by weapons without requiring readers to celebrate the violence described.
- H7198: mercy toward captured enemies can interrupt cycles of killing and display a form of strength beyond retaliation.
- H7198: messianic peace includes the breaking of war's instruments and the proclamation of peace across nations.
- H7198: divine-warrior poetry declares God's judgment but does not grant private persons authority to cast their enemies as God's targets.
H7198 names a curved bow, most often the weapon used with arrows and sometimes the archer or military strength by association. Because the same form names the rainbow, cloud, covenant, color, battle, and shooting contexts must not be conflated.
From Old to New Testament
New Testament teaching presents Jesus as the king of peace, commands love of enemies, and locates the church's struggle outside fleshly weapons. Revelation's martial imagery must be read as apocalyptic judgment under the Lamb, not as a license for private violence.