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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadInternational Standard Bible Encyclopedia: Battle-Bow
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bat´'l-bo: Found in the striking Messianic prophecy: “The battle bow shall be cut off†(). 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 ). The battle-bow was sometimes made of tough wood, sometimes of two straight horns joined together (Hom. Il. iv.105-11), and sometimes of bronze. In the Revised Version (British and American) we find “bow of brass,†but it probably should be of “bronze†(× ×—×©×ת, nehÌ£oÌ„sheth), 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 bronzeâ€), as well as of that in (“And Jehu drew his bow with his full strengthâ€) is that it required great strength to bend the battle-bow. See ARCHERY; ARMOR.