Aron Pinker, «The Lord’s Bow in Habakkuk 3,9a», Vol. 84 (2003) 417-420

This note suggests that the enigmatic tw$+%m tw$(b# refers to the Lord’s bow, which in the Hebrew Bible is associated with the rainbow. Habakkuk views symbolically the Lord’s bow as an unusually powerful composite bow of seven rods, as the rainbow consists of seven colors. Hab 3,9a K1t@#q rw$(t hyr( hls rm) tw$+%m tw$(b# is understood in the sense Naked bare Your bow, of seven strips! (say Selah), where say Selah is a later editorial instruction to the person who recites the Psalm to say the word hls at this point, and thereby indicate an interlude, or distinction from what follows.

ridiculous to Habakkuk that the Lord would have to put a spell on the tw$+%m to make them work. While not every interpretation and emendation of tw$(b#¹⁰ can be discussed in this short note, it is reasonable to posit that the meaning "seven" for tw$(b#, supported by the Septuagint and Ezek 45,21, would be acceptable if the proper context could be found¹¹. I believe that this context is that of the rainbow and composite bow¹².

        The relation between the Lord’s bow in Hab 3,9 and the rainbow has not escaped the notice of some commentators. Tanhum mentions an opinion that K1t@#q refers to the rainbow¹³. Similarly, Ehrlich understands K1t@#q here as referring to the rainbow, and as an indication that the upheaval in nature will not result in a flood¹⁴. Bolle, in his explanation of Hab 3,11 notes, "Habakkuk likened the rainbow in heaven on a rainy day to God’s battle bow and the lightnings to His arrows and spears"¹⁵. However, no one of these commentators made the link between the Lord’s bow and tw$+%m tw$(b#.

        The masculine noun (plural) tw$+%m means "branches, rods, staff, scepters, spears, tribes". The Septuagint translates tw$+%m as "scepters" (skh=ptra), the Targum as "tribes" ()y+b#) and so does the Vulgate (tribubus), the Peshitta as "arrows,"