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.

and Barberini as "missiles" (bolidaj). The meaning "scepter or staff" for tw$+%m is supported by the customary usage of the term mt[ in Akkadian, Ugaritic, and Hebrew, where the term occurs usually in the singular and must be understood as "a mace or scepter". tw$+%m was translated here as "soldier’s spear"¹⁶, "war, campaign, fight"¹⁷, "yoke shafts"¹⁸, "clubs"¹⁹, "arrow"²⁰, etc. The range of meanings that were assigned to tw$+%m depicts the ambiguity encountered with the second colon of Hab 3,9. For the basic meaning of h+%m and its plural tw$+%m is clear, and among the many uses of h+%m was being a component of a bow.

        It is thus natural to consider tw$+%m tw$(b# as referring to the Lord’s bow (K1t@#q) and mean "seven strips;" i.e., the Lord’s bow is a composite bow made of seven strips or layers of wood as the rainbow consists of seven colored layers. It would have been impossible for a human to bend such a bow and it would have been very powerful if used. tw$(b# means "seven" as in Ezek 45,21 and as suggested by the Septuagint, and tw$+%m has the basic meaning "rods," in particular slats for constructing a composite bow. Associating the Lord’s bow with the holy number "seven" symbolizes a measure of divine vengeance (Gen 4,15 and 24) and perhaps how miraculous it was. The description of the Lord’s bow would be akin to that of Marduk’s bow in Enuma elish

The Lord received the Bow, and set His weapon down in front of Them.
The Gods His fathers looked at the net, which He had made,
Looked at the Bow, how miraculous Her construction,
And His fathers praised the deeds that He had done.

        In summary, I suggest reading Hab 3,9a tw$(b# (K1t@#q) K1t@#q rw$(t hyr( (hls rm)) tw$+%m with the meaning Naked bare Your bow, of seven strips! (say Selah). This interpretation rests on the association of the Lord’s bow in the Hebrew Bible with the seven components of the rainbow, and the ancient concept of the composite bow. tw$+%m tw$(b# then describes the Lord’s bow.