2Sa 22:35 | NETfull | STEP | He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend even the strongest bow.

2 Samuel 22:35

35 He trains ^{▼▼ Heb “teaches.”} my hands for battle; ^{▼▼ The psalmist attributes his skill with weapons to divine enabling. Egyptian reliefs picture gods teaching the king how to shoot a bow. See O. Keel, Symbolism of the Biblical World, 265.}
my arms can bend even the strongest bow. ^{▼▼ Heb “and a bow of bronze is bent by my arms.” The verb נָחֵת (nakhet) apparently means “to pull back; to bend” here (see HALOT 692 s.v. נחת). The bronze bow referred to here was probably laminated with bronze strips, or a purely ceremonial or decorative bow made entirely from bronze. In the latter case the language is hyperbolic, for such a weapon would not be functional in battle.}