"I have set My bow in the cloud": Symbolism and myth

In this paper, we examine a case in which a narrative understandable to the contemporary viewer can appear in a textual context from a different period. Our case refers to the biblical narrative in which God places His bow in the cloud ("I have set My bow in the cloud") that appears at the end of the tale of the flood in the book of Genesis (Genesis 9: 12-17) and to similar descriptions and artistic depictions of gods and rulers holding a bow and arrows in the art of the Ancient Near East. The bow in the cloud is usually referred to as the natural phenomenon of a rainbow. Here, we suggest the possibility that it combines a reference to memory of distant myths in which the bow as a weapon or hunting tool represents a metaphor for a covenant between God in heaven and living creatures on earth. Since the possible coexistence of diverse cultural legacies in one arena implies some kind of communication between the corresponding cultures, we must also assume the possibility of the use of the same symbol in diverse contexts.