📖 Biblical Definition
The arrow is a versatile biblical metaphor. God Himself is a warrior whose arrows pierce the wicked: "If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts" (Ps 7:12-13). The tongue is an arrow — slander is "a treacherous bow... a sharp arrow" (Jer 9:3, 8). Children are "arrows in the hand of a warrior" (Ps 127:4): trained, aimed, and shot into the future at God's enemies — the patriarch's quiver is His legacy. The armor of God includes the shield of faith with which to extinguish "all the flaming darts of the evil one" (Eph 6:16). Arrows fly fast, wound deep, and come from a distance — which is why Scripture uses them so often for realities we cannot see forming against us.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
AR'ROW, n.
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AR'ROW, n. [Sax. arwe.] A missile weapon of offense, straight, slender, pointed, and barbed, to be shot with a bow. In Scripture, arrows are: the weapons of the warrior (Gen. 49:23); the judgments of God (Ps. 7:13); the slander of the wicked (Jer. 9:8); the words of reproof (Prov. 25:18); and, in a beautiful figure, children born to the godly father are as arrows in the hand of a mighty man, to be sent forth into all the earth for the honor of the kingdom (Ps. 127:4).
📖 Key Scripture
Psalm 127:4-5 — "Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!"
Ephesians 6:16 — "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one."
Psalm 7:13 — "He has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts."
Proverbs 25:18 — "A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern families plan for one or two "arrows"; Psalm 127 promises blessing to the man whose quiver is full.
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Scripture treats children as weapons — covenant arrows aimed into the future to strike at God's enemies in generations the father will never see. A quiver full is called blessed. Modern Western culture, operating on a radically different assumption (children are expensive inconveniences to be minimized), looks at a family of six and assumes poverty or chaos. Biblical families, knowing the theology of the arrow, saw large households as strategic deployments. The point is not fertility worship; the point is aim. An arrow badly shot is worse than no arrow; parents who merely have many children without forming them into faithful disciples have not done the aiming Scripture requires. Biblical fatherhood includes fletching, drawing, and releasing — training children for decades and then sending them into the world for the kingdom.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
H2671 — chets (חֵץ) — arrow.
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H2671 — chets (חֵץ) — arrow; used of both military and metaphorical arrows.
G956 — belos (βέλος) — arrow, missile; specifically the "flaming darts" of Eph 6:16.
Usage
"A blessed man has a full quiver. A distracted man has no arrows at all — or arrows he never drew."
"Words are arrows. Once released they fly fast and wound deep. Aim before you speak."