Quiver

The quiver appears in scripture as the case for arrows that travels with bow and hunter or warrior. Two scenes anchor the picture: a domestic hunting outfit, and a battlefield muster.

The Hunter's Outfit

Isaac's instruction to Esau pairs the quiver with the bow as the standard hunting kit: "Now therefore take, I pray you, your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt venison for me" (Ge 27:3). Quiver and bow stand together as "your weapons" — one item the arrows are carried in, one item that propels them.

The Weapon of War

The same equipment appears on the field of battle. In the oracle of Isaiah 22, foreign forces array against Jerusalem with their gear on display: "And Elam bore the quiver, with chariots of man [and] horsemen; and Kir uncovered the shield" (Isa 22:6). Here the quiver is shouldered as part of a national arsenal, named alongside chariots, horsemen, and the uncovered shield.