Hebrew word · H7199

קַשָּׁת

kashat

bowman

'Bowman, archer.' It comes from qeshet, 'bow', in the noun pattern used for trades and habitual roles (gannav 'thief', dayyan 'judge', ḥammar 'donkey-driver'). It is found only here.

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 07, 2026

What it means

bowman, archer

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Genesis 21:20

Range of meaning: 'Bowman, archer.' It comes from qeshet, 'bow', in the noun pattern used for trades and habitual roles (gannav 'thief', dayyan 'judge', ḥammar 'donkey-driver'). It is found only here.
Against the English: All versions say 'archer' or 'bow', which is accurate. English cannot easily show that this is a trade noun naming what he habitually does and is known for.
Used elsewhere in the period: Isaiah 21:16–17 speaks of 'the archers (qeshet), the mighty men of the sons of Kedar'. Kedar is Ishmael's second son (Gen 25:13). Assyrian royal records from the 8th–7th centuries BC mention Qedarite Arabs as desert fighters and caravan people. Ishmaelites appear as caravan traders in Gen 37:25.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

Genesis 21:20 קַשָּֽׁת׃ a bowman

And God was with the boy, and he grew up and settled in the wilderness and became a great archer.

Here: A noun for a person's trade, built from qeshet ('bow'), in the same pattern as words for a thief or a judge. It appears only here in the Hebrew Bible. Archery is what Ishmael does for a living and part of who he is.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.