Rainbow (Hastings' Dictionary)

No definition is needed of this familiar phenomenon, which Ezekiel describes (1^) as ' the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain ' ; and no explanation is called for of the optical laws according to which it is pro- duced. The Scripture references to the rainbow are few, and, with one exception, comparatively unimportant. They allude, as a rule, to its bright- ness, or to the brilliance of its colours. In Ezekiel's vision {/.c.) it is the glory of God that is likened to the aiipearance of the rainbow. In Sir 43"- " the beauty of the rainbow is given as a reason for praising God who has made it, and whose hands tiave stretclied it out. In Sir 50' the high priest Simon, the son of Onias, is compared to tlie rain- bow among other glorious objects. In one of the visions of the Apocalypse (Rev 4") there is 'a rain- bow round about the throne, like an emerald to lixik upon,' and in another (10') there is an angel with 'the rainbow u))ou his head.' The most important of the Scripture allusions to tlie rainbow is that in Gn 9"'', where it is intro- duced at the close of the story of the Deluge as a token of tlie covenant in which God promised that He would never again destroy the world by a Hood. The passage as it stands is capable of two interpre- tations. It may convey either (a) the nnscieiiliUc idea that tlie rainbow was created after the Flood, or (6) the idea that the rainliow, already created, was then appointed to have a new signiticance as a symbol of mercy. Those who regard the narrative • The elevation of Jebel MOsa Is 7378 feet ; that of Jebel Katarina 8551 feet. t ' un the Fall of Bain at Jerusalem,' by J. Qlaisher, PBFSt, Jan. 1S94, p. 39. as strictly historical, can of course adopt only the latter of these views. But when we take into account such considerations as those given under Flood (which see), it seems best to regard the whole story of the Deluge, including that of the rainbow, as a piece of Semitic folk-lore, which, under the guidance of Divine inspiration, ' assumed a Hebrew complexion, being adapted to the spirit of Hebrew monotheism, and made a vehicle for the higher teaching of the Hebrew religion' (Driver in Hogarth's A uthority and A rchceolugy, p. 27). In an early Sumerian hynm the rainbow is said by S.-iyce (Expos. Times, vii. 308) to be called 'the aic which draws nij^h to man, tlie bow (qiistu) of the deluge,' and the Chaldaean account of the Flood tells hoiv — Already at the moment of her comin-;; the great goddess (Istar) Lifted up the mighty bow • which Aim had made according to his wish.' The significance of the rainbow as a token of God's co\-enant with men may be variously viewed. n::-i3 and rb^op (Sir 43" 50') are the regular words for the bow as a weapon of war, and the rainbow may have been regarded as God's bow, formerly used in hostility (as in Ps 7", Hab 3'- "), and now laid aside. Or it may have appeared to be a link between heaven and earth ; or, more probably, its suggestiveuess as an emblem of hope may have arisen simply from the contrast between its beauty and brightness and the forbidding gloom of the rain-clouds. In any case, the story of the rainbow is worthy of its place in Scripture. Though poetic rather than literal, it was a beautiful and fitting vehicle for conveying to men in the childhood of the world the truth that God's mercy glories against judgment, and is the ground of all human hope. Though the Babylonian Flood legend affords the closest parallel to the biblical story of the Deluge and the rainbow, some interesting correspondences may be gathered from the mythology of other nations. In the Iliad we find (a) the simple view of ' rainbows that the son of Kronos hath set in the clouds' (xi. 27), and (6) the conception of Iris aa the personified messenger of the gods (iii. 121). In the Lithuanian account of the Flood the rainbow is sent as a comforter and counsellor to the surviving couple. In the Edda the rainbow {Asbru, Bif-rost) is conceived of as a heavenly bridge which is to break at the end of the world. Akin to this, but with a biblical colouring, was the German belief of the Middle Ages, that for a number of years before the day of judgment the rainbow will no longer be seen. So the rainbow appear The world hath no fear Until thereafter forty year.' The popular tendency to connect Christian and mythological conceptions is seen in the fact that in Zante the rainbow is called ' the girdle, or bow, of the virgin.' The extravagant theory of Goldziher, that the history of Joseph is a solar myth, is fittingly crowned by the supposition that tiie ' bow ' of Jose|)h (Gn 49-"') is the rainbow (Mythology among the Hebrews, 169-70). LiTKRATL'R E. — Sayce, ' ArchiBological Commentary on Genesis,* in Exime, Timei, vii. 308, 463; Kyle, 'Early Narratives ol Oenesis.' i/>. in. 450; Nicol, Recent ArchcEolorjy and the Bible, 71 ; Dilhnaun, Genesis, in loc. ; Grimm, Teutonic Mijthotofjy, Kng. tr. 680, 731-734 ; Thorpe, Northtm Mythology, L U, 1-2, 81, 201. James Patkick.