![]() ![]() It came into English from the Anglo French quivier (Old French quivre or cuivre). The noun quiver, meaning ‘a case for holding arrows,’ dates back to the early 14th century. The noun, meaning ‘a trembling,’ dates back to the early 18th century, and comes from the verb. A third theory is that it is related to the Old English cwifer– (zealous), which may be related to cwic (alive), from the Proto-Germanic quikaz and the Proto-Indo-Eurpean root gwei– (to live), which would make it related to the adjective quick. Some linguists believe it may have emerged as an imitation of the sound or a slight tremble, while others believe it is an alteration of the Middle English verb quaveren (now quaver, which also means ‘to vibrate or tremble’). There are plenty of internet resources for exploring the meaning of Biblical passages of the many I looked through in researching this answer, this interpretation seemed the most useful.Quiver, meaning ‘to tremble,’ dates back to the late 15th century. So the Psalm is saying that if there's a difficulty regarding a business dealing or a matter of law, there's an advantage in having your loyal sons to back you up in the dispute – whether by the threat of their physical presence, or by the financial resources they can contribute, or by their loyal testimony. The gate of the city was typically where both commerce and justice took place. They shall speak with their enemies in the gate. Note also that "court" is given as "the gate" in the King James and other versions: Not a bad age to have your kids old enough to come to your defence when there's a difficulty! If the man had fathered five kids by age 21, he would be 36 by the time the youngest of those five turned 15 and thus would still be in the prime of his life. Note that in those days, adult simply meant old enough to take on adult duties such as marrying, managing one's own farm/business, etc – say, 15 or 16 years old. The pronoun refers to the children, but the assumption is that the children have grown to be adults in the context of "contending with opponents". And to whom does the they refer to in the last sentence?.The following verses about arrows, children and contenders provide a practical reason for having a lot of kids at an early age. Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. There is of course other Biblical instruction to multiply and fill the Earth, and the previous verse of this Psalm (127:3) reformulates the message : And "them" is indeed the children (presumably all male, since the sort of society referred to sounds to be a male dominated one). So they are being fired "like arrows" into a political battle, the targets being their rivals for royal favour. Gaining influence in 'court' is not easy for the simple reason that lots of other young people are competing for just the same royal favour. Apparently, though, these children are being launched into a royal household ("court"), where they are going to try to gain favour and influence with the ruler. Who or what are they being fired at? The question is necessary because most modern (western, at least) people might think the idea of a child being likened to something being fired at anything or anyone is a little inappropriate. ![]() Indeed, we are not just talking of all children: just those "born in ones youth". But they are not like any arrows: just those fired by ("in the hands of) a warrior. He or she is comparing them with arrows: they are like arrows. Your question is more about literature than language, although, of course, it is not so easy to separate the two. ![]()
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