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bowing in the Bible

Hebrew: שָׁחָה —transliteration: shachah —meaning: to bow down

Bowing is a way of showing respect.

Abraham “bowed himself to the people of the land” (Genesis 23:7).

Jacob bowed to Esau (Genesis 33:3).

The brothers of Joseph bowed before him as the governor of the land of Egypt (Genesis 43:28).

Joshua bowed to an angel of God.

Now it happened when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” He said, “No! Rather I indeed come now as commander of the host of Yahweh.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and bowed down and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his slave?” —Joshua 5:13-14 LSB

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Bowing before the One True God

Come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before Yahweh our Maker. —Psalm 95:6 LSB

With what shall I come before Yahweh
And bow myself before the God on high?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With yearling calves? —Micah 6:6 LSB

Let the desert creatures kneel before him,
And his enemies lick the dust. —Psalm 72:9

The Apostle Paul said,

…I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named —Ephesians 3:14-15 excerpt

Bowing is also frequently mentioned as an act of idolaters adoration to false gods (2 Kings 5:18; Judges 2:19; Isaiah 44:15).

Near the end of his life, Joshua very strongly warned the Israelites against bowing to false gods.

When you trespass against the covenant of Yahweh your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of Yahweh will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you. —Joshua 23:16 LSB

Sadly, through the years the Israelites frequently did bow down to false gods.

But it happened when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways. —Judges 2:19

In doing this they broke the commandments of God.

“You shall have no other gods before Me.”

“You shall not make yourself any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the Earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy to thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

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Article Version: July 11, 2024