The Bronze Bow

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1961

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Download PDF

Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 13-15

Chapters 16-18

Chapters 19-21

Chapters 22-24

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Chapters 19-21Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 19 Summary

Before dawn the boys position themselves along the cliffs. Many caravans travel through the pass throughout the morning. While this was once a dangerous section of the road, travelers pass with confidence after King Herod wiped out the robbers years ago. It has been so long since bandits inhabited these rocks that Daniel dares to gamble the Romans will not suspect an attack. Daniel tells Nathan and Kemuel that he will free Joel and lift him to them. Daniel doesn’t expect to get back on the bank but means to use every ounce of his strength to ensure Joel does. As the hours pass, Daniel’s foreboding deepens—he has only a cluster of untried boys compared to Rosh’s tight-knit band, which moves with precision. However, he knows he can count on them and that they are prepared to give their lives.

When Joktan brings the warning, the boys prepare themselves. On Daniel’s signal, the boys hurtle rocks at the foot soldiers. At first, the soldiers stumble. Daniel’s heart sinks when the men charge up the vertical rock. As Daniel shouts for a retreat, he sees Samson throw a great rock from the opposite bank. Daniel runs to Joel and works to free his chains as confusion swells around him. He feels himself being lifted and thrown to a rock before another body is thrown onto him. When Daniel wakes up, he sees Joel next to him with his face buried in his arms. Kemuel tells Daniel not to move as the soldiers clear out. Confused, Daniel asks how he and Joel got up on the rocks. Joel says that Samson threw Daniel right over his head onto a rock. He then twisted Joel’s chains open with his bare hands and threw him on top of Daniel. Daniel realizes that Samson followed him all night. Though Samson didn’t know what they were doing, he knew they could not do it alone. Daniel asks where Samson is and learns that the Romans took him—a spear hit him, and he didn’t even fight when they dragged him away.

Daniel then sees Nathan’s bloodied, dead body sprawled against a rock. He thinks of Nathan’s bride waiting in his new house and feels he would rather they had let him go to the galleys. Once the boys make their way to the meeting spot, they lay in hiding, not talking. Unable to take Nathan’s body home, they bury him on the cliff. One at a time, they creep down the road like weary travelers. Though they are thankful that Joel is with them, the might of Rome has shaken them. They know they would have failed without Samson, and they never regain their eager confidence.

Chapter 20 Summary

At the arrival of autumn, the meetings cease, and the boys move cautiously. Though they whisper that they will begin again, there is no eagerness. Daniel labors each day to his limit, trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder. Jesus’s words echo in his mind—“They who live by the sword will perish by the sword” (212). Daniel never questions the words, as he could not hope for a better fate than to take the sword for his country’s freedom and perish by it. However, he now understands the words differently. By taking the sword, Samson and Nathan perished, and freedom is farther away than before.

Nine days pass without word from Joel and Malthace. Daniel wonders if they are in danger and if Joel regrets his vow. One evening, a disguised Joel arrives at the shop. Joel is being watched, as he told his father everything about the passageway, the meetings, and his part in Rosh’s work—he owed it to him. Daniel is ashamed, wondering how much Hezron must despise him. On the contrary, Joel shares that his father said Daniel is not to hide in the passageway again and is to come to the house whenever he likes. Joel admits that he left without telling his father and is not going back. His father won’t let him leave the house and planned to send him to study in Jerusalem. Though Daniel is overjoyed and relieved, he tells Joel that the band never asked him to leave home. Daniel knows that Joel always wanted to study. Joel says he now wants to work for the Victory he vowed for and will go to the mountain if Daniel won’t have him. Daniel informs Joel that Rosh is no longer their leader.

Joel proclaims that a new leader will come, and they must still prepare. With his hope renewed, Daniel realizes that Joel must go on studying. He tells Joel that they will need more than farmers and laborers, and only Joel will be able to win over the priests and scribes. Joel agrees that he would like to study for his father’s sake, too—Hezron is a good man whom he wants to make proud. As Malthace is forbidden from leaving the house, she has sent a gift for Leah. Joel sends Malthace’s greetings from the doorway and places the gift near the door. Malthace has sent Daniel a message as well. Daniel is invited to come see the girls dance and sing in the vineyard on the Day of Atonement. Joel also reassures Daniel that if he ever has to go away, their doors will be open for Leah.

Malthace has received a marriage proposal, but their parents cannot force her because they vowed to never arrange marriages for their children against their will. However, despite being 16, Malthace refuses to choose. Daniel bursts out that Malthace must choose someone of her own kind. When Joel asks whether he will choose, Daniel says a man who is sworn to vengeance cannot take a wife. Finally Joel asks Daniel to warn Jesus that the rabbis and scribes do not understand him and mean to kill him. Joel then wonders if Jesus is the leader they have been waiting for. Daniel watches Joel leave with despair, thinking the day will never come.

Chapter 21 Summary

After a long day of work, Daniel walks to Bethsaida to warn Jesus of the priests’ ill intentions. Simon brushes off his warning, stating that they, too, are worried. The priests pretend to be respectful while trying to trap Jesus into saying something they can prove as blasphemy. When Daniel asks why he doesn’t hide until he is stronger, Simon says that the people need him. Desperately wanting to see Jesus, Daniel waits until the wretched crowd leaves and approaches the stairway. Jesus senses Daniel’s presence and calls him up to his chamber.

Jesus asks Daniel why he is troubled. Daniel hurriedly warns Jesus that the priests have turned against him. Though ashamed that he is disturbing the master’s rest, he is unable to hide his misery. Daniel doesn’t know where to turn, as everything he hoped and lived for has failed. When Jesus asks what he lived for, Daniel replies that he lived for one thing: freedom for his people and vengeance for his father’s death. Jesus tells him that these are two things, not one. Frustrated, Daniel says he will strike for both at once. The one chance he worked and planned for went wrong, and now he has another debt to pay—Samson’s death. Jesus asks Daniel if Samson was his friend. The question startles Daniel, as he thought of Samson as a burden and symbol of his own weakness. Now, he sees that it was true. Samson died for him without understanding about Israel or the kingdom. Daniel then shares everything since the rescue, including Rosh’s story and betrayal, Nathan’s death, and Samson’s sacrifice.

Though Jesus understands it is written that we must repay in kind, he offers the perspective that Samson gave Daniel love, not vengeance. Jesus asks Daniel if he can repay such love with hate. Daniel believes it is too late to love Samson, asking bitterly if he should love the Romans who killed him. Jesus smiles and says, “Can’t you see, Daniel, it is hate that it is the enemy? Not men. Hate does not die with killing. It only springs up a hundredfold. The only thing stronger than hate is love” (223). Unable to understand, Daniel asks why Jesus won’t lead them. Jesus in turn asks Daniel to follow him.

Hope sweeps through Daniel as he vows to fight for him to the end. Jesus then admits he will ask for something much harder than that—to love for him to the end. Daniel is baffled, asking if they are not to fight for the kingdom. Jesus shares that the kingdom is bought at a great price—not by giving up riches, but by giving up hate. Daniel trembles, summoning all his strength to battle the thing most precious to him. He asks whether his vow to live and die for God’s victory is sacred. Jesus smiles, places his hand on Daniel’s shoulder, and says, “That is not a vow of hate. […] Go in peace, my son. You are not far from the kingdom” (226).

Chapters 19-21 Analysis

Daniel faces the most critical moments of his life when he realizes that his meager band might never be a match for the might of Rome, and when he turns to Jesus with his misery. Though it seems the demons within him have taken over, Daniel’s uncertainties about his vengeance are increasing. Samson’s sacrifice represents a selfless love that is without a higher purpose or cause. For Daniel, Samson’s sacrifice is another burden he must bear, another debt to be paid. Though Daniel only ever considered Samson a burden, the perspective that he was actually his friend surprises him. Jesus strongly suggests that the love Samson gave is the highest purpose and cause that can exist. Here, Daniel faces his internal conflict of love and hate. He cannot let go of his hatred and vengeance and doesn’t see what love can do. Jesus emphasizes that Daniel’s vow to live and die for God’s victory is not one of hatred. Daniel, rather than seeing the love that he can return, sees only the violence that he wishes to return to the Romans. Daniel has failed to see all along that love and companionship are his greatest assets and not the hatred that keeps placing him in terrible situations.

Daniel’s understanding of the cause further develops when he realizes that there are more ways to fight than by taking up arms. The stark contrast between Daniel’s initial hotheadedness and negativity towards scholarship and his newfound appreciation for Joel’s way with words is proof that Daniel has come to learn the value of knowledge. Though it is difficult to let Joel go, Daniel gives in to love by letting Joel fulfill his true purpose to the cause. He also understands that Rosh’s selfish idea of each person for themselves is not only impractical but also morally incorrect in the grander scheme of their vow for God’s victory. Still, Daniel struggles with his demons by denying himself the simple pleasures of life. While his love for Malthace is evident, he refuses to even consider that he can marry. For Daniel, his one and only purpose is vengeance. In such a life, he can make no room for love and companionship. The constant suggestion that a normal life is necessary is evidence that the right path does not require one to give up everything. On the contrary, enjoying life’s pleasures is necessary when fighting for a cause, especially that of God’s victory.