Reed

There are two things mentioned in Holy Writ, whereby men may measure-a line and a reed.

The line, ìáç H2256, implies constantly a division, and giving of possession into new hands; because it is the instrument by which the lands of conquered nations are divided; as in 2Sa 8:2; Lam 2:8; Amo 7:17; Isa 34:11 -­17. The division of a land into new lots, supposing a late conquest; and its being divided, to be inherited by new masters. Nah 3:10.

But the reed, as it is also used about lands, so it is chiefly employed about buildings;^f1 of which there are frequent examples in the prophecy of Ezekiel, especially about the temple. In Zec 2:1-5 a line is used to measure the whole city; and the prophecy explains itself, that it is in order to have Jerusalem newly inhabited.

The profane authors have expressions which shew, that a measuring reed or line, is to take possession of the things measured.^f2 And hence, from äâ÷ H7070, a cane or reed, comes äâ÷, to acquire or possess.

This use of a line or reed explains the Κανών, or rule upon which St. Paul argues, 2Co 10:13; 2Co 10:16; the said rule signifying those churches to which he had the sole right by first occupation.

Staff of reed, is a support or assistance that will not last long or be firm: as in Eze 29:6; 2Ki 18:21.

A golden reed for measuring, denotes that what is measured by it shall be glorious and permanent.

F1 Vid. Schindler, WC. äâ÷.

F2 See the Oracle given to the Lacedemonians in Herodotus, L. i. c. 66; L. ii. c. 6. Stephan. de Urb. v. Τεγέα Said. v. Ζχοῖνος.

We read of Ezekiel’s reed, Ezek. xl. 3. which was six cubits and three inches; that is, about three yards and a little more of our English measure. But the word is not unfrequently used in Scripture figuratively. Thus Egypt, an account of her inability to Israel, is called a reed. (2 Kings 18: 21.) Humble believers in Christ are called bruised reeds; concerning which it is blessedly spoken of the Lord Jesus, "that he will not break the braised reed, nor quench the smoking flax" - - meaning, that the tender and frail mind in the first awakenings of grace, though it be unable of itself to stand no more than the bruised reed Jesus will not break, but support; and the warmth of affection in the regenerated soul, though it hath no flame, and only sends forth the risings like the smoke of burning flax, Jesus will not suffer to be put out. It is in both a day of small things; but it is a day Jesus will not despise. He will raise the bruised reed to a great tree, like the cedar of Lebanon, and he will kindle a flame in the smoking flax, that by his perpetual quickening shall burn with great power and brightness for ever. (See Isa. xl2: Matt. x2: 18 - 20.) We read of a reed put into our Lord’s hand, in the hall of Pilate, by way of mock royalty; but this it should seem to have been of the rod kind. (Matt. 27. 29.) How little, did they think that both the crown of thorns and the reed, were emblems of the Lord Jesus’s character as the Messiah. Never was there any but Jesus crowned with thorns; for though all his people feel the briars and the thorns, yet it was he, and he only, on whom and in whom thesentence at the fall was to be completely fulfilled. "Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee." (Gen. 3: 18.) And little did they think that when they had crowned him with thorns, and put the reed in "his right hand, JEHOVAH had that day set him for his king upon his holy hill of Zion. What a beautiful observation the apostles made upon the whole of these events, Acts 4: 24 - 31.

אגמון , Job 40:21; Job 41:2; Job 41:20; Isa 9:14; Isa 19:15; Isa 58:5; καλαμος, Mat 11:7; a plant growing in fenny and watery places; very weak and slender, and bending with the least breath of wind, Mat 11:7; Luk 7:24. Thus it is threatened, “The Lord shall smite Israel as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of the good land which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their idol groves, provoking him to anger,” 1Ki 14:15. The slenderness and fragility of the reed is mentioned in 2Ki 18:21; Isa 36:6; and is referred to in Mat 12:20, where the remark, illustrating the gentleness of our Saviour, is quoted from the prophecy of Isa 42:3. The Hebrew word in these places is קנה , as also in Job 40:21; Isa 19:6; Isa 35:7; Eze 29:6. See BULRUSH.

The word thus translated in the Old Testament is Kaneh, which occurs in 1Ki 14:15; 2Ki 18:21; Job 40:21; Isa 19:6; Isa 35:7; Isa 36:6; Isa 42:3; Eze 29:6. It is the probable source of our word cane, a term which seems to have been used at the time our translation was made in a more general sense than at present, when the term cane has been applied more particularly to the stems of the Calamus rotang, and other species of rattan canes, which we have good grounds for believing were unknown to the ancients. In most of the passages of the Old Testament the word Kaneh seems to be applied strictly to reeds of different kinds growing in water, that is, to the hollow stems or culms of grasses, which are usually weak, easily shaken about by wind or by water, fragile, and breaking into sharp-pointed splinters.

Sometimes a stalk or rod of any plant, as of the hyssop, Mat 27:48 Joh 19:29 .\par Usually, however, the word reed denotes a reed or cane growing in marshy grounds, Job 40:21 Isa 19:6 ; slender and fragile, and hence taken as an emblem of weakness, 1Ki 18:21 Isa 36:6 Eze 29:6 ; and of instability, Mat 11:7 . "A bruised reed," Isa 42:3 Mat 12:20, is an emblem of a soul crushed and ready to sink in despair under a sense of its guilty and lost condition. Such a soul the Saviour will graciously sustain and strengthen. The reed of spice, or good reed, (English version, "sweet calamus," Exo 30:23, "sweet cane" Jer 6:20 ) also called simply reed, (English version, "calamus" or "sweet cane,") Isa 43:24 ; Son 4:14 ; Eze 27:19, is the sweet flag of India, calamus odoratus. Reeds were anciently used as pens and as measuring-rods, Eze 40:5 42:16. The Hebrew "reed" is supposed to have been about ten feet long.\par

Reed. Under this name may be noticed the following Hebrew words:

Agmon occurs in Job 40:12; Job 40:16; Isa 9:14. (Authorized Version, "rush"). There can be no doubt that it denotes some aquatic reed-like plant, probably the Phragmitis communis, which, if it does not occur in Palestine and Egypt, is represented by a very closely-allied species, namely, the Arundo isiaca of Delisle. The drooping panicle of this plant will answer well to the "bowing down the head" of which Isaiah speaks. Isa 58:5.

Gnome, translated "rush" and "bulrush", by the Authorized Version, without doubt denotes the celebrated paper-reed of the ancients, Papyrus antiquorum, which, formerly, was common in some parts of Egypt. The papyrus reed is not now found in Egypt; it grows however, in Syria. Dr. Hooker saw it on the banks of Lake Tiberias, a few miles north of the town.

The papyrus plant has an angular stem from 3 to 6 feet high, though occasionally it grows to the height of 14 feet, it has no leaves; the flowers are in very small spikelets, which grow on the thread-like flowering branchlets which form a bushy crown to each stem; (It was used for making paper, shoes, sails, ropes, mattresses, etc. The Greek name is Biblos, from which came our word Bible -- book -- because books were made of the papyrus paper. This paper was always expensive among the Greeks, being worth a dollar a sheet. -- Editor).

Kaneh, a reed of any kind.

Thus, there are in general four kinds of reeds named in the Bible:

(1) The water reed; Reed, 1 above.

(2) A stronger reed, Arundo donax, the true reed of Egypt and Palestine, which grows 8 or 10 feet high, and is thicker than a man’s thumb. It has a jointed stalk like the bamboo, and is very abundant on the Nile.

(3) The writing reed, Arundo scriptoria, was used for making pens. (4) The papyrus; Reed, 2 above.

’agmon. Used to form a rope: Job 41:2, "canst thou put a rush rope (’agmon) into his nose?" in Job 41:20 ’agmon is a "caldron" from agam, "to flow." "Branch ("the high") and rush ("the low")" (Isa 9:14; Isa 58:5), "bow down ... head as a bulrush," imply that the head of the ’agmown was pendulous. Some aquatic, reed like, plant, the Arundodonax, or phragmitis, used as a walking stick, but apt to break and pierce the hand leaning on it (2Ki 18:21; Eze 29:6-7). The gomee, of the sedge kind (Cyperaceae), the papyrus or paper reeds of which Moses’ ark was formed (Exo 2:3). Used to form boats on the Nile, also garments, shoes, baskets, and paper (Isa 18:2); Job 8:11 "can the papyrus plant grow without mire?" so the godless thrive only in outward prosperity, which soon ends, for they are without God "the fountain of life" (Psa 36:9). Rapid growth at first, like the papyrus; then sudden destruction.

The papyrus is not now found in Egypt; but it has for ages been on the margin of Lake Huleh or Merom and Lake Tiberius and in Syria. Paper was formed by cutting the interior of the stalks into thin slices lengthwise, after removing the rind, and laying them side by side in succession on a flat board; similar ones were laid over them at right angles, and the whole was cemented together by a glue, and pressed and dried. The Egyptians stewed and ate the lower part of the papyrus (Herodotus ii. 92). It grows from three to six feet high; Tristram (Land of Israel, 436) says 16 feet, and the triangular stems three inches in diameter, N. of Lake Tiberias. There are no leaves; the flowers are small spikelets at the tip of the threadlike branchlets which together form a bushy crown on each stem.

Aroth (Isa 19:7) not "paper reeds," but grassy pastures on the banks of the Nile; literally, places bare of wood, from ’aarah "to make bore" (Gesenius). KJV is from ’or the delicate "membrane"; the antithesis to "everything sown by the brooks" is, the aroth were not sown but growing of themselves. In mentioning "the reeds and flags" it is likely the papyrus would not be omitted; however, a different word in the chap. before (Isa 18:2, gomee) expresses the "papyrus". Kaneh "a reed" in general; a measuring reed, six cubits long (Eze 40:5; Eze 41:8; compare Rev 11:1; Rev 21:15). The "sweet reed from a far country" is possibly the Andropogon calamus aromaticus of central India; keneh bosem (Exo 30:23 "sweet calamus") or hatob (Jer 6:20); or it may be rather the lemon grass (Andropogon schoenanthus) of India (Isa 43:24; Son 4:14; Eze 27:19).

See WEIGHTS and MEASURES.

REED (κάλαμος).—This represents the Heb. kaneh, probably Arundo donax, a plant which grows in great abundance in the marshes of the Jordan Valley and along the river sides. The stem is tall and straight, and the head bends gracefully with a great feathery brush, sensitive to the slightest breath of air (Mat 11:7, Luk 7:24). The wood is put to many uses. It forms the frames of the rush mats with which the Arabs of el-Hûleh make their slender houses. It serves as a walking-stick. When bruised, it is not only useless but dangerous; because, giving way when one leans upon it, the splinters are apt to pierce the hand (Mat 12:20). As a mock-sceptre, a reed was put into Christ’s hand (Mat 27:29), and with this He was smitten (Mat 27:30). On a reed the sponge with vinegar was raised to His lips on the cross (Mat 27:48). Pens are made from the smaller stems, the Gr. κάλαμος (3Jn 1:13) again corresponding to the Arab. [Note: Arabic.] ̣kalam and the Lat. calamus. The ancients made the shafts of their arrows from the κάλαμος, and the divining arrow of the Arab. [Note: Arabic.] is also Kalam. The flute and pipes played on all occasions of festivity are made from the reed (Mat 11:17, Luk 7:32). Measuring-rods were so uniformly of reed that they came to be known generally by this term (Eze 40:3, Rev 21:15 etc.).

W. Ewing.

By: Emil G. Hirsch, Immanuel Benzinger

Rendering given in the English versions for several words used to designate rush-like water-plants of various kinds. These words are: (1) "Gome"; the Cyperus papyrus of Linnæus. (2) "Suf" (Ex. ii. 3; Isa. xix. 6); identified by Egyptologists with the Egyptian "thof" (Nile reed; on "Yam Suf" as a name of the Red Sea, see Red Sea). (3) "Aḥu" (Gen. xli. 2, 18: Job viii. 11): Egyptian loanword denoting a marsh-grass growing on the banks of the Nile and used as fodder; the translation "flag," based on the Vulgate, is, therefore, incorrect. (4) "Agmon" (Isa. ix. 13, xix. 15, lviii. 5; Job xl. 26; Jer. li. 32 ["agam"]); generally explained as a kind of rush ("scirpus"); according to the "Hierobotanicon" of Celsius, the common reed. (5) "Ebeh" (only Job ix. 26; Arabic, "aba'"; Assyrian, "abu"): the reed or sedge from which, as from the "gome" (Isa. xviii. 2), boats were made in Egypt (comp. Erman, "Egypten," p. 636). (6) "Ḳaneh" (I Kings xiv. 15 et al.); probably the common marsh-reed, the Amudo donax of Linnæus (Boissier, "Flora Orientalis," iv. 564), which is much stouter than the common reed. It was used as a staff (II Kings xviii. 21: Isa. xxxvi. 6, xlii. 3; Ezek. xxix. 6), or made into measuring-rods (Ezek. xl. 3), etc. Animals live among the thick reeds (Ps. lxviii. 31 [R. V. 30]), and according to Job xl. 21, behemoth (the hippopotamus) lies "in the covert of the reed," this passage implying that the word "ḳaneh" was used as a general term for this plant, including the common variety (Arundo phragmites). (7) "Gofer"; see Gopher-Wood.

REED.—1. qâneh, tr. [Note: translate or translation.] ‘reed,’ 1Ki 14:15, 2Ki 18:21, Isa 36:6; Isa 42:3; ‘stalk,’ Gen 41:6; Gen 41:22; ‘sweet cane’ (RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘calamus’), Isa 43:24, Jer 6:20; ‘calamus,’ Son 4:14, Eze 27:19; ‘spearmen,’ Psa 68:30 (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] , but RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘reeds’); also metaphorically used for a ‘bone,’ Job 31:22; the arm of ‘a balance,’ Isa 46:6; and ‘branches’ of a candlestick, Exo 25:31-32. The qâneh is probably the familiar qasâb (Arundo donax), which flourishes on the banks of all the streams and lakes of the Jordan Valley. Miles of it are to be seen at the ‘Ain Feshkhah oasis on the Dead Sea shore, and at the Huleh marshes. It is a lofty reed, often 20 feet high, brilliantly green in the late summer, when all around is dry and bare; but dead-looking, from a distance, in the spring, when it stands in full flower and the lofty stems are crowned by beautiful silken pannicles. In the district mentioned the reeds are cleared from time to time by fire, that the young and tender shoots may grow up to afford fodder for cattle. The covert of the reeds is often the only possible shade (Job 40:21). The bruised reed, which, though standing, a touch will cause to fall and lie bedraggled on the ground, is a familiar sight (2Ki 18:21, Isa 36:8, Eze 29:6-7). A reed forms a most convenient measuring-rod, being straight and light (Eze 40:3; Eze 40:5, Rev 11:1 etc.). In certain passages where qâneh is tr. [Note: translate or translation.] ‘calamus,’ or ‘sweet cane,’ some imported aromatic cane or hark is meant. For the use of reeds as pens, see Writing, 6.

2. ‘ârôth, Isa 19:7 (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘paper reeds,’ RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘meadows’). See Meadow.

3. ’ăgammîm, lit.‘pools’ (see Pool), is in Jer 51:32 tr. [Note: translate or translation.] ‘reeds.’ For bulrushes see Rush.

4. ’ âchû, Job 8:11 EV [Note: English Version.] ‘flag,’ RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘reed-grass.’ See Meadow.

5. ’çbeh, Job 9:26 (RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘reed’). The reference is to light skiffs of papyrus.

E. W. G. Masterman.

rēd: (1) אחוּ, ’āḥū, translated “reed-grass” (Gen 41:2, Gen 41:18; Job 8:11 margin). See FLAG. (2) אבה, ’ēbheh, translated “swift,” margin “reed” (Job 9:26). The “ships of reed” are the light skiffs made of plaited reeds used on the Nile; compare “vessels of papyrus” (Isa 18:2). (3) אגמּים, ’ăghammı̄m, translated “reeds,” margin “marshes,” Hebrew “pools” (Jer 51:32); elsewhere “pools” (Exo 7:19; Exo 8:5; Isa 14:23, etc.). See POOLS. (4) ערות, ‛ārōth; ἄχι, áchi, translated “meadows,” the King James Version “paper reeds” (Isa 19:7). See MEADOWS. (5) קנה, ḳāneh; κάλαμος, kálamos (the English “cane” comes from Hebrew via Latin and Greek canna), “stalk” (Gen 41:5, Gen 41:22); “shaft” (Exo 37:17, etc.); “reed,” or “reeds” (1Ki 14:15; 2Ki 18:21; Isa 36:6; Isa 42:3; Psa 68:30, the King James Version “spearman”); “calamus” (Exo 30:23; Son 4:14; Eze 27:19); “sweet cane,” margin “calamus” (Isa 43:24; Jer 6:20); “bone” (Job 31:22); used of the cross-beam of a “balance” (Isa 46:6); “a measuring reed” (Eze 40:3); “a staff of reed,” i.e. a walking-stick (Isa 36:6; Eze 29:6); the “branches” of a candlestick (Exo 37:18). (6) κάλαμος, kálamos, “a reed shaken with the wind” (Mat 11:7; Luk 7:24); “a bruised reed” (Mat 12:20); they put “a reed in his right hand” (Mat 27:29, Mat 27:30); “They smote his head with a reed” (Mar 15:19); “put it on a reed” (Mat 27:48; Mar 15:36); “a measuring reed” (Rev 11:1; Rev 21:15, Rev 21:16); “a pen” (3Jn 1:13).

It is clear that ḳāneh and its Greek equivalent kalamos mean many things. Some refer to different uses to which a reed is put, e.g. a cross-beam of a balance, a walking-stick, a measuring rod, and a pen (see above), but apart from this ḳāneh is a word used for at least two essentially different things: (1) an ordinary reed, and (2) some sweet-smelling substance.

(1) The most common reed in Palestine is the Arundo donax (Natural Order Gramineae), known in Arabic as ḳaṣabfarasi, “Persian reed.” It grows in immense quantities in the Jordan valley along the river and its tributaries and at the oases near the Dead Sea, notably around ‛Ain Feshkhah at the northwest corner. It is a lofty reed, often 20 ft. high, of a beautiful fresh green in summer when all else is dead and dry, and of a fine appearance from a distance in the spring months when it is in full bloom and the beautiful silky panicles crown the top of every reed. The “covert of the reed” (Job 40:21) shelters a large amount of animal and bird life. This reed will answer to almost all the requirements of the above references.

(2) Ḳāneh is in Jer 6:20 qualified הטּוב קנה, ḳāneh ha-ṭōbh, “sweet” or “pleasant cane,” and in Exo 30:23, בשׂם קנה, ḳ^enēh bhōsem, “sweet calamus,” or, better, a “cane of fragrance.” Son 4:14; Isa 43:24; Eze 27:19 all apparently refer to the same thing, though in these passages the ḳāneh is unqualified. It was an ingredient of the holy oil (Exo 30:23); it was imported from a distance (Jer 6:20; Eze 27:19), and it was rare and costly (Isa 43:24). It may have been the “scented calamus” (Axorus calamus) of Pliny (NH, xii. 48), or some other aromatic scented reed or flag, or, as some think, some kind of aromatic bark. The sweetness refers to the scent, not the taste. See also BULRUSH; PAPYRUS.

(êÜëáìïò, Heb. ÷ָðָä = Eng. ‘cane’)

The ‘reed like a staff’ (êÜëáìïò ὅìïéïò ῥÜâäῳ) which St. John used for measuring the temple of God (Rev_11:1) was probably the arundo donax, which flourishes especially in the Jordan Valley, growing in marshy brakes to a height of 15 to 20 ft. and strong enough to be used as a walking-stick (Eze_29:6-7, Isa_36:6). Being straight and light, this reed served also as the most convenient measuring-rod (Eze_40:3; Eze_40:5), and as a definite measure it was 6⅔ cubits long = about 9 ft. (Liddell and Scott, s.v.). The New Jerusalem was measured by an angel who had for a measure a golden reed (Rev_21:15-16).

James Strahan.