Reference: Reed
American
Sometimes a stalk or rod of any plant, as of the hyssop, Mt 27:48; Joh 19:29. 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, Mt 11:7. "A bruised reed," Isa 42:3; Mt 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," Ex 30:23, sweet cane" Jer 6:20,) also called simply reed, (English version, "calamus" or "sweet cane,") Isa 43:24; Song 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.
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Take thou also unto thee the chief spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred'shekels , and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty,
And Elijah came near unto all the people, and said, How long go ye limping between the two sides? if Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
He lieth under the lotus-trees, In the covert of the reed, and the fen.
Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.
And the rivers shall become foul; the streams of Egypt shall be diminished and dried up; the reeds and flags shall wither away.
Behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust on him.
A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth.
Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices; but thou hast burdened me with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
To what purpose cometh there to me frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing unto me.
Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for thy wares: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were among thy merchandise.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am Jehovah, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
And, behold, a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
He measured on the east side with the measuring reed five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed round about.
And as these went their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind?
A bruised reed shall he not break, And smoking flax shall he not quench, Till he send forth judgment unto victory.
And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
There was set there a vessel full of vinegar: so they put a sponge full of the vinegar upon hyssop, and brought it to his mouth.
Easton
(1.) "Paper reeds" (Isa 19:7; R.V., "reeds"). Heb 'aroth, properly green herbage growing in marshy places.
(2.) Heb kaneh (1Ki 14:15; Job 40:21; Isa 19:6), whence the Gr. kanna, a "cane," a generic name for a reed of any kind.
The reed of Egypt and Palestine is the Arundo donax, which grows to the height of 12 feet, its stalk jointed like the bamboo, "with a magnificent panicle of blossom at the top, and so slender and yielding that it will lie perfectly flat under a gust of wind, and immediately resume its upright position." It is used to illustrate weakness (2Ki 18:21; Eze 29:6), also fickleness or instability (Mt 11:7; comp. Eph 4:14).
A "bruised reed" (Isa 42:3; Mt 12:20) is an emblem of a believer weak in grace. A reed was put into our Lord's hands in derision (Mt 27:29); and "they took the reed and smote him on the head" (30). The "reed" on which they put the sponge filled with vinegar (Mt 27:48) was, according to John (Joh 19:29), a hyssop stalk, which must have been of some length, or perhaps a bunch of hyssop twigs fastened to a rod with the sponge. (See Cane.)
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For Jehovah will smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking Jehovah to anger.
Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
He lieth under the lotus-trees, In the covert of the reed, and the fen.
And the rivers shall become foul; the streams of Egypt shall be diminished and dried up; the reeds and flags shall wither away. The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more.
A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am Jehovah, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
And as these went their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind?
A bruised reed shall he not break, And smoking flax shall he not quench, Till he send forth judgment unto victory.
And they platted a crown of thorns and put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
There was set there a vessel full of vinegar: so they put a sponge full of the vinegar upon hyssop, and brought it to his mouth.
that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
Fausets
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; 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 (Ex 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" (Ps 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; 41:8; compare Re 11:1; 21:15). The "sweet reed from a far country" is possibly the Andropogon calamus aromaticus of central India; keneh bosem (Ex 30:23 "sweet calamus") or hatob (Jer 6:20); or it may be rather the lemon grass (Andropogon schoenanthus) of India (Isa 43:24; Song 4:14; Eze 27:19).
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And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch; and she put the child therein, and laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
Take thou also unto thee the chief spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred'shekels , and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty,
Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
Can the rush grow up without mire? Can the flag grow without water?
Canst thou put a rope into his nose? Or pierce his jaw through with a hook?
Out of his nostrils a smoke goeth, As of a boiling pot and burning rushes.
For with thee is the fountain of life: In thy light shall we see light.
Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.
Therefore Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day.
that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of papyrus upon the waters,'saying , Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people terrible from their beginning onward, a nation that meteth out and treadeth down, whose land the rivers divide!
that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of papyrus upon the waters,'saying , Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people terrible from their beginning onward, a nation that meteth out and treadeth down, whose land the rivers divide!
The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more.
Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices; but thou hast burdened me with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?
To what purpose cometh there to me frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing unto me.
Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for thy wares: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were among thy merchandise.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am Jehovah, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and didst rend all their shoulders; and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.
And, behold, a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
I saw also that the house had a raised basement round about: the foundations of the side-chambers were a full reed of six great cubits.
And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and one said, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
And he that spake with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
Hastings
1. q
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And, behold, seven ears, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.
And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up upon one stalk, full and good:
And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made, even its base, and its shaft; its cups, its knops, and its flowers, shall be of one piece with it. And there shall be six branches going out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side thereof:
For Jehovah will smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking Jehovah to anger.
Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
Can the rush grow up without mire? Can the flag grow without water?
They are passed away as the swift ships; As the eagle that swoopeth on the prey.
Then let my shoulder fall from the shoulder-blade, And mine arm be broken from the bone.
He lieth under the lotus-trees, In the covert of the reed, and the fen.
Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, The multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples, Trampling under foot the pieces of silver: He hath scattered the peoples that delight in war.
Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.
The meadows by the Nile, by the brink of the Nile, and all the sown fields of the Nile, shall become dry, be driven away, and be no more.
Behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust on him.
Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth.
Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices; but thou hast burdened me with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
Such as lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, they hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a god; they fall down, yea, they worship.
To what purpose cometh there to me frankincense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing unto me.
and the passages are seized, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for thy wares: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were among thy merchandise.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am Jehovah, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel. When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and didst rend all their shoulders; and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.
And he brought me thither; and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.
And, behold, a wall on the outside of the house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.
And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and one said, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
Morish
See WEIGHTS and MEASURES.
Smith
Reed.
Under this name may be noticed the following Hebrew words:
1. Agmon occurs in
(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, viz., the Arundo isiaca of Delisle. The drooping panicle of this plant will answer well to the "bowing down the head" of which Isaiah speaks.
2. 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. --ED.)
3. Kaneh, a reed of any kind. Thus there are in general four kinds of reeds named in the Bible: (1) The water reed; No, 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; No. 2.
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Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; And tread down the wicked where they stand.
Lo now, his strength is in his loins, And his force is in the muscles of his belly.
Therefore Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day.
Watsons
REED, ?????, Job 40:21; 41:2,20; Isa 9:14; 19:15; 58:5; ???????, Mt 11:7; a plant growing in fenny and watery places; very weak and slender, and bending with the least breath of wind, Mt 11:7; Lu 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 Mt 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 ???, as also in Job 40:21; Isa 19:6; 35:7; Eze 29:6. See BULRUSH.
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For Jehovah will smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking Jehovah to anger.
Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
He lieth under the lotus-trees, In the covert of the reed, and the fen.
He lieth under the lotus-trees, In the covert of the reed, and the fen.
Canst thou put a rope into his nose? Or pierce his jaw through with a hook?
Out of his nostrils a smoke goeth, As of a boiling pot and burning rushes.
Therefore Jehovah will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm-branch and rush, in one day.
And the rivers shall become foul; the streams of Egypt shall be diminished and dried up; the reeds and flags shall wither away.
Neither shall there be for Egypt any work, which head or tail, palm-branch or rush, may do.
And the glowing sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water: in the habitation of jackals, where they lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
Behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust on him.
A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth.
Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am Jehovah, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
And as these went their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind?
And as these went their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind?
A bruised reed shall he not break, And smoking flax shall he not quench, Till he send forth judgment unto victory.
And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind?