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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Thou, therefore, take to thee - principal spices, - self-flowing myrrh, five hundred, and fragrant cinnamon, half as much, two hundred and fifty, and, fragrant cane, two hundred and fifty;
And Elijah drew near unto all the people, and said - How long are ye limping on the two divided opinions? If, Yahweh, be GOD, follow, him, but, if, Baal, follow, him. But the people answered him, not a word.
Nard and saffron, sweet cane and cinnamon, with all woods of frankincense, - myrrh and aloes, with all the chiefs of spices:
And rivers, shall stink, The canals of Egypt be shallow and waste, Reed and rush, he withered;
Lo! thou dost trust on the support of this bruised cane, on Egypt, whereon if a man lean it will enter his hand and lay it open, - So, is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust upon him.
Cane that is crushed, will he not break, And wick that is fading, will he not quench, - Faithfully, will he bring forth justice:
Thou hast not bought for me with silver, fragrant calamus, Nor with the fat of thy sacrifices, hast thou sated me, - Thou hast done nothing but oppress me with thy sins, Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
What then is it to me that - Frankincense from Shebah come in, or Sweet cane from a land afar off? Your own ascending-offerings, are not acceptable, Nor are, your sacrifices, pleasing to me.
Wedan and Javan, from Uzal, Brought into thy traffic, - Steel, cassia and calamus, Were, in thy merchandise:
So shall all the inhabitants of Egypt know that I, am Yahweh, Because they were a staff of reed to the house of Israel:
And lo a wall on the outside of the house round about on every side, - and in the hand of the man, was the measuring reed six cubits by the cubit, and a handbreadth, so he measured the breadth of the enclosing-wall, one reed, and the height one reed.
He measured the east side with the measuring reed, - five hundred reeds by the measuring reed round about,
But, as these were going their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes, concerning John, - What went ye forth into the wilderness to gaze at? A reed, by a wind, shaken?
A bruised cane, will he not break, and, a smoking wick, will he not quench, - until he urge on, justice, to victory,
And, straightway, one from among them, running, and taking a sponge, and filling it with vinegar and putting it on a reed, was giving him to drink;
A vessel, was standing, full of vinegar. A sponge, therefore, full of the vinegar, put about, hyssop, brought they unto 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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Therefore will Yahweh smite Israel, as a reed shaketh in water, and will root out Israel, from off this goodly soil, which he gave unto their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River (Euphrates), - because they have made their Sacred Stems, provoking Yahweh to anger:
Now, lo! thou dost trust thyself on the support of this bruised cane, on Egypt, whereon, if a man lean, it will enter his hand and lay it open, - so, is Pharaoh king of Egypt, to all who trust upon him.
And rivers, shall stink, The canals of Egypt be shallow and waste, Reed and rush, he withered; The meadows by the Nile, by the mouth of the Nile. And all that is sown in the Nile, Shall be dry, driven away, and not be!
Cane that is crushed, will he not break, And wick that is fading, will he not quench, - Faithfully, will he bring forth justice:
So shall all the inhabitants of Egypt know that I, am Yahweh, Because they were a staff of reed to the house of Israel:
But, as these were going their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes, concerning John, - What went ye forth into the wilderness to gaze at? A reed, by a wind, shaken?
A bruised cane, will he not break, and, a smoking wick, will he not quench, - until he urge on, justice, to victory,
and, plaiting a crown out of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand, - and, kneeling before him, began to mock him, saying - Joy to thee, King of the Jews!
And, straightway, one from among them, running, and taking a sponge, and filling it with vinegar and putting it on a reed, was giving him to drink;
A vessel, was standing, full of vinegar. A sponge, therefore, full of the vinegar, put about, hyssop, brought they unto his mouth.
That we may, no longer, be infants - billow-tossed and shifted round with every wind of teaching, - in the craft of men, in knavery suited to the artifice 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 no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of paper-reed, and covered it over with bitumen, and with pitch, - and put therein the child, and laid it among the rushes upon the bank of the river.
Thou, therefore, take to thee - principal spices, - self-flowing myrrh, five hundred, and fragrant cinnamon, half as much, two hundred and fifty, and, fragrant cane, two hundred and fifty;
Now, lo! thou dost trust thyself on the support of this bruised cane, on Egypt, whereon, if a man lean, it will enter his hand and lay it open, - so, is Pharaoh king of Egypt, to all who trust upon him.
Can the paper-reed grow up, without a marsh? Or the rush grow up, without water?
Wilt thou put a rush-cord on his nose? or, with a thorn, wilt thou pierce his jaw?
Out of his nostrils, proceedeth smoke, like a blown pot and rushes;
For, with thee, is the fountain of life, In thy light, we see light.
Nard and saffron, sweet cane and cinnamon, with all woods of frankincense, - myrrh and aloes, with all the chiefs of spices:
Therefore hath Yahweh cut off from Israel - Head and tail Palm-top and rush, In one day.
That sendeth by the sea, ambassadors Even in vessels of paper-reed, upon the face of the waters, - Go ye swift messengers Unto a nation drawn out and polished, Unto a people terrible from their beginning and onwards, - A nation most mighty and subduing, Whose land rivers have cut through.
That sendeth by the sea, ambassadors Even in vessels of paper-reed, upon the face of the waters, - Go ye swift messengers Unto a nation drawn out and polished, Unto a people terrible from their beginning and onwards, - A nation most mighty and subduing, Whose land rivers have cut through.
The meadows by the Nile, by the mouth of the Nile. And all that is sown in the Nile, Shall be dry, driven away, and not be!
Thou hast not bought for me with silver, fragrant calamus, Nor with the fat of thy sacrifices, hast thou sated me, - Thou hast done nothing but oppress me with thy sins, Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
Like this, shall the fast be that I choose, A day for the son of earth to humble his soul? Is it to bow down as a rush his head, And sackcloth and ashes, to spread out? Is it, this, thou wilt call a fast, Or a day of acceptance with Yahweh?
What then is it to me that - Frankincense from Shebah come in, or Sweet cane from a land afar off? Your own ascending-offerings, are not acceptable, Nor are, your sacrifices, pleasing to me.
Wedan and Javan, from Uzal, Brought into thy traffic, - Steel, cassia and calamus, Were, in thy merchandise:
So shall all the inhabitants of Egypt know that I, am Yahweh, Because they were a staff of reed to the house of Israel: Whensoever they took held of thee by the hand, thou didst run through, and tear open for them every hand, - And whensoever they leaned upon thee, thou didst break, and caused all their loins to halt.
And lo a wall on the outside of the house round about on every side, - and in the hand of the man, was the measuring reed six cubits by the cubit, and a handbreadth, so he measured the breadth of the enclosing-wall, one reed, and the height one reed.
Then saw I that the house had a height round about on every side, - the foundations of the side- chambers, a full reed, six cubits to the joining.
And there was given unto me a reed, like unto a staff, saying - Rise, and measure the Sanctuary of God, and the altar, and them who are doing homage therein;
And, he that was talking with me, had, for a measure, a reed of gold, that he might measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
Hastings
1. q
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and lo! seven ears, lean and shrivelled by an east wind, coming up after them.
Then looked I in my dream, - And lo! seven ears, coming up on one stalk, full and good;
And thou shalt make a lampstand of pure gold, of beaten work, shall the lampstand be made, even its base and its shaft its cups, its apples, and its blossoms of the same, shall be: with, six branches, coming out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand, out the one side thereof, and three branches of the lampstand, out of the other side thereof:
Therefore will Yahweh smite Israel, as a reed shaketh in water, and will root out Israel, from off this goodly soil, which he gave unto their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River (Euphrates), - because they have made their Sacred Stems, provoking Yahweh to anger:
Now, lo! thou dost trust thyself on the support of this bruised cane, on Egypt, whereon, if a man lean, it will enter his hand and lay it open, - so, is Pharaoh king of Egypt, to all who trust upon him.
Can the paper-reed grow up, without a marsh? Or the rush grow up, without water?
They have passed away with boats of paper-reed, like a vulture which rusheth upon food.
Let, my shoulder, from the shoulder-blade, fall, and, my arm, from the upper bone, be broken;
Rebuke thou, The wild beast of the reeds, The herd of mighty oxen among the calves of the peoples - Each one bowing down with bars of silver, - Scatter thou the peoples, who in wars take delight.
Nard and saffron, sweet cane and cinnamon, with all woods of frankincense, - myrrh and aloes, with all the chiefs of spices:
The meadows by the Nile, by the mouth of the Nile. And all that is sown in the Nile, Shall be dry, driven away, and not be!
Lo! thou dost trust on the support of this bruised cane, on Egypt, whereon if a man lean it will enter his hand and lay it open, - So, is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust upon him.
Now, therefore, pledge thyself I pray thee with my lord, the king of Assyria, - That I supply thee with two thousand horses, If thou on thy part be able to set riders upon them;
Cane that is crushed, will he not break, And wick that is fading, will he not quench, - Faithfully, will he bring forth justice:
Thou hast not bought for me with silver, fragrant calamus, Nor with the fat of thy sacrifices, hast thou sated me, - Thou hast done nothing but oppress me with thy sins, Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
They who pour gold out of a purse, And who weigh silver in a balance, - Who hire a goldsmith that he may make it into a GOD, They adore, yea they bow down;
What then is it to me that - Frankincense from Shebah come in, or Sweet cane from a land afar off? Your own ascending-offerings, are not acceptable, Nor are, your sacrifices, pleasing to me.
and The fords, have been seized, and The reeds, have they burned with fire; and The men of war, are dismayed!
Wedan and Javan, from Uzal, Brought into thy traffic, - Steel, cassia and calamus, Were, in thy merchandise:
So shall all the inhabitants of Egypt know that I, am Yahweh, Because they were a staff of reed to the house of Israel: Whensoever they took held of thee by the hand, thou didst run through, and tear open for them every hand, - And whensoever they leaned upon thee, thou didst break, and caused all their loins to halt.
And when he brought me thither, then lo! a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a flax-cord in his hand and measuring reed, - and he was standing in the gate.
And lo a wall on the outside of the house round about on every side, - and in the hand of the man, was the measuring reed six cubits by the cubit, and a handbreadth, so he measured the breadth of the enclosing-wall, one reed, and the height one reed.
And there was given unto me a reed, like unto a staff, saying - Rise, and measure the Sanctuary of God, and the altar, and them who are doing homage 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 who is high, and humble him, yea tread down the lawless, on the spot:
Behold, I pray thee, his strength in his loins, and his force, in the muscles of his belly;
Therefore hath Yahweh cut off from Israel - Head and tail Palm-top 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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Therefore will Yahweh smite Israel, as a reed shaketh in water, and will root out Israel, from off this goodly soil, which he gave unto their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the River (Euphrates), - because they have made their Sacred Stems, provoking Yahweh to anger:
Now, lo! thou dost trust thyself on the support of this bruised cane, on Egypt, whereon, if a man lean, it will enter his hand and lay it open, - so, is Pharaoh king of Egypt, to all who trust upon him.
Wilt thou put a rush-cord on his nose? or, with a thorn, wilt thou pierce his jaw?
Out of his nostrils, proceedeth smoke, like a blown pot and rushes;
Therefore hath Yahweh cut off from Israel - Head and tail Palm-top and rush, In one day.
And rivers, shall stink, The canals of Egypt be shallow and waste, Reed and rush, he withered;
And Egypt shall have nothing which can be don Which head or tail palm-top or rush, can do!
Then shall the glowing sand, become a lake, And thirsty ground - springs of water, - In the home of the wild dog - its lair, Shall he an enclosure for cane and paper - reed.
Lo! thou dost trust on the support of this bruised cane, on Egypt, whereon if a man lean it will enter his hand and lay it open, - So, is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust upon him.
Cane that is crushed, will he not break, And wick that is fading, will he not quench, - Faithfully, will he bring forth justice:
Like this, shall the fast be that I choose, A day for the son of earth to humble his soul? Is it to bow down as a rush his head, And sackcloth and ashes, to spread out? Is it, this, thou wilt call a fast, Or a day of acceptance with Yahweh?
So shall all the inhabitants of Egypt know that I, am Yahweh, Because they were a staff of reed to the house of Israel:
But, as these were going their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes, concerning John, - What went ye forth into the wilderness to gaze at? A reed, by a wind, shaken?
But, as these were going their way, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes, concerning John, - What went ye forth into the wilderness to gaze at? A reed, by a wind, shaken?
A bruised cane, will he not break, and, a smoking wick, will he not quench, - until he urge on, justice, to victory,
And, the messengers of John having departed, he began to say unto the multitudes, concerning John - What went ye forth into the desert to gaze at? A reed, by a wind, shaken?