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 to thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half as much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,
And Elijah came to all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD is God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defense shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.
Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; on which if a man lean, it will enter his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment to truth.
Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thy iniquities.
To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a distant country? your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to me.
Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
And behold a wall on the outside of the house around, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and a hand-breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed: and the hight, one reed.
He measured the east side with the measuring reed, five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed around.
And as they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken with the wind?
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he shall send forth judgment to victory.
And immediately one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put 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 the LORD 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 groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
Now behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man leaneth, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust on him.
And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defense shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. The paper-reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment to truth.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
And as they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken with the wind?
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he shall send forth judgment to victory.
And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews?
And immediately one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive:
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 bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
Take thou also to thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half as much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,
Now behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man leaneth, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust on him.
Can the rush grow without mire? can the flag grow without water?
Out of his nostrils issueth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
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 the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
That sendeth embassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation measured by line and trodden down, whose land the rivers have laid waste.
That sendeth embassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation measured by line and trodden down, whose land the rivers have laid waste.
The paper-reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, 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 made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thy iniquities.
Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a distant country? your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to me.
Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, 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 rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou didst break, and make all their loins to be at a stand.
And behold a wall on the outside of the house around, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and a hand-breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed: and the hight, one reed.
I saw also the hight of the house around: the foundations of the side-chambers were a full reed of six great cubits.
And there was given me a reed like a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship in it.
And he that talked with me, had a golden reed to measure the city, and its gates, and its wall.
Hastings
1. q
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And behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind sprung up after them.
And I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears came up on one stalk, full and good:
And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: its shaft, and its branches, its bowls, its knobs, and its flowers, shall be of the same. And six branches shall extend from the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick from the one side, and three branches of the candlestick from the other side:
For the LORD 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 groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
Now behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man leaneth, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust on him.
Can the rush grow without mire? can the flag grow without water?
They are passed away as the swift ships: as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.
Then let my arm fall from my shoulder-blade, and my arm be broken from the bone.
Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one shall submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war.
Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
The paper-reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.
Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; on which if a man lean, it will enter his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.
Now therefore give pledges, I pray thee, to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou canst on thy part set riders upon them.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment to truth.
Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thy iniquities.
They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down, yes, they worship.
To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a distant country? your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to me.
And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, 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 rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou didst break, and make 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 around, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of six cubits long by the cubit and a hand-breadth: so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed: and the hight, one reed.
And there was given me a reed like a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship in it.
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 in their place.
Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, 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 the LORD 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 groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
Now behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man leaneth, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust on him.
Out of his nostrils issueth smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron.
Therefore the LORD will cut off from Israel head and tail, branch and rush, in one day.
And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defense shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.
Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may perform.
And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; on which if a man lean, it will enter his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment to truth.
Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
And as they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken with the wind?
And as they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed shaken with the wind?
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he shall send forth judgment to victory.
And when the messengers of John had departed, he began to speak to the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?