Reed

Easton's Bible Dictionary

“Paper reeds” (Isa 19:7; R.V., “reeds”). Heb. ‘aroth, properly green herbage growing in marshy places.

Heb. kaneh (1 Kgs 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 (2 Kgs 18:21; Ezek 29:6), also fickleness or instability (Matt 11:7; comp. Eph 4:14).

A “bruised reed” (Isa 42:3; Matt 12:20) is an emblem of a believer weak in grace. A reed was put into our Lord’s hands in derision (Matt 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 (Matt 27:48) was, according to John (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.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

red:

(1) achu, translated "reed-grass" (Gen 41:2; Gen 41:18; Job 8:11 margin). See FLAG.

(2) 'ebheh, 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) 'aghammim, translated "reeds," margin "marshes," Hebrew "pools" (Jer 51:32); elsewhere "pools" (Exod 7:19; Exod 8:5; Isa 14:23, etc.). See POOL.

(4) `aroth; achi, translated "meadows," the King James Version "paper reeds" (Isa 19:7). See MEADOW.

(5) qaneh; kalamos (the English "cane" comes from Hebrew via Latin and Greek canna), "stalk" (Gen 41:5; Gen 41:22); "shaft" (Exod 37:17, etc.); "reed," or "reeds" (1 Kgs 14:15; 2 Kgs 18:21; Isa 36:6; Isa 42:3; Ps 68:30, the King James Version "spearman"); "calamus" (Exod 30:23; Song 4:14; Ezek 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" (Ezek 40:3); "a staff of reed," i.e. a walking-stick (Isa 36:6; Ezek 29:6); the "branches" of a candlestick (Exod 37:18).

(6) kalamos, "a reed shaken with the wind" (Matt 11:7; Luke 7:24); "a bruised reed" (Matt 12:20); they put "a reed in his right hand" (Matt 27:29; Matt 27:30); "They smote his head with a reed" (Mark 15:19); "put it on a reed" (Matt 27:48; Mark 15:36); "a measuring reed" (Rev 11:1; Rev 21:15; Rev 21:16); "a pen" (3 John 1:13).

It is clear that qaneh 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 qaneh 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 qacabfarasi, "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) Qaneh is in Jer 6:20 qualified qaneh ha-Tobh, "sweet" or "pleasant cane," and in Exod 30:23, qeneh bhosem, "sweet calamus," or, better, a "cane of fragrance." Song 4:14; Isa 43:24; Ezek 27:19 all apparently refer to the same thing, though in these passages the qaneh is unqualified. It was an ingredient of the holy oil (Exod 30:23); it was imported from a distance (Jer 6:20; Ezek 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.