reed

There are two general types of reed in Israel, the Common Reed Phragmites australis and the Giant Reed Arundo donax, and it is impossible to say which one is intended in a given biblical context.

The English word “cane” comes from the Hebrew word qaneh. Qaneh is the most general Hebrew word of the many referring to reeds and rushes. Like the English word “reed,” it may refer to a specific type of reed or be a general name for several kinds of water plant. This word is also used to refer to the stalk of grain in Pharaoh’s dream (Genesis 41:5, Genesis 41:22), to the shaft and branches of the golden lampstand in the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:31 et al.), to the beam of a scale (Isaiah 46:6), to the upper arm of a person (Job 31:22), to a measuring stick (Ezekiel 40:3 et al.), and to aromatic cane (Song of Songs 4:14 et al.).

The Greek word kalamos is also used to refer to a measuring stick (Revelation 11:1 et al.) and to a pen (3 John 1:13 and 3 Maccabees 4:20).

The common reed is a tall grass with stiff, sharply-pointed leaves and a plume-like flower head that reaches to more than 2 meters (7 feet). It grows in lakes and streams, the roots creeping across the bottom of the lake to produce new leaves and stalks.

The giant reed is similar to the common reed but tends to grow not in the water but on the river banks. Its majestic plumes can reach up to 5 meters (17 feet) in height on hollow stalks that look like bamboo.

Reeds of both kinds were used for baskets, mats, flutes, pens, arrows, and roof-coverings. Isaiah 42:3 says that the Messiah will be gentle with weak people (“a bruised reed he will not break”), in contrast to the typical iron-fisted tyrants of the day. The Pharaoh is likened to an undependable reed staff in 2 Kings 18:21 et al. In 1 Kings 14:15 Israel is compared to a reed shaking in the water.

The common reed of the Mediterranean area has relatives in Europe, India, Japan, and North America. It is thought to be the only species of the genus Phragmites (although some botanists divide it into three species). It is very important for conservationists, because it provides habitat for many kinds of animals and birds. In North America the weaker native type is being overtaken by more robust types from Europe, which are now threatening other kinds of marsh plants. In Japan people eat the young shoots of reeds. Native Americans used to eat the seeds.

Translators living near lakes and rivers will be able to find an equivalent, if not a relative, of the reed. Others can be generic and use “grass” or a phrase such as “tall grass growing in the water.”

Common reed, photo by Rob Koops

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

In Newari it is translated as “bamboo.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Job 31:22

In verse 22 Job calls for a suitable punishment which is expressed in terms of damage to his shoulder and arm, presumably so he could no longer use threatening gestures. Translators differ greatly in the wording of this verse. Then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder: in this line of the Hebrew, there are two words meaning shoulder. The first refers to the shoulder blade and the other to the back of the neck. Dhorme tries to represent these with an awkward rendering, “then let my shoulder fall from its nape of neck.” This makes little or no sense. It is clearer to say, for example, “Let my shoulder and shoulder blade be torn out.” Since, however, the arm is attached to the shoulder, when the shoulder is torn away, the arm also will go.

The second line deals with the arm separately. And let my arm be broken from its socket is literally “and let my arm from the socket be broken.” The word translated socket normally refers to a “reed” or “stalk,” which has a hollow center and may give rise to the idea of socket. Dhorme takes this word to refer to the humerus, the upper arm bone, and Pope agrees but takes the other word for arm to mean the lower arm. Accordingly he translates “let my arm be wrenched off above the elbow.” Bible en français courant follows this with “and my arm be broken at the elbow.” Good News Translation, which refers only to the arm, understands the second line to be the lesser of the two punishments, and so transposes the two lines to give an increasing punishment at the climax: “may my arms be broken; may they be torn from my shoulders.” Among the many conflicting translations of this verse, Good News Translation offers a clear model to follow. Verse 22 may have to be expressed as an active construction; for example, “let someone break my arms and tear them from my shoulders.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .