Reed

A plant that grows in water

Job 8:11 See also Genesis 41:1–4, Genesis 41:17–21; Exodus 2:1–6; 1 Kings 14:15; Job 40:21; Isaiah 19:6, Isaiah 35:7

Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water?

Reeds are weak and fragile plants

Matthew 11:7 parallel Luke 7:24 See also 2 Kings 18:21 parallel Isaiah 36:6; Isaiah 58:5; Matthew 12:20; Isaiah 42:3

As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?

Uses of reeds

For fuel

Job 41:20

Smoke billows from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.

As measuring rods

Revelation 11:1

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers there.

The metaphorical use of reeds

Isaiah 9:14–15 See also Isaiah 19:14–15; Ezekiel 29:6–7

So the LORD will cut off Israel’s head and tail, both palm branch and reed in a single day. The head is the elder and honorable man, and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.