From Nave’s Topical Bible
Reed
Every passage the 1896 Nave’s Topical Biblegathers under this heading, in Nave’s own arrangement and then in Bible order. MannaFest has not written this page — it is the older index, transcribed, with the Word travelling beside each reference.
- 21Passages listed
- 8Books of the 66
- 1896Nave's edition
How Nave’s arranged it
- A water plantIsaiah 19:6Isaiah 19:7Isaiah 35:7Jeremiah 51:32
- Used as a measuring device (six cubits)Ezekiel 40:3–8Ezekiel 41:8Ezekiel 42:16–19Ezekiel 45:1Revelation 11:1Revelation 21:15Revelation 21:16
- Mockingly given to Jesus as a symbol of royaltyMatthew 27:29
- Jesus hit withMatthew 27:30Mark 15:19
- FIGURATIVE
- Of weakness1 Kings 14:152 Kings 18:21Isaiah 36:6Isaiah 42:3Ezekiel 29:6Matthew 11:7Matthew 12:20
The passages, in Bible order (21)
The same references, sorted Genesis to Revelation. The first 16 are quoted in full; the rest are one click beneath them, book by book.
- 1 Kings 14:15
For the LORD will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that He gave their fathers, and He will scatter them beyond the Euphrates, because they have made their Asherah poles, provoking the LORD to anger.
Commentary on 1 Kings 14:151 voice
And the Lord shall smite Israel as a reed is shaken in the water,....
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
- 2 Kings 18:21
Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
Commentary on 2 Kings 18:212 voices
This bruised reed - The tall reed of the Nile bulrush fitly symbolized the land where it grew. Apparently strong and firm, it was quite unworthy of trust. Let a man lean upon it, and the rotten support instantly gave way, wounding the hand that stayed itself so insecurely. So it was with Egypt throughout the whole period of Jewish history (compare 2Ki 17:4-6). Her actual practice was to pretend friendship, to hold out hopes of support, and then to fail in time of need.
Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)Evangelical
As I have already said, Sennacherib is a type of the devil, and this hypothesis is perfectly confirmed by the words that in this passage the Rabshakeh boastfully speaks against God when he makes false promises to the people, trying to take away from [God] …
Ephrem the Syrian· ON THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS 18:19, 373Patristic
- Isaiah 19:6
The canals will stink; the streams of Egypt will trickle and dry up; the reeds and rushes will wither.
Commentary on Isaiah 19:62 voices
(Verset 5 et suiv.) And the sea water will dry up, and the river will be deserted and dried up, and the rivers will fail, and the streams of the embankments will be thin and dry up. The reed and the rush will wither, the bed of the river will be exposed from its source, and all irrigated crops will dry up. It will dry up and cease to exist.
Jerome· Commentary on Isaiah, 420Patristic
And the rivers, other rivers: I will make the channels of the rivers dry (Ezek 30:12). Second, he sets out the sign of the drought: the reed and the bulrush, which are raised in the water, below: shall rise up the verdure of the reed …
Thomas Aquinas· Commentary on Isaiah, 1274Patristic
- Isaiah 19:7
The bulrushes by the Nile, by the mouth of the river, and all the fields sown along the Nile, will wither, blow away, and be no more.
Commentary on Isaiah 19:72 voices
(Verset 5 et suiv.) And the sea water will dry up, and the river will be deserted and dried up, and the rivers will fail, and the streams of the embankments will be thin and dry up. The reed and the rush will wither, the bed of the river will be exposed from its source, and all irrigated crops will dry up. It will dry up and cease to exist.
Jerome· Commentary on Isaiah, 420Patristic
Third, he sets out the ruin from the drought, shall be laid bare: first, the ruin of agriculture, from its fountain, that is, from its beginning, or this to the end: he has turned rivers into a wilderness: and the sources of waters into dry …
Thomas Aquinas· Commentary on Isaiah, 1274Patristic
- Isaiah 35:7
The parched ground will become a pool, the thirsty land springs of water. In the haunt where jackals once lay, there will be grass and reeds and papyrus.
Commentary on Isaiah 35:71 voice
But since I have not quoted to you such Scripture as tells that Christ will do these things, I must necessarily remind you of one such: from which you can understand, how that to those destitute of a knowledge of God, I mean the Gentiles, who, 'having eyes, saw not, and having a heart, understood not,' worshipping the images of wood, [how even to them] Scripture prophesied that they would renounce these [vanities], and hope in this Christ.
Justin Martyr· Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter LXIX, 165Patristic
- Isaiah 36:6
Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.
Commentary on Isaiah 36:61 voice
Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt,....
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
- Isaiah 42:3
A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
Commentary on Isaiah 42:31 voice
The prophets, therefore, did not openly behold the actual face of God, but [they saw] the dispensations and the mysteries through which man should afterwards see God. As was also said to Elias: "Thou shalt go forth tomorrow, and stand in the presence of the Lord; and, behold, a wind great and strong, which shall rend the mountains, and break the rocks in pieces before the Lord.
Irenaeus· AGAINST HERESIES 4:20.10, 202Patristic
- Jeremiah 51:32
The fords have been seized, the marshes set on fire, and the soldiers are terrified.”
- Ezekiel 29:6
Then all the people of Egypt will know that I am the LORD. For you were only a staff of reeds to the house of Israel.
Commentary on Ezekiel 29:61 voice
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord,.... Who could eject their king from his kingdom, and deliver him into the hands of his enemy; though he thought no God could, as he boastingly said, before observed: because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel; alluding to the country of Egypt, which abounded with reeds that grew upon the banks of the river Nile, and other rivers.
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
- Ezekiel 40:3–8
So He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze. He was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand.
Commentary on Ezekiel 40:3–81 voice
This man spoke to the prophet, in whose hand was a cord, and whose appearance was like bronze, and he held a reed in his hand. He spoke to Ezekiel, a true architect, whom Paul the apostle imitated, saying: Like a wise architect, I have laid the foundation. But he calls him the wise architect, to distinguish him from the foolish one, who is called an unworthy shepherd in Zechariah.
Jerome· COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 12:40.1-4, 420Patristic
- Ezekiel 41:8
I saw that the temple had a raised base all around it, forming the foundation of the side rooms. It was the full length of a rod, six long cubits.
Commentary on Ezekiel 41:81 voice
(Versed. 8 seqq.) 'And I saw in the house a height all around, with foundations of reed measuring six cubits, and the width along the outer wall of the side chamber, five cubits. And the inner part of the house and the space between the storehouses, twenty cubits wide all around the house. And there were doors in the side chambers toward the outer court, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south. And the width of the place for worship, five cubits all around.'
Jerome· Commentary on Ezekiel, 420Patristic
- Ezekiel 42:16–19
With a measuring rod he measured the east side to be five hundred cubits long.
Commentary on Ezekiel 42:16–191 voice
(Verse 15 onwards) When he had finished measuring the interior dimensions of the house, he led me along the way of the gate that faced east, and he measured it all around. (He measured the likeness of the house all around in order.) He measured the east side with the measuring rod; it was 500 rods long by the measuring rod all around. (He also measured the north side, south side, and west side.) And he measured against the north wind, five hundred cubits, measuring with a cubit in circumference.
Jerome· Commentary on Ezekiel, 420Patristic
- Ezekiel 45:1
“When you divide the land by lot as an inheritance, you are to set aside a portion for the LORD, a holy portion of the land 25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits wide. This entire tract of land will be holy.
- Matthew 11:7
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?
Commentary on Matthew 11:71 voice
Was it for this ye went out into the desert to see a man like unto a reed, and carried about by every wind, so that in lightness of mind he doubts concerning Him whom once he preached? Or it may be he is roused against Me by the sting of envy, and he seeks empty honour by his preaching, that he may thereof make gain. Why should he covet wealth? that he may have dainty fare? But his food is locusts and wild honey. That he may wear soft raiment? But his clothing is camel's hair.
Jerome· Catena Aurea by Aquinas, 420Patristic
- Matthew 12:20
A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory.
Commentary on Matthew 12:202 voices
What does it mean that it is written in Matthew: 'A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench' (Matthew 12:20). For the explanation of this passage, the whole testimony that Matthew takes from the Prophet Isaiah must be set forth, even the words of Isaiah (Isaiah 42): according to the Septuagint interpreters and the Hebrew itself, to which Theodotus, Aquila, and Symmachus agree. Thus of the four Evangelists, only Matthew relates: "And Jesus knowing it, retired from thence: and many followed him, and he healed them all.
Jerome· Letter 121, Chapter 2, 420Patristic
(Ep. 121.2.) Or, the reverse, He calls the Jews a bruised reed, whom tossed by the wind and shaken from one another, the Lord did not immediately condemn, but patiently endured; and the smoking flax He calls the people gathered out of the Gentiles, who, having extinguished the light of the natural law, were involved in the wandering mazes of thick darkness of smoke, bitter and hurtful to the eyes; this He not only did not extinguish, by reducing them to ashes, but on the contrary from a small spark and one almost dead He raised a mighty flame.
Jerome· Catena Aurea by Aquinas, 420Patristic
- Matthew 27:29
And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt down before Him to mock Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Commentary on Matthew 27:292 voices
He had been styled King of the Jews, and the Scribes and Priests had brought this charge against Him, that He claimed sovereignty over the Jewish nation; hence this mockery of the soldiers, taking away His own garments, they put on Him a scarlet cloak to represent that purple fringe which kings of old used to wear, for the diadem they put on Him a crown of thorns, and for the regal sceptre give Him a reed, and perform adoration to Him as to a king. All these things we may understand mystically.
Jerome· Catena Aurea by Aquinas, 420Patristic
That scarlet robe was prefigured by the scarlet sign mentioned in Joshua the son of Nun, which Rahab used for her safety, and mentioned in Genesis, which was placed on the hand of one of Tamar's newborn sons in token of the future Passion of Christ. So now, in taking up the "scarlet robe," he took upon himself the blood of the world, and in that thorny "crown" plaited on his head he took upon himself the thorns of our sins. As to the robe, it is written that "they stripped him of the scarlet robe."
Origen of Alexandria· COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 125.9, 253Patristic