Greek word · G2563

κάλαμος

kalamos

reed/stick/pen

Reed or cane growing in marshes. Also a reed staff (Matt 27:29–30), a measuring rod (Rev 11:1) and a reed pen (3 John 13).

Appears 12 times in 12 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κάλαμος, -ου, ὁ

[in LXX chiefly for קָנֶה, Isaiah 42:3, Ezekiel 40:3 ff., al. ;]

a reed: Matthew 11:7 12:20" (LXX) Luke 7:24; hence, accusative, to its various uses,

(a) a reed-pipe, flute;

(b) a reed-staff, staff (cf. 2 Kings 18:21, ῥάβδος καλαμίνη): Matthew 27:29-30, 48, Mark 15:19, 36;

(with) a measuring reed or rod (Ez, l.with): Revelation 11:1 21:15-16;

(d) a writing reed, a pen: 3 John 1:13 (cf. Milligan, NTD, 9, 7).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Matthew 12:20

Range of meaning

Reed or cane growing in marshes. Also a reed staff (Matt 27:29–30), a measuring rod (Rev 11:1) and a reed pen (3 John 13).

Against the English

'Reed' is accurate. What modern readers miss is how cheap and common reeds were, and how the image was used.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Hebrew Bible Egypt is mocked as a 'crushed reed' that pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it (2 Kgs 18:21; Isa 36:6; Ezek 29:6–7). In Matt 11:7 Jesus asks whether the crowds went out to see 'a reed shaken by the wind.' The Aramaic paraphrase of Isaiah (the Targum) explains the reed as 'the humble' and the dim wick as 'the poor'.

From the study of Matthew 11:7

Range of meaning

A reed or cane (the giant cane Arundo donax and similar marsh plants), and things made from it: a staff, a measuring rod (Rev 11:1; 21:15), a writing pen (3 John 13). As a picture it stands for something light, hollow, easily bent or broken.

Against the English

English "reed" may suggest a thin marsh grass. The Jordan reed was a cane that could grow several metres tall, standing in thick beds along the river. They swayed visibly in any wind. All major translations say "reed," which is accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Hebrew Bible a reed is a picture of instability and weakness. 1 Kings 14:15 says God will strike Israel "as a reed is shaken in the water." 2 Kings 18:21 and Isaiah 36:6 call Egypt a "broken reed" that pierces the hand of whoever leans on it. Isaiah 42:3 speaks of a "bruised reed," which Matthew quotes about Jesus in 12:20. In the Greek fable of the oak and the reed, the reed survives because it bends. In Luke 7:24 the same saying appears almost word for word, and Gospel of Thomas 78 has a version too. Herod Antipas's coins from the founding of Tiberias (c. 19/20 AD) carry a plant that many coin experts identify as a reed.

From the study of Mark 15:19

Range of meaning

A reed or cane stalk, especially the tall giant reed of the Mediterranean, whose stalks grow woody and bamboo-like. By extension: a staff or stick, a measuring rod, and a pen cut from reed.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and ESV say 'reed'. BSB and NIV say 'staff'. NLT says 'reed stick'. 'Reed' is literal but makes modern readers think of a flimsy rush. 'Staff' gets the hardness right but loses the link to the reed and the fake-scepter joke.

How it drifted

In everyday English 'reed' means a thin, bendy marsh plant, so the blows can seem harmless. The Greek word covers stalks rigid enough to measure with (Rev 11:1; 21:15) or to lift a sponge on (Mark 15:36).

Used elsewhere in the period

In Mark 15:36 a kalamos holds up the sponge of sour wine. In Revelation 11:1 and 21:15 it is a measuring rod, and in 3 John 13 a pen. Matthew 27:29 says the soldiers put it in Jesus' right hand, plainly as a scepter. Philo (Against Flaccus 36–39) tells how an Alexandrian crowd mocked a man as king by handing him a strip of papyrus reed for a scepter.

Where it appears

Matthew · 5

  1. Matthew 11:7 κάλαμον A reed

    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?

    Here: The tall cane that grew thickly along the Jordan. Something you saw everywhere there, nothing worth a trip, and a common picture of something weak or easily moved.

  2. Matthew 12:20 κάλαμον A reed

    A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory.

    Here: A common marsh reed: cheap, everywhere, used for pens, measuring rods and walking sticks. It comes first in the Greek for emphasis: 'a reed, a crushed one, he will not snap.'

  3. Matthew 27:29 κάλαμον a reed

    And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand, knelt down before Him, and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

    Here: A reed or cane stalk, standing in for a king's scepter. It was cheap and hollow, a joke version of the real thing, but stiff enough to hit him with in v. 30.

  4. Matthew 27:30 κάλαμον reed

    Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly.

    Here: A cane cut from a reed plant. It served first as a parody scepter and is now used as a stick to beat him. Stems of the large Mediterranean reed are woody and hard enough to hurt.

  5. Matthew 27:48 καλάμῳ a reed

    One of them quickly ran and brought a sponge. He filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink.

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 15:19 καλάμῳ with a reed

    They kept striking His head with a staff and spitting on Him. And they knelt down and bowed before Him.

    Here: 'With a reed/cane'. The stalk was probably a stiff, woody cane, not a thin rush. Matthew 27:29 says it was first put in Jesus' hand as a fake scepter. Here the 'scepter' becomes the club.

  2. Mark 15:36 καλάμῳ on a reed

    And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine. He put it on a reed and held it up for Jesus to drink, saying, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 7:24 κάλαμον A reed

    After John’s messengers had left, 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?

3 John · 1

  1. 3 John 1:13 καλάμου pen

    I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with pen and ink.

Revelation · 3

  1. Revelation 11:1 κάλαμος a measuring rod

    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.

    Here: The giant cane of the Jordan valley, straight and long, used as a builder's and surveyor's measure. It echoes Ezekiel's 'measuring reed' (Ezek 40:3, 5).

  2. Revelation 21:15 κάλαμον reed

    The angel who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls.

    Here: A reed cut to a fixed length and used as a surveyor's rod. It recalls Ezekiel's 'measuring reed' (Ezek 40:3–5) and John's own reed in Rev 11:1.

  3. Revelation 21:16 καλάμῳ reed

    The city lies foursquare, with its width the same as its length. And he measured the city with the rod, and all its dimensions were equal—12,000 stadia in length and width and height.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.