קָנֶה

From the study of Ezekiel 40:6

Range of meaning

Reed or cane, a stalk, the branch of a lampstand, sweet cane (an aromatic plant), the arm-bone at the shoulder, and a reed used as a measuring rod.

Against the English

The KJV's "reed" keeps the image of a plant stalk. "Rod" (BSB, NIV) makes clear it is a fixed unit of length. Neither shows how long it is: six long cubits, about 3.1 m or 10 ft.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezek 40:3, 5 introduces the guide's "measuring reed." Its long cubit, a cubit plus a handbreadth, matches the "cubit of the old standard" in 2 Chr 3:3. Measuring rods and lines appear in Zech 2:1–2 and Rev 11:1; 21:15–17, which draws on Ezekiel.

From the study of Ezekiel 40:3

Range of meaning

Qāneh is a reed or cane (the giant reed Arundo donax), a stalk (Gen 41:5), the shaft of a lampstand, aromatic cane, the upper arm bone, and a measuring rod. As a unit it is 6 cubits. Akkadian qanû is likewise both 'reed' and a measure of length. Middâ means measurement or size, and 'garment' in a few places.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and YLT say "measuring reed"; BSB, NIV and NASB say "measuring rod." To a modern reader "reed" sounds like a flimsy marsh plant. In fact it is a standard measuring instrument of fixed length, so "rod" gets the function across better.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezek 40:5 fixes the rod at 6 cubits of 'a cubit and a handbreadth' each, the long or 'royal' cubit of about 52 cm, so about 3.1 m. Mesopotamian building texts use the reed as a standard unit. Zech 2:1 (Heb 2:5) has a 'measuring line' (ḥeḇel middâ). Rev 11:1 and 21:15 echo this scene with a reed for measuring, in 21:15 a golden one. The Greek kanōn, 'measuring rule' (the source of English 'canon'), is generally thought to come from this Semitic word for reed.

From the study of Isaiah 36:6

Range of meaning

Qāneh is a reed or cane: marsh reed, a measuring rod, a stalk of grain, the beam of a balance. Rāṣaṣ means to crush, crack, or break by pressure. It is also used for oppressing the weak ('crushed' people, Deut 28:33; Amos 4:1). The passive participle rāṣûṣ means 'already crushed, cracked'.

Against the English

KJV and YLT say 'broken', BSB 'splintered', WEB 'bruised', NASB 'crushed'. 'Broken' can suggest snapped in two and useless-looking. The Hebrew image is a cane that is cracked but still standing, which is exactly what makes it dangerous. 'Bruised' in modern English sounds like a surface mark.

How it drifted

Older English 'bruise' meant to crush or batter. Its modern meaning (a discoloured mark on skin) is much softer.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same phrase qāneh rāṣûṣ appears in Isa 42:3, where the LORD's servant 'will not break a crushed reed', quoted in Matt 12:20. Ezek 29:6–7 develops the same picture of Egypt as 'a staff of reed' that splinters and tears the shoulder of Israel when grasped. The LXX here has 'the crushed reed staff' (rhabdos kalaminē tethlasmenē).