This Division contains corn, grass, reeds, canes, rushes, and flags.
The word grass occurs forty-eight times in the Bible, in the greater number of cases the application being figurative, and symbolical of early withering, decay, and death; its most important practical use was for fodder for cattle. One of the Hebrew words for grass (yered) means green, and seems to be a general term for all herbage growing in fields and meadows, fit for the food of cattle.
In Botany the term grass is restricted to a family of plants termed Gramineœ, of which there are about 4000 different species known to botanists. More or less of that number are to be found in all regions of the earth suited to plant life, varying in size from a few inches to that of the lofty bamboo, and including all kinds of corn, reeds, and sugar cane. About 150 are natives of Palestine, many of which are common to the south of Europe and this country.
Grasses may well be called the carpet of the earth, as they closely occupy vast tracts of the earth’s surface, both on plains and mountain slopes. They are the most important of all plants to man, furnishing him with bread, and food for his flocks and herds.
Corn (Heb., Dagan, Growing Corn)
Other Hebrew words are applied to corn in its different states.
Corn is a general name for various plants of the grass family, which, according to their nature, have been cultivated in different regions of the earth from time immemorial, their seed, grain as it is generally called, furnishing the bread food of man. That corn was important to man in early times as it is now, is evident from its being spoken of no less than seventy-one times in the Bible. Although it is first mentioned in the above three quotations, it may nevertheless readily be believed that the cakes made of fine meal presented by Abraham to the three angels were made of some kind of corn. (Gen. 18:66And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. (Genesis 18:6).) In this country, corn is represented by wheat, barley, oats, and rye; and in warmer countries by Indian corn or maize, Guinea corn, rice, and other large-seeded grasses. “The principal kinds of corn growing in Palestine at the present day are wheat, barley, spelled, millet, and dhurra or Guinea corn (Sorghum vulgare).
Parched Corn (Heb., Kali)
“And ye shall eat neither bread nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God.”—Lev. 23:14; 149014And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. (Leviticus 23:14) B.C. “And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat and was sufficed.”—Ruth 2:14; 131214And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. (Ruth 2:14) B.C. “And Jesse said unto David, his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren.”—1 Sam. 17:17; 106317And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; (1 Samuel 17:17) B.C. Parched corn is also mentioned in 1 Sam. 25:18; 106018Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses. (1 Samuel 25:18) B.C.; and again, 2 Sam. 17:2828Brought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse, (2 Samuel 17:28).; 1023 B.C. In the latter verse parched pulse is also mentioned (see “Pulse”).
Parched corn forms an article of food in Palestine at the present day, and Dr. Thomson describes it as being thus prepared, “A quantity of the best ears (of wheat), not too ripe, are plucked with the stalks attached; these are tied into small parcels, a blazing fire is kindled with dry grass and thorn bushes, and the corn heads are held in it until the chaff is mostly burned off.” When sufficiently roasted, the grain is “rubbed out in the hand,” and is a favorite article of food all over the country. Corn is also prepared by being first boiled, then bruised in a mill to take the husks off, afterward dried in the sun, and then stored for use.
Barley (Heb., Scorah)
Barley is the corn grain (seed) of Hordeum distichum, an annual plant of the grass family, which has been extensively cultivated from time immemorial in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in the Old World. It is one of the principal corn foods of man. Thirty-two passages in the Bible refer to it, either as a plant growing in the fields or to its use as barley meal, barley bread, barley cakes, and barley loaves (John 6; 9; 13). This shows it was extensively cultivated as food in early times in Palestine, and there is no doubt but that the plant then cultivated was the same as that now grown.
In Palestine and other countries barley bread forms a great part of the food of the poor. In this country it is but little used. Barley is, however, grown chiefly for turning into malt, from which, by fermentation and distillation, ale and spirits are obtained. As no mention is made of its intoxicating qualities in the Bible, it is reasonable to suppose that its properties in that respect were not then known.
Wheat (Heb., Chittah)
“And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field.”—Gen. 30:14; 174714And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. (Genesis 30:14) B.C. “But the wheat and the rie were not smitten.”—Exod. 9:32; 149132But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up. (Exodus 9:32) B.C. “For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land... a land of wheat and barley.”—Deut. 8:8; 14518A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; (Deuteronomy 8:8) B.C. “And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household.”—1 Kings 5, 11; 1014 B.C.
Wheat (Triticum vulgare), is a well-known annual grass, extensively cultivated from the remotest times in Egypt and other countries of the East. Grains of wheat having been found, along with flint implements, in the remains of the Lake cities of Switzerland show that it must have been cultivated even in prehistoric times. It is now spread over all the temperate regions of the earth, and supplies the staff of life to millions of people. Palestine is famed of old as being “a land of wheat and barley,” and even at the present day considerable quantities of wheat are exported from its Levantine ports. The cakes ordered to be made of “fine flour” for the shewbread, in Leviticus 24:55And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. (Leviticus 24:5), were no doubt of wheaten flour.
Rye (Heb., Cussemeth)
Rye (Secale cereale) is a corn grass extensively cultivated in many parts of Europe. Its grains are similar to barley and wheat, and in many parts form the principal corn bread of the people. As it is but sparingly cultivated in Egypt or Syria, it is supposed that the rye mentioned above was Triticum Spelta, called spelled, a hard-grained wheat, in common cultivation in these countries at the present time, as it was in Egypt in the time of Moses.
Rye is subject to a disease called “ergot,” caused by a microscopic fungus, which attacks one or more of the grains in the ear while young, causing it to swell into a substance very different from that of the grain, being solid and of a fatty nature, generally in the form of a spur, sometimes an inch or more in length: hence the name “spurred rye.” The spur is very poisonous, and, in Germany and other parts of Europe, where rye-bread is much used, being ground with the meal, causes incurable gangrenous diseases. It is, however, a valuable medicine in the hands of the medical practitioner.
Tares (Greek, Zizania.)
“But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat.”—Matt. 25-30; 31 A.D.
In the English version of the New Testament the Greek word zizania is rendered tares, but it must be understood that the plant called tares in this country, Vicia sativa, a kind of vetch cultivated for feeding cattle, is not the tares spoken of in the above verse, the latter being Lolium temulentum, a strong-growing grass resembling rye or wheat, from which in its early growth it cannot well be distinguished. If not eradicated early, but left till the harvest, it is cut with the wheat, is then difficult to separate, and of course, more or less, is ground with the wheat.
It is one of the very few deleterious grasses, and there are many instances on record of its serious effects; even death being caused by eating bread containing darnel. Its poisonous properties were well known to Theophrastus and other Greek writers, and Gerard, in his “Herbal,” says “The new bread wherein darnel is, eaten hot causeth drunkeness,” hence in some books it is called “drunken darnel.” It is also said to cause blindness.
The word Zizania has been given by Linnaaus as the generic name of a North American grass, Z. aquatica, called water rice, the grains of which form a considerable article of food in Canada.
Millet (Heb., Olochan)
“Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof.”—Ezek. 4:9; 5959Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof. (Ezekiel 4:9) B.C.
Millet is the seed grain of several kinds of grasses, the most important being Sorghum vulgare. This is a strong growing, cane-like grass, attaining the height of four, five, or more feet, and producing a crowded head of spikelets six to eight inches in length, forming a dense head of small corn grains, which are ground into meal for making bread. It appears to have been cultivated in Egypt in early times, as verified by grains and representations of the plant being found in the ancient tombs.
It is much grown at the present day in the south of Europe, and in the regions of the Mediterranean generally, also in Egypt, Syria including Palestine, India, and many other countries, and is known by the names of dhurra, danna, and Guinea corn. Its cultivation has been several times attempted in this country; and, like Indian corn, it flowers luxuriantly, but the summers are too cold to ripen the grains of either.
The spikelets forming the head become very rigid, and after the removal of the grain, are used for making brushes, whisks, and brooms. They are extensively imported to this country for that purpose. As Millet was cultivated in Egypt in the time of Moses, it is quite probable that the spikelets were then in use, and that they formed the bunch of Hyssop.
Panicum miliaceum and P. italicum are also called Millet; they are strong growing, broad-leaved, annual grasses, producing a dense head of grains, smaller than those of the preceding. They are largely grown in many parts of Europe as bread plants, and also for feeding poultry. The generic name, Panicum, means bread.
Straw, Stubble
The stalks of all kinds of corn, after being thrashed, are familiarly known by the name of straw, and the stalks of the different kinds of pasture grass, when dry, form hay. Both are termed provender, and are used for feeding and littering cattle. In time this is trodden down for the dunghill; it then becomes manure, and enriches the soil for again reproducing the original elements, straw and hay.
The discovery of ancient Egyptian bricks, shows that in their formation chopped straw was mixed with the clay, seemingly for the purpose of giving to it a greater cohesion. Other substances were also used, such as the stalks of clover or similar plants, of which, leaves have been found in the bricks.
Stubble is that part of the stalks of corn left in the ground after the corn is cut, and generally does not exceed a few inches in height.
Hay (Heb., Chatzir)
The word hay in these two verses seems to indicate the grass in a growing state, and not in the state of hay as so called in this country; and, according to Tristram, the drying and stacking of grass is not practiced in Palestine.
Chaff
Chaff is the husk which surrounds the grains in the ears of corn. The chaff is separated from the grain by threshing and winnowing. The word occurs thirteen times in the Bible, but the above is sufficient to show that it is a worthless substance, being in most cases spoken of as easily driven by the wind or destroyed by fire.
In this country it is not altogether useless, as by some it is substituted for feathers or other material for stuffing beds.
Calamus (Heb., Keneh Bosem)
“Take thou also unto thee... of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels.”—Exod. 30:23; 149123Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, (Exodus 30:23) B.C. “Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon.”—Cant., 4:14; 1014 B.C. “Cassia, and calamus, were in thy market”—Ezek. 27:19; 58819Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market. (Ezekiel 27:19) B.C.
Admitting that the above named spices were produced by the same plants, as known by their respective names at the present day, and as they are not natives of Syria, but of India and Ceylon, it must be inferred that they were brought by traders from the South, either through Arabia, or in ships by way of the Red Sea to Egypt; and it must further be inferred, from the knowledge and possession of these spices by the Israelites in the wilderness the first year after they left Egypt, that they must have brought them from that country.
It is supposed by some commentators that sweet calamus and the sweet cane of Jeremiah are only different names for the same plant, but there is every reason to believe that they are two, the first being a sweet-scented and the other a sweet-tasted plant.
Sweet calamus is now considered to be the sweet-scented Andropogon Calamus aromaticus, a common grass in North West India, the leaves of which are highly odoriferous when bruised, and taste strongly of ginger. Cattle are very fond of it, but it has the property of scenting their flesh, milk, and butter. It yields an oil known as ginger grass oil. Its allies are A. Schcenanthus, the well-known lemon grass, which is extensively cultivated in Ceylon for its oil, and A. muricatus, known in India as cuscus; the fibrous roots of the latter are sweet scented, and are woven into screens for windows and verandahs.
These grasses, in their modes of growth, form tufts, producing leaves 3 to 5 feet long; in age the tufts become elevated on a short stem, often becoming cæspitose (that is, many growing together), and properly have no claim to be called calamus, which is the Greek for cane of any kind, and which is also the name of a genus of slender-growing palms, called canes, of which walking sticks are made.
In Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, calamus is said to be Acorns Calamus, there called the river reed. It is well known in this country as sweet flag, which is a more proper name for it than “reed,” as it has no stem. It has sword-shaped leaves about two feet in length, produced from a thick creeping rhizocorm, the whole being aromatic; it is common in many countries throughout temperate Europe and Asia.
It is used in perfumery, and it is quite probable that it was so applied by the Jews, but we do not consider it to be the “sweet calamus” of the above verses.
In consequence of some of the Cyperus family being sweet scented, and C. pertenuis being used by the ladies of India for scenting the hair, it has also been supposed by some to be the sweet calamus, spoken of in the above verses. It is represented in this country by C. longus, the roots of which are sweet scented, and known by the name of English galangale.
Sweet Cane (Heb., Iceneh)
Some commentators consider the “sweet cane from a far country” to be the same as “sweet calamus” (see Calamus), but it appears to us that the words refer to two distinct plants, and that “the sweet canes from a far country” were stems of the sugar-cane. Although the art of making sugar from them was probably then unknown to the Jews, the canes would nevertheless be highly valued for sweetening food or drink.
The sugar-cane, Saccharum officinarum, is a native of the Eastern hemisphere, but its original locality cannot be ascertained, it having been early spread over the tropical countries of Asia. It is believed to have been introduced into Europe by the Venetians about the middle of the twelfth century, and, some time in the sixteenth century, was introduced by the Spaniards into America. It is now grown in Palestine, but its cultivation is limited.
Reed (Heb., Agmôn)
“Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand and pierce it.”—2 Kings 18:21; 71021Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him. (2 Kings 18:21) B.C. “He (Behemoth or hippopotamus) lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.”—Job 40:21; 152021He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens. (Job 40:21) B.C. “The brooks of defense shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither.”—Isa. 19:6; 7146And they shall turn the rivers far away; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither. (Isaiah 19:6) B.C. “With a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed.”—Ezek. 40:3; 5743And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. (Ezekiel 40:3) B.C. “And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand.”—Matt. 27:29; 3329And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! (Matthew 27:29) A.D. “And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.”—Mark 15:36; 3336And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. (Mark 15:36) A.D.
The name reed, in conjunction with cane, is applied to the flower stems of grasses, the larger kinds being called canes, such as the Bamboo and Sugar Canes, also the slender stems of certain Palms, such as those used for chair bottoms and walking sticks, and the name reed is usually applied to grasses, with slender, but firm, rigid stems, of which the common reed of this country, Phragmitis communis, is a good example, as also the reed mace, Typha The word reed is of frequent occurrence in the Bible, either singly or along with rushes, bulrush, and flags, thus indicating, that, as in this country, reeds grew on banks of rivers and in wet places.
The reeds proper of Palestine consist of several species of Phragmitis, and Arundo Donax; the latter, however, is the most important. It is common in many parts of Palestine, and abundant on the borders of the Dead Sea, forming impenetrable thickets which may be compared to the Bamboo Jungles of India. It is also common in the south of Europe. It attains the height of 8 to 12 feet, having a diameter of 2 to 3 inches at its base, and terminated by a plume of flowers similar to the sugar-cane or pampas grass; the leaves are alternate, about a foot in length, of a glaucous green color.
It is used for many domestic purposes, walking sticks, fishing and measuring rods being made of it, and also musical pipes; and it was probably this reed, the carpenter’s measuring rod, on which the “spunge full of vinegar” was put, as stated in the text quoted above.
With regard to the reed placed in Christ’s right hand, in old pictures it is represented with a thickened top, and there is reason to suppose it means the mace reed, Typha latifolia. It is, however, a question, whether at the time of the crucifixion, March or April, the plant was in a state as forward as that represented in the picture, and also whether it grew so near Jerusalem as to be readily obtained; it may, therefore, be supposed that the thickened top was due to the clever imagination of the artist. At the present day, as of old, in Palestine, the slender stems of Phragmitis scriptorum, which is probably the same as P. communis, are in common use for writing pens.
Bulrush (Heb., Gôme)
“And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein.”—Exod. 2:3; 15713And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. (Exodus 2:3) B.C. “That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters.”—Isa. 18:2; 7142That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! (Isaiah 18:2) B.C.
It must be understood that the plant of the above verses is quite distinct from that called bulrush in this country; both, however, belong to the Sedge family, Cyperaceœ, and both grow in rivers, lakes, and wet places. The common bulrush of this country, Scirpus lacustris, called by early English writers pool-rush, has cylindrical stems like the common rush; while that of the Nile, Cyperus papyrus, now called Papyrus anti-quorum, has three-sided stems, attaining the height of eight to ten or even sixteen feet, and the thickness of from two to three inches at the base, tapering upwards, and terminated by a sheath, from which issues a tuft of numerous grass-like panicles, bearing numerous florets like grass; the whole when perfect assuming the form of a pendulous umbel, which may be compared to a common loose mop. It formerly grew on the banks of the Nile, forming a complete jungle; it is now extinct in lower Egypt, but is found in the White Nile, and is recorded by Dr. Welwitsch as far south as Angola; it also grows near Sera Cruz, in Sardinia, but is supposed to have been introduced there.
Although extinct in the lower Nile, it continues to flourish in Palestine, regarding which Canon Tristram says he saw it “growing luxuriantly in a swamp at the North end of the Plain of Gennesaret, and it covers many acres of the inaccessible marshes of the Huleh, the ancient Merom.” He says,”The whole marsh is marked in the maps as ‘impassable,’ and most truly it is so. I never anywhere else have met with a swamp so vast and so utterly impenetrable. First, there is an ordinary bog, which takes one up to the knees in water; then, after a mile, a belt of deeper water, where the yellow water lily flourishes. Then a belt of tall reeds, the open water covered with white water lily; and beyond, again, an impenetrable wilderness of Papyrus, extending right across to the east side. In fact, the whole is simply a floating bog of several miles square—a very thin crust of vegetation over an unknown depth of water, and if the weight of the explorer breaks through this, suffocation is imminent.” Dr. Thomson describes it in the same manner, and calls it a “ten-mile marsh” of “utterly impassable slough.”
Besides being used for making vessels for floating on the water as the ark of Moses, and for domestic purposes, it is famed for being the material of which the paper of the ancients was made, called Papyri—hence paper (see Paper Reed). The plant was introduced into this country from Sardinia in 1802, but is not sufficiently hardy to thrive in the open air. Specimens of it are to be seen in the hothouses at Kew and other Botanic Gardens.
Paper Reeds (Heb., Aroth)
“The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and everything sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.” Isa. 19:7; 7147The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. (Isaiah 19:7) B.C. (See Bulrush).
The paper reed is understood to be Papyrus antiquorum, which is described under bulrush. It is there stated to have a three-sided stem 2 to 3 inches in diameter at the base and tapering upwards, having a smooth thin bark enclosing a mass of white pith like that of the common rush; this pith is famed as being the material of which the papyri of the ancients was made. The records found in the Egyptian tombs, as also those found in the now partially exhumed cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, in Italy (which were suddenly buried in ashes thrown out by Mount Vesuvius, in 79 A.D.), were all written on paper made from the Papyrus stems, thus showing that the plant was of great importance in early times.
The mode of preparing the paper appears to have been very simple: the stem was first peeled, the pith cut lengthways into thin slices, which were laid side by side with their edges touching one another. These were then sprinkled with gummy water, or, as some say, with the thin muddy water of the Nile; a heavy press was then applied, and thus the whole became united into one piece, of greater length or breadth according to circumstances. The sheet was then dried and cut into the required sizes for use.
Some consider the aroth translated paper reeds should be “green herbage” in general, but, for the sake of explanation, we deem it best to consider it in its literal reading in the above verse, paper reed.
Rush (Heb., Gôme)
In Exodus 2:33And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. (Exodus 2:3), and Isaiah 18:22That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! (Isaiah 18:2), already quoted under bulrush, the Hebrew word gôme is rendered bulrush, but in the above verses rush only, therefore it may be considered the name for rush-like plants in general, and may include the common bulrush, Scirpus lacustris, which is also found in Palestine; it belongs to the family Cyperaceœ, while the true rush belongs to the family Juncaceœ, represented in this country by about twenty species of the genus Juncus, all of which have cylindrical stems, and grow in wet places. A group, consisting of six British species having flat grasslike leaves, have been separated from Juncos under the name of Luzula. They grow generally in pastures and by river banks. Six British species of Juncos are also natives of Palestine, and as the above quotations show that they grow in wet places, as they do in this country, it may reasonably be inferred that our rushes represent the rushes of the Bible.
Flags (Heb., Achu, Suph)
In this country the word flag is applied to certain plants having broad sword-shaped leaves, such as the corn flag, Gladiolus communis; yellow flag, Iris Pseud-acorus; stinking gladwyn, Iris fœtidissima; sweet flag, Acorus Calamus; Cat-tail flag, Typha latifolia; water dock, Rumex aquaticus; water plaiutain, Alisma Plantago; and other such broad-leaved plants; with the exception of the first, they grow by the banks of rivers, brooks, and in other wet, marshy places, or even in water. The flowering rush, Butomus umbellatus, is also sometimes called flags. All the above are common in most countries throughout the Northern hemisphere, and all or any one of them may be taken as representing the flags of the Bible.
Some commentators consider the term flag to be a general term for all plants growing in the vicinity of rivers and marshy places; this view is based on the Hebrew word ache being translated “meadow” in Genesis 41, verses 2 and 18. “And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well-favored kine and fat fleshed; and they fed in a meadow.”
In Isaiah above quoted the Hebrew word translated flag is Suph; and in Jonah 2:55The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. (Jonah 2:5), the same Hebrew word is translated weeds-”the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.” This has led the authoress of the “Scripture Herbal” to consider flags to be Zostera marina, known in this country as grass wrack, growing in mouths of tidal rivers, or even in the deep sea; its leaves are ribbon-like, 3 to 4 feet long, floating in submerged masses, but there is no good evidence in support of this supposition, or that the Zostera grew in that part of the Nile where Moses was found.