Bible Dictionary
Rush
Rush can refer to papyrus or to various marsh and reed plants. Papyrus grew in Egypt and parts of Palestine and was used for light boats and writing material; other rushes symbolized humble people or fragile vegetation.
Definition
“Rush” may refer to papyrus or to various rushes and sedges growing in marshy places. Papyrus was a tall sedge used for light boats and writing material; other rushes represented humble people or fragile vegetation.
Biblical Usage
Papyrus appears in references to bulrushes, boats, and the plant growing in marshes. “Branch and rush” expresses completeness or totality, while rush imagery contrasts humble people with the palm branch.
Historical Background
Papyrus grew abundantly in Upper Egypt and in marshes near Lake Huleh, Lake Galilee, and the Jordan. Boats were made from plaited papyrus. Other rushes and sedges belonged to the family Cyperaceae and grew in Palestinian marshes.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The papyrus (Job 8:11). (See BULRUSH.) The expression “branch and rush” in Isa. 9:14; 19:15 means “utterly.”
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>(1) (gome'; papuros, "bulrushes," margin "papyrus" (Ex 2:3); "rush," margin "papyrus" (Job 8:11); "papyrus," the King James Version "rush" (Isa 18:2); "rushes" (Isa 35:7)): This is almost certainly the famous papyrus, Cyperus papyrus (Natural Order, Cyperaceae), known in Arabic as babir (whence comes our word "paper"). This plant, the finest of the sedges, flourishes plentifully in Upper Egypt; in Palestine there is a great mass of it growing in the marsh to the North of Lake Huleh, and it also occurs on the Lake of Galilee and the Jordan. Light boats of plaited papyrus have been used on the Nile from ancient times and are mentioned by many writers (compare Ex 2:3; Isa 18:2).</p><p>(2) ('aghmon, "rope," margin "Hebrew `a rope of rushes,' " the King James Version "hook" (Job 41:2): "(burning) rushes," the King James Version "caldron" (Job 41:20); "rush," the King James Version "bulrush" (Isa 58:5); "rush" in Isa 9:14; 19:15, used of the humble and lowly folk as contrasted with the "palm branch," the highest class): The word 'aghmon comes from 'agham, meaning a marsh (see POOL), being transferred from the place of the things growing there. The word doubtless includes not only the rushes--of which there are several kinds in Palestine--but also members of the sedge family, the Cyperaceae.</p><p>See also REED.</p><p>E. W. G. Masterman</p>