64 BULRUSH. 



affords, or perhaps by the peelings of the paper-reed near at 

 hand, and of which we shall speak hereafter. And yet, accord 

 ing to the scriptural account, it required the application of the 

 asphaltum of the country, or perhaps some well-known slime, to 

 prevent the entrance of the water. A little floating ark could 

 easily be fitted up from these materials, which, on the placid 

 waters of the Nile, would float a long time uninjured and keep 

 its little charge as safe and free from water as the most loving 

 mother could have wished. The ancient Egyptians used the 

 fibre of the plant for cordage; and the probabilities are that 

 the bulrush referred to in Exodus ii. 3 was larger than at present, 

 and that, with a skill peculiarly Egyptian, it was used even 

 in the construction of small ships. Some, however, have with 

 great plausibility thought that plant to be the paper-reed, to 

 which this word here translated &quot;bulrush&quot; refers, and which 

 we have spoken of under the head of Paper-Reed. 



The Scripture references to the bulrush only indicate inci 

 dental facts. In Isaiah xviii. 2 the reference speaks of the 

 plant as characteristic of that nation &quot;beyond the rivers of 

 Ethiopia,&quot; and as used for the construction of their vessels, 

 probably only those intended for rivers. The bulrushes eleven 

 feet in height, which Hasselquist describes, could easily have 

 been so joined together as to form vessels of considerable size 

 and strength; and probably of such vessels the prophet speaks, 

 as used in his day and in the country referred to. 



