136 REED. 



reference to the Saviour, &quot;A bruised reed shall he not break,&quot; 

 intimating the tenderness of our Lord s care and affection 

 to the weak and fainting. 



The English word &quot;cane&quot; is probably derived, through 

 several changes, from the Hebrew &quot;kaneh,&quot; translated &quot;reed.&quot; 

 In English the word &quot;cane&quot; is applied to varieties of the reed, 

 and even to objects resembling it only in shape. Thus, a 

 walking-stick, though made of oak or rose-wood, is called a 

 cane; and the bamboo and sugar-plant are canes. With the 

 same variety of meaning the word &quot;reed&quot; is used in the 

 Scriptures. In 3 John, 13th verse, it is a pen : &quot; I will not with 

 ink and pen write unto thee.&quot; In Luke vii. 24, &quot;a reed shaken 

 by the wind,&quot; denoted any slender vegetation. In Matt, xxvii. 

 29, 30, where it is said the reed was put in our Saviour s 

 hand and his head smitten with it, it probably signified a long 

 stick. In Matt, xxvii. 48 and Mark xv. 36, it is said that the 

 vinegar was presented to the Saviour on a reed; while in John 

 xix. 29, it is said to be put upon hyssop. On account of this 

 variation, it has been supposed that the stem of the hyssop 

 was intended by &quot;reed&quot; in one passage, but that the whole 

 plant was referred to in the other. This is improbable; for 

 the hyssop was a small plant, arid was with greater likelihood 

 already fastened to a stick, for the reasons stated under &quot; Hys 

 sop.&quot; St. John, being near the cross, would more readily have 

 noticed the hyssop; while the others, being at a distance, would 

 have regarded only the stick. Either would have spoken cor 

 rectly, as the vinegar was raised as truly on the hyssop as on 

 the stick or reed. 



