Topical Encyclopedia
Definition and Botanical Context:The term "rush" in the Bible typically refers to a type of plant found in marshy or wetland areas. Rushes are often associated with reeds and bulrushes, which are similar in appearance and habitat. These plants are characterized by their long, slender stems and are commonly found in the regions surrounding the Nile River and other bodies of water in the ancient Near East.
Biblical References:Rushes are mentioned in several passages throughout the Bible, often symbolizing fragility or transience due to their delicate nature and reliance on water for sustenance. In the Berean Standard Bible, rushes are referenced in the context of their natural environment and their symbolic meanings.
One notable mention is in the book of Job, where the rush is used metaphorically to illustrate the fleeting nature of life and prosperity.
Job 8:11 states, "Does papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water?" This rhetorical question highlights the dependence of rushes on water, drawing a parallel to human reliance on God for sustenance and stability.
In
Isaiah 19:6, the prophet describes the desolation that will come upon Egypt, saying, "The streams will dwindle, the canals of Egypt will dry up; the reeds and rushes will wither." Here, rushes are part of the imagery used to depict the consequences of divine judgment, emphasizing the vulnerability of natural resources when God's favor is withdrawn.
Symbolism and Theological Significance:Rushes, like other plants mentioned in the Bible, often carry symbolic meanings. Their growth in marshy areas makes them a symbol of life and fertility, yet their fragility also serves as a reminder of the impermanence of earthly things. The imagery of rushes drying up or withering is frequently used to convey themes of judgment, decay, and the need for divine intervention.
In a broader theological context, the mention of rushes can be seen as a call to recognize the dependency of all creation on God's provision. Just as rushes cannot thrive without water, humanity cannot flourish without the spiritual nourishment provided by a relationship with God.
Cultural and Historical Context:In ancient times, rushes were not only significant in a symbolic sense but also had practical uses. They were commonly used in the making of baskets, mats, and other woven goods. The flexibility and abundance of rushes made them an important resource for everyday life in biblical times.
The presence of rushes in biblical narratives also reflects the geographical and environmental realities of the regions described in Scripture. The prevalence of marshlands and riverbanks in areas like Egypt and Mesopotamia made rushes a familiar sight to the original audiences of the biblical texts.
Conclusion:While the Bible does not provide extensive details about rushes, their inclusion in Scripture serves to enrich the text with layers of meaning related to dependence, judgment, and the natural order. Through the imagery of rushes, biblical authors convey profound truths about the human condition and the necessity of divine grace.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The papyrus (
Job 8:11). (see
BULRUSH.) The expression "branch and rush" in
Isaiah 9:14;
9:15 means "utterly."
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) A name given to many aquatic or marsh-growing endogenous plants with soft, slender stems, as the species of Juncus and Scirpus.
2. (n.) The merest trifle; a straw.
3. (v. i.) To move forward with impetuosity, violence, and tumultuous rapidity or haste; as, armies rush to battle; waters rush down a precipice.
4. (v. i.) To enter into something with undue haste and eagerness, or without due deliberation and preparation; as, to rush business or speculation.
5. (v. t.) To push or urge forward with impetuosity or violence; to hurry forward.
6. (v. t.) To recite (a lesson) or pass (an examination) without an error.
7. (n.) A moving forward with rapidity and force or eagerness; a violent motion or course; as, a rush of troops; a rush of winds; a rush of water.
8. (n.) Great activity with pressure; as, a rush of business.
9. (n.) A perfect recitation.
10. (n.) A rusher; as, the center rush, whose place is in the center of the rush line; the end rush.
11. (n.) The act of running with the ball.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
RUSH(1) (gome'; papuros, "bulrushes," margin "papyrus" (Exodus 2:3); "rush," margin "papyrus" (Job 8:11); "papyrus," the King James Version "rush" (Isaiah 18:2); "rushes" (Isaiah 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 (compareExodus 2:3Isaiah 18:2).
(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" (Isaiah 58:5); "rush" inIsaiah 9:14;Isaiah 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.
See alsoREED.
E. W. G. Masterman
Greek
1530. eispedao -- torush in... to
rush in. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: eispedao Phonetic Spelling:
(ice-pay-dah'-o) Short Definition: I leap into,
rush into Definition: I leap into
...4505. rhume -- therush (of a moving body), hence a (crowded)...
... therush (of a moving body), hence a (crowded) street. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: rhume Phonetic Spelling: (hroo'-may) Short Definition: a...
3731. hormema -- arush
... arush. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: hormema Phonetic Spelling:
(hor'-may-mah) Short Definition: a rushing on, impulse Definition: a rushing on...
3729. hormao -- to set in motion, to hasten on
... to set in motion, to hasten on. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: hormao Phonetic
Spelling: (hor-mah'-o) Short Definition: Irush Definition: Irush, hasten...
2721. katephistemi -- to bless fervently
... to bless fervently. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: katephistemi Phonetic
Spelling: (kat-ef-is'-tay-mee) Short Definition: Irush, assault Definition: I...
4363. prospipto -- to fall upon, fall prostrate before
... Phonetic Spelling: (pros-pip'-to) Short Definition: I fall down before, beat against
Definition: (a) I fall down before, (b) I beat against,rush violently upon...
3730. horme -- a rapid motion forwards, onrush, assault
... motion forwards, onrush, assault. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration:
horme Phonetic Spelling: (hor-may') Short Definition: arush, violent assault...
4936. suntrecho -- to run with
... run with. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: suntrecho Phonetic Spelling:
(soon-trekh'-o) Short Definition: I run with Definition: I run (rush) together,...
906. ballo -- to throw, cast
... to throw, cast. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: ballo Phonetic Spelling:
(bal'-lo) Short Definition: I cast, throw,rush, put, place, drop Definition: (a...
4979. schoinion -- a rope (made of rushes)
... Word Origin dim. of schoinos (arush) Definition a rope (made of rushes)
NASB Word Usage cords (1), ropes (1). small cord, rope....
Strong's Hebrew
8264. shaqaq -- to run, run about,rush... 8263, 8264. shaqaq. 8265 . to run, run about,
rush. Transliteration: shaqaq
Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-kak') Short Definition: quenched. Word Origin a prim.
...100. agmon -- arush, bulrush
... 99, 100. agmon. 101 . arush, bulrush. Transliteration: agmon Phonetic Spelling:
(ag-mone') Short Definition: bulrush.... bulrush, caldron, hook,rush....
7326.rush -- to be in want or poor
... 7325, 7326.rush. 7327 . to be in want or poor. Transliteration:rush Phonetic
Spelling: (roosh) Short Definition: poor.... 7325, 7326.rush. 7327 ....
1573. gome -- arush, reed, papyrus
... 1572, 1573. gome. 1574 . arush, reed, papyrus. Transliteration: gome
Phonetic Spelling: (go'-meh) Short Definition: papyrus. Word...
5584. saah -- torush (of storm wind)
... saah. 5585 . torush (of storm wind). Transliteration: saah Phonetic Spelling:
(saw-aw') Short Definition: stormy.... storm. A primitive root; torush -- storm....
1725. dahar -- torush, dash (of a horse)
... 1724, 1725. dahar. 1726 . torush, dash (of a horse). Transliteration: dahar
Phonetic Spelling: (daw-har') Short Definition: galloping. Word Origin a prim....
6743a. tsalach -- torush
... 6743, 6743a. tsalach. 6743b . torush. Transliteration: tsalach Short
Definition: mightily. Word Origin a prim. root Definition...
2907. tus -- torush, dart
... tus. 2908 . torush, dart. Transliteration: tus Phonetic Spelling: (toos) Short
Definition: swoops.... root Definition torush, dart NASB Word Usage swoops (1)....
6743. tsalach -- torush
... 6742, 6743. tsalach. 6743a . torush. Transliteration: tsalach Phonetic
Spelling: (tsaw-lakh') Short Definition: out. break out, come...
7582. shaah -- to make a din or crash, crash into ruins
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to make a din or crash, crash into ruins NASB
Word Usage devastated (1), rumble (1),rush (1), turn (1), turn* (1)....
Library
The Sound in the Mulberry Trees
... he was bidden to wait until he should hear the sound in the tops of the
mulberry-trees before he went to fight, he was not in an ill haste torush to battle...
Gershom and Eliezer
... man that understands, even superficially, his own character, his own requirements,
can fail to feel in his sane and quiet moments, when therush of temptation...
Chatter xviii. The Great Immigration.
... of one hundred and twenty millions, her genius for war and government, and her
long-compacted civilization, succumbed under a less suddenrush of invasion...
Letter R
... Received 1829 * Rumph, Christian "Received 1807 * Rumph, Jacob "Received 1808, Died
1813 * Runnels, William "Received 1824 *Rush, Frederick "Received...
I Desire to Die.
... of Christ]; "yet am I not thereby justified." [852] May I enjoy the wild beasts
that are prepared for me; and I pray they may be found eager torush upon me...
Third Commandment
... worship! We are apt torush into God's presence, andrush out again, without
any real sense of the reverence and awe that is due Him....
The Fasts of the Jews are not True Fasts, nor Acceptable to God.
... For He revealed all these things to us beforehand, that we should notrush forward
as rash acceptors of their laws. [1467]. Footnotes: [1464] Isaiah 58:4, 5....
What Lasts, and what Passes Away.
... Have you seen the rocketsrush up into the air, casting a golden light, pouring
forth sparks, and then bursting, this one into a silvery globe of light, that...
God.
... out of the North, the vast cloud, the fire infolding itself, the brightness round
about and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber; therush and whirl...
Against Excessive Fondness for Jewels and Gold Ornaments.
... [1554] For torush after stones that are pellucid and of peculiar colours, and stained
glass, is only characteristic of silly people, who are attracted by...
Thesaurus
Rush (35 Occurrences)... The papyrus (Job 8:11). (see BULRUSH.) The expression "branch and
rush" in Isaiah
9:14; 9:15 means "utterly.". Noah Webster's Dictionary.
...Rush-rope (1 Occurrence)
Rush-rope. Rushing,Rush-rope. Rust . Multi-Version Concordance
Rush-rope (1 Occurrence). Job 41:2 Wilt thou put arush...
Bulrush (3 Occurrences)
... In Isaiah 35:7 and Job 8:11 it is rendered "rush." This was the Egyptian papyrus
(papyrus Nilotica). It was anciently very abundant in Egypt.... bool'-rush....
Flag (30 Occurrences)
... (Hebrews, or rather Egyptian, ahu, Job 8:11), rendered "meadow" in Genesis 41:2,
18; probably the Cyperus esculentus, a species ofrush eaten by cattle, the...
Rushing (61 Occurrences)
... (p. pr. & vb. n.) ofRush. Multi-Version Concordance... Job 20:28 The increase of his
house shall depart. They shallrush away in the day of his wrath. (See NIV)....
Hook (10 Occurrences)
... the Authorized Version. Properly arush-rope for binding animals, as in Revised
Version margin. Noah Webster's Dictionary. 1. (n.) A...
Waters (386 Occurrences)
... Matthew 7:25 And the rain came down and there was arush of waters and the winds
were driving against that house, but it was not moved; because it was based on...
Driving (144 Occurrences)
... Matthew 7:25 And the rain came down and there was arush of waters and the winds
were driving against that house, but it was not moved; because it was based on...
Plunge (4 Occurrences)
... 4. (vi) To thrust or cast one's self into water or other fluid; to submerge one's
self; to dive, or torush in; as, he plunged into the river....
Palm-branch (2 Occurrences)
... Palm-branch (2 Occurrences). Isaiah 9:14 Therefore Jehovah will cut off from Israel
head and tail, palm-branch andrush, in one day. (See JPS ASV DBY)....
Resources
What is a community church? | GotQuestions.orgWhat are the seven things God hates? | GotQuestions.orgWhy did God punish David and Bathsheba's innocent child with death? | GotQuestions.orgRush: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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