גמא, Exodus ii, 3; Job viii, 11; Isaiah xviii, 2; xxxv, 7. A
plant growing on the banks of the Nile, and in marshy grounds. The stalk
rises to the height of six or seven cubits, beside two under water. This
stalk is triangular, and terminates in a crown of small filaments
resembling hair, which the ancients used to compare to a _thyrsus_. This
reed, the _Cyperus papyrus_ of Linnæus, commonly called “the Egyptian
reed,” was of the greatest use to the inhabitants of the country where
it grew; the pith contained in the stock served them for food, and the
woody part for building vessels, figures of which are to be seen on the
engraven stones and other monuments of Egyptian antiquity. For this
purpose they made it up, like rushes, into bundles; and, by tying these
bundles together, gave their vessels the necessary shape and solidity.
“The vessels of bulrushes,” or papyrus, “that are mentioned in sacred
and profane history,” says Dr. Shaw, “were no other than large fabrics
of the same kind with that of Moses, Exodus ii, 3; which, from the late
introduction of plank and stronger materials, are now laid aside.” Thus
Pliny takes notice of the “_naves papyraceas armamentaque Nili_,” “ships
made of papyrus, and the equipments of the Nile;” and he observes, “_ex
ipsâ quidem papyro navigia texunt_,” “of the papyrus itself they
construct sailing vessels.” Herodotus and Diodorus have recorded the
same fact; and among the poets, Lucan, “_Conseritur bibulâ Memphitis
cymba papyro_,” “the Memphian” or Egyptian boat is made of the thirsty
papyrus; where the epithet _bibulâ_, “drinking,” “soaking,” “thirsty,”
is particularly remarkable, as corresponding with great exactness to the
nature of the plant, and to its Hebrew name, which signifies _to soak_
or _drink up_. These vegetables require much water for their growth;
when, therefore, the river on whose banks they grew was reduced, they
perished sooner than other plants. This explains Job viii, 11, where the
circumstance is referred to as an image of transient prosperity: “Can
the flag grow without water? Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not
cut down, it withereth before any other herb.”
plant growing on the banks of the Nile, and in marshy grounds. The stalk
rises to the height of six or seven cubits, beside two under water. This
stalk is triangular, and terminates in a crown of small filaments
resembling hair, which the ancients used to compare to a _thyrsus_. This
reed, the _Cyperus papyrus_ of Linnæus, commonly called “the Egyptian
reed,” was of the greatest use to the inhabitants of the country where
it grew; the pith contained in the stock served them for food, and the
woody part for building vessels, figures of which are to be seen on the
engraven stones and other monuments of Egyptian antiquity. For this
purpose they made it up, like rushes, into bundles; and, by tying these
bundles together, gave their vessels the necessary shape and solidity.
“The vessels of bulrushes,” or papyrus, “that are mentioned in sacred
and profane history,” says Dr. Shaw, “were no other than large fabrics
of the same kind with that of Moses, Exodus ii, 3; which, from the late
introduction of plank and stronger materials, are now laid aside.” Thus
Pliny takes notice of the “_naves papyraceas armamentaque Nili_,” “ships
made of papyrus, and the equipments of the Nile;” and he observes, “_ex
ipsâ quidem papyro navigia texunt_,” “of the papyrus itself they
construct sailing vessels.” Herodotus and Diodorus have recorded the
same fact; and among the poets, Lucan, “_Conseritur bibulâ Memphitis
cymba papyro_,” “the Memphian” or Egyptian boat is made of the thirsty
papyrus; where the epithet _bibulâ_, “drinking,” “soaking,” “thirsty,”
is particularly remarkable, as corresponding with great exactness to the
nature of the plant, and to its Hebrew name, which signifies _to soak_
or _drink up_. These vegetables require much water for their growth;
when, therefore, the river on whose banks they grew was reduced, they
perished sooner than other plants. This explains Job viii, 11, where the
circumstance is referred to as an image of transient prosperity: “Can
the flag grow without water? Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not
cut down, it withereth before any other herb.”