Senses
1. reed (plant or staff) — A reed -- the tall marsh grass (Arundo donax or Phragmites) or a rod/staff made from it, used literally of the plant or figuratively of fragility and as a makeshift instrument. In Matt 11:7 and Luke 7:24, Jesus asks 'what did you go out to see? A reed (kalamon) shaken by the wind?' -- a metaphor for fickleness contrasted with John the Baptist's firmness. In Matt 12:20 (quoting Isa 42:3), 'a bruised reed (kalamon) he will not break' -- symbol of gentle mercy. In Matt 27:29-30 and Mark 15:19,36, a reed is placed in Jesus' hand as a mock scepter and used to strike him, then to hold a sponge of vinegar. Rev 11:1 and 21:15-16 use kalamos as a measuring rod. Cross-linguistically consistent: Arabic qasaba, Hebrew qaneh, Hindi narkul/sarkanda, Korean galdae, Spanish cana, French roseau, German Rohr. All auto-clusters represent the same physical referent in different grammatical cases. 11×
AR["القَصَبَةِ","الْقَصَبَةَ","بِقَصَبَةٍ","عَلَى-قَصَبَةٍ","قَصَبَةً","قَصَبَةٌ"]·ben["নল","নল-দিয়ে","নলখাগড়া","নলে","লাঠি","লাঠিতে"]·DE["Rohr","κάλαμον","καλάμῳ"]·EN["a-reed","on-a-reed","reed","with-a-reed"]·FR["roseau"]·heb["בְּ-קָנֶה","הַ-קָנֶה","עַל-קָנֶה","קָנֶה"]·HI["नरकुल","नरकुल-को","सरकंडा","सरकंडे-पर","सरकण्डा","सरकण्डे-पर","सरकण्डे-से"]·ID["Buluh","buluh","dengan-tongkat","pada-tongkat","tongkat"]·IT["canna","kalamon","kalamos","kalamō"]·jav["Glagah","deling","glagah","tebu","tebu,","wonten-ing-tebu,"]·KO["갈대-를","갈대-에","갈대가","갈대로","갈대를","갈대에"]·PT["cana","caniço","com-cana","em-cana","numa-cana","vara"]·RU["Трость","на-трость","тростник","трость","тростью"]·ES["caña","caña,","con-caña","de-caña"]·SW["kwa-mwanzi","mwanzi","mwanzi,","mwanzini","unyasi"]·TR["kamiscila","kamış","kamış-mı","kamışa","kamışla","kamışı"]·urd["سرکنڈا","سرکنڈے-سے","سرکنڈے-پر","لاٹھی","لاٹھی-پر","ہوا"]
2. pen (writing instrument) — A reed pen -- a writing instrument made from a sharpened reed, attested in 3 John 1:13 where John says 'I had many things to write to you but I do not wish to write to you with pen (kalamou) and ink.' This is a genuine distinct sense from the plant/staff meaning, confirmed cross-linguistically: Hebrew uses qulmos (a loanword specifically meaning 'pen,' distinct from qaneh 'reed'), Hindi uses kalam ('pen,' from Arabic), and English uses 'pen' rather than 'reed.' Arabic qalam and Korean galdae maintain the reed connection but the semantic extension to writing instrument is well-established in the ancient Mediterranean world, where reed pens (kalamos graphikos) were the standard writing tool. The metonymic shift from plant material to manufactured writing tool constitutes a lexicalized distinct sense. 1×
AR["قَلَمٍ"]·ben["কলমের"]·DE["Rohr"]·EN["pen"]·FR["roseau"]·heb["קוּלְמוֹס"]·HI["कलम"]·ID["pena"]·IT["kalamou"]·jav["péna"]·KO["갈대"]·PT["cálamo"]·RU["трость"]·ES["caña"]·SW["kalamu"]·TR["kalem"]·urd["قلم"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
κάλᾰμος [κᾰ], ὁ, reed, used for thatching or wattling, Refs 5th c.BC+; various species, κ. εὐώδης, ἀρωματικός, sweet flag, Acorus Calamus, Refs 4th c.BC+; κ. αὐλητικός pole-reed, Arundo Donax, Refs 4th c.BC+; κ. εἰλετίας marram, Ammophila arundinacea, Refs; κ. ἐπίγειος bush-grass, Calamagrostis epigeios, Refs; κ. Ἰνδικός bamboo, Bambusa arundinacea, Refs 5th c.BC+; κ. Ἰνδικὸς ὁ ἄρρην male bamboo,…