H1573 H1573
Papyrus, bulrush; an aquatic reed plant used for making vessels and containers.
The papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus), a tall aquatic reed that once flourished along the Nile and in marshy regions. Its most famous appearance is in Exodus 2:3, where Moses' mother fashions a tevat gome — a papyrus basket — to float the infant on the river, and translators across languages consistently identify it as 'papyrus' (spa 'papiro,' fra 'papyrus,' deu 'Papyrus'). Isaiah 18:2 references 'vessels of papyrus' sent along the waters, while Job 8:11 asks rhetorically whether papyrus can grow without water. Isaiah 35:7 envisions a messianic restoration where parched ground becomes a marsh of reeds and papyrus.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Papyrus or bulrush — the tall aquatic reed (Cyperus papyrus) native to marshy riverbanks, used as a material for baskets and boats. The name may derive from the root meaning 'to swallow/absorb water.' Moses' basket is a tevat gome (Exod 2:3); Isaiah 18:2 mentions papyrus vessels; Job 8:11 pairs it with marshgrass (achu); Isa 35:7 envisions it flourishing in restored wasteland. Remarkable cross-linguistic unanimity — eng 'papyrus,' spa 'papiro,' fra 'papyrus,' deu 'Papyrus' — reflects the plant's well-known identity. 4×
AR["البَرْديُّ", "البَرْدِيِّ", "مِنَ-الْبَرْدِيِّ", "وَ-بَرْدِيٍّ"]·ben["ও-নলখাগড়ার", "নলখাগড়া", "নলখাগড়ার", "প্যাপিরাসের"]·DE["Papyrus", "[גמא]", "[וגמא]"]·EN["and-rushes", "papyrus"]·FR["[גמא]", "[וגמא]", "papyrus", "גמא"]·heb["גומא", "ו-גומא"]·HI["और-नरकट", "सरकंडा", "सरकंडे-की", "सरकाड़-की"]·ID["dan-gelagah", "papirus", "perkamen"]·IT["[גמא]", "[וגמא]", "papiro", "papyrus"]·jav["dlancang", "glugu", "papirus", "suket-rawa"]·KO["갈대가", "갈대의", "그리고-골풀로", "상자를"]·PT["e-papiro", "papiro"]·RU["и-папируса", "папирус", "папируса", "тростника"]·ES["el-papiro", "junco", "papiro", "y-juncos"]·SW["la-mafunjo", "manyasi", "na-manyasi", "vya-mafunjo"]·TR["papirus", "sazdan", "sağ", "ve-saz"]·urd["اور-سرکنڈوں-کے-لیے", "سرکنڈا", "سرکنڈے-کی", "سرکنڈے-کے"]
Related Senses
H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H3293a 1. forest, wood, thicket (55×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2232 1. sow seed, plant crops (41×)H1715 1. grain, cereal crop (40×)H7114b 1. reap, harvest grain (36×)H2132 1. olive tree (34×)H8184 1. barley (34×)H2406 1. wheat (grain crop) (30×)H7070 1. reed, cane (plant) (30×)H7848 1. acacia (28×)H8328 1. root of a plant (28×)H8384 1. fig tree (25×)H5488 1. reeds, rushes (in 'Sea of Reeds') (24×)G0290 1. a vineyard (23×)G2325 1. reap, harvest a crop (21×)G4687 1. sow seed, plant (21×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† גֹּ֫מֶא n.m. Jb 8:11 rush, reed, papyrus (cf. Löw p. 55) (NH גּוֹמֶא, Ethiopic ጎሜዕ loan-word, according to Di;—name from swallowing, sucking up, water? so Thes, cf. Che Is 18:2 al.; = Copt. gome, v. Di Ex 2:3 whence others der. as loan-word)—גֹּ֫מֶא Ex 2:3 + 3 times;—rush, paper-reed, (Egyptian) Jb 8:11 (‖ אָחוּ; coll. Is 35:7 (‖ קָנֶה); as material, תֵּבַת ג׳ Ex 2:3 chest of paper-reed; כְּלֵי־ג׳ Is 18:2 vessels of paper-reed.