Measuring Reed
Measuring Reed [1]
mezh´ū́r - ing ( המּדּה קנה , ḳenēh ha - middāh ): In Ezekiel's vision of the temple a "man" (an angel) appears with a "measuring reed" to measure the dimensions of the temple ( Ezekiel 40:3 ff; Ezekiel 42:16 ff). The reed is described as 6 cubits long, "of a cubit and a handbreadth each," i.e. the cubit used was a handbreadth longer than the common cubit (see Cubit; Weights And Measures; Temple ). In the Apocalypse this idea of a measuring reed reappears for measuring the temple ( Revelation 11:1 ) and the holy city ( Revelation 21:15 , Revelation 21:16 , "a golden reed"). The thought conveyed is exactitude in the dimensions of these edifices, symbolic of the symmetry and perfection of God's church.
