Bulrush

Bulrush translates two distinct Hebrew terms in the Old Testament. The first (gome') is the papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus), which grew abundantly in the Nile marshes and was used for making boats, baskets, and writing material. The basket in which the infant Moses was placed (Ex. 2:3) is described as made of this material—literally a “papyrus ark.” Isaiah 18:2 describes Egyptian ambassadors traveling “in vessels of papyrus on the waters.” The second term (agmon) in Isaiah 58:5 refers to a reed or rush, used in the image of a hypocritical fast that merely bows the head like a bulrush rather than producing genuine repentance.

Papyrus had ceased to grow in Egypt by medieval times but was reintroduced and is found today only in limited locations. Its importance in the ancient world can hardly be overstated: virtually all writing in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East was done on papyrus or prepared animal skin, and Egypt was the primary producer and exporter of this material throughout the biblical period. The image of the infant Moses hidden in a papyrus basket among the reeds of the Nile connects his birth story to this quintessentially Egyptian plant.