MEASURING REED

(qeneh hamiddah; kalamos): Used in Ezekiel 40:5 ff; Ezekiel 42:16; 45:1; Revelation 11:1; 21:15-16. The length of the reed is given as 6 cubits, each cubit being a cubit and a palm, i.e. the large cubit of 7 palms, or about 10 ft. See CUBIT . Originally it was an actual reed used for measurements of considerable length, but came at last to be used for a measure of definite length, as indicated by the reference in Ezkiel (compare "pole" in English measures).

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.