Greek noun (masculine) · G2563
κάλαμος
kalamoskal'-am-os
reed/stick/pen
12 uses in the Greek text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Concordance spelling: kálamos
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's G2563is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 5 of 27New Testament books
- 4spellings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · G2563
a reed (the plant or its stem, or that of a similar plant); by implication, a pen
The King James renders it: pen, reed.
James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.
Summary
kalamos is rendered "reed/stick/pen". It stands 12 times in the Greek text, across five books.
- Five of the uses stand in Matthew, more than in any other book.
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Matthew 11:7As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?
- The Greek text spells it four different ways.
The first use
As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?
Matthew 11:7κάλαμον
The first use, in the order of the New Testament's books.
Where the word stands
Five of the word's twelve uses are in Matthew.
What the word means
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
How the Greek text is glossed, word by word
- A reed5
- reed3
- a measuring rod1
- on a reed1
- pen1
- with a reed1
The words built on the same word-part
Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.
| Word | Written | Meaning | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| καλάμη | kalame | straw/stubble | Uses1 |
All 12, in canonical order
Every use, in order
Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.
4 spellings and their grammar
STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.
How it is spelled
- κάλαμον6
- καλάμῳ4
- κάλαμος1
- καλάμου1
The grammar of each form
- noun · accusative (object) · masculine singular6N-ASM
- noun · dative (“to / for”) · masculine singular4N-DSM
- noun · genitive (“of”) · masculine singular1N-GSM
- noun · nominative (subject) · masculine singular1N-NSM
Matthew
five uses
As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?
- κάλαμονkalamonnoun · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: A reed
A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory.
- κάλαμονkalamonnoun · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: A reed
And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt down before Him to mock Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
- κάλαμονkalamonnoun · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: a reed
Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly.
- κάλαμονkalamonnoun · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: reed
One of them quickly ran and brought a sponge. He filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink.
- καλάμῳkalamonoun · dative (“to / for”) · masculine singulartagged: a reed
Mark
two uses
They kept striking His head with a staff and spitting on Him. And they knelt down and bowed before Him.
- καλάμῳkalamonoun · dative (“to / for”) · masculine singulartagged: with a reed
And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine. He put it on a reed and held it up for Jesus to drink, saying, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take Him down.”
- καλάμῳkalamonoun · dative (“to / for”) · masculine singulartagged: on a reed
Luke
one use
After John’s messengers had left, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?
- κάλαμονkalamonnoun · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: A reed
3 John
one use
I have many things to write to you, but I would prefer not to do so with pen and ink.
- καλάμουkalamounoun · genitive (“of”) · masculine singulartagged: pen
Revelation
three uses
Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers there.
- κάλαμοςkalamosnoun · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: a measuring rod
The angel who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls.
- κάλαμονkalamonnoun · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: reed
The city lies foursquare, with its width the same as its length. And he measured the city with the rod, and all its dimensions were equal—12,000 stadia in length and width and height.
- καλάμῳkalamonoun · dative (“to / for”) · masculine singulartagged: reed
Where it leads
How the numbers are counted
Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.
Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.
The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.