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Reed, Measuring

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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.