Rod
ROD
An offshoot from the trunk of a tree, Gen 30:37 Isa 11:1 Eze 37:15-22 . It also denotes a staff, used by one walking, Isa 3:1 Eze 29:6 ; by a diviner, Hos 4:12 ; by a surveyor, Psa 74:2 ; by a shepherd, Lev 27:32 Zec 11:10-14 ; as an instrument of correction, Pro 23:13 29:15; as a sceptre, Gen 8:4 Isa 14:5 ; and as a symbol of power, Psa 2:9, support and direction, Psa 23:4 .
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Rod
1. An Instrument of punishment or correction.-The term denotes an instrument of punishment or correction.
(a) In his enumeration of the hardships and sufferings endured by him in the course of his apostolic labours, St. Paul employs the verb , to beat with rods, to describe the punishment to which he was subjected on three occasions by Roman magistrates (2Co 11:25). The rods was the customary expression for Roman scourging. In the one instance recorded in the Acts, the scourging was inflicted by the lictors (, translation sergeants in Authorized Version and Revised Version , lit. [Note: literally, literature.] rod-holders) by order of the duumviri (16:22f., 16:35, 38). It was the duty of the lictors to carry the fasces, consisting of rods bound in the form of a bundle, with an axe in the middle which projected from them. These, usually made of birch, were the instruments with which St. Paul and Silas were cruelly maltreated at Philippi.
(b) The term is used figuratively in 1Co 4:21 to denote the stern treatment called for in the event of continued recalcitrancy on the part of Church members, chastisement with the rod being a familiar method of enforcing obedience and submission to parental authority (cf. 1Co 4:11 f.).
2. The symbol of sovereignty.-The rod or sceptre is also used as the symbol of sovereignty (Heb 1:8; cf. Psa 45:6; Psa 110:2). Quotations in the Apocalypse [Rev 12:5; Rev 19:15] from Psa 2:9, which represents the theocratic king as ruling (, Septuagint ) the nations with a rod of iron, are applied to the mediatorial reign of Christ, in which His servants also share. The rod of empire, regarded as a shepherds staff, is transformed into an instrument of penal authority which subdues or crushes all opposition (cf. 1Co 15:24 f.).
W. S. Montgomery.
Fuente: Dictionary of the Apostolic Church
Rod
stands in the A.V. as the representative of several different Hebrew words, and consequently has various significations in the Scriptures (, choter, a shoot, Pro 14:3; Isa 11:1; , makkel, a twig, Gen 30:37-39; Gen 30:41; Gen 32:10; Exo 12:11; Num 22:27; 1Sa 17:40; 1Sa 17:43; Jer 1:11; Jer 48:17; Eze 39:9; Hos 4:12; Zec 11:7; Zec 11:10; Zec 11:14; elsewhere , matteh, a stick, especially for walking or smiting, or , shebet, the baton of office; ). It signifies a wand or walking staff: as Moses’ rod (Exo 4:2; Exo 4:4), Aaron’s rod (7:9), Jonathan’s rod (1Sa 14:27). The rods of Moses and Aaron were the visible means chosen by the Almighty for the instrument of his wonders in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness. The rod of Moses is sometimes called the rod of God (Exo 4:20; Exo 7:9; Exo 7:12; Exo 7:19-20; Exo 8:5; Exo 8:17; Exo 9:23; Exo 10:13). Aaron’s rods, which miraculously blossomed and brought forth almonds, was laid up as a memorial in the holy place (Num 17:8; Num 17:10; Heb 9:4). As the wonders wrought by the instrumentality of Moses’ and Aaron’s rods attracted the attention of neighboring nations, it is not extraordinary if, in course of time, these personages were interwoven with mythology (see Willemer, De Baculo Mosis [Viteb. 1680]). It has been plausibly conjectured that Aaron’s rod, which in its serpent state devoured the serpent rods of the Egyptian magicians, was the prototype of the caduceus, or wonder working rod of Mercury, which was figured as entwined with two serpents. Aaron’s rod was caused to blossom miraculously and bring forth almonds (Num 17:8) to show God’s election for the priesthood. Parkhurst thinks that the rods of the chiefs among the Israelites were of the almond tree, to denote vigilance, that being an early tree, flowering before all others. The shepherd’s staff is called a rod; and the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, was to be taken from whatsoever passed under the rod, i.e. from whatsoever required the shepherd’s care (27:32; Jer 33:13; Eze 20:37; Mic 7:14). The term rod also means a shoot or branch of a tree, and in this sense is applied figuratively to Christ as a descendant of Jesse (Isa 11:1). Rod is used to designate the tribes of Israel as springing from one root (Psa 74:2; Jer 10:16). It is used as the symbol of power and authority (Psa 2:9; Psa 120:2; Psa 125:3; Jer 48:17; Eze 19:11; Rev 2:27); of that which supports and strengthens, a stay or staff (Psa 23:4; Isa 3:1; Eze 29:6); and of the afflictions with which God disciplines his people (Job 9:34; Heb 12:6-7). (See Cooper, Hist. of the Rod in all Countries and Ages [2d ed. Lond. 1877].) SEE SCEPTRE; SEE STAFF.
A peculiar use of rods is afforded in the instance of those of poplar and hazel (more properly the wild almond) which Jacob partially peeled, and set in the water where Laban’s cattle drank, and by looking at which they brought forth speckled and ring-streaked young. Commentators are not agreed as to the effect thus produced: whether it was natural or miraculous; whether the sight of the rods had naturally such an effect on the animals’ perceptions as to influence the markings of their offspring, in the manner that children often receive marks before birth, from some object that has impressed itself on the mother’s mind, or whether it was a special operation of God in Jacob’s favor, which, in fact, seems clearly intimated in Gen 31:10; Gen 31:12. where Jacob declares himself to have been guided on this subject by God in a dream. The Latin fathers considered the case as natural, the Greek as miraculous, which is also the prevailing opinion of modern commentators, who consider it very doubtful whether the same cause (the use of variegated rods) would now certainly produce the same effects. SEE POPLAR.
Rhabdomancy, or divining by rods, became a common superstition or idolatrous custom among the Jews, arising, doubtlessly, from the ideas of supernatural agency attached to the rods of Moses and Aaron. It is alluded to in Hos 4:12 My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them. It was performed, first, by inscribing certain characters on small rods, and then drawing them, like lots, out of a vessel; secondly, by measuring the rod in spans, and saying, alternately, words expressing a negative and an affirmative, and then determining, according to the last span, whether negative or affirmative, to do the intended action or not; thirdly, by erecting two sticks, repeating a charm, and then determining by certain rules, according as the sticks fell backward or forward, to the right or to the left. SEE DIVINATION.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Rod
Emblem of authority. Exo 4:2, etc., Moses’; Numbers 17, Aaron’s; Psa 2:9, Christ’s. He will either rule with the pastoral rod, or break with the rod (scepter) of iron (Rev 2:27; Rev 19:15; Mic 6:9; Mic 7:14; Psa 110:2; Isa 9:4; Isa 11:4).
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Rod
ROD.The rods, sticks, staves, and clubs carried or otherwise used by the Hebrews were probably as varied in size and shape as those in use among the inhabitants of Palestine at the present day, of which a minute description, with illustrations, is given by Baldensperger in PEFSt [Note: Quarterly Statement of the same.] , 1905, 35 ff. No hard-and-fast distinction can be made out between the matteh, the shbet, and the maqqlall three rendered in EV [Note: English Version.] by rod or staff. The context must generally decide which of the two is the better rendering. For example, the twigs which Jacob peeled in the device recorded in Gen 30:37 ff. are true rods; but in Gen 32:10 the same word (maqql) is properly rendered staff. On the other hand, Moses rod (so EV [Note: English Version.] ) is rather his shepherds staff (Exo 4:2 etc.).
For the rod as an instrument of punishment, shbet is more frequently employed than matteh, as Pro 10:13; Pro 13:24; Pro 26:3, although both are not seldom employed in parallel lines (Isa 10:24; Isa 30:31 f. etc.). The former also denotes the shepherds club (described and figured in Hastings DB [Note: Dictionary of the Bible.] iv. 291a, PEFSt [Note: Quarterly Statement of the same.] , 1905, 36), as in Psa 23:4, Lev 27:32 etc. (EV [Note: English Version.] rod). See also Sceptre.
A. R. S. Kennedy.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Rod
The holy Scriptures have a variety of meanings concerning this word. We perfectly well understand the sense if taken naturally. A rod may be formed from all the various trees of the wood. But when it is used figuratively, the meaning is not so clear. Thus the Lord Jesus himself is called a rod out of the stem of Jesse. (Isa 11:1) And his church is called the rod of his inheritance. (Psa 74:2; Jer 10:16) Sometimes the expression is made use of to denote the exercise of the Lord’s power. Thus speaking of his enemies he saith, “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron.” (Psa 2:9) And by the exercise of it for his people, he shall make them willing in the day of his power. (Psa 110:3) And the Psalmist comforts himself in the Lord’s exercise of it over him when he saith “thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (Psa 23:4) I refer to the Scripture for the general account of the rod “of Moses and Aaron’s rod that budded,” and the like. (Exo 3:1-22 etc. Num 17:8)
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Rod
(, makkel, , matteh, , shebhet; , rhabdos): Little distinction can be drawn between the Hebrew words used for rod and staff. Makkel is the word used in Gen 30:37 ff for the twigs of poplar put by Jacob before his sheep, and in Jer 1:11 of the rod of an almond-tree. Matteh is used of a rod in the hand, as the rods of Moses and of Aaron (Exo 4:2 ff; Exo 7:9 ff, etc.). Shebhet is used, but sometimes also matteh, of the rod used for correction (Exo 21:20; 2Sa 7:14; Pro 10:13; Pro 13:24; Isa 10:5, etc.). In Psa 23:4 (Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me), however, shebhet is the shepherd’s rod, figurative of divine guidance and care. In Eze 21:10, Eze 21:13, the word stands for the royal scepter. In the New Testament rod is used of a rod of correction (1Co 4:21), Aaron’s rod (Heb 9:4), a ruler’s rod of iron (severity, as in Rev 2:27; Rev 12:5; Rev 19:15), a measuring rod (Rev 11:1). See also ARMOR; ARMS.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
ROD
Rod or SCEPTRE, or STAFF, is the symbol of power and government; and so is taken for a king or powerful man. It is so explained by the Oneirocritics in chaps. cxxi. clx. and ccxv. And is so taken in schylus.f1
In Latin authors seeptrum and virga do likewise often denote power.
Isa 10:5, the Assyrian is called “the rod of God’s anger.” In Jer 1:11, “A rod of an almond tree,” is explained, by the Targum, of a king hastening to destroy; because the H8247, almond tree, is a hasty budder, having its name from , to hasten, or to do evil, or to watch for that purpose; as in Isa 29:13.
Amongst the Pagans, the magicians and augurs in their divinations made use of a rod, sceptre, or staff, which they commonly pretended was given them by some god for that purpose.f2 And thus when Hesiod pretends that he was inspired by the Muses, he says they gave him a sceptre of bayf3. And Pallas herself, in Homer,f4 makes use of a rod to act the magical trick of changing Ulysses into a beggar: and again to restore him.f5 And thus, in opposition to the rods of the magicians which they used in their enchantments, God commanded Moses to make use of his rod or walking-staff, in the working of the miracles in Egypt; and which is therefore called, in Exo 17:9, “the rod of God.”
As to the mantical rod, or staff, amongst the heathen, there is a gradation of its power in the history of Tiresias. When Tiresias was alive, and lost his eyes, but had given him, instead thereof, the faculty of a second sight, that is, of prophetical visions and divination; he had at the same time a blue staff delivered, which was a badge thereof. When he was dead, and an oracle was set up in his name, Homerf6 takes from thence an occasion to inform us, that Proserpina had given his soul an eminent privilege above all others, still to have wisdom, that is, knowledge of future things: and for that reason Ulysses in the Necromancy was only to consult that soul, which alone was able to give him a satisfactory oracle. When therefore that soul appears, Homer observes that it had a golden sceptre;f7 which is therefore the badge of the power of divination which Proserpina had given him. Now a golden rod for divination suits the immortal state of the soul, and shews, that by the golden sceptre, Homer understood that Tiresias had thereby received some more eminent and durable power of Divination than he had when he was alive, and had only a plain mantical rod or staff; and that the oracle of Tiresias would subsist perpetually. Wherein, though Homer was mistaken, that oracle having ceased before Plutarch’s time,f8 yet the poet spake according to his conceptions of the things. So that Tiresias, when dead, has a suitable symbol of divination among the souls, as Homerf9 observes, that Mercury had an enchanting rod of gold to conduct the souls to hell, and perform some other feats, but not to divine; Apollo who gave it him having made that exception.f10
The Egyptian hieroglyphic of “a sceptre with an eye on the top of it,” denoted a wise king or government.
In Eze 37:16, a rod, from the allusion of the Hebrew name of it, to that of a tribe which is , is used symbolically with the name of Judah, to signify that tribe, with all its adherents; as another, with the name of Ephraim, to denote all the apostate Israelites.
F1 Asa. Suppl. ver. 255.
F2 See Jamblich. de Myster. iEg. iii. c.
F3 Hesiod, Theogon. ver. 30.
F4 Horn. Odyss. . ver. 429;ver. 456,
F5 Horn. Odyss. . ver. 172.
F6 Horn. Odyss. x. ver. 493, &c.
F7 Hom. Odyss. X. ver. 91.
F8 Plutarch. de Def. Orac. p. 293.
F9 Hom. Odyss. w. ver. 3. Hor. L. i. Od. a.
F10 Hom. Hym. in Mere. ver. 530, &c.
Fuente: A Symbolical Dictionary
Rod
“a staff, rod, scepter,” is used (a) of Aaron’s “rod,” Heb 9:4; (b) a staff used on a journey, Mat 10:10, RV, “staff” (AV, “staves”); so Luk 9:3; Mar 6:8, “staff;” Heb 11:21, “staff;” (c) a ruler’s staff, a “scepter,” Heb 1:8 (twice); elsewhere a “rod,” Rev 2:27; Rev 12:5; Rev 19:15; (d) a “rod” for chastisement (figuratively), 1Co 4:21; (e) a measuring “rod,” Rev 11:1. See STAFF.
“to beat with a rod,” is used in Act 16:22, RV, “to beat … with rods;” 2Co 11:25. The “rods” were those of the Roman lictors or “serjeants” (rhabdouchoi, lit., “rod-bearers”); the Roman beating with “rods” is distinct from the Jewish infliction of stripes. In the Sept., Jdg 6:11; Rth 2:17. Cp. Mat 26:67, RV marg.; Joh 18:22 (AV marg., and RV marg.); Joh 19:3, RV marg.; see SMITE.
Fuente: Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words
Rod
This word is used sometimes for the branches of a tree: And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree,
Gen 30:37; sometimes for a staff or wand: And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs, And Moses took the rod of God in his hand, Exo 4:17; Exo 4:20; or for a shepherd’s crook: And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod; the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord, Lev 27:32; or for a rod, properly so called, which God makes use of to correct men: If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men, 2Sa 7:14. Let him take his rod away from me, Job 9:34. The empire of the Messiah is sometimes represented by a rod of iron, to show its power and its might, Psa 2:9; Rev 2:27; Rev 12:5; Rev 19:15. Rod is sometimes put to signify a tribe or a people; Remember thy congregation which thou hast purchased of old, the rod of thine inheritance which thou hast redeemed,
Psa 74:2. Israel is the rod of his inheritance, Jer 10:16. The rod of Aaron is the staff commonly used by the high priest. This is the rod that budded and blossomed like an almond tree, Numbers 17. See AARON.
Fuente: Biblical and Theological Dictionary
Rod
Exo 4:4 (c) Probably this is an emblem of that which becomes useful to GOD when it is in the hand of GOD’s servant, although it might have been injurious before being turned over to the Lord. The Lord has a way of turning liabilities into assets.
Num 17:2 (a) This is an emblem of authority from GOD. It was a sign and proof to all Israel that Aaron was his chosen high priest to lead the people in their worship, and was His chosen mediator between Himself and the people of Israel. When it budded in the tabernacle, and the others did not, He was showing Israel that He rejected the claims of Korah, Dothan and Abiram, and all others who assumed the place of leadership. He was also revealing the fact that He could take any old dead “stick,” bring it into His presence, and change that person into a beautiful and fruitful Christian.
Psa 2:9 (a) This is a type that reveals GOD’s resistless power. It is unbending, it is irresistible, and will crush all the enemies of our Lord CHRIST. (See also Psa 110:2).
Psa 23:4 (b) This is probably a symbol of the powerful punishment which our Lord will exercise against the enemies of His children. The rod was for the wild animals, while the staff was for the sheep.
Psa 125:3 (b) This type represents the evil powers of wicked men, and we are assured by the Lord that they shall not be able to conquer nor overcome GOD’s people.
Pro 14:3 (a) It seems as though pride acts as an injurious influence both for the owner and for those who are hurt by it. It is not a blessing.
Jer 1:11 (a) We may understand from this type that it represents a condition that had not yet developed. It refers to GOD’s wrath which would come into full force as the slip of the tree would yet bear fruit.
Jer 10:16 (a) By means of Israel the Lord would get praise, honor and worship through their ministrations and activities. By means of them He would whip many other nations. At times they were quite unfruitful, and not beautiful. Afterward they would be both fruitful and delightful.
Jer 48:17 (a) At one time Moab was a very strong and vigorous nation. However, they opposed GOD, and GOD’s people Israel, so that the prophecy is that they were to be destroyed.
Lam 3:1 (a) Sometimes this is called “a rod iron.” Jeremiah had seen GOD punish Israel terribly, and because of his love for Israel he suffered with them.
Eze 7:10 (a) This probably describes the great wickedness of Israel in their pride and self- sufficiency, thinking they could live without GOD, and could prosper under idolatrous rule. Certain it is that GOD’s wrath had been dormant, but is blossoming out against Israel. In verse 11, the enemy is no longer dormant. He, too, has become active.
Eze 19:14 (a) In this lamentation we are told that there is no leader among the people of GOD who is worthy to rule. All the leaders have been defeated and have gone astray, and bring forth no fruit under GOD.
Eze 20:37 (a) As sheep enter the sheepfold through the gate, and are counted under the rod as they enter, so GOD will look after each one of His people, and none of those who are His own sheep will ever be overlooked.
Eze 21:10 (c) It may be that the meaning of it is that GOD’s wrath will not be hindered by the power of the rulers of Israel. The nation of Israel is called “His son.” (See Isa 45:11).
Mic 6:9 (b) Here we see a type of the whipping, the punishment and the chastisement which may come upon the child of GOD. He should pay attention to it, and learn lessons from it. It is probably another way of expressing the truth in Heb 12:11.
Mic 7:14 (b) Probably this refers to the power of GOD to bring rich blessings, both material and spiritual, to His people.
1Co 4:21 (a) This type is used to express the scolding that Paul could give these sinning saints, and the reproof he could exercise against them. He did not wish to do so.
Rev 2:27 (a) We are being told that the conquering CHRIST will rule every enemy with hard and harsh punishment, which is unmingled with mercy. (See also Rev 19:15).