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.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) was edited by James Orr, John Nuelsen, Edgar Mullins, Morris Evans, and Melvin Grove Kyle and was published complete in 1939. This web site includes the complete text.
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