260. achu
Lexical Summary
achu: Marsh, Meadow

Original Word: אָחוּ
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: achuw
Pronunciation: ah-khoo
Phonetic Spelling: (aw'-khoo)
KJV: flag, meadow
NASB: marsh grass, reeds, rushes
Word Origin: [of uncertain (perhaps Egyptian) derivation]

1. a bulrush or any marshy grass (particularly that along the Nile)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
flag, meadow

Of uncertain (perhaps Egyptian) derivation; a bulrush or any marshy grass (particularly that along the Nile) -- flag, meadow.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
of foreign origin
Definition
reeds, rushes
NASB Translation
marsh grass (2), reeds (1), rushes (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
אָחוּ: noun masculineJob 8:11

collective reeds, rushes (Aramaic אַחְוָא, originally Egyptian, compare demotic axu from axa be green, see EbAG & BB Mos. 338; WiedSammlung 16) Genesis 41:2,18 (E) Job 8:11; also Hosea 13:15 where read אָחִים plural for אֲחָוִים (compare AW), or from a parallel form [אָחֶה], see DeCompl. Var. 23 f.

אַחְוָה see חוה.

Topical Lexicon
Meaning and imagery

אָחוּ evokes the picture of lush, water-saturated ground on the fringe of a river or lake—especially the Nile—with the thick, green reeds and papyrus that thrive there. The word therefore calls to mind life, plenty, and the delicate balance that exists wherever water sustains growth in an otherwise arid landscape.

Occurrences in Scripture

Genesis 41:2 records that “seven cows, sleek and fat, came up from the river and were grazing among the reeds”. The same wording appears in Genesis 41:18 when Pharaoh recounts the dream. In Job 8:11 Bildad asks, “Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh? Do reeds flourish without water?”. In each case אָחוּ marks a place where vegetation prospers only because it remains constantly supplied with water.

Historical and geographic setting

In the Nile Delta, broad expanses of marshland provided year-round pasture during times when the surrounding fields lay parched. Egyptian texts celebrate such regions for their bounty of cattle, fish, and fowl. By using a term readily associated with Egyptian wetlands, Genesis places Pharaoh’s dream squarely in its native environment, underscoring the authenticity of Joseph’s narrative. Job, spoken in the setting of the ancient Near East, shows that the same imagery resonated far beyond Egypt; marsh-based papyrus was well known in the wider cultural world.

Theological insights

1. Divine warning and provision. In Genesis, the lush marsh contrasts sharply with the seven years of famine to follow. God employs the reeds to symbolize abundance that only He can both grant and withdraw (Genesis 41:25-32).
2. Dependence on an unfailing source. Bildad’s rhetorical question points out that life withers apart from its sustaining element. The marsh stands as a silent witness that “man cannot live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3).
3. Transience of earthly prosperity. Reeds flourish quickly, yet can be cut down in a moment (Job 8:12-13). Their fragile beauty illustrates the precariousness of wealth and status when separated from God’s sustaining mercy.

Ministry application

• Spiritual vitality requires continuous nourishment. Just as reeds cannot survive without marsh-water, believers cannot thrive without abiding in Christ (John 15:4-5).
• Stewarding seasons of plenty. Joseph’s counsel to store grain during the years represented by the marshy abundance instructs modern believers to use prosperous times to prepare for inevitable hardship, practicing generosity and foresight.
• Warning against superficial faith. Bildad’s example—using the marsh to critique Job—reminds preachers to ground admonition in truth and compassion, avoiding shallow judgments that overlook God’s larger purposes.

Christological reflection

The green marsh anticipates the One who is “the fountain of living water” (Jeremiah 17:13). Jesus Christ promises believers a spring “welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14), ensuring that those planted in Him remain verdant even in drought (Psalm 1:3).

Related passages for study

Psalm 104:10-17; Isaiah 19:5-7; Jeremiah 17:7-8; Ezekiel 47:1-12; Luke 12:42-48

Forms and Transliterations
אָ֥חוּ אחו בָּאָֽחוּ׃ באחו׃ ’ā·ḥū ’āḥū Achu bā’āḥū bā·’ā·ḥū baAchu
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Genesis 41:2
HEB: בָּשָׂ֑ר וַתִּרְעֶ֖ינָה בָּאָֽחוּ׃
NAS: and they grazed in the marsh grass.
KJV: and they fed in a meadow.
INT: and they grazed the marsh

Genesis 41:18
HEB: תֹּ֑אַר וַתִּרְעֶ֖ינָה בָּאָֽחוּ׃
NAS: and they grazed in the marsh grass.
KJV: favoured; and they fed in a meadow:
INT: favoured grazed the marsh

Job 8:11
HEB: בִצָּ֑ה יִשְׂגֶּה־ אָ֥חוּ בְלִי־ מָֽיִם׃
NAS: a marsh? Can the rushes grow
KJV: can the flag grow
INT: swamp grow the flag without waste

3 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 260
3 Occurrences


’ā·ḥū — 1 Occ.
bā·’ā·ḥū — 2 Occ.

259
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