Bildad (8:1–22)

Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh (8:11). The papyrus plant (cyperus papyrus) was common to the Nile Delta and could grow as high as six meters (nineteen feet); it is a typical aquatic marsh plant that, like reeds, needs water to grow and can wither like grass (v. 12). It also grew in Palestine, especially in the (now drained) marshes of Huleh. Papyrus was used to make baskets, skiffs, and material for writing on.105

A scene from the tomb of Nebamun shows hunting in a papyrus marsh.

Werner Forman Archive/The British Museum