There are several meanings of rod in the scriptures. A shepherd's rod was a club approximately three feet long, with a knob on one end. It was used to beat wolves away from the herd. A staff, sometimes called a rod, is longer; it was used for walking, resting, or for guiding the sheep, as in Lev. 27: 32; Ps. 23: 4.

Moses' and Aaron's rods represented authority, as in Ex. 4: 1-5; Ex. 7: 9-12, 17. A rod was also used for punishing a wayward child, as in Prov. 13: 24; Prov. 22: 15; or to whip a supposed offender, as in 2 Cor. 11: 25 and Matt. 27: 26. A measuring rod was about 10 feet, 10 inches (330 cm.) long and was used to determine distances (see Ezek. 40: 3). Isa. 11: 1 speaks of a rod (Hebrew Khoter - a twig or shoot), which has been identified in latter-day revelation as a prophet of the restoration (D&C 113).