BARLEY ( se‘ôrâh ). As in ancient times, so to-day barley (Arab. [Note: Arabic.] sha‘ir ) is the most plentiful cereal of Palestine. It is the chief food of horses ( 1 Kings 4:28 ), mules, and donkeys, oats being practically unknown. It is still used by the poor for making bread ( Judges 7:13 , John 6:9; John 6:13 etc.) in the villages, but not in the cities. Barley was the special ritual offering for jealousy ( Numbers 5:16 ). The barley harvest ( Ruth 1:22 ) precedes that of wheat: it begins around Jericho as early as March, and in Jerusalem and the neighbourhood at the end of May.
E. W. G. Masterman.
Complete and trustworthy, Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible is a thorough reference (5,915 entries) for all readers of the Bible. For nearly a century, lay people and scholars alike have valued the authoritative contents and the convenient format of this one-volume work.Wikipedia
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