Barley

Barley mainly translates the Hebrew se'ora, 'the hairy,' presumably because of the long 'whiskers' on the grains. Far less frequently, it also translates 'aviv (Exo 9:31; Lev 2:14), though this word seems to mean only "barley that is already ripe, but still soft, the grains of which are eaten either rubbed or roasted" (TWOT). Barley, in contrast to wheat, was the main staple of the poor in ancient Israel. Rev 6:6 ("Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, 'A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages . . .'") proffers an idea of the relative worth of wheat and barley.

Barley is rather tolerant of poorer soil with higher salt content, and was grown where wheat would not. Barley ripens quicky with the water of the latter rain and its harvest season is late March/April. That was the time when, famously, Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, arrived back in Bethlehem, and at the harvest and threshing floor, found their redeemer in Boaz (Ruth 1:22ff).

Ground up into flour it was used for making bread as well as beer. It also served as fodder for the horses (1 Ki 4:28). Famously too, Ezekiel was commanded to eat barley cakes that he was to bake with human excrement as fuel as a portent of Yahweh's judgment: "In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them" (Eze 4:13). Jesus fed the five thousand with the "five small barley loaves and two small fish" borrowed from the little boy, with twelve basketful of pieces left over (Jn 6:9-13). The barley loaf also figured in Gideon's rout of the Midianites who had gathered with their allies of "the Amalekites and all the other eastern peoples" who had settled "as thick as locusts" in the valley to do battle. The night before the battle Yahweh appeared to him, telling him, "If you afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying" (Judg 7:10-11). So he did, and there, hidden by the darkness, he overheard a man telling his friend his dream:

"I had a dream," he was saying. "A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed."

His friend responded, "This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands."

Gideon immediately roused his forces and won a smashing victory.