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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 (1Ki_4:28), mules, and donkeys, oats being practically unknown. It is still used by the poor for making bread (Jdg_7:13, Joh_6:9; Joh_6:13 etc.) in the villages, but not in the cities. Barley was the special ritual offering for jealousy (Num_5:16). The barley harvest (Rth_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.