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Bible Dictionaries
Straw
Smith's Bible Dictionary
or Straw. Both wheat and barley straw were used by the ancient Hebrews, chiefly as fodder for the horses cattle and camels. Genesis 24:25; 1 Kings 4:28; Isaiah 11:7; Isaiah 66:25. There is no intimation that straw was used for litter. It was employed by the Egyptians for making bricks, Exodus 5:7; Exodus 5:16, being chopped up and mixed with the clay, to make them more compact, and to prevent their cracking. See Brick.
The ancient Egyptians reaped their corn close to the ear, and, afterward, cut the straw close to the ground and laid it by. This was the straw that Pharaoh refused to give to the Israelites, who were, therefore, compelled to gather "stubble" instead - a matter of considerable difficulty, seeing that the straw itself had been cut off near to the ground.
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Smith, William, Dr. Entry for 'Straw'. Smith's Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/sbd/s/straw.html. 1901.
