Barley. Barley is one of the most important of the cereal grains, and the most hardy of them all. It was grown by the Hebrews, Leviticus 27:16; Leviticus 8:8; Ruth 2:17, etc., who used it for baking into bread chiefly among the poor, Judges 7:13; 2 Kings 4:42; John 6:9; John 6:13, and as fodder for horses. 1 Kings 4:28.
The barley harvest, Ruth 1:22; Ruth 2:23; 2 Samuel 21:9-10, takes place in Palestine in March and April, and in the hilly districts, as late as May. It always precedes the wheat harvest, in some places, by a week, in others, by fully three weeks. In Egypt, the barley is about a month earlier than the wheat; whence, its total destruction by the hail storm. Exodus 9:31.