Bible Strands
Exodus 9:31
(Now the flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley was ripe and the flax was in bloom;
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses reports to Pharaoh that the hail has ruined the fields, specifying that the destruction occurred because the barley had reached its ear stage and the flax was budding.
The words — נֻכָּתָה (nu.Ka.tah) translates literally as “it was struck,” and אָבִיב ('a.Viv) means “young barley ears,” pinning the damage to a precise agricultural phase.
The thread — The phrase “struck” with agricultural ruin parallels Amos 4:9, while the barley harvest timing aligns with Ruth 1:22 and Ruth 2:23.
Why it lands — It forces the reader to observe the text’s chronological sequence: the physical state of the crops is recorded first, establishing that the judgment targets specific seasonal cycles rather than random destruction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
Cross-references
- Ruth 1:22 So Naomi returned from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
- Ruth 2:23 So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean grain until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
- Amos 4:9 “I struck you with blight and mildew in your growing gardens and vineyards; the locust devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
- Habakkuk 3:17 Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls,