Barley
Barley (se`orah) is one of the most important of
the cereal grains in the Bible. It is also the hardiest of them all. In the
Bible (as in modern times) the failure of this crop was a national disaster
(Joel 1:11). The Israelites successfully practiced agriculture in Palestine, so
they grew it as a primary food product. The land lent itself for barley growing
and was described as "a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees,
pomegranates, olive oil and honey" (Deuteronomy 8:8). Barley was and still
is used as an ingredient for bread, second only to wheat. It was usually the
food of horses, cattle, and/or donkeys (1 Kings 4:28). However, barley was
frequently baked into a bread used for food for the poor, common people –
especially in country districts (Judges 7:13; 2 Kings 4:42). It was also a
valuable grain (as barley millet) that was useful for making malt, from which
beer, ale, and whisky could be made.
This bread
was the principal basis of food among the Hebrews. Meat, vegetables, and
liquids served only to supplement the meal. As the chief food of the poor, this
primitive bread was unleavened and was called "mazzot." The shape of the bread was commonly a round, circular
loaf which would be conducive for traveling. It was with five barley loaves and
two fish that Jesus fed the five thousand (John 6:8-13).
Barley
bread is mentioned seldom in the Bible, especially when compared to the more
refined wheat bread. Wheat bread was the superior product, but as barley bread
was the food of the poor, wheat was not always affordable or available. As a
result, the most commonly occurring form of bread was made from a mixture of both
barley and wheat, especially the latter, “spelt” or "kussemet," being particularly used in special cases (Ezekiel
4:9). In ritual, barley flour seems to have been used exclusively for the meal Offering
of Jealousy (Numbers 5:15).
Several
varieties of barely were grown in the area of Palestine. It was sown in the
autumn, after the "early rains." Later in the year, the harvest was a
well-marked season, corresponding with the month of Nisan (April), the time of
Passover. On the second day of Passover, the Hebrews offered a sheaf of barley
as the first-fruits of the harvest of the year. Also, the unleavened nature of
the bread made it able to be used during the Passover ritual as the “bread of affliction”
(Deuteronomy 16:3).
Originally
the ears of barley or wheat were simply roasted. However, in order to make
barley bread, the earliest and most simple way of preparation was by crushing the
grain. This consisted of pounding it in a mortar until it produced coarse flour.
In order to obtain finer flour, the grain was often pulverized and ground between
two stones in a mill. As far back as can be traced, the Israelites used a mill
for preparing this finer flour. Furthermore, each household prepared its own
flour. This helps to explain the prohibition against taking a hand mill in pledge
from the poor (Deuteronomy 24:6). Consequently, the work of grinding was the
task of the women, the female slaves (Isaiah 47:2; Matthew 24:41), and/or of
captives. The women were also the ones who baked the bread.
In his Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas
suggested that barley bread serves to represent the hardness of the Old
Testament (Old Covenant) Law – especially as it has a role in Holy Communion.
Taking into account the hardness of the bread and the hardiness of the flour,
the bread seems to represent the incredible burden of keeping the Law and the
hardness of the peoples’ heart, who are still led by carnal desires. This would
certainly be a worthwhile comparison to the Hebrews of the Old Testament.
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