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 ( 1 Kings 4:28 ), mules, and donkeys, oats being practically unknown. It is still used by the poor for making bread ( Judges 7:13 , John 6:9; John 6:13 etc.) in the villages, but not in the cities. Barley was the special ritual offering for jealousy ( Numbers 5:16 ). The barley harvest ( Ruth 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.