The flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was in bloom.
Parallel translations
- KJV And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
- BSB (Now the flax and barley were destroyed, since the barley was ripe and the flax was in bloom;
- NKJV Now the flax and the barley were struck, for the barley was in the head and the flax was in bud.
- NASB (Now the flax and the barley were ruined, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud.
- NLT (All the flax and barley were ruined by the hail, because the barley had formed heads and the flax was budding.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The flax and barley were destroyed because they were ripening. A precise agricultural detail confirms the account's accuracy.
Overview
This note explains the extent of the crop loss and reflects the historical timing within Egypt's growing season. The destruction of flax and barley deepened Egypt's economic ruin. Such concrete detail underscores the narrative's grounding in real events and seasons. It also sets up the contrast with the surviving later crops in the next verse.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ruth 2:23So she stayed close to the maidens of Boaz, to glean to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she lived with her mother-in-law.
- Ruth 1:22So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned out of the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
- Hab 3:17For though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls:
- Amos 4:9“I struck you with blight and mildew many times in your gardens and your vineyards; and your fig trees and your olive trees have the swarming locust devoured: yet you haven’t returned to me,” says Yahweh.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 9:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.