Wheat

WHEAT

hwet

((1) chiTTah, the specific word for wheat (Genesis 30:14; Exodus 34:22, etc.), with puros (Judith 3:3; Sirach 39:26);

(2) bar, or bar (Jeremiah 23:28; Joel 2:24; Amos 5:11; 8:6); in other passages translated "grain" or "corn";

(3) sitos (Matthew 3:12; 13:25,29,30; Luke 3:17; 16:7; 22:31, etc.) (for other words translated occasionally "wheat" in the King James Version see CORN; FOOD)):

Wheat, usually the bearded variety, is cultivated all over Palestine, though less so than barley. The great plain of the Hauran is a vast expanse of wheat fields in the spring; considerable quantities are exported via Beirut, Haifa, and Gaza. The "wheat harvest" was in olden times one of the regular divisions of the year (Exodus 34:22; Judges 15:1; 1 Samuel 12:17); it follows the barley harvest (Exodus 9:31,32), occurring in April, May or June, according to the altitude.

E. W. G. Masterman