Exodus 9:31

31 Therefore the flax and barley was hurt, for the barley was green, and the flax had burgeoned then knops; (And so the flax and the barley were destroyed, for the barley was still green, and the flax had only then brought forth knops, or buds;)

Exodus 9:31 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 9:31

And the flax and the barley was smitten
With the hail, thunder, and lightning, and were beat down, bruised, broken, and blasted, and destroyed; of the former there were great quantities produced in Egypt, which was famous for linen, much was made there, and there were many that wrought in fine flax, see ( Isaiah 19:9 ) and the latter were used not only to feed their cattle, but to make a drink of, as we do, ale and strong beer; and so the Egyptians use it to this day, as Dr. Shaw ^F16 says, both to feed their cattle, and after it is dried and parched, to make a fermented, intoxicating liquor, called "bonzah"; probably the same with the barley wine of the ancients, and a species of the "sicar", or strong drink of the Scriptures: for the barley [was] in the ear, and the flax [was] bolled;
or in the stalk, quite grown up, and so the ears of the one were beat off, and the stalks of the other battered with the hail, and broken and destroyed.

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 Travels, tom. 2. c. 2. sect. 5. p. 407. Ed. 2.

Exodus 9:31 In-Context

29 Moses said, When I shall go out of the city, I shall hold forth mine hands to the Lord, and [the] lightnings and (the) thunders shall cease, and (the) hail shall not be, (so) that thou know, that the earth is the Lord's;

30 forsooth I know, that thou and thy servants dread not yet the Lord [God]. (but I know, that thou and thy servants do not yet fear the Lord God.)

31 Therefore the flax and barley was hurt, for the barley was green, and the flax had burgeoned then knops; (And so the flax and the barley were destroyed, for the barley was still green, and the flax had only then brought forth knops, or buds;)

32 forsooth wheat and beans were not hurt, for those were late sown. (but the wheat and the beans were not destroyed, for they were sown late.)

33 And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and from the city, and held forth his hands to the Lord, and (the) thunders and (the) hail ceased, and [the] rain dropped no more on the earth.