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

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.