8184. seorah
Lexical Summary
seorah: Barley

Original Word: שְׂעֹרָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: s`orah
Pronunciation: seh-o-RAH
Phonetic Spelling: (seh-o-raw')
KJV: barley
NASB: barley
Word Origin: [from H8175 (שָׂעַר - To storm) in the sense of roughness]

1. barley (as villose)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
barley

Or snowrah {seh-o-raw'} (feminine meaning the plant); and (masculine meaning the grain); also s or {seh-ore'}; or s-owr {seh-ore'}; from sa'ar in the sense of roughness; barley (as villose) -- barley.

see HEBREW sa'ar

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from the same as sear
Definition
barley
NASB Translation
barley (33).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
שְׂעֹרָה noun feminine barley (bearded grain; ᵐ5 κριθή, ᵑ9 hordeum; Late Hebrew id.; Sabean שערם Glas in FellZMG liv (1900), 256, Arabic ; Old Aramaic שערה, ᵑ7 סְעָרְתָא, Syriac ; Di260 compare Ethiopic wheat, grain); — absolute ׳שׂ Exodus 9:31 +; usually plural שְׂעֹרִים Hosea 3:2 +; — barley, common grain (often "" חִטָּה, etc.):

1 growing, standing, singular Exodus 9:31 (twice in verse) (J), Deuteronomy 8:8; Job 31:40; Job 1:11, as sown Isaiah 28:25; standing, plural 2 Samuel 14:30 ׳שְׂעוֺ 1 Chronicles 11:13, reaped קְצִיר (הַ)שְׂעֹרִים 2 Samuel 21:9; Ruth 1:22; Ruth 2:23, ׳גֹּרֶן הַשּׂ Ruth 3:2.

2 plural, the grains, measured, cooked, etc.: Hosea 3:2 (twice in verse); Ezekiel 4:9; Ezekiel 13:19; Ezekiel 45:13; 2 Kings 7:1,16,18; Jeremiah 41:8; 2Chron 2:9; 2 Chronicles 2:14; 2 Chronicles 27:5; Ruth 2:17; Ruth 3:15,17; 2 Samuel 17:28; 1 Kings 5:8 (food for horses); ׳זֶרַע חֹמֶר שׂ Leviticus 27:16 (P); ׳קֶמַח שׂ Numbers 5:15, ׳לֶחֶם שׂ Judges 7:13; 2 Kings 4:42, ׳עֻגַת שׂ Ezekiel 4:12.

Topical Lexicon
Agricultural Significance

Barley stands alongside wheat as one of the foundational grains of ancient Israel. Exodus 9:31 notes that “the flax and the barley were destroyed, since the barley was ripe,” showing that it heads earlier than wheat and therefore served as the earliest major grain harvest (late March–April). Deuteronomy 8:8 lists it among the blessings of the Promised Land, and Job 31:40 treats it as the normal, expected crop in a well-kept field. Its hardiness allowed it to grow in poorer soils and with less rainfall than wheat, making it a staple from the northern hill country to the Negev.

Cultivation and Harvest

Barley harvest began soon after Passover (Leviticus 23:10–11). The waving of the first sheaf marked the beginning of the harvest season and testified to God’s provision before the main reaping commenced. By contrast, wheat was not cut until around the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), roughly fifty days later. Ruth 1:22–2:23 illustrates the agricultural rhythm: Naomi and Ruth arrive “at the beginning of the barley harvest,” and Ruth gleaned “until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest.” The overlap of the two harvests created a natural period of sustained work and community generosity toward the poor (Leviticus 19:9–10).

Dietary and Domestic Use

Although barley bread was sometimes considered humbler fare than wheat bread, it nourished rich and poor alike. Gideon’s enemy dreamed of “a loaf of barley bread tumbling into the camp of Midian” (Judges 7:13), a picture of an unlikely but divinely empowered victory. In everyday life it fed both humans and animals; “they also brought... barley for the horses” for Solomon’s royal stables (1 Kings 4:28). 2 Kings 4:42 recounts Elisha miraculously multiplying twenty barley loaves, a narrative echoed when Jesus fed the five thousand with five barley loaves (John 6:9).

Sacrificial and Ritual Use

Unlike the regular grain offerings of finely ground wheat flour, the jealousy offering prescribed “one-tenth of an ephah of barley flour” with no oil or frankincense (Numbers 5:15). Its plainness heightened the solemn, searching character of the rite. Ezekiel, dramatizing Jerusalem’s siege, baked a bread of mixed grains that included barley (Ezekiel 4:9), signaling scarcity yet sufficiency under divine discipline. Ezekiel 45:13 fixes barley as part of the future prince’s offering—“one-sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley”—affirming its place in restored worship.

Economic Value and Provision for the Poor

Barley functioned as a unit of exchange. Leviticus 27:16 set land values “according to its seed requirement—fifty shekels of silver to a homer of barley seed.” In the famine of Samaria God proclaimed through Elisha, “Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel” (2 Kings 7:1). Barley’s lower cost furnished daily bread for those unable to afford wheat and supplied gleanings for widows like Ruth. Amos 8:5 rebukes merchants who exploited the needy, planning to sell grain dishonestly and “sell the chaff of the wheat,” implicitly devaluing even the cheaper barley.

Symbolic and Prophetic Implications

Because it ripens first, barley became linked with firstfruits and thus with resurrection hope. The waved sheaf signified that the whole harvest belonged to God and guaranteed its completion. Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15:20—that Christ is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”—would have reminded Jewish believers of the very barley sheaf lifted in faith each spring. In prophetic symbolism, the humble barley loaf in Judges 7 pictures God choosing weak instruments to overthrow the mighty, while Ezekiel’s barley ration portrays disciplined endurance that leads to future restoration.

Occurrences at a Glance

Approximate total: 34. Representative texts: Exodus 9:31; Leviticus 27:16; Numbers 5:15; Deuteronomy 8:8; Judges 7:13; Ruth 1:22; 2 Samuel 17:28; 2 Kings 4:42; 2 Kings 7:1; 1 Chronicles 11:13; 2 Chronicles 2:10; Ezekiel 4:9; Ezekiel 45:13; Joel 1:11; Amos 8:5.

Ministry and Discipleship Applications

1. God delights to use what the world deems ordinary. Barley’s prominence in miracles of provision (2 Kings 4; John 6) underscores that small, humble resources become abundantly sufficient in His hand.
2. The firstfruits principle calls believers to offer God the best and the first of all increase, trusting Him for the remainder.
3. The timing of the barley harvest situates the resurrection hope of Christ within the calendar of redemption, encouraging confidence that the full harvest of resurrection will surely follow.

Forms and Transliterations
הַשְּׂעֹרִ֖ים הַשְּׂעֹרִ֥ים הַשְּׂעֹרִֽים׃ הַשְּׂעֹרָה֙ השערה השערים השערים׃ וְהַשְּׂעֹרִ֜ים וְהַשְּׂעֹרִ֣ים וְהַשְּׂעֹרָ֖ה וּ֠שְׂעֹרִים וּשְׂעֹרִ֕ים וּשְׂעֹרִ֖ים וּשְׂעֹרָ֔ה וּשְׂעֹרָ֣ה וּשְׂעוֹרִ֖ים והשערה והשערים ושעורים ושערה ושערים שְׂעֹרִ֑ים שְׂעֹרִ֔ים שְׂעֹרִ֖ים שְׂעֹרִ֛ים שְׂעֹרִ֜ים שְׂעֹרִֽים׃ שְׂעֹרִים֙ שְׂעֹרִים֮ שְׂעֹרָ֑ה שְׂעֹרָ֥ה שְׂעוֹרִ֑ים שעורים שערה שערים שערים׃ haś·śə·‘ō·rāh haś·śə·‘ō·rîm haśśə‘ōrāh haśśə‘ōrîm hasseoRah hasseoRim śə‘ōrāh śə‘ōrîm śə‘ōwrîm śə·‘ō·rāh śə·‘ō·rîm śə·‘ō·w·rîm seoRah seoRim ū·śə·‘ō·rāh ū·śə·‘ō·rîm ū·śə·‘ō·w·rîm ūśə‘ōrāh ūśə‘ōrîm ūśə‘ōwrîm useoRah useoRim vehasseoRah vehasseoRim wə·haś·śə·‘ō·rāh wə·haś·śə·‘ō·rîm wəhaśśə‘ōrāh wəhaśśə‘ōrîm
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Exodus 9:31
HEB: וְהַפִּשְׁתָּ֥ה וְהַשְּׂעֹרָ֖ה נֻכָּ֑תָה כִּ֤י
NAS: (Now the flax and the barley were ruined,
KJV: And the flax and the barley was smitten:
INT: the flax and the barley were ruined for

Exodus 9:31
HEB: נֻכָּ֑תָה כִּ֤י הַשְּׂעֹרָה֙ אָבִ֔יב וְהַפִּשְׁתָּ֖ה
NAS: were ruined, for the barley was in the ear
KJV: was smitten: for the barley [was] in the ear,
INT: were ruined for the barley the ear and the flax

Leviticus 27:16
HEB: זֶ֚רַע חֹ֣מֶר שְׂעֹרִ֔ים בַּחֲמִשִּׁ֖ים שֶׁ֥קֶל
NAS: needed for it: a homer of barley seed
KJV: thereof: an homer of barley seed
INT: seed A homer of barley fifty shekels

Numbers 5:15
HEB: הָאֵיפָ֖ה קֶ֣מַח שְׂעֹרִ֑ים לֹֽא־ יִצֹ֨ק
NAS: of an ephah of barley meal;
KJV: [part] of an ephah of barley meal;
INT: of an ephah meal of barley nor pour

Deuteronomy 8:8
HEB: אֶ֤רֶץ חִטָּה֙ וּשְׂעֹרָ֔ה וְגֶ֥פֶן וּתְאֵנָ֖ה
NAS: of wheat and barley, of vines
KJV: of wheat, and barley, and vines,
INT: A land of wheat and barley of vines and fig

Judges 7:13
HEB: ק) לֶ֤חֶם שְׂעֹרִים֙ מִתְהַפֵּךְ֙ בְּמַחֲנֵ֣ה
NAS: a loaf of barley bread
KJV: and, lo, a cake of barley bread
INT: cake bread of barley was tumbling the camp

Ruth 1:22
HEB: בִּתְחִלַּ֖ת קְצִ֥יר שְׂעֹרִֽים׃
NAS: at the beginning of barley harvest.
KJV: in the beginning of barley harvest.
INT: the beginning harvest of barley

Ruth 2:17
HEB: וַיְהִ֖י כְּאֵיפָ֥ה שְׂעֹרִֽים׃
NAS: and it was about an ephah of barley.
KJV: and it was about an ephah of barley.
INT: become an ephah of barley

Ruth 2:23
HEB: כְּל֥וֹת קְצִֽיר־ הַשְּׂעֹרִ֖ים וּקְצִ֣יר הַֽחִטִּ֑ים
NAS: the end of the barley harvest
KJV: unto the end of barley harvest
INT: the end harvest of the barley harvest and the wheat

Ruth 3:2
HEB: אֶת־ גֹּ֥רֶן הַשְּׂעֹרִ֖ים הַלָּֽיְלָה׃
NAS: he winnows barley at the threshing floor
KJV: thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night
INT: winnows the threshing barley tonight

Ruth 3:15
HEB: וַיָּ֤מָד שֵׁשׁ־ שְׂעֹרִים֙ וַיָּ֣שֶׁת עָלֶ֔יהָ
NAS: six [measures] of barley and laid
KJV: six [measures] of barley, and laid
INT: measured six barley and laid and

Ruth 3:17
HEB: וַתֹּ֕אמֶר שֵׁשׁ־ הַשְּׂעֹרִ֥ים הָאֵ֖לֶּה נָ֣תַן
NAS: six [measures] of barley he gave
KJV: These six [measures] of barley gave
INT: said six barley These gave

2 Samuel 14:30
HEB: וְלוֹ־ שָׁ֣ם שְׂעֹרִ֔ים לְכ֖וּ [וְהֹוצִּתֵיהָ
NAS: is next to mine, and he has barley there;
KJV: mine, and he hath barley there; go
INT: mine there has barley go and set

2 Samuel 17:28
HEB: יוֹצֵ֔ר וְחִטִּ֥ים וּשְׂעֹרִ֖ים וְקֶ֣מַח וְקָלִ֑י
NAS: pottery, wheat, barley, flour, parched
KJV: and wheat, and barley, and flour,
INT: and earthen wheat barley flour parched

2 Samuel 21:9
HEB: ק) קְצִ֥יר שְׂעֹרִֽים׃
NAS: at the beginning of barley harvest.
KJV: [days], in the beginning of barley harvest.
INT: Tachmonite harvest of barley

1 Kings 4:28
HEB: וְהַשְּׂעֹרִ֣ים וְהַתֶּ֔בֶן לַסּוּסִ֖ים
NAS: They also brought barley and straw
KJV: Barley also and straw for the horses
INT: barley and straw the horses

2 Kings 4:42
HEB: עֶשְׂרִֽים־ לֶ֣חֶם שְׂעֹרִ֔ים וְכַרְמֶ֖ל בְּצִקְלֹנ֑וֹ
NAS: loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain
KJV: loaves of barley, and full ears of corn
INT: twenty loaves of barley and fresh his sack

2 Kings 7:1
HEB: בְּשֶׁ֗קֶל וְסָאתַ֧יִם שְׂעֹרִ֛ים בְּשֶׁ֖קֶל בְּשַׁ֥עַר
NAS: and two measures of barley for a shekel,
KJV: and two measures of barley for a shekel,
INT: A shekel measures of barley A shekel the gate

2 Kings 7:16
HEB: בְּשֶׁ֗קֶל וְסָאתַ֧יִם שְׂעֹרִ֛ים בְּשֶׁ֖קֶל כִּדְבַ֥ר
NAS: and two measures of barley for a shekel,
KJV: and two measures of barley for a shekel,
INT: A shekel measures of barley A shekel to the word

2 Kings 7:18
HEB: לֵאמֹ֑ר סָאתַ֨יִם שְׂעֹרִ֜ים בְּשֶׁ֗קֶל וּֽסְאָה־
NAS: Two measures of barley for a shekel
KJV: Two measures of barley for a shekel,
INT: saying measures of barley A shekel measure

1 Chronicles 11:13
HEB: הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה מְלֵאָ֣ה שְׂעוֹרִ֑ים וְהָעָ֥ם נָ֖סוּ
NAS: full of barley; and the people
KJV: full of barley; and the people
INT: of ground full of barley and the people fled

2 Chronicles 2:10
HEB: עֶשְׂרִ֣ים אֶ֔לֶף וּשְׂעֹרִ֕ים כֹּרִ֖ים עֶשְׂרִ֣ים
NAS: kors of barley, and 20,000
KJV: measures of barley, and twenty
INT: twenty thousand of barley measures and twenty

2 Chronicles 2:15
HEB: וְ֠עַתָּה הַחִטִּ֨ים וְהַשְּׂעֹרִ֜ים הַשֶּׁ֤מֶן וְהַיַּ֙יִן֙
NAS: wheat and barley, oil
KJV: Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil,
INT: Now wheat and barley oil and wine

2 Chronicles 27:5
HEB: כֹּרִים֙ חִטִּ֔ים וּשְׂעוֹרִ֖ים עֲשֶׂ֣רֶת אֲלָפִ֑ים
NAS: thousand of barley. The Ammonites
KJV: thousand of barley. So much did the children
INT: kors of wheat of barley and ten thousand

Job 31:40
HEB: ח֗וֹחַ וְתַֽחַת־ שְׂעֹרָ֥ה בָאְשָׁ֑ה תַּ֝֗מּוּ
NAS: instead of barley. The words
KJV: and cockle instead of barley. The words
INT: briars instead of barley and stinkweed are ended

34 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 8184
34 Occurrences


haś·śə·‘ō·rāh — 1 Occ.
haś·śə·‘ō·rîm — 4 Occ.
śə·‘ō·rāh — 2 Occ.
śə·‘ō·rîm — 17 Occ.
ū·śə·‘ō·rāh — 2 Occ.
ū·śə·‘ō·rîm — 5 Occ.
wə·haś·śə·‘ō·rāh — 1 Occ.
wə·haś·śə·‘ō·rîm — 2 Occ.

8183
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