And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled.
The flax and barley crops were destroyed because the barley was ready for harvest and the flax was in bloom.
This verse describes how specific crops were ruined by the hail plague because they were at vulnerable stages of growth when the disaster struck.
📚 Historical Context
In the Book of Exodus, this verse is part of the narrative describing the seventh plague, a devastating hailstorm that God sent upon Egypt as a judgment against Pharaoh's stubborn refusal to release the Israelites from slavery. At that time, ancient Egyptian society relied heavily on agriculture, with barley being a staple crop for food and flax used for producing linen cloth, both of which were vulnerable during their growth stages. The barley was in the ear, meaning it was nearly ready for harvest, and the flax was bolled, or forming pods, making them prime targets for destruction by the hail.
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