Wheat

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

Wheat —Of all the cereals, wheat is at once the most valuable and the most widely distributed. It has been cultivated from very early times, as is proved by the finding of wheat grains in some of the oldest Egyptian tombs. In what land it had its-origin is unknown, but de Candolle assigns the honour to Mesopotamia. In Palestine its cultivation dates back to a time prior to the Hebrew conquest ( Deuteronomy 8:8). How long before cannot be said, but it was probably a considerable time. In the OT the most common name for it is חִמָּה, which the LXX Septuagint renders in most instances by πυρός ( Genesis 30:14,  Exodus 9:32 etc.) but sometimes by σῖτος ( Judges 6:11,  Ezekiel 27:17), and the Vulgate by triticum and, in a few cases, frumentum . On the other hand, σῖτος is used also to render בָּר ( Jeremiah 23:28,  Joel 2:24), רָּגָן ( Numbers 18:12,  Jeremiah 31:12), עבוּר ( Joshua 5:11), and שֶׁבֶר ( Genesis 42:2-3). In the NT this is the term invariably employed ( Matthew 3:12,  Luke 16:7 etc.), and in Authorized and Revised Versions it is nearly always translated ‘wheat.’ Like the Heb. רָּגָן, however, σῖτος is really a general term for the cereals. But we can readily understand how, just as in Scotland the word ‘corn’ has become practically the equivalent of oats, so in Palestine σῖτος should come to mean wheat. For it was the most common and the most valued of the staple products of the country, and was, as it still is, its principal breadstuff. Several varieties of wheat are grown in Palestine. Tristram ( Nat. Hist. of Bible , 492) mentions specially three of them: Triticum compositum, T. spelta (which is the most common of all), and T. hybernum .

Wheat is sown about November, shortly after the first rains have softened the soil and rendered it fit for ploughing. It is ripe in May or June, but the time of harvest varies for the different districts, being earliest in the low-lying Jordan Valley, and latest in the Lebanons. The processes of reaping, threshing, winnowing, and sifting have already been described (see Agriculture). The return yielded by wheat varies greatly. Thirty-fold is, according to Tristram, reckoned a good return ( op. cit. 489). But that applies to Palestine as it is now. The sixty-fold or hundred-fold of the parable ( Matthew 13:8 ||) might well have been obtained in the days of its former prosperity. Wheat was an article of export from very early days ( Ezekiel 27:17, cf.  Acts 12:20), and even to this day considerable quantities are exported by way of Haifa and Beirut. It is obtained mainly from the Haurân.

Hugh Duncan.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Wheat. The well-known valuable cereal, cultivated from the earliest times, is first mentioned in ( Genesis 30:14, in the account of Jacob's sojourn with Laban in Mesopotamia. Egypt, in ancient times, was celebrated for the growth of its wheat; the best quality was all bearded; and the same varieties existed in ancient as in modern times, among which may be mentioned the seven-eared quality described in Pharaoh's dream.  Genesis 41:22. Babylonia was also noted for the excellence of its wheat and other cereals. Syria and Palestine produced wheat of fine quality and in large quantities.  Psalms 81:16;  Psalms 147:14; etc.

There appear to be two or three kinds of wheat at present grown in Palestine, the Triticum vulgare , the Triticum spelta , and another variety of bearded wheat which appears to be the same as the Egyptian kind, the Triticum compositum . In the parable of the sower our Lord alludes to grains of wheat which in good ground produce a hundred-fold.  Matthew 13:8. The common Triticum vulgare will sometimes produce one hundred grains in the ear.

Wheat is reaped toward the end of April, in May, and in June, according to the differences of soil and position; it was sown either broadcast and then ploughed in or trampled in by cattle,  Isaiah 32:20 or in rows, if we rightly understand  Isaiah 28:25 which seems to imply that the seeds were planted apart in order to insure larger and fuller ears. The wheat was put into the ground in the winter, and some time after the barley; in the Egyptian plague of hail, consequently, the barley suffered, but the wheat had not appeared, and so escaped injury.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

WHEAT ( chittâh ,   Genesis 30:14 ,   Exodus 34:22 etc.; sitos ,   Matthew 3:12;   Matthew 13:25;   Matthew 13:29-30 ,   Luke 3:17;   Luke 16:7;   Luke 22:31 etc.). The wheat of Palestine is mostly of the bearded varieties; it is not only eaten as bread, but also boiled, unground, to make the peasant’s dish burghul , which is in turn pounded with meat in a mortar (cf.   Proverbs 27:22 ) to make the festive delicacy kibbeh . Wheat is grown all over the valleys and plains of W. Palestine, though to a less extent than barley, but it is cultivated in the largest quantities in the Nuqra or plain of the Hauran, one of the finest grain-growing countries in the world. The wheat harvest occurs from April to June; its time was looked upon as one of the divisions of the year (  Exodus 34:22 ,   Judges 15:1 ,   1 Samuel 12:17 ). The expressions ‘fat of wheat’ (  Psalms 81:16 mg., 147:14 mg.) and ‘the fat of kidneys of wheat’ (  Deuteronomy 32:14 ) refer to the finest flour of wheat.

E. W. G. Masterman.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Psalm 81:16 (c) We may learn from this that those who hearken to the Lord and seek to obey His Word may expect to receive GOD's richest blessings that will make them strong, able and happy Christian servants. (See also  Psalm 147:14).

 Jeremiah 23:28 (a) The wheat in this case represents the Word of GOD, while the chaff represents the ideas, notions and dreams of men.

 Matthew 3:12 (a) Our Lord Jesus as well as others, used "wheat" as a type of Christians, believers in the Lord JESUS. The chaff represents hypocrites, who are raised among the wheat, and close to the wheat, but never become "wheat." In the final day, GOD takes the Christians (the wheat) into His home in glory, while the unsaved are shut out. (See also  Luke 3:17).

 Matthew 13:25 (a) The grain in this verse represents the Word of GOD as the wheat, and false doctrines and false writings as the tares. There are always those in every community who would bring evil doctrines in among GOD's people in order to hinder the salvation of souls. The field in which these mixed seeds are sown is the world. In GOD's true church, only the precious Word of GOD is preached and taught.

 John 12:24 (a) This grain is the Lord JESUS Himself. He was cut down and was buried, but came forth from the tomb to produce a tremendous crop of believers for eternity.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

הטה ,  Genesis 30:14;  Deuteronomy 8:8; σιτος ,  Matthew 13:25;  Luke 16:7;  1 Corinthians 15:37; the principal and the most valuable kind of grain for the service of man. ( See Barley , and See Fitches . ) In Leviticus 2, directions are given for oblations, which in our translation are called meat-offerings; but as meat means flesh, and all kinds of offerings there specified, were made of wheat, it had been better to render it "wheaten offerings." Calmet has observed, that there were five kinds of these, simple flour, oven cakes, cakes of the fire plate, cakes of the frying pan, and green ears of corn. The word בר , translated corn,   Genesis 41:35 , and wheat in   Jeremiah 23:28;  Joel 2:24;  Amos 5:11 , &c, is undoubtedly the burr, or wild corn of the Arabs, mentioned by Forskal.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Hittah   Genesis 41:5 Deuteronomy 32:14 Psalm 81:16 147:14 1 Kings 5:11 Ezekiel 27:17 Acts 12:20

Parched grains of wheat were used for food in Palestine ( Ruth 2:14;  1 Samuel 17:17;  2 Samuel 17:28 ). The disciples, under the sanction of the Mosaic law ( Deuteronomy 23:25 ), plucked ears of corn, and rubbing them in their hands, ate the grain unroasted ( Matthew 12:1;  Mark 2:23;  Luke 6:1 ). Before any of the wheat-harvest, however, could be eaten, the first-fruits had to be presented before the Lord ( Leviticus 23:14 ).

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Wheat. In Palestine this most important of all grains was sown after barley—late in the fall. It was not only scattered broadcast and then ploughed, harrowed, or trodden in,  Isaiah 32:20, but it seems, according to the Hebrew of  Isaiah 28:25, to have been planted in rows or drills, as it certainly often is at present in Syria, wheat is still produced for export east of the Jordan.  Ezekiel 27:17;  Deuteronomy 8:8. In the days of Jacob this grain was already so much cultivated in Mesopotamia that "wheat harvest" denoted a well-known season.  Genesis 30:14. The many-eared variety, or mummy wheat, is referred to in Pharaoh's dream.  Genesis 41:22. In the A. V. and R. V. this grain is often mentioned under the general name of "corn."

Morrish Bible Dictionary

This cereal was extensively grown in Palestine; the harvest was in May and June. In the parable it is used by the Lord as representing the children of the kingdom, the fruit of the good seed that He was sowing on the earth, in contrast to the tares, or darnel, which Satan secretly sowed among the good seed.

The Lord Himself, being the second Man 'out of heaven,' is compared to the grain of wheat that must have remained alone unless it had died, but which in dying would bring forth much fruit. This clearly shows that there was no union of Christ and natural man by His incarnation alone, and that through the death of Christ the fruit produced by His resurrection is of the same order as Christ Himself.  Matthew 13:25-30;  John 12:24;  1 Corinthians 15:48,49 .

There are three or four varieties of Triticum grown in Palestine.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

Is the principal and most valuable kind of grain for the service of man, and is produced in almost every part of the world,  Genesis 30:14   Deuteronomy 8:8   Judges 6:11   Matthew 13:25   1 Corinthians 15:37 . It is often intended where the word corn is used. See Corn .

The Egyptian wheat, Triticum Compositum, has six or seven ears on one head; so that it presented its usual appearance in this respect in Pharaoh's dream,  Genesis 41:5-7 . The "meat-offerings" of the Mosaic service,  Leviticus 2:1-16 , were all made of wheaten flour.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Numbers 18:12 Matthew 3:12 Psalm 81:16 Leviticus 23:14 corn   Mark 4:28 Exodus 34:22 1 Samuel 6:13 Judges 6:11 Matthew 3:12AgricultureBreadHarvestPlants In The Bible

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

The wheat harvest (usually in the end of May) in Palestine is mentioned as early as Reuben ( Genesis 30:14), compare Isaac's hundred fold increase ( Genesis 26:12). The crops are now thin and light, no manure being used and the same grain grown on the same soil year by year. Three varieties are grown, all bearded. The sickle was in use for cutting grain as well as sometimes for the vintage ( Revelation 14:18-19). Generally, the ears only were cut off, the long straw being left in the ground.

King James Dictionary

WHEAT, n. G. A plant of the genus Triticum, and the seed of the plant, which furnishes a white flour for bread, and next to rice, is the grain most generally used by the human race. Of this grain the varieties are numerous, as red wheat, white wheat, bald wheat, bearded wheat, winter wheat, summer wheat, &c.

Webster's Dictionary

(n.) A cereal grass (Triticum vulgare) and its grain, which furnishes a white flour for bread, and, next to rice, is the grain most largely used by the human race.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

hwēt ((1) חטּה , ḥiṭṭāh , the specific word for wheat (  Genesis 30:14;  Exodus 34:22 , etc.), with πυρός , purós (Judith 3:3; Sirach 39:26); (2) בּר , bar , or בּר , bār ( Jeremiah 23:28;  Joel 2:24;  Amos 5:11;  Amos 8:6 ); in other passages translated "grain" or "corn"; (3) σῖτος , sı́tos ( Matthew 3:12;  Matthew 13:25 ,  Matthew 13:29 ,  Matthew 13:30;  Luke 3:17;  Luke 16:7;  Luke 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 ,  Exodus 9:32 ), occurring in April, May or June, according to the altitude.

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Bibliography Information McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Wheat'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/w/wheat.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.