κρῑθ-ή G2915
of barley, made from barley grain
In Revelation's vision of famine and economic upheaval, a voice announces inflated prices: 'A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius' (Revelation 6:6). Barley, cheaper and less desirable than wheat, served as food for the poor and as animal fodder. The genitive form here indicates 'barley grain' or 'barley produce.' The pricing suggests severe scarcity where even coarse barley becomes expensive. This was subsistence-level economics—a day's wages for a day's bread.
Senses
1. sense 1 — John's apocalyptic vision of the black horse rider (famine) includes specific grain prices that signal severe economic distress. Barley, the grain of poverty, costs a third the price of wheat but still requires a day's wages for three quarts—barely enough for survival. All language witnesses identify barley as the grain type. The genitive construction indicates 'of barley' modifying 'quarts.' This famine allows survival but eliminates any margin, reducing human existence to securing the next meal. 1×
AR["شَعيرٍ"]·ben["যবের"]·DE["Gerste"]·EN["of-barley"]·FR["Gerste"]·heb["שֶׁל-שְׂעוֹרִים"]·HI["जौ-का"]·ID["jelai"]·IT["krithōn"]·jav["sekul-jawut"]·KO["보리-가"]·PT["de-cevada"]·RU["ячменя"]·ES["de-cebada"]·SW["vya-shayiri"]·TR["ölçek"]·urd["جو-کے"]
Related Senses
H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H3293a 1. forest, wood, thicket (55×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2232 1. sow seed, plant crops (41×)H1715 1. grain, cereal crop (40×)H7114b 1. reap, harvest grain (36×)H2132 1. olive tree (34×)H8184 1. barley (34×)H2406 1. wheat (grain crop) (30×)H7070 1. reed, cane (plant) (30×)H7848 1. acacia (28×)H8328 1. root of a plant (28×)H8384 1. fig tree (25×)H5488 1. reeds, rushes (in 'Sea of Reeds') (24×)G0290 1. a vineyard (23×)G2325 1. reap, harvest a crop (21×)G4687 1. sow seed, plant (21×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
κρῑθ-ή, ἡ, mostly in plural, barleycorns, barley (compare κρῖ), the meal being ἄλφιτα: Refs 8th c.BC+; οἶνος ἐκ κριθέων πεποιημένος a kind of beer, Refs 5th c.BC+, also of species of barley, Refs 4th c.BC+ millet, Sorghum halepense, Refs 4th c.BC+ __II pustule on the eyelid, stye, Refs 5th c.BC+ __III barley-corn, the smallest weight, Refs 4th c.BC+ __IV in singular, ={πόσθη}, Refs 5th c.BC+