wheat

One of the principal cereal grasses, along with barley, of Palestine. Domesticated originally in the Near East, it has been cultivated since prehistoric times. After the harvest in the late spring, wheat was prepared for domestic use as flour by threshing, winnowing, parching, and grinding or milling. The finely ground flour was preferred for baking breads and cakes and was therefore a major dietary component (Exod 29:2; Lev 2:1). Wheat is less hardy than barley and is more susceptible to drought, frost, and poor soil conditions. Dependence on wheat as the staff of life often led to famine in times of environmental stress (Gen 43:1-2). In good years, however, production was so great that it was an item of export from Palestine. Solomon is said to have sent twenty thousand measures of wheat to Hiram of Tyre in payment for the cedars and cypress sent for the construction of the Temple and palace of Jerusalem (1Kgs 5:10-11).