JU7-6: Why Was A Barley Cake Seen As Representing Israel?

“Gid‘on got there just as a man was telling a comrade about a dream he had had: ‘I just now dreamt that a loaf of barley bread fell into the camp of Midyan, came to the tent and struck it so hard that it overturned the tent and knocked it flat.‘  His comrade answered, ‘This can only be the sword of Gid‘on son of Yo’ash, a man of Isra’el. God has given Midyan and all its army into his hands.’ When Gid‘on heard the dream and its interpretation, he fell on his knees in worship. Then he returned to the camp of Israel and said, ‘Get up! because Adonai has handed Midyan’s army over to you.'”-Judges 7:13-15

Let’s talk a little bit more about the “barley cake” dream the soldier had.

The first question that arises is why would a Midianite soldier see a barley cake as symbolizing Israel?

Well, first of all, in those days, bread made out of barley was considered the food of the poor people which is what Israel was during their time of oppression.

Also, consider the season when the nomads arrived to attack Israel.

In Judges 6:11, we’re told the Angel of the Lord gave Gideon his divine assignment when he was threshing wheat in a wine press.

This tells us the invaders came during the wheat harvest and not the barley harvest.

Barley ripens during the late winter months as opposed to wheat which is a summer crop.

Now most of our English Bibles will say it was a loaf of barley that tumbled into the camp.

This is really a bad translation.

The original Hebrew word being used here is TSELIL or צְלוּל.

Literally it means a “round loaf”.

The word is not referring to a typical squared shaped loaf of bread which is probably the image most folks have in their minds.

The “barley cake” most likely looked something like an uneaten version of this:

In other words, it was a flat bread that was cooked on a griddle and again was round like a thick pancake or Middle Eastern pita bread.

This was the food of the Bedouins in the ancient Middle East.

There’s also an interesting play on words that can only be seen in the original Hebrew.

The word TSELIL was meant to be paired with the Hebrew word HAPHAK or הָפַךְ.

According to Strong’s concordance, HAPHAK means “to turn” or “overturn”.

But the word “tumbled” is also a correct translation.

So the image being brought forth here is that of a round barley cake tumbling into the enemy tent.  

Once Gideon overheard what the soldier had dreamt, he was greatly strengthened and we’re told he fell to his knees and worshipped the Lord.

Gideon was now ready to place ALL bets on God’s promises to him and Israel.

And this should be your response when God sends you an encouraging message via whatever means.

It could be through a dream, a message from a friend, or heck, maybe even from this blog.

Over and out.