Greek word · G2916

κρίθινος

krithinos

barley

"Made of barley." Barley was the cheaper, coarser grain, eaten by the poor and fed to animals. Wheat bread was preferred by anyone who could afford it.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

κρίθινος, -η, -ον

(κριθή), [in LXX for שְׂעֹרָה ;]

of barley: John 6:9, 13

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of John 6:9

Range of meaning: "Made of barley." Barley was the cheaper, coarser grain, eaten by the poor and fed to animals. Wheat bread was preferred by anyone who could afford it.
Against the English: Every English version renders it accurately as "barley." What a modern reader misses is the social meaning: "barley loaves" meant poor people's bread.
Used elsewhere in the period: Philo (Special Laws 3.57) explains that the jealousy offering was barley because barley is food for animals and the unfortunate. Mishnah Sotah 2:1 likewise contrasts that barley offering with the usual fine wheat flour. Josephus (Antiquities 5.219) treats the barley loaf in Gideon's dream as a symbol of something of little worth. In the LXX of 2 Kings 4:42, Elisha's loaves are ἄρτους κριθίνους, the same phrase as here. The first barley sheaf of the harvest was offered at Passover (Lev 23:10–14).

From the study of John 6:13

Range of meaning: Made of barley (krithē). Barley ripened earlier than wheat and cost much less, so it was the staple of the poor and also fodder for animals.
Against the English: All versions say 'barley'. The word is accurate, but modern readers miss what it said about class and its scriptural echo.
Used elsewhere in the period: 2 Kings 4:42 LXX: twenty barley loaves (artous krithinous) from the firstfruits, which Elisha has served to a hundred men; 'they ate and had some left' (4:44). Philo (Special Laws 3.57) calls barley food fit for animals and unfortunate people. Revelation 6:6 prices barley at a third of wheat. The barley harvest began around Passover with the offering of the first sheaf (Lev 23:10-14), and John notes that Passover was near (6:4).

Where it appears

John · 2

John 6:9 κριθίνους barley

“Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?”

Here: Barley bread was the cheap bread of the poor, coarser than wheat bread. Only John records this detail. It also echoes Elisha's miracle with barley loaves (2 Kings 4:42–44) and fits the Passover season, when the barley harvest began (6:4).
John 6:13 κριθίνων barley

So they collected them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

Here: Barley was the cheap grain, the bread of the poor. Only John records this detail (6:9, 13), and it recalls Elisha's miracle with barley loaves in 2 Kings 4:42-44.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.