What Does Exodus 9:31 Mean?

The Flax and the Barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. The agricultural damage report of verse 31 specifies what crops were destroyed by the hail: flax and barley. Both crops were particularly significant: flax was the source of linen, Egypt's primary textile, used for clothing, burial wrappings, and the linen worn by priests; barley was a major grain crop for bread and beer. The destruction of the flax crop destroyed Egypt's textile manufacturing for the season; the destruction of the barley destroyed one of Egypt's primary grain food sources.

The specification "the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud" is a seasonal agricultural indicator: the plague occurred in the late winter/early spring growing season, when barley was heading (mature seed heads forming) and flax was budding. Both crops were at their most vulnerable and most valuable stage when the hail struck: just before harvest, full of yield that the hail eliminated entirely. The timing indicates the plague was strategically timed by YHWH to maximize agricultural impact: the crops were destroyed at the moment before their harvest, eliminating both the food source and the investment of the entire growing season.

The agricultural dating embedded in verses 31-32 has been used to establish the approximate time of year for the plague sequence. Barley ripening and flax budding in Egypt corresponds to January-February. The Wheat and emmer of verse 32 that survived the hail (because they had not yet grown up) would ripen approximately two months later in March-April. This means the Passover and Exodus would have occurred in approximately March-April (Nisan, the first month), consistent with Exodus 12:2's designation of the Exodus month as the first month of the year.