 | VaEra |  |
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| | 9:31 |
The flax and barley have been destroyed, since the barley was ripe, and the flax had formed stalks.
Vehapishtah vehase'orah nukatah ki hase'orah aviv vehapishtah giv'ol. |
| 9:32 |
But the wheat and spelt have not been destroyed, since they are late in sprouting.'
Vehachitah vehakusemet lo nuku ki afilot henah. |
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Commentary:
The flax...
This is still part of Moses' speech (Saadia Gaon; Rashbam; Ramban; Tur; Hirsch). According to others, this is the Torah's comment (Ibn Ezra).
| spelt
(Septuagint; espelta in Spanish, Radak, Sherashim; Bertonoro on Kilayim 1:1), otherwise known as Dinkel (Tifereth Yisroel on Kilayim 1:1). This is a species of wheat (Pesachim 35a) known as triticum spelta. Maimonides, however, writes that it is a kind of desert wheat (commentary on Kilayim 1:1). Since no evidence of spelt has been found in Biblical times, some identify the kusemeth here as Emmer wheat (triticum dicoccum), which is found in ancient Egyptian tombs. Others say that it is triticum dioccoides), which grows wild in the Holy Land. Thus, in Hebrew there are two types of wheat, chita, and kusemeth, and in ancient Egyptian, these may correspond to chetzt or khent and kamut.
| late in sprouting
And still not emerged from the ground (Ibn Ezra; Radak, Sherashim). Or, 'still yielding' (Rashi; Lekach Tov; Saadia; both explanations are found in Sekhel Tov).
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