Bible Dictionary
Straw
Straw was used as fodder and was mixed with clay in making bricks. Pharaoh’s refusal to supply straw forced the Israelites to gather their own while maintaining the required production of bricks.
Definition
Straw is the dried stalk of grain. It served chiefly as fodder for horses, cattle, and camels and was also chopped and mixed with clay in brickmaking. The supplied material gives no indication that it was normally used for litter.
Biblical Usage
Straw appears in accounts of Egyptian brickmaking, where Pharaoh required the Israelites to maintain brick production without receiving straw. It is also used figuratively in passages concerning animals, fire, and destruction.
Historical Background
Egyptians cut grain near the ear and later cut the stalk close to the ground. When Pharaoh withheld the prepared straw, the Israelites had to gather stubble, which was difficult because little stalk remained after harvesting.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Used in brick-making (Ex. 5:7-18). Used figuratively in Job 41:27; Isa. 11:7; 25:10; 65:25.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Both wheat and barley straw were used by the ancient Hebrews chiefly as fodder for the horses cattle and camels. (Genesis 24:25; 1 Kings 4:28; Isaiah 11:7; 66:25) There is no intimation that straw was used for litter. It was employed by the Egyptians for making bricks, (Exodus 5:7,16) being chopped up and mixed with the clay to make them more compact and to prevent their cracking. [See Brick] The ancient Egyptians reaped their corn close to the ear, and afterward cut the straw close to the ground and laid it by. This was the straw that Pharaoh refused to give to the Israelites who were therefore compelled to gather “stubble” instead—a matter of considerable difficulty, seeing that the straw itself had been cut off near to the ground.