Bible Dictionary
Bolled
“Bolled” describes flax that was swollen or podded for seed. The term is also understood as referring to flax in bloom during the plague of hail in Egypt.
Definition
“Bolled” describes flax that was swollen, podded, or in bloom. The Authorized Version used the term for the condition of the flax during the plague of hail, while the Revised Version gives “was in bloom” in the margin and text tradition cited.
Biblical Usage
The word occurs in the account of the Egyptian plague of hail, which also notes the condition of the flax and barley crops.
Historical Background
The supplied material observes that in Egypt flax blossoms around the time barley is in ear, approximately February.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
(Ex. 9:31), meaning “swollen or podded for seed,” was adopted in the Authorized Version from the version of Coverdale (1535). The Revised Version has in the margin “was in bloom,” which is the more probable rendering of the Hebrew word. It is the fact that in Egypt when barley is in ear (about February) flax is blossoming.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>bold (gibh`ol, "the calyx of flowers"): Hence, "in bloom," and so rendered, in the Revised Version (British and American), of flowering flax (Ex 9:31).</p>