In biblical times, the term "husbandman" referred to an individual engaged in the practice of agriculture, encompassing activities such as farming, planting, and tending to vineyards and orchards. The role of the husbandman was integral to the agrarian society of ancient Israel, where agriculture was a primary means of sustenance and economic stability.

Biblical References:

1. Genesis 9:20 : "Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard." Here, Noah is depicted as a husbandman, engaging in the cultivation of a vineyard after the flood. This passage highlights the importance of agriculture in the post-diluvian world and the continuation of human reliance on the land for survival.

2. Isaiah 28:24-26 : "Does the plowman plow for planting every day? Does he continuously loosen and harrow the soil? When he has leveled its surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? Does he not plant wheat in rows, barley in plots, and spelt as their border? His God instructs and teaches him the right way." This passage illustrates the wisdom and skill required in the work of a husbandman, emphasizing that agricultural practices are guided by divine instruction.

3. John 15:1 : "I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard." In this metaphor, Jesus refers to God the Father as the husbandman, or the keeper of the vineyard, who tends to the branches (believers) to ensure they bear fruit. This imagery underscores the nurturing and sustaining role of God in the spiritual growth of His people.

4. James 5:7 : "Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient until it receives the early and late rains." The patience of the husbandman is likened to the patience required of believers as they await the return of the Lord. The farmer's reliance on the natural cycles of rain reflects a trust in God's provision and timing.

Cultural and Theological Significance:

The husbandman is a figure of diligence, patience, and dependence on divine providence. In the agrarian context of the Bible, the husbandman's work was not only a means of providing food but also a metaphor for spiritual truths. The cultivation of the land required careful planning, hard work, and an understanding of the seasons, paralleling the spiritual cultivation required in the life of a believer.

Theologically, the role of the husbandman is often used to illustrate God's relationship with His people. Just as a husbandman tends to his crops, God nurtures and prunes His followers to produce spiritual fruit. This metaphor is prevalent in both the Old and New Testaments, serving as a reminder of God's active involvement in the growth and development of His creation.

In summary, the husbandman in biblical literature is a symbol of stewardship, faithfulness, and the harmonious relationship between humanity and the divine in the pursuit of both physical and spiritual sustenance.Matthew 21:33-46
Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and dig a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to farmers, and went into a far country:
Nave's Topical Index

Mark 12:1-9
And he began to speak to them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and dig a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to farmers, and went into a far country.
Nave's Topical Index

John 15:1
I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.
Nave's Topical Index

1 Corinthians 3:9
For we are laborers together with God: you are God's husbandry, you are God's building.
Nave's Topical Index

The Two Sons.
... to provide for the structure of the preceding parable, an agriculturist is introduced ...
I think the humble husbandman had received a similar answer from the same ...
//christianbookshelf.org/arnot/the parables of our lord/x the two sons.htm

How one Even of those who are Without May be Brought to Believe ...
... 5. For just as though, if a husbandman were explaining the virtue of seeds, it ... it
would be sufficient as proof of his statement for the agriculturist to show ...
/.../gregory/gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/xxv how one even of.htm

The Seed Growing Secretly.
... Here, as in the case of the tares, the sleep of the husbandman implies no ... you are
interested, you are precisely in the position of the agriculturist who has ...
/.../arnot/the parables of our lord/xv the seed growing secretly.htm

The Sower.
... The agriculturist scatters as much seed in the field as it is capable of ... fact of
their presence, for certainly they were not sown there by the husbandman's hand ...
//christianbookshelf.org/arnot/the parables of our lord/i the sower.htm

The Child-Life in Nazareth
... The smiling landscape of Lower Galilee invited the easy labour of the agriculturist. ...
all then known trades were busily carried on; the husbandman pursued his ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter ix the child-life in.htm

Miscellaneous Bible Questions (All) | GotQuestions.org

What does the Bible say about sowing and reaping? | GotQuestions.org

What are some English words that have changed in meaning since the translation of the KJV? | GotQuestions.org

Husbandman: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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