In biblical times, threshing was an essential agricultural process used to separate grain from the chaff. The thresher, or threshing instrument, played a crucial role in this process. Threshing is frequently mentioned in the Bible, symbolizing judgment, purification, and the separation of good from evil.

Biblical References:

1. Isaiah 41:15 : "Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff." This verse uses the imagery of a threshing sledge to convey God's empowerment of His people to overcome obstacles and enemies. The sharpness and effectiveness of the threshing sledge symbolize divine strength and judgment.

2. Micah 4:12-13 : "But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD or understand His plan, for He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor. Arise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron and hooves of bronze, and you will break to pieces many peoples." Here, the act of threshing represents God's judgment upon the nations, with Zion being empowered to execute this judgment.

3. Matthew 3:12 : "His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." In the New Testament, John the Baptist uses the imagery of threshing to describe the coming judgment by Jesus Christ. The wheat represents the righteous, while the chaff symbolizes the wicked who will face destruction.

Cultural and Historical Context:

Threshing was a labor-intensive process in ancient Israel, typically performed on a threshing floor—a flat, hard surface where harvested grain was spread out. The grain was then trampled by oxen or beaten with a flail to loosen the edible parts from the husks. The use of a threshing sledge, a heavy wooden implement with sharp stones or metal attached to the bottom, was common in more advanced agricultural settings. This tool was dragged over the grain to facilitate the separation process.

The imagery of threshing in the Bible often extends beyond agriculture, serving as a metaphor for divine action. It illustrates God's ability to discern and separate the faithful from the unfaithful, the righteous from the unrighteous. The process of threshing, with its connotations of separation and purification, underscores the themes of judgment and redemption that are central to biblical theology.

Symbolism:

Threshing, as depicted in the Bible, carries rich symbolic meaning. It represents the refining and purifying work of God in the lives of His people. Just as the grain is separated from the chaff, so too are believers called to be set apart from sin and worldliness. The thresher, therefore, is not merely an agricultural tool but a powerful symbol of God's transformative work in the world and in the hearts of individuals.1. (n.) One who, or that which, thrashes grain; a thrashing machine.

2. (n.) A large and voracious shark (Alopias vulpes), remarkable for the great length of the upper lobe of its tail, with which it beats, or thrashes, its prey. It is found both upon the American and the European coasts. Called also fox shark, sea ape, sea fox, slasher, swingle-tail, and thrasher shark.

3. (n.) A name given to the brown thrush and other allied species. See Brown thrush.

4. (n.) Same as Thrasher.

3389. metroloas -- a matricide
... murderer of mothers. From meter and the base of halon; a mother-thresher, ie Matricide
-- murderer of mothers. see GREEK meter. see GREEK halon. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3389.htm - 6k

248. aloao -- to thresh
... wheat). Word Origin from halon Definition to thresh NASB Word Usage thresher
(1), threshing (2). thresh, tread out the corn. From ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/248.htm - 6k

How Can I Obtain Faith?
... in the furrow of earth, and how by mysterious processes of nature it germinates,
grows, and ripens; we will trace it from the reaper to the thresher, and from ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 18 1872/how can i obtain faith.htm

Sex Education for Boys and the Sunday School
... (.25). Muncie."Four Epochs of Life (Chapters 7-12) ([USD]1.50). Thresher."Story
of Life for Little Children (Free). "When and How to Tell Children. ...
/.../alexander/the boy and the sunday school/xv sex education for boys.htm

The Feast of the Lord
... typifies Christ's suffering! Here was the corn bruised beneath the thresher's
flail; then was it cast into the ground. It sprung ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 62 1916/the feast of the lord.htm

Thresher (1 Occurrence)
... See Brown thrush. 4. (n.) Same as Thrasher. Multi-Version Concordance Thresher
(1 Occurrence). 1 Corinthians 9:10 Is God simply thinking about the oxen? ...
/t/thresher.htm - 7k

Threshed (7 Occurrences)

/t/threshed.htm - 8k

Threshes (1 Occurrence)

/t/threshes.htm - 6k

Sharing (18 Occurrences)
... Of course, it was written in our interest, because it is His will that when a
plough-man ploughs, and a thresher threshes, it should be in the hope of sharing ...
/s/sharing.htm - 11k

Harvest (109 Occurrences)
... Of course, it was written in our interest, because it is His will that when a
plough-man ploughs, and a thresher threshes, it should be in the hope of sharing ...
/h/harvest.htm - 44k

Thresher: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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