Agriculture

Much of the Bible is set among fields, vineyards and flocks, so its language is full of soil and seasons. In Eden the man is placed there “to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). After the flood God promises that “seedtime and harvest” will not cease. Israel’s law builds farming into worship, with the first fruits offered to God and the corners of the field left for the poor. Jesus tells of sowers, weeds, mustard seeds and wicked tenants, and says “I am the true vine.” Prophets use drought and plenty to speak of judgment and hope. The parable of the sower, Mark 4, is a rewarding place to begin.

525 verses

Genesis

Genesis 2:15

And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Genesis 3:7

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Genesis 8:22

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Genesis 12:16

And he entreated Abram well for her sake: and he had sheep, and oxen, and he asses, and menservants, and maidservants, and she asses, and camels.

Genesis 18:8

And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.

Genesis 24:10

And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.

Genesis 24:35

And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.

Genesis 24:61

And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

Genesis 24:64

And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.

Genesis 30:43

And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.

Genesis 31:19

And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's.

Genesis 37:25

And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

Genesis 38:12

And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

Genesis 38:13

And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.

Genesis 38:14

And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.

Genesis 38:15

When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.

Genesis 38:16

And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee;(for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?

Genesis 38:17

And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?

Genesis 40:11

And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.

Genesis 49:11

Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:

Genesis 50:10

And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.

Genesis 50:11

And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.

Exodus

Exodus 3:8

And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

Exodus 3:17

And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

Exodus 13:5

And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.

Exodus 15:7

And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.

Exodus 16:31

And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

Exodus 20:9

Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

Exodus 22:5

If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution.

Exodus 22:6

If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

Exodus 23:10

And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:

Exodus 23:11

But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

Exodus 23:12

Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

Exodus 23:19

The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

Exodus 25:6

Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,

Exodus 27:3

And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.

Exodus 27:20

And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.

Exodus 28:33

And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:

Exodus 28:34

A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.

Exodus 29:40

And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.

Exodus 30:23

Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,

Exodus 30:24

And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:

Exodus 30:25

And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.

Exodus 31:11

And the anointing oil, and sweet incense for the holy place: according to all that I have commanded thee shall they do.

Exodus 33:3

Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.

Exodus 34:21

Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

Exodus 34:22

And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.

Exodus 35:8

And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,

Exodus 35:15

And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle,

Exodus 35:28

And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

Exodus 37:29

And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary.

Exodus 38:3

And he made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the vessels thereof made he of brass.

Exodus 39:38

And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle door,

Leviticus

Leviticus 2:4

And if thou bring an oblation of a meat offering baken in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, or unleavened wafers anointed with oil.

Leviticus 2:5

And if thy oblation be a meat offering baken in a pan, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mingled with oil.

Leviticus 10:9

Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:

Leviticus 14:10

And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil.

Leviticus 14:21

And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil;

Leviticus 19:9

And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.

Leviticus 19:10

And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 19:19

Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.

Leviticus 19:23

And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.

Leviticus 19:24

But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal.

Leviticus 19:25

And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 20:24

But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.

Leviticus 23:13

And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.

Leviticus 23:22

And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

Leviticus 25:2

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD.

Leviticus 25:3

Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;

Leviticus 25:4

But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.

Leviticus 25:5

That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.

Leviticus 25:6

And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee,

Leviticus 25:7

And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.

Leviticus 25:8

And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.

Leviticus 25:9

Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.

Leviticus 25:10

And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

Leviticus 25:11

A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.

Leviticus 25:12

For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.

Leviticus 25:15

According to the number of years after the jubile thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee:

Leviticus 25:16

According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee.

Leviticus 25:19

And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.

Leviticus 25:20

And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:

Leviticus 25:21

Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.

Leviticus 25:22

And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.

Leviticus 25:23

The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.

Leviticus 25:24

And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.

Leviticus 25:25

If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.

Leviticus 25:26

And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it;

Leviticus 25:27

Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession.

Leviticus 25:28

But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.

Leviticus 27:16

And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.

Numbers

Numbers 4:16

And to the office of Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the tabernacle, and of all that therein is, in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof.

Numbers 5:15

Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.

Numbers 6:3

He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.

Numbers 11:5

We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:

Numbers 13:23

And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.

Numbers 13:24

The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.

Numbers 13:27

And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.

Numbers 15:5

And the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering shalt thou prepare with the burnt offering or sacrifice, for one lamb.

Numbers 15:10

And thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin of wine, for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

Tilling the ground (Gen. 2:15; 4:2, 3, 12) and rearing cattle were the chief employments in ancient times. The Egyptians excelled in agriculture. And after the Israelites entered into the possession of the Promised Land, their circumstances favoured in the highest degree a remarkable development of this art. Agriculture became indeed the basis of the Mosaic commonwealth.

The year in Palestine was divided into six agricultural periods:-

I. SOWING TIME. Tisri, latter half (beginning about the autumnal equinox.) Marchesvan. Kisleu, former half. Early rain due = first showers of autumn.

II. UNRIPE TIME. Kisleu, latter half. Tebet. Sebat, former half.

Read the full entry

III. COLD SEASON. Sebat, latter half. Adar. [Veadar.] Nisan, former half. Latter rain due (Deut. 11:14; Jer. 5:24; Hos. 6:3; Zech. 10:1; James 5:7; Job 29:23).

IV. HARVEST TIME. Nisan, latter half. (Beginning about vernal equinox. Barley green. Passover.) Ijar. Sivan, former half., Wheat ripe. Pentecost.

V. SUMMER (total absence of rain) Sivan, latter half. Tammuz. Ab, former half.

VI. SULTRY SEASON Ab, latter half. Elul. Tisri, former half., Ingathering of fruits.

The six months from the middle of Tisri to the middle of Nisan were occupied with the work of cultivation, and the rest of the year mainly with the gathering in of the fruits. The extensive and easily-arranged system of irrigation from the rills and streams from the mountains made the soil in every part of Palestine richly productive (Ps. 1:3; 65:10; Prov. 21:1; Isa. 30:25; 32:2, 20; Hos. 12:11), and the appliances of careful cultivation and of manure increased its fertility to such an extent that in the days of Solomon, when there was an abundant population, “20,000 measures of wheat year by year” were sent to Hiram in exchange for timber (1 Kings 5:11), and in large quantities also wheat was sent to the Tyrians for the merchandise in which they traded (Ezek. 27:17). The wheat sometimes produced an hundredfold (Gen. 26:12; Matt. 13:23). Figs and pomegranates were very plentiful (Num. 13:23), and the vine and the olive grew luxuriantly and produced abundant fruit (Deut. 33:24).

Lest the productiveness of the soil should be exhausted, it was enjoined that the whole land should rest every seventh year, when all agricultural labour would entirely cease (Lev. 25:1-7; Deut. 15:1-10).

It was forbidden to sow a field with divers seeds (Deut. 22:9). A passer-by was at liberty to eat any quantity of corn or grapes, but he was not permitted to carry away any (Deut. 23:24, 25; Matt. 12:1). The poor were permitted to claim the corners of the fields and the gleanings. A forgotten sheaf in the field was to be left also for the poor. (See Lev. 19:9, 10; Deut. 24:19.)

Agricultural implements and operations.

The sculptured monuments and painted tombs of Egypt and Assyria throw much light on this subject, and on the general operations of agriculture. Ploughs of a simple construction were known in the time of Moses (Deut. 22:10; comp. Job 1:14). They were very light, and required great attention to keep them in the ground (Luke 9:62). They were drawn by oxen (Job 1:14), cows (1 Sam. 6:7), and asses (Isa. 30:24); but an ox and an ass must not be yoked together in the same plough (Deut. 22:10). Men sometimes followed the plough with a hoe to break the clods (Isa. 28:24). The oxen were urged on by a “goad,” or long staff pointed at the end, so that if occasion arose it could be used as a spear also (Judg. 3:31; 1 Sam. 13:21).

When the soil was prepared, the seed was sown broadcast over the field (Matt. 13:3-8). The “harrow” mentioned in Job 39:10 was not used to cover the seeds, but to break the clods, being little more than a thick block of wood. In highly irrigated spots the seed was trampled in by cattle (Isa. 32:20); but doubtless there was some kind of harrow also for covering in the seed scattered in the furrows of the field.

The reaping of the corn was performed either by pulling it up by the roots, or cutting it with a species of sickle, according to circumstances. The corn when cut was generally put up in sheaves (Gen. 37:7; Lev. 23:10-15; Ruth 2:7, 15; Job 24:10; Jer. 9:22; Micah 4:12), which were afterwards gathered to the threshing-floor or stored in barns (Matt. 6:26).

The process of threshing was performed generally by spreading the sheaves on the threshing-floor and causing oxen and cattle to tread repeatedly over them (Deut. 25:4; Isa. 28:28). On occasions flails or sticks were used for this purpose (Ruth 2:17; Isa. 28:27). There was also a “threshing instrument” (Isa. 41:15; Amos 1:3) which was drawn over the corn. It was called by the Hebrews a moreg, a threshing roller or sledge (2 Sam. 24:22; 1 Chr. 21:23; Isa. 3:15). It was somewhat like the Roman tribulum, or threshing instrument.

When the grain was threshed, it was winnowed by being thrown up against the wind (Jer. 4:11), and afterwards tossed with wooden scoops (Isa. 30:24). The shovel and the fan for winnowing are mentioned in Ps. 35:5, Job 21:18, Isa. 17:13. The refuse of straw and chaff was burned (Isa. 5:24). Freed from impurities, the grain was then laid up in granaries till used (Deut. 28:8; Prov. 3:10; Matt. 6:26; 13:30; Luke 12:18).

From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

This was little cared for by the patriarchs. The pastoral life, however, was the means of keeping the sacred race, whilst yet a family, distinct from mixture and locally unattached, especially whilst in Egypt. When grown into a nation it supplied a similar check on the foreign intercourse, and became the basis of the Mosaic commonwealth. "The land is mine," (Leviticus 25:23) was a dictum which made agriculture likewise the basis of the theocratic relation. Thus every family felt its own life with intense keenness, and had its divine tenure which it was to guard from alienation. The prohibition of culture in the sabbatical year formed a kind of rent reserved by the divine Owner. Landmarks were deemed sacred, (19:14) and the inalienability of the heritage was insured by its reversion to the owner in the year of jubilee; so that only so many years of occupancy could be sold. (Leviticus 25:8-16; 23-35) Rain. --Water was abundant in Palestine from natural sources. (8:7; 11:8-12) Rain was commonly expected soon after the autumnal equinox. The period denoted by the common scriptural expressions of the "early" and the "latter rain," (11:14; Jeremiah 5:24; Hosea 6:3; Zechariah 10:1; James 5:7) generally reaching from November to April, constituted the "rainy season," and the remainder of the year the "dry season." Crops. --The cereal crops of constant mention are wheat and barley, and more rarely rye and millet(?). Of the two former, together with the vine, olive and fig, the use of irrigation, the plough and the harrow, mention is made ln the book of (Job 31:40; 15:33; 24:6; 29:19; 39:10) Two kinds of cumin (the black variety called fitches), (Isaiah 28:27) and such podded plants as beans and lentils may be named among the staple produce. Ploughing and Sowing. --The plough was probably very light, one yoke of oxen usually sufficing to draw it. Mountains and steep places were hoed. (Isaiah 7:25) New ground and fallows, (Jeremiah 4:3; Hosea 10:12) were cleared of stones and of thorns, (Isaiah 5:2) early in the year, sowing or gathering from "among thorns" being a proverb for slovenly husbandry. (Job 5:5; Proverbs 24:30,31) Sowing also took place without previous ploughing, the seed being scattered broad cast and ploughed in afterwards. The soil was then brushed over with a light harrow, often of thorn bushes. In highly-irrigated spots the seed was trampled by cattle. (Isaiah 32:20) Seventy days before the passover was the time prescribed for sowing. The oxen were urged on by a goad like a spear. (Judges 3:31) The proportion of harvest gathered to seed sown was often vast; a hundred fold is mentioned, but in such a way as to signify that it was a limit rarely attained. (Genesis 26:12; Matthew 13:8) Sowing a field with divers seed was forbidden. (22:9) Reaping and Threshing. --The wheat etc., was reaped by the sickle or pulled by the roots. It was bound in sheaves. The sheaves or heaps were carted, (Amos 2:13) to the floor--a circular spot of hard ground, probably, as now, from 50 to 80 or 100 feet in diameter. (Genesis 1:10,11; 2 Samuel 24:16,18) On these the oxen, etc., forbidden to be muzzled, (25:4) trampled out the grain. At a later time the Jews used a threshing sledge called morag , (Isaiah 41:15; 2 Samuel 24:22; 1 Chronicles 21:23) probably resembling the noreg , still employed in Egypt --a stage with three rollers ridged with iron, which, aided by the driver’s weight crushed out, often injuring, the grain, as well as cut or tore the straw, which thus became fit for fodder. Lighter grains were beaten out with a stick. (Isaiah 28:27) The use of animal manure was frequent. (Psalms 83:10; 2 Kings 9:37; Jeremiah 8:2) etc. Winnowing. --The shovel and fan, (Isaiah 30:24) indicate the process of winnowing--a conspicuous part of ancient husbandry. (Psalms 35:5; Job 21:18; Isaiah 17:13) Evening was the favorite time, (Ruth 3:2) when there was mostly a breeze. The fan, (Matthew 3:12) was perhaps a broad shovel which threw the grain up against the wind. The last process was the shaking in a sieve to separate dirt and refuse. (Amos 9:9) Fields and floors were not commonly enclosed; vineyard mostly were, with a tower and other buildings. (Numbers 22:24; Psalms 80:13; Isaiah 5:5; Matthew 21:33) comp. Judg 6:11 The gardens also and orchards were enclosed, frequently by banks of mud from ditches. With regard to occupancy, a tenant might pay a fixed money rent, (Solomon 8:11) or a stipulated share of the fruits. (2 Samuel 9:10; Matthew 21:34) A passer by might eat any quantity of corn or grapes, but not reap or carry off fruit. (23:24,25; Matthew 12:1) The rights of the corner to be left, and of gleaning [CORNER; GLEANING], formed the poor man’s claim on the soil for support. For his benefit, too, a sheaf forgotten in carrying to the floor was to be left; so also with regard to the vineyard” and the olive grove. (Leviticus 19:9,10; 24:19)

Based on Nave's Topical Bible by Orville J. Nave (1896). Dictionary entries from Easton's Bible Dictionary and Smith's Bible Dictionary. Public domain. KJV scripture text, public domain.