Chaff is a term frequently encountered in the Bible, symbolizing that which is worthless, fleeting, or destined for destruction. In agricultural terms, chaff refers to the husks and straw removed from grain during the threshing process. It is the light, inedible part of the grain that is separated and discarded. This imagery is used throughout Scripture to convey spiritual truths, often contrasting the righteous with the wicked.

Biblical References and Symbolism

1. Psalm 1:4: "Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind." In this verse, the psalmist contrasts the stability and prosperity of the righteous with the instability and worthlessness of the wicked. The righteous are likened to a tree planted by streams of water, while the wicked are compared to chaff, easily blown away by the wind, indicating their lack of substance and permanence.

2. Isaiah 29:5: "But the multitude of your foes will be like fine dust, the multitude of the ruthless like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant." Here, the prophet Isaiah uses chaff to describe the fate of the enemies of God's people. The imagery suggests that despite their apparent strength, they will be reduced to nothing, easily scattered and removed by God's power.

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." John the Baptist uses the metaphor of chaff to describe the coming judgment. The wheat, representing the righteous, is gathered and preserved, while the chaff, symbolizing the wicked, is destined for destruction by fire. This passage underscores the theme of divine judgment and the separation of the righteous from the wicked.

4. Job 21:18: "Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?" In this rhetorical question, Job reflects on the apparent prosperity of the wicked, questioning why they are not swept away like chaff. This highlights the tension between the observed reality and the expected divine justice, a common theme in the wisdom literature of the Bible.

Theological Implications

The use of chaff in the Bible serves as a powerful metaphor for the ultimate fate of the wicked and the transient nature of their success. It emphasizes the certainty of divine judgment and the eventual triumph of righteousness. The imagery of chaff being blown away or burned up conveys the idea that those who do not align themselves with God's will are ultimately without substance or lasting value.

In a broader theological context, chaff represents the futility of life apart from God. It serves as a warning to those who pursue worldly gains at the expense of spiritual truth. The consistent biblical message is that only what is rooted in God will endure, while all else is temporary and destined for destruction.

Practical Application

For believers, the imagery of chaff encourages a life of righteousness and alignment with God's purposes. It serves as a reminder to focus on what is eternal and to avoid being swayed by the fleeting pleasures and pursuits of the world. The call is to be like the wheat, gathered and preserved by God, rather than the chaff, which is discarded and destroyed.Chaff

the husk of corn or wheat which was separated from the grain by being thrown into the air, the wind blowing away the chaff, while the grain was saved. The carrying away of chaff by the wind is an ordinary scriptural image of the destruction of the wicked and of their powerlessness to resist God's judgments. (Psalms 1:4; Isaiah 17:13; Hosea 13:3; Zephaniah 2:2)

The refuse of winnowed corn. It was usually burned (Exodus 15:7; Isaiah 5:24; Matthew 3:12). This word sometimes, however, means dried grass or hay (Isaiah 5:24; 33:11). Chaff is used as a figure of abortive wickedness (Psalm 1:4; Matthew 3:12). False doctrines are also called chaff (Jeremiah 23:28), or more correctly rendered "chopped straw." The destruction of the wicked, and their powerlessness, are likened to the carrying away of chaff by the wind (Isaiah 17:13; Hosea 13:3; Zephaniah 2:2). 1. (n.) The glumes or husks of grains and grasses separated from the seed by threshing and winnowing, etc.

2. (n.) Anything of a comparatively light and worthless character; the refuse part of anything.

3. (n.) Straw or hay cut up fine for the food of cattle.

4. (n.) Light jesting talk; banter; raillery.

5. (n.) The scales or bracts on the receptacle, which subtend each flower in the heads of many Compositae, as the sunflower.

6. (v. i.) To use light, idle language by way of fun or ridicule; to banter.

7. (v. t.) To make fun of; to turn into ridicule by addressing in ironical or bantering language; to quiz.

CHAFF

chaf: Four different words have been translated "chaff" in the Old Testament:

(1) mots, is found in Job 21:18 Psalm 1:4; Psalm 35:5 Isaiah 17:13; Isaiah 29:5; Isaiah 41:15 Hosea 13:3 Zephaniah 2:2.

(2) chashash, occurs in two verses (Isaiah 5:24; Isaiah 33:11). Compare "chashish," an Arabic word which, as commonly used, denotes grass either standing or cut, green or dry, although, strictly speaking, dry or cut grass alone. In the Revised Version (British and American) Isaiah 5:24 the translation is "dry grass."

(3) tebhen, is translated "chaff" in the King James Version (Jeremiah 23:28). The same word is rendered "straw" in the Revised Version (British and American) (compare Arabic tibn).

(4) 'ur, a Chaldaic word, occurs in Daniel 2:35.

In the New Testament achuron, is found in Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17.

In the process of winnowing, as it has been carried on in the East for thousands of years, the grain is tossed into the air so that the wind may cause a separation of chaff and straw. The light husks from the wheat and fine particles of straw are dispersed by the wind in the form of a fine dust; the heavier straw which has been broken into short pieces by the threshing process falls near at hand on the edge of the threshing-floor, while the grain falls back upon the pile. In Syria and Palestine, that which falls near at hand as cut straw is called tibn. This word occurs in the Arabic translation of Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17. This straw is ordinarily saved and fed as "roughage" to the animals. It could easily be gathered and burned, as indicated in the above-mentioned verses, while the chaff is blown away beyond recovery, a strong figure to depict complete annihilation (Job 21:18 Isaiah 29:5; Isaiah 41:16 Hosea 13:3, Daniel 2:35).

See AGRICULTURE; STRAW; WINNOWING.

JAMES A. Patch

892. achuron -- chaff
... achuron. 893 . chaff. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: achuron Phonetic
Spelling: (akh'-oo-ron) Short Definition: chaff Definition: chaff. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/892.htm - 6k

3039. likmao -- to winnow, to scatter
... of Speech: Verb Transliteration: likmao Phonetic Spelling: (lik-mah'-o) Short
Definition: I crush to powder Definition: I crush to powder, scatter like chaff. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3039.htm - 6k

257. halon -- a threshing floor
... floor. Probably from the base of heilisso; a threshing-floor (as rolled hard), ie
(figuratively) the grain (and chaff, as just threshed) -- floor. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/257.htm - 6k

4917. sunthlao -- to crush together
... (3039 ). The verb was used of winnowing out the chaff and then of grinding to powder.
This is the fate of him on whom this Rejected Stone falls" (, 1, 172). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4917.htm - 7k

2595. karphos -- a small dry stalk
... Transliteration: karphos Phonetic Spelling: (kar'-fos) Short Definition: a dry stalk,
chip of wood Definition: a dry stalk, chip of wood, twig, splinter, chaff ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2595.htm - 6k

2919. krino -- to judge, decide
... court of law. 2919 () originally meant "." So Homer, of Ceres separating the
grain from the chaff (Iliad, v, 501). Thence, 'to distinguish ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2919.htm - 11k

5784. ur -- chaff
... 5783, 5784. ur. 5785 . chaff. Transliteration: ur Phonetic Spelling: (oor)
Short Definition: chaff. Word Origin (Aramaic) of uncertain ...
/hebrew/5784.htm - 5k

2842. chashash -- chaff
... 2841, 2842. chashash. 2843 . chaff. Transliteration: chashash Phonetic
Spelling: (khaw-shash') Short Definition: chaff. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/2842.htm - 6k

4671b. mots -- chaff
... chaff. Transliteration: mots or mots Short Definition: chaff. Word Origin of uncertain
derivation Definition chaff NASB Word Usage chaff (8). 4671a, 4671b. ...
/hebrew/4671b.htm - 5k

7179. qash -- stubble, chaff
... 7178, 7179. qash. 7180 . stubble, chaff. Transliteration: qash Phonetic
Spelling: (kash) Short Definition: stubble. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/7179.htm - 6k

4671. mots -- squeezer, extortioner
... 4670, 4671. mots. 4671a . squeezer, extortioner. Transliteration: mots
Phonetic Spelling: (motes) Short Definition: chaff. chaff ...
/hebrew/4671.htm - 5k

4214. mizreh -- a pitchfork
... Word Origin from zarah Definition a pitchfork NASB Word Usage fork (2). fan. From
zarah; a winnowing shovel (as scattering the chaff) -- fan. see HEBREW zarah. ...
/hebrew/4214.htm - 6k

8402. Tibni -- a rival of Omri
... Definition: Tibni. Word Origin from the same as teben Definition a rival of Omri
NASB Word Usage Tibni (3). chaff, straw, stubble. From teben ...
/hebrew/8402.htm - 6k

8401. teben -- straw
... Probably from banah; properly, material, ie (specifically) refuse haum or stalks
of grain (as chopped in threshing and used for fodder) -- chaff, straw, stubble ...
/hebrew/8401.htm - 6k

7371. rachath -- winnowing shovel
... shovel. From ruwach; a winnowing-fork (as blowing the chaff away) -- shovel. see
HEBREW ruwach. 7370, 7371. rachath. 7372 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/7371.htm - 6k

4651. mappal -- refuse, hanging parts
... flake, refuse. From naphal; a falling off, ie Chaff; also something pendulous, ie
A flap -- flake, refuse. see HEBREW naphal. 4650, 4651. mappal. 4652 . ...
/hebrew/4651.htm - 6k

The Chaff Driven Away
... The Chaff Driven Away. A Sermon (No.280). ... "The ungodly are not so: but are like the
chaff which the wind driveth away.""Psalm 1:4. AND WHO are the ungodly? ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/the chaff driven away.htm

We See How the Husbandmen have a Method for Separating the Chaff.. ...
... II."Ascetic and Moral. Chapter XXII. We see how the husbandmen have a method
for separating the chaff? We see how the husbandmen ...
/.../gregory/gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/chapter xxii we see how.htm

Origin of Errors; a Simile Sought from the Foreskin of the ...
... Book III. Chapter 16."Origin of Errors; A Simile Sought from the Foreskin
of the Circumcised, and from the Chaff of Wheat. "But ...
/.../augustine/anti-pelagian writings/chapter 16 origin of errors a.htm

Saint Isaac, the Monk, Predicts the Death of Valens. Valens in his ...
... Book VI. Chapter XL."Saint Isaac, the Monk, predicts the Death of Valens. Valens
in his Flight enters a Chaff-House, is consumed, and so yields up his Life. ...
/.../the ecclesiastical history of sozomenus/chapter xl saint isaac the monk.htm

Answer to Another Objection, Showing that the Destruction of ...
... must also pass away, when the time of its disappearance has come, in order that
the fruit indeed may be gathered into the garner, but the chaff, left behind ...
/.../irenaeus/against heresies/chapter iv answer to another objection.htm

Petilianus Said: "The Lord Christ Cries Again from Heaven to Paul. ...
... the more freedom from the whole field of the Lord, that is, from the world, and
say, Neither are we at all affected by what the tares and the chaff amongst us ...
/.../chapter 20 44 petilianus.htm

The Fan. Matthew iii. 12
... Because if so, Jesus Christ has two sides. There is the barn for the wheat,
and there is a fire for the chaff. ... The chaff is no good. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/champness/broken bread/liv the fan matthew iii.htm

Petilianus Said: "By this Sentence, Again, the Apostle Places in ...
... The former make themselves chaff, while they follow the barrenness of the
chaff; the latter are the grain. Let them wait for Christ ...
/.../chapter 108 244 petilianus.htm

On Earthly Things
... The chaff is sinners; in the Gospel: moreover, he burns the chaff in unextinguishable
fire; and in Jerimiah: the Lord says what is the chaff to the wheat? ...
/.../eucherius/the formulae of st eucherius of lyons/iii on earthly things.htm

Its Course.
... always mixed with much chaff) oftenest either before or soon after birth.
The Reformed ... life. 4. The non-elect, or the chaff. Examining ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kuyper/the work of the holy spirit/xx its course.htm

Chaff (24 Occurrences)
... This word sometimes, however, means dried grass or hay (Isaiah 5:24; 33:11). Chaff
is used as a figure of abortive wickedness (Psalm 1:4; Matthew 3:12). ...CHAFF. ...
/c/chaff.htm - 18k

Fan (8 Occurrences)
... A winnowing shovel by which grain was thrown up against the wind that it might be
cleansed from broken straw and chaff (Isaiah 30:24; Jeremiah 15:7; Matthew 3 ...
/f/fan.htm - 12k

Unquenchable (5 Occurrences)
... ab'-l, pur asbestos): The phrase occurs in Matthew 3:12 and its parallel Luke
3:17 in the words of the Baptist on the Messianic judgment: "The chaff he will ...
/u/unquenchable.htm - 10k

Log (12 Occurrences)
... (See NAS RSV). Luke 6:41 Why do you see the speck of chaff that is in your brother's
eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye? (See NAS RSV). ...
/l/log.htm - 11k

Plank (5 Occurrences)
... (See NIV). Luke 6:41 Why do you see the speck of chaff that is in your brother's
eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye? (See NIV). ...
/p/plank.htm - 9k

Brother's (46 Occurrences)
... Luke 6:41 Why do you see the speck of chaff that is in your brother's
eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye? ...
/b/brother's.htm - 23k

Speck (6 Occurrences)
... (WEB NAS RSV NIV). Luke 6:41 Why do you see the speck of chaff that is in your
brother's eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye? ...
/s/speck.htm - 9k

Stubble (18 Occurrences)
... tebhen (Job 21:18), is a mixture of chopped straw and chaff produced in threshing,
which is winnowed out by the fan (compare Jeremiah 23:28 Isaiah 5:24 Matthew ...
/s/stubble.htm - 15k

Beam (17 Occurrences)
... (WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT). Luke 6:41 Why do you see the speck of chaff that
is in your brother's eye, but don't consider the beam that is in your own eye? ...
/b/beam.htm - 17k

Clear (641 Occurrences)
... is in His hand, and He will make a thorough clearance of His threshing-floor, gathering
His wheat into the storehouse, but burning up the chaff in unquenchable ...
/c/clear.htm - 39k

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