Grain-cutting, an essential agricultural practice in biblical times, is frequently mentioned in the Scriptures as a significant part of the agrarian lifestyle of the Israelites. This process, which involves the harvesting of cereal crops such as wheat and barley, is not only a physical activity but also holds spiritual and symbolic significance throughout the Bible.

Biblical Context and Practices

In ancient Israel, grain-cutting typically occurred during the harvest season, which was a time of great joy and celebration. The process began with the reaping of the grain, usually done with a sickle, a curved blade designed for cutting stalks close to the ground. The reapers, often hired laborers or family members, would gather the cut stalks into sheaves. This is vividly depicted in the Book of Ruth, where Ruth, a Moabite widow, gleans in the fields of Boaz during the barley harvest (Ruth 2:3-7).

The timing of the grain harvest was crucial, as it was closely linked to the agricultural calendar and the cycle of the seasons. The barley harvest typically began in April, followed by the wheat harvest in May and June. The Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, also known as Pentecost in the New Testament, was celebrated at the end of the wheat harvest, marking a time of thanksgiving for the bounty provided by God (Exodus 34:22).

Symbolism and Spiritual Significance

Grain-cutting is rich in symbolic meaning throughout the Bible. It often represents divine provision and blessing, as seen in the promises of abundant harvests for obedience to God's commandments (Leviticus 26:3-5). Conversely, a lack of harvest or a failed crop is frequently depicted as a sign of divine judgment or disfavor (Joel 1:10-12).

The imagery of grain-cutting is also used metaphorically to describe spiritual truths. Jesus Christ employs this imagery in the New Testament, likening the end of the age to a harvest where the righteous and the wicked are separated, much like wheat from chaff (Matthew 13:24-30). This parable underscores the themes of judgment and the ultimate gathering of God's people.

Social and Economic Aspects

Grain-cutting was not only a vital part of the agricultural economy but also a social event that involved the community. The Law of Moses provided for the poor and the foreigner by commanding landowners to leave the edges of their fields unharvested and to allow gleaning, ensuring that even the marginalized could partake in the harvest (Leviticus 19:9-10). This practice is exemplified in the account of Ruth, highlighting the themes of kindness, provision, and God's care for all people.

The role of grain-cutting in the biblical narrative reflects the dependence of the Israelites on God's provision through the land. It serves as a reminder of the covenant relationship between God and His people, where obedience and faithfulness lead to blessing and abundance.Grain-cutting (19 Occurrences)

John 4:35
You would say, Four months from now is the time of the grain-cutting. Take a look, I say to you, at the fields; they are even now white for cutting.
(BBE)

Genesis 30:14
Now at the time of the grain-cutting, Reuben saw some love-fruits in the field, and took them to his mother Leah. And Rachel said to her, Let me have some of your son's love-fruits.
(BBE)

Exodus 23:16
And the feast of the grain-cutting, the first-fruits of your planted fields: and the feast at the start of the year, when you have got in all the fruit from your fields.
(BBE)

Exodus 34:21
Six days let work be done, but on the seventh day take your rest: at ploughing time and at the grain-cutting you are to have a day for rest.
(BBE)

Joshua 3:15
And when those who took up the ark came to Jordan, and the feet of the priests who took up the ark were touching the edge of the water (for the waters of Jordan are overflowing all through the time of the grain-cutting),
(BBE)

Judges 15:1
Now a short time after, at the time of the grain-cutting, Samson, taking with him a young goat, went to see his wife; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the bride's room. But her father would not let him go in.
(BBE)

Ruth 1:22
So Naomi came back out of the country of Moab, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her; and they came to Beth-lehem in the first days of the grain-cutting.
(BBE)

2 Samuel 21:9
And he gave them up to the Gibeonites, and they put them to death, hanging them on the mountain before the Lord; all seven came to their end together in the first days of the grain-cutting, at the start of the cutting of the barley.
(BBE)

2 Samuel 21:10
And Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took haircloth, placing it on the rock as a bed for herself, from the start of the grain-cutting till rain came down on them from heaven; and she did not let the birds of the air come near them by day, or the beasts of the field by night.
(BBE)

2 Samuel 23:13
And three of the thirty went down at the start of the grain-cutting, and they came to David at the strong place of Adullam; and the band of Philistines had taken up their position in the valley of Rephaim.
(BBE)

2 Samuel 24:15
So David made selection of the disease; and the time was the days of the grain-cutting, when the disease came among the people, causing the death of seventy thousand men from Dan as far as Beer-sheba.
(BBE)

Proverbs 6:8
She gets her meat in the summer, storing up food at the time of the grain-cutting.
(BBE)

Proverbs 20:4
The hater of work will not do his ploughing because of the winter; so at the time of grain-cutting he will be requesting food and will get nothing.
(BBE)

Proverbs 25:13
As the cold of snow in the time of grain-cutting, so is a true servant to those who send him; for he gives new life to the soul of his master.
(BBE)

Jeremiah 5:24
And they do not say in their hearts, Now let us give worship to our God, who gives the rain, the winter and the spring rain, at the right time; who keeps for us the ordered weeks of the grain-cutting.
(BBE)

Jeremiah 8:20
The grain-cutting is past, the summer is ended, and no salvation has come to us.
(BBE)

Jeremiah 50:16
Let the planter of seed be cut off from Babylon, and everyone using the curved blade at the time of the grain-cutting: for fear of the cruel sword, everyone will be turned to his people, everyone will go in flight to his land.
(BBE)

Jeremiah 51:33
For these are the words of the Lord of armies, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a grain-floor when it is stamped down; before long, the time of her grain-cutting will come.
(BBE)

Amos 4:7
And I have kept back the rain from you, when it was still three months before the grain-cutting: I sent rain on one town and kept it back from another: one part was rained on, and the part where there was no rain became a waste.
(BBE)

Grain-cutting (19 Occurrences)
Grain-cutting. Grain-cutters, Grain-cutting. Grainfield .
Multi-Version Concordance Grain-cutting (19 Occurrences). ...
/g/grain-cutting.htm - 12k

Start (50 Occurrences)
... Exodus 23:16 And the feast of the grain-cutting, the first-fruits of your planted
fields: and the feast at the start of the year, when you have got in all the ...
/s/start.htm - 23k

Ploughing (14 Occurrences)
... Exodus 34:21 Six days let work be done, but on the seventh day take your rest: at
ploughing time and at the grain-cutting you are to have a day for rest. ...
/p/ploughing.htm - 10k

Autumn (8 Occurrences)
... Proverbs 20:4 The hater of work will not do his ploughing because of the winter;
so at the time of grain-cutting he will be requesting food and will get nothing ...
/a/autumn.htm - 9k

Cutting (178 Occurrences)
... (BBE NIV). John 4:35 You would say, Four months from now is the time of the
grain-cutting. ... (BBE). 1 Samuel 12:17 Is it not now the time of the graincutting? ...
/c/cutting.htm - 46k

Overflowing (54 Occurrences)
... the priests who took up the ark were touching the edge of the water (for the waters
of Jordan are overflowing all through the time of the grain-cutting), (BBE). ...
/o/overflowing.htm - 23k

Love-fruits (3 Occurrences)
... Love-fruits (3 Occurrences). Genesis 30:14 Now at the time of the grain-cutting,
Reuben saw some love-fruits in the field, and took them to his mother Leah. ...
/l/love-fruits.htm - 7k

Grain-cutters (2 Occurrences)
Grain-cutters. Grain-cutter, Grain-cutters. Grain-cutting . Multi-Version
Concordance ... (BBE). Grain-cutter, Grain-cutters. Grain-cutting . Reference Bible
/g/grain-cutters.htm - 7k

Grainfield (1 Occurrence)

/g/grainfield.htm - 6k

Rained (11 Occurrences)
... 2 Samuel 21:10 And Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took haircloth, placing it on the
rock as a bed for herself, from the start of the grain-cutting till rain ...
/r/rained.htm - 9k

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