The term "grain-floor," often referred to as a "threshing floor" in biblical texts, is a significant agricultural and symbolic element in the Bible. It is a flat, hard surface where harvested grain is threshed and winnowed to separate the edible parts from the chaff. The grain-floor is typically located in an open area to take advantage of the wind, which aids in the winnowing process.

Biblical References and Symbolism

The grain-floor is mentioned numerous times throughout the Bible, serving both practical and symbolic purposes. In the Old Testament, the grain-floor is a place of agricultural activity and community gathering. It is also a site of divine encounter and judgment.

One of the most notable references to a grain-floor is found in the account of Ruth and Boaz. In Ruth 3:6-9 , Ruth approaches Boaz at the threshing floor, seeking his protection and invoking the law of levirate marriage. This event takes place during the barley harvest, highlighting the grain-floor's role in agricultural life: "So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do. After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Then Ruth came in quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down."

The grain-floor is also a place of divine judgment and blessing. In 2 Samuel 24:18-25 , King David builds an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite to stop a plague on Israel. This act of worship and sacrifice transforms the grain-floor into a sacred space: "So David went up at the word of Gad, just as the LORD had commanded. When Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants coming toward him, he went out and bowed facedown before the king."

In prophetic literature, the grain-floor symbolizes judgment and purification. The process of threshing and winnowing is used metaphorically to describe God's judgment, separating the righteous from the wicked. In Hosea 9:1-2 , the grain-floor is associated with Israel's unfaithfulness and the resulting divine judgment: "Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations! For you have been unfaithful to your God; you love the wages of a prostitute at every threshing floor. The threshing floor and winepress will not feed them, and the new wine will fail them."

Cultural and Religious Significance

In ancient Israel, the grain-floor was not only a place of labor but also a communal space where people gathered during the harvest season. It was a place of celebration and thanksgiving, as the successful harvest was a sign of God's provision and blessing. The grain-floor's open setting made it a natural location for social and religious activities.

The grain-floor's role in biblical narratives and its symbolic use in prophecy underscore its importance in the cultural and religious life of Israel. It serves as a reminder of God's provision, the necessity of faithful living, and the reality of divine judgment.Grain-floor (27 Occurrences)

Genesis 50:10
And they came to the grain-floor of Atad on the other side of Jordan, and there they gave the last honours to Jacob, with great and bitter sorrow, weeping for their father for seven days.
(BBE)

Genesis 50:11
And when the people of the land, the people of Canaan, at the grain-floor of Atad, saw their grief, they said, Great is the grief of the Egyptians: so the place was named Abel-mizraim, on the other side of Jordan.
(BBE)

Numbers 15:20
Of the first of your rough meal you are to give a cake for a lifted offering, lifting it up before the Lord as the offering of the grain-floor is lifted up.
(BBE)

Numbers 18:27
And this lifted offering is to be put to your credit as if it was grain from the grain-floor and wine from the vines.
(BBE)

Numbers 18:30
Say to them, then, When the best of it is lifted up on high, it is to be put to the account of the Levites as the increase of the grain-floor and of the place where the grapes are crushed.
(BBE)

Judges 6:37
See, I will put the wool of a sheep on the grain-floor; if there is dew on the wool only, while all the earth is dry, then I will be certain that it is your purpose to give Israel salvation by my hand as you have said.
(BBE)

Judges 8:7
Then Gideon said, Because of this, when the Lord has given Zebah and Zalmunna into my hands, I will have you stretched on a bed of thorns of the waste land and on sharp stems, and have you crushed as grain is crushed on a grain-floor.
(BBE)

Ruth 3:2
And now, is there not Boaz, our relation, with whose young women you were? See, tonight he is separating the grain from the waste in his grain-floor.
(BBE)

Ruth 3:3
So take a bath, and, after rubbing your body with sweet oil, put on your best robe, and go down to the grain-floor; but do not let him see you till he has come to the end of his meal.
(BBE)

Ruth 3:6
So she went down to the grain-floor and did all her mother-in-law had said to her.
(BBE)

Ruth 3:14
And she took her rest at his feet till the morning: and she got up before it was light enough for one to see another. And he said, Let it not come to anyone's knowledge that the woman came to the grain-floor.
(BBE)

2 Samuel 6:6
And when they came to Nacon's grain-floor, Uzzah put his hand on the ark of God to keep it safe in its place, for the oxen were out of control.
(BBE)

2 Samuel 24:16
And when the hand of the angel was stretched out in the direction of Jerusalem, for its destruction, the Lord had regret for the evil, and said to the angel who was sending destruction on the people, It is enough; do no more. And the angel of the Lord was by the grain-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
(BBE)

2 Samuel 24:18
And that day Gad came to David and said to him, Go up, and put up an altar to the Lord on the grain-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
(BBE)

2 Samuel 24:21
And Araunah said, Why has my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To give you a price for your grain-floor, so that I may put up an altar to the Lord, and the disease may be stopped among the people.
(BBE)

2 Samuel 24:24
And the king said to Araunah, No, but I will give you a price for it; I will not give to the Lord my God burned offerings for which I have given nothing. So David got the grain-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
(BBE)

2 Kings 6:27
And he said, If the Lord does not give you help, where am I to get help for you? from the grain-floor or the grape-crusher?
(BBE)

1 Chronicles 13:9
And when they came to the grain-floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to keep the ark in its place, for the oxen were slipping.
(BBE)

1 Chronicles 21:15
And God sent an angel to Jerusalem for its destruction: and when he was about to do so, the Lord saw, and had regret for the evil, and said to the angel of destruction, It is enough; do no more. Now the angel of the Lord was by the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
(BBE)

1 Chronicles 21:18
Then the angel of the Lord gave orders to Gad to say to David that he was to go and put up an altar to the Lord on the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
(BBE)

1 Chronicles 21:21
And when David came, Ornan, looking, saw him, and came out from the grain-floor and went down on his face to the earth before him.
(BBE)

1 Chronicles 21:22
Then David said to Ornan, Give me the place where this grain-floor is, so that I may put up an altar here to the Lord: let me have it for its full price; so that this disease may be stopped among the people.
(BBE)

1 Chronicles 21:28
At that time, when David saw that the Lord had given him an answer on the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he made an offering there.
(BBE)

2 Chronicles 3:1
Then Solomon made a start at building the house of the Lord on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, where the Lord had been seen by his father David, in the place which David had made ready in the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
(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)

Hosea 9:1
Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, like the peoples; for thou hast played the harlot, 'departing' from thy God; thou hast loved hire upon every grain-floor.
(ASV BBE)

Hosea 9:2
The grain-floor and the place where the grapes are crushed will not give them food; there will be no new wine for them.
(BBE)

Grain-floor (27 Occurrences)
Grain-floor. Grain-fields, Grain-floor. Grain-floors . Multi-Version
Concordance Grain-floor (27 Occurrences). Genesis ...
/g/grain-floor.htm - 15k

Regret (17 Occurrences)
... And the angel of the Lord was by the grain-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. (BBE). ...
Now the angel of the Lord was by the grain-floor of Ornan the Jebusite. (BBE). ...
/r/regret.htm - 12k

Crushed (199 Occurrences)
... 18:30 Say to them, then, When the best of it is lifted up on high, it is to be put
to the account of the Levites as the increase of the grain-floor and of the ...
/c/crushed.htm - 37k

Grapes (74 Occurrences)
... 18:30 Say to them, then, When the best of it is lifted up on high, it is to be put
to the account of the Levites as the increase of the grain-floor and of the ...
/g/grapes.htm - 31k

Vines (39 Occurrences)
... Numbers 18:27 And this lifted offering is to be put to your credit as if it
was grain from the grain-floor and wine from the vines. (BBE). ...
/v/vines.htm - 18k

Nacon's (1 Occurrence)
... 2 Samuel 6:6 And when they came to Nacon's grain-floor, Uzzah put his hand on the
ark of God to keep it safe in its place, for the oxen were out of control. ...
/n/nacon's.htm - 6k

Grain-floors (1 Occurrence)
Grain-floors. Grain-floor, Grain-floors. Grain-money . Multi-Version Concordance ...
(BBE). Grain-floor, Grain-floors. Grain-money . Reference Bible.
/g/grain-floors.htm - 6k

Grain-fields (3 Occurrences)
Grain-fields. Grainfields, Grain-fields. Grain-floor . Multi-Version Concordance ...
(BBE). Grainfields, Grain-fields. Grain-floor . Reference Bible.
/g/grain-fields.htm - 7k

Grape-crusher (1 Occurrence)
... 2 Kings 6:27 And he said, If the Lord does not give you help, where am I to get
help for you? from the grain-floor or the grape-crusher? (BBE). ...
/g/grape-crusher.htm - 6k

Rough (24 Occurrences)
... 15:20 Of the first of your rough meal you are to give a cake for a lifted offering,
lifting it up before the Lord as the offering of the grain-floor is lifted ...
/r/rough.htm - 15k

What is a threshing floor? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Araunah the Jebusite? | GotQuestions.org

What is the meaning of chaff in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

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