In biblical times, ploughing was an essential agricultural practice, symbolizing preparation, diligence, and the hope of future harvest. The act of ploughing is frequently mentioned in the Bible, often carrying both literal and metaphorical meanings.

Agricultural Context

Ploughing was a critical step in the agricultural cycle of ancient Israel. It involved breaking up the soil to prepare it for sowing seeds. The plough, typically drawn by oxen, was a simple yet vital tool for farmers. This process is vividly depicted in the Old Testament, where the land's fertility and the people's prosperity were closely linked to successful ploughing and subsequent harvests.

In 1 Kings 19:19, the prophet Elisha is called by Elijah while he is ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen, indicating the importance and scale of agricultural work in his life. This scene underscores the significance of ploughing as a daily, labor-intensive task that required strength and commitment.

Symbolic and Metaphorical Usage

Ploughing also serves as a metaphor for spiritual and moral preparation. In Hosea 10:12, the prophet exhorts the people, "Sow for yourselves righteousness and reap the fruit of loving devotion; break up your unplowed ground. For it is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness upon you like rain." Here, ploughing represents the need for repentance and readiness to receive God's blessings.

The imagery of ploughing is further used to illustrate the consequences of sin and disobedience. In Jeremiah 4:3, the Lord warns, "Break up your unplowed ground, and do not sow among thorns." This admonition highlights the futility of attempting to cultivate spiritual growth without first addressing the hardened, unrepentant areas of one's life.

New Testament References

In the New Testament, ploughing is used to emphasize the cost of discipleship and the commitment required to follow Christ. In Luke 9:62, Jesus declares, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." This statement underscores the necessity of unwavering dedication and focus in the Christian life, likening the journey of faith to the steady, forward motion required in ploughing.

Cultural and Historical Insights

Understanding the cultural and historical context of ploughing in biblical times enriches the interpretation of these passages. The agrarian society of ancient Israel relied heavily on successful ploughing for sustenance and economic stability. The imagery of ploughing would have resonated deeply with the original audience, who were intimately familiar with the challenges and rewards of farming.

Conclusion

The concept of ploughing in the Bible serves as a powerful symbol of preparation, diligence, and transformation. Whether in the context of physical labor or spiritual readiness, the act of ploughing calls believers to a life of commitment, repentance, and anticipation of God's provision and blessing.(p. p.) of Plough.

The Hold Fast
... profitable. Those whose souls are ploughed and ploughed and ploughed again
before the seed is sown upon them, often yield the best crop. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/the hold fast.htm

Of Removing Tithes.
... No agistment tithe is due for any beasts depastured on the headlands of ploughed
fields, so that they are not wider than is sufficient to turn the plough and ...
/.../prideaux/directions to church-wardens/8 of removing tithes.htm

The Last Smile of the Muse
... Far off, blended in one violet mass, the Alps, peak upon peak, covered with snow;
and nearer in view, sheer cliffs, jutting fastnesses, ploughed through with ...
//christianbookshelf.org/bertrand/saint augustin/i the last smile of.htm

Whether the Judicial Precepts were Suitably Framed as to the ...
... the ancients" of the nearest city "shall take a heifer of the herd, that hath not
drawn in the yoke, nor ploughed the ground, and they shall bring her into a ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the judicial precepts were 3.htm

The Prophet Micah.
... the elders, for his justification, appealed to the [Pg 418] entirely similar prophecy
of Micah in iii.12: "Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/the prophet micah.htm

The Resurrection
... and decays in the ear, and yet gets into the barn with it, and is sown too with
the wheat, of which I never heard that any sprang up again"ploughed up again ...
/.../kingsley/twenty-five village sermons/sermon xvii the resurrection.htm

Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists
... Away to the west stretches the chess-board of variegated woodland, meadows, and
ploughed fields till it rises suddenly on a far horizon to that sharp ridge on ...
/.../manning/the hymns of wesley and watts five papers/hymns for the use of.htm

Demonstration viii. --Of the Resurrection of the Dead.
... fruit. For the land that is ploughed, into which seed is not cast, produces
not fruit, even if that land drinks in all the rain. ...
/.../aphrahat select demonstrations/demonstration viii of the resurrection of.htm

A Memorial Sketch by W. Robertson Nicoll
... He learned to linger beside the ploughed field, and revel in the affluence of colour
and shade which were to be seen in the newly-turned furrows, and to gaze ...
//christianbookshelf.org/drummond/the ideal life/a memorial sketch by w.htm

The Ship on Fire --A Voice of Warning
... in saving my life.". The other day, there sailed down the Thames as stout a
vessel as had ever ploughed the deep. The good ship "Amazon ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 10 1864/the ship on firea voice.htm

Ploughed (16 Occurrences)
...Ploughed (16 Occurrences). ... And what stronger than a lion?' And he saith to them:
'Unless ye had ploughed with my heifer, Ye had not found out my riddle.' (YLT). ...
/p/ploughed.htm - 11k

Plowed (9 Occurrences)
... (WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV). Ezekiel 36:9 For truly I am for you, and
I will be turned to you, and you will be ploughed and planted: (See NIV). ...
/p/plowed.htm - 9k

Wooded (3 Occurrences)
... in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, said to all the people of Judah, This is
what the Lord of armies has said: Zion will become like a ploughed field, and ...
/w/wooded.htm - 7k

Thickets (14 Occurrences)
... in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, said to all the people of Judah, This is
what the Lord of armies has said: Zion will become like a ploughed field, and ...
/t/thickets.htm - 11k

Plough (11 Occurrences)
... Job 4:8 What I have seen is that those by whom trouble has been ploughed, and evil
planted, get the same for themselves. ... may the sea be ploughed with oxen? ...
/p/plough.htm - 11k

Ploughers (2 Occurrences)
... iniquity, And sowers of misery, reap it! (YLT). Psalms 129:3 The ploughers ploughed
upon my back; they made long their furrows. (DBY YLT). ...
/p/ploughers.htm - 6k

Planted (105 Occurrences)
... Deuteronomy 21:4 And they are to take the cow into a valley where there is flowing
water, and which is not ploughed or planted, and there the neck of the cow ...
/p/planted.htm - 37k

Mass (65 Occurrences)
... in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, said to all the people of Judah, This is
what the Lord of armies has said: Zion will become like a ploughed field, and ...
/m/mass.htm - 27k

Yields (21 Occurrences)
... fruit. (See NAS). Proverbs 13:23 There is much food in the ploughed land
of the poor; but it is taken away by wrongdoing. (See RSV). ...
/y/yields.htm - 12k

Unworked (1 Occurrence)
... Jeremiah 4:3 For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:
Get your unworked land ploughed up, do not put in your seeds among thorns. ...
/u/unworked.htm - 6k

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