Reaping: Corn After, Was Bound up Into Sheaves
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In biblical times, the process of reaping and binding corn into sheaves was a significant agricultural practice, deeply embedded in the agrarian culture of ancient Israel. This practice is frequently mentioned in the Scriptures, symbolizing not only the physical act of harvest but also carrying rich spiritual and theological connotations.

Agricultural Practice:

Reaping involved the cutting down of mature grain crops, such as wheat or barley, which were commonly referred to as "corn" in older English translations of the Bible. After the grain was reaped, it was gathered and bound into sheaves. This was a practical method for transporting and storing the grain before it was threshed and winnowed. The sheaves were often left in the field to dry before being carried to the threshing floor.

Biblical References:

The process of binding sheaves is vividly depicted in several biblical passages. In the Book of Ruth, the practice is central to the narrative. Ruth, a Moabite widow, gleans in the fields of Boaz, gathering the leftover grain after the reapers have bound the sheaves. Ruth 2:7 states, "She has worked steadily from morning until now, except for a short rest in the shelter." This account not only highlights the agricultural customs of the time but also illustrates themes of provision, kindness, and divine providence.

In the Psalms, the imagery of sheaves is used metaphorically to express joy and abundance. Psalm 126:6 declares, "He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves with him." This verse captures the transformation from sorrow to joy, a theme that resonates with the cyclical nature of sowing and reaping.

Spiritual Significance:

The act of reaping and binding sheaves is often used in Scripture to symbolize spiritual truths. In the New Testament, Jesus uses the metaphor of harvest to describe the gathering of souls into the Kingdom of God. In Matthew 9:37-38 , Jesus tells His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest." Here, the harvest represents the readiness of people to receive the Gospel, and the sheaves symbolize the fruits of evangelistic labor.

Furthermore, the binding of sheaves can be seen as a representation of unity and community. Just as individual stalks of grain are gathered and bound together, believers are called to be united in purpose and mission, working together for the glory of God.

Cultural and Historical Context:

In ancient Israel, the harvest season was a time of celebration and thanksgiving. The Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, was one of the major agricultural festivals, marking the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest. During this feast, the firstfruits of the harvest were offered to God, acknowledging His provision and blessing.

The practice of reaping and binding sheaves also had legal and social implications. The Law of Moses included provisions for the poor and the foreigner, allowing them to glean in the fields after the reapers had passed through (Leviticus 19:9-10). This ensured that even the most vulnerable members of society could share in the bounty of the harvest.

In summary, the reaping of corn and the binding of sheaves in biblical times was a multifaceted practice with agricultural, spiritual, and social dimensions. It served as a powerful symbol of God's provision, the joy of harvest, and the call to unity and community among His people.
Torrey's Topical Textbook
Genesis 37:7
For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, see, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Psalm 129:7
With which the mower fills not his hand; nor he that binds sheaves his bosom.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Sowing in the Wind, Reaping under Clouds
... Sowing in the Wind, Reaping under Clouds. ... to "make hay while the sun shines." Cut
your corn when there ... a door on its hinges, is not unalloyed pleasure after all ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 38 1892/sowing in the wind reaping.htm

Harvest Joy
... Then, I like I see you go grumbling down the aisle after every service, or you sit
there, and ... In all nations, the time of reaping the corn, and gathering ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 38 1892/harvest joy.htm

The Seed Growing Secretly.
... then the ear, after that the full corn in the ... human ministers of the word, and the
reaping is their ... us indeed from further knowledge or power, after the word ...
/.../arnot/the parables of our lord/xv the seed growing secretly.htm

The Calling and the Kingdom
... perfectly harmonious with the great truth that, after all, every ... and the old metaphor
of sowing and reaping is the ... us,' and we have to grind the corn and make ...
/.../expositions of holy scripture ephesians peter/the calling and the kingdom.htm

A visit to the Harvest Field
... Jesus often preached of the sowing and of the reaping. ... of rain should drench the
well-filled ears of corn? ... For ye have need of patience, What, after ye have ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 17 1871/a visit to the harvest.htm

On his Father'S Silence, Because of the Plague of Hail.
... 3133] let us desire to see Him appeased, after He was ... the months, instead of from
the ripening corn, scarcely bears ... where he had not sowed and reaping where he ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/oration xvi on his fathers.htm

The Political Constitution of Egypt
... On one side we see ploughing, sowing, reaping, the carrying of the corn, the storing
of ... vases of red pottery containing muddy water; after which they ...
/.../chapter ithe political constitution of.htm

The Power of Assyria at Its Zenith; Esarhaddon and Assur-Bani-Pal
... oak and pine, however, and fields of corn flourished, while ... the Ionians lost no time
in reaping the advantages ... him even from Assyria, and Nineveh, after a few ...
/.../chapter iithe power of assyria 2.htm

The Pilgrim's Progress
... I and thou, and these my sweet babes, are reaping the fruit ... After this He led them
into His garden, where was ... which He had sowed with wheat and corn; but when ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the pilgrims progress.htm

Resources
What does the Bible say about sowing and reaping? | GotQuestions.org

Is “you reap what you sow” biblical? | GotQuestions.org

What does the Bible say about karma? | GotQuestions.org

Reaping: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible ConcordanceBible DictionaryBible EncyclopediaTopical BibleBible Thesuarus
Subtopics

Reaping

Reaping Blessings

Reaping is the Cutting of the Corn in Harvest

Reaping What You Sow

Reaping: A Time of Great Rejoicing

Reaping: Both Men and Women Engaged In

Reaping: Corn After, Was Bound up Into Sheaves

Reaping: Figurative

Reaping: Gathering in Souls to God

Reaping: General Scriptures Concerning

Reaping: Ministers Receiving Temporal Provision for Spiritual

Reaping: Mode of Gathering the Corn For, Alluded To

Reaping: Often Unprofitable on Account of Sin

Reaping: Persons Engaged in Fed by the Master Who Himself Presided at Their Meals

Reaping: Persons Engaged in Received Wages

Reaping: Persons Engaged in Under the Guidance of a Steward

Reaping: Persons Engaged in Visited by the Master

Reaping: Receiving the Reward of Righteousness

Reaping: Receiving the Reward of Wickedness

Reaping: The Ark of the Covenant Returned by the Philistines at the Time of

Reaping: The Final Judgment

Reaping: The Jews not to Reap: During the Sabbatical Year

Reaping: The Jews not to Reap: During the Year of Jubilee

Reaping: The Jews not to Reap: The Corners of Their Fields

Reaping: The Jews not to Reap: The Fields of Others

Reaping: The Jews often Hindered From, on Account of Their Sins

Reaping: The Judgments of God on the Antichristian World

Reaping: The Sickle Used For

Related Terms

Gathering (71 Occurrences)

Reap (35 Occurrences)

Sickle (13 Occurrences)

Agriculture

Receiving (72 Occurrences)

Age-during (167 Occurrences)

Sow (61 Occurrences)

Sowed (20 Occurrences)

Severe (53 Occurrences)

Sowing (28 Occurrences)

Harvesting (7 Occurrences)

Year (4027 Occurrences)

Knewest (11 Occurrences)

Keeping (282 Occurrences)

Over-ripe (1 Occurrence)

Jubilee (25 Occurrences)

Garnering (1 Occurrence)

Winnowed (5 Occurrences)

Whence (84 Occurrences)

Winnow (5 Occurrences)

Wheat-harvest (6 Occurrences)

Talent (16 Occurrences)

Ripe (29 Occurrences)

Reaper (7 Occurrences)

Reapeth (5 Occurrences)

Reappeared (1 Occurrence)

Exacting (5 Occurrences)

Dried (66 Occurrences)

Mowing (1 Occurrence)

Plowing (9 Occurrences)

Ptolemy

Beth-she'mesh (20 Occurrences)

Beth-shemeshites (1 Occurrence)

Charioteer (3 Occurrences)

Corn (107 Occurrences)

Austere (2 Occurrences)

Sheaves (13 Occurrences)

Shell (1 Occurrence)

Sown (45 Occurrences)

Strewed (8 Occurrences)

Strawed (4 Occurrences)

Scattered (122 Occurrences)

Shemesh (24 Occurrences)

Sheaf (11 Occurrences)

Shearing (6 Occurrences)

Scatter (65 Occurrences)

Hadst (43 Occurrences)

Received (312 Occurrences)

Bad (129 Occurrences)

Laws (184 Occurrences)

Grass (92 Occurrences)

Agrarian

Sir (90 Occurrences)

Wicked (476 Occurrences)

Condemn (43 Occurrences)

Bondman (108 Occurrences)

Bethshemesh (19 Occurrences)

Wheat (56 Occurrences)

Beth-shemesh (19 Occurrences)

Rejoiced (83 Occurrences)

Harvest (109 Occurrences)

Laid (552 Occurrences)

Judge (297 Occurrences)

Master (346 Occurrences)

Didn't (734 Occurrences)

Completely (213 Occurrences)

Beth (115 Occurrences)

Vale (20 Occurrences)

Taking (445 Occurrences)

Lay (524 Occurrences)

Husbandry (2 Occurrences)

Hast (1968 Occurrences)

Harsh (20 Occurrences)

Husbandman (7 Occurrences)

Mown (2 Occurrences)

Rejoice (259 Occurrences)

Valley (187 Occurrences)

Lift (283 Occurrences)

Reaping: Both Men and Women Engaged In
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