Harvest
VIEW:38 DATA:01-04-2020
HARVEST.See Agriculture.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
Harvest. See Agriculture.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
Three months intervened between the seed time and the first reaping, and a month between this and the full harvest. Barley is in full ear all over the Holy Land, in the beginning of April; and about the middle of the same month, it begins to turn yellow, particularly in the southern districts; being as forward near Jericho in the latter end of March, as it is in the plains of Acre a fortnight afterward. The reaping continues till the middle of Sivan, or till about the end of May or beginning of June, which, as the time of wheat harvest, finishes this part of the husbandman's labours.
2. The reapers in Palestine and Syria make use of the sickle in cutting down their crops, and, according to the present custom in this country, fill their hand with the corn, and those who bind up the sheaves, their bosom,
Psa_129:7; Rth_2:5. When the crop is thin and short, which is generally the case in light soils, and with their imperfect cultivation, it is not reaped with the sickle, but plucked up by the root with the hand. By this mode of reaping, they leave the most fruitful fields as naked as if nothing had ever grown on them; and as no hay is made in the east, this is done, that they may not lose any of the straw, which is necessary for the sustenance of their cattle. The practice of plucking up with the hand is perhaps referred to in these words of the Psalmist, to which reference has already been made: Let them be as the grass upon the house tops, which withereth afore it groweth up; wherewith the mower filleth not his hand, nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom. The tops of the houses in Judea are flat, and, being covered with plaster of terrace, are frequently grown over with grass. As it is but small and weak, and from its elevation exposed to the scorching sun, it is soon withered. A more beautiful and striking figure, to display the weak and evanescent condition of wicked men, cannot easily be conceived.
3. The reapers go to the field very early in the morning, and return home betimes in the afternoon. They carry provisions along with them, and leathern bottles, or dried bottle gourds, filled with water. They are followed by their own children, or by others, who glean with much success, for a great quantity of corn is scattered in the reaping, and in their manner of carrying it. The greater part of these circumstances are discernible in the manners of the ancient Israelites. Ruth had not proposed to Naomi, her mother-in-law, to go to the field, and glean after the reapers; nor had the servant of Boaz, to whom she applied for leave, so readily granted her request, if gleaning had not been a common practice in that country. When Boaz inquired who she was, his overseer, after informing him, observes, that she came out to the field in the morning; and that the reapers left the field early in the afternoon, as Dr. Russel states, is evident from this circumstance, that Ruth had time to beat out her gleanings before evening. They carried water and provisions with them; for Boaz invited her to come and drink of the water which the young men had drawn; and at meal-time, to eat of the bread, and dip her morsel in the vinegar. And so great was the simplicity of manners in that part of the world, and in those times, that Boaz himself, although a prince of high rank in Judah, sat down to dinner in the field with his reapers, and helped Ruth with his own hand. Nor ought we to pass over in silence the mutual salutation of Boaz and his reapers, when he came to the field, as it strongly marks the state of religious feeling in Israel at the time, and furnishes another proof of the artless, the happy, and unsuspecting simplicity, which characterized the manners of that highly favoured people. And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee, Rth_2:4.
4. It appears from the beautiful history of Ruth, that, in Palestine, the women lent their assistance in cutting down and gathering in the harvest; for Boaz commands her to keep fast by his maidens. The women in Syria shared also in the labours of the harvest; for Dr. Russel informs us, they sang the ziraleet, or song of thanks, when the passing stranger accepted their present of a handful of corn, and made a suitable return. It was another custom among the Jews to set a confidential servant over the reapers, to see that they executed their work properly, that they had suitable provisions, and to pay them their wages: the Chaldees call him rab, the master, ruler, or governor of the reapers. Such was the person who directed the labours of the reapers in the field of Boaz. The right of the poor in Israel to glean after the reapers was secured by a positive law, couched in these words: And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy land; neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard: thou shalt leave them to the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God, Lev_19:9. It is the opinion of some writers, that, although the poor were allowed the liberty of gleaning, the Israelitish proprietors were not obliged to admit them immediately into the field, as soon as the reapers had cut down the corn, and bound it up in sheaves, but when it was carried off: they might choose, also, among the poor, whom they thought most deserving, or most necessitous. These opinions receive some countenance from the request which Ruth presented to the servant of Boaz, to permit her to glean among the sheaves; and from the charge of Boaz to his young men, Let her glean even among the sheaves; a mode of speaking which seems to insinuate that though they could not legally hinder Ruth from gleaning in the field, they had a right, if they chose to exercise it, to prohibit her from gleaning among the sheaves, or immediately after the reapers.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
har?vest (קציר, ḳācı̄r; θερισμός, therismós): To many of us, harvest time is of little concern, because in our complex life we are far removed from the actual production of our food supplies, but for the Hebrew people, as for those in any agricultural district today, the harvest was a most important season (Gen_8:22; Gen_45:6). Events were reckoned from harvests (Gen_30:14; Jos_3:15; Jdg_15:1; Rth_1:22; Rth_2:23; 1Sa_6:13; 2Sa_21:9; 2Sa_23:13). The three principal feasts of the Jews corresponded to the three harvest seasons (Exo_23:16; Exo_34:21, Exo_34:22); (1) The feast of the Passover in April at the time of the barley harvest (compare Rth_1:22); (2) The feast of Pentecost (7 weeks later) at the wheat harvest (Exo_34:22), and (3) The feast of Tabernacles at the end of the year (October) during the fruit harvest. The seasons have not changed since that time. Between the reaping of the barley in April and the wheat in June, most of the other cereals are reaped. The grapes begin to ripen in August, but the gathering in for making wine and molasses (dibs), and the storing of the dried figs and raisins, is at the end of September. Between the barley harvest in April and the wheat harvest, only a few showers fall, which are welcomed because they increase the yield of wheat (compare Amo_4:7). Samuel made use of the unusual occurrence of rain during the wheat harvest to strike fear into the hearts of the people (1Sa_12:17). Such an unusual storm of excessive violence visited Syria in 1912, and did much damage to the harvests, bringing fear to the superstitious farmers, who thought some greater disaster awaited them. From the wheat harvest until the fruit harvest no rain falls (2Sa_21:10; Jer_5:24; compare Pro_26:1). The harvesters long for cool weather during the reaping season (compare Pro_25:13).
Many definite laws were instituted regarding the harvest. Gleaning was forbidden (Lev_19:9; Lev_23:22; Deu_24:19) (see GLEANING). The first-fruits were required to be presented to Yahweh (Lev_23:10). In Syria the Christians still celebrate 'id er-rubb (?feast of the Lord?), at which time the owners of the vineyards bring their first bunches of grapes to the church. The children of Israel were enjoined to reap no harvest for which they had not labored (Lev_25:5). In Proverbs the harvesting of ants is mentioned as a lesson for the sluggard (Pro_6:8; Pro_10:5; Pro_20:4).
Figurative: A destroyed harvest typified devastation or affliction (Job_5:5; Isa_16:9; Isa_17:11; Jer_5:17; Jer_50:16). The ?time of harvest,? in the Old Testament frequently meant the day of destruction (Jer_51:33; Hos_6:11; Joe_3:13). ?Joy in harvest? typified great joy (Isa_9:3); ?harvest of the Nile,? an abundant harvest (Isa_23:3). ?The harvest is past? meant that the appointed time was gone (Jer_8:20). Yahweh chose the most promising time to cut off the wicked, namely, ?when there is a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest? (Isa_18:4, Isa_18:5). This occurrence of hot misty days just before the ripening of the grapes is still common. They are welcome because they are supposed to hasten the harvest. The Syrian farmers in some districts call it et-tabbakh el'ainib wa tı̂n (?the fireplace of the grapes and figs?).
In the Gospels, Jesus frequently refers to the harvest of souls (Mat_9:37, Mat_9:38 bis; Mat_13:30 bis,39; Mar_4:29; Joh_4:35 bis). In explaining the parable of the Tares he said, ?The harvest is the end of the world? (Mat_13:39; compare Rev_14:15). See also AGRICULTURE.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Jer_8:20 (b) This is a description of the end time when the Lord will judge the earth and gather into Heaven believers who are profitable to Him (the grain), but will shut out of Heaven the weeds and the tares which have no value to Him. We see this on the farm constantly. That which is useful to the farmer he gathers into his barns. The vines and the stubble remain in the field to rot.
Jer_51:33 (a) This is a picture of the judgment of this great city when GOD would cut her down and destroy her because of her iniquity.
Mat_9:37 (a) This is a type of the great number of people who are interested in their souls' welfare, are hungry for deliverance, and are waiting for someone to lead them to CHRIST JESUS, the Saviour.
Mat_13:39 (a) By this figure the Lord is telling us of the judgment at the end of this age when the Lord will separate His people from the ungodly, will reward the Christian, but will punish the sinner.
Rev_14:15 (a) This is a picture of the Great Tribulation when the end comes and GOD comes forth in mighty judgment and terrible wrath to punish the wicked and the rebellious people of earth.
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.
Harvest
(קָצַיר, katsr', i.e. reaping; θερισμός), the season of gathering grain or fruits. In general, this fell, as now in Palestine, in the middle of April or Abib (Joh_4:35), although in many parts, e.g. at Jericho (whose inhabitants were the first to present the first fruits, Mishna, Pesach, 4:8), it began as early as March (Shaw, Tray. p. 291). (See Gerdes, De tempore messis Hebraeorum, Utrecht, 1720.) Dr. Robinson says: On the 4th and 5th of June, the people of Hebron were just beginning to gather their wheat; on the 11th and 12th, the threshing-floors on the Mount of Olives were in full operation. We had already seen the harvest in the same state of progress on the plains of Gaza on the 19th of May; while at Jericho, on the 12th of May, the threshing-floors had nearly completed their work (Bib. Res. 2, 99, 100). On the sixteenth day of the first month, Abib or Nisan (Josephus, Ant. 3, 10, 5), a handful of ripe ears was offered before the Lord as the first-fruits; after which it was lawful to put the sickle to the corn (Lev_23:9-14). (See Schramm, De manipulo hordeaceo, Frckft. a. O. 1706.) The harvest is described as beginning with the barley, and with the festival of the Passover (Lev_23:9-14; 2Sa_21:9-10; Ruth 2, 23), and ending with the wheat (Gen_30:14; Exo_34:22), and with the festival of Pentecost (Exo_23:16). (See Otho, Lex. Rabb. p. 684.) In the most ancient times the corn was plucked up by the roots. When the sickle was used, the wheat was either cropped off under the ear, or cut close to the ground; in the former case, the straw was afterwards plucked up for use; in the latter, the stubble was left and burnt on the ground for manure (Isa_17:5; Job_24:24). The sheaves were collected into a heap, or removed to the threshing-floor (Gen_37:7; Lev_23:10-15; Rth_2:7-15; Job_24:10, Jer_9:22; Mic_4:12; Amo_2:13). In Palestine at the present day, the grain is not bound into sheaves, but is gathered into two large bundles, which are carried home on either side of the backs of animals (Thomson, Land and Book, 2, 323).
The reapers were the owners and their children, and men and women servants (Rth_2:4; Rth_2:8; Rth_2:21; Rth_2:23; Joh_4:36; James 5, 4). Refreshments were provided for them, especially drink, of which the gleaners were often allowed to partake (Rth_2:9); so in the Egyptian scenes we see reapers drinking, and the gleaners applying to share the draught. The time of harvest was a season of very great enjoyment, especially when the crops had been plentiful (Psa_126:1-6; Isa_9:3). The harvest in Scripture is likewise put for a time of destruction (Hos_6:11), according to Newcome; but according to Horsley, for a time of mercy. Of the former sense there is an example in Jer_51:33, plainly referring to the judgments of God upon Babylon. So in the oracle concerning Damascus (Isa_17:5), as Lowth observes, the king of Assyria shall sweep away the whole body of the people, as the reaper strips off the whole crop of corn, and the remnant shall be no more in proportion than the scattered ears left to the gleaner. In Joe_3:13, the last words explain the figurative language which precedes: they are ripe for excision. The same comparison is used in Rev. 14:14; 15:18, where the person referred to as executing vengeance is Jesus Christ himself, though angels assist in the execution. But harvest is also used in a good sense, as in Mat_9:37; Luk_10:2; Joh_4:35. So in Jer_8:20, The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved; i.e. the time in which we expected to be saved is past. The harvest, in agricultural reckoning, is considered to be the end of the season, being the time appointed for gathering in the fruits of the earth, and finishing the labors of the year. So, in Mat_13:39, our Lord says, The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels In Mat_9:36, our Lord, seeing multitudes coming to hear him, remarks, The harvest truly is plenteous; i.e. many are willing to receive instruction. SEE AGRICULTURE.
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
Harvest. See Agriculture.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
Three months intervened between the seed time and the first reaping, and a month between this and the full harvest. Barley is in full ear all over the Holy Land, in the beginning of April; and about the middle of the same month, it begins to turn yellow, particularly in the southern districts; being as forward near Jericho in the latter end of March, as it is in the plains of Acre a fortnight afterward. The reaping continues till the middle of Sivan, or till about the end of May or beginning of June, which, as the time of wheat harvest, finishes this part of the husbandman's labours.
2. The reapers in Palestine and Syria make use of the sickle in cutting down their crops, and, according to the present custom in this country, fill their hand with the corn, and those who bind up the sheaves, their bosom,
Psa_129:7; Rth_2:5. When the crop is thin and short, which is generally the case in light soils, and with their imperfect cultivation, it is not reaped with the sickle, but plucked up by the root with the hand. By this mode of reaping, they leave the most fruitful fields as naked as if nothing had ever grown on them; and as no hay is made in the east, this is done, that they may not lose any of the straw, which is necessary for the sustenance of their cattle. The practice of plucking up with the hand is perhaps referred to in these words of the Psalmist, to which reference has already been made: Let them be as the grass upon the house tops, which withereth afore it groweth up; wherewith the mower filleth not his hand, nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom. The tops of the houses in Judea are flat, and, being covered with plaster of terrace, are frequently grown over with grass. As it is but small and weak, and from its elevation exposed to the scorching sun, it is soon withered. A more beautiful and striking figure, to display the weak and evanescent condition of wicked men, cannot easily be conceived.
3. The reapers go to the field very early in the morning, and return home betimes in the afternoon. They carry provisions along with them, and leathern bottles, or dried bottle gourds, filled with water. They are followed by their own children, or by others, who glean with much success, for a great quantity of corn is scattered in the reaping, and in their manner of carrying it. The greater part of these circumstances are discernible in the manners of the ancient Israelites. Ruth had not proposed to Naomi, her mother-in-law, to go to the field, and glean after the reapers; nor had the servant of Boaz, to whom she applied for leave, so readily granted her request, if gleaning had not been a common practice in that country. When Boaz inquired who she was, his overseer, after informing him, observes, that she came out to the field in the morning; and that the reapers left the field early in the afternoon, as Dr. Russel states, is evident from this circumstance, that Ruth had time to beat out her gleanings before evening. They carried water and provisions with them; for Boaz invited her to come and drink of the water which the young men had drawn; and at meal-time, to eat of the bread, and dip her morsel in the vinegar. And so great was the simplicity of manners in that part of the world, and in those times, that Boaz himself, although a prince of high rank in Judah, sat down to dinner in the field with his reapers, and helped Ruth with his own hand. Nor ought we to pass over in silence the mutual salutation of Boaz and his reapers, when he came to the field, as it strongly marks the state of religious feeling in Israel at the time, and furnishes another proof of the artless, the happy, and unsuspecting simplicity, which characterized the manners of that highly favoured people. And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee, Rth_2:4.
4. It appears from the beautiful history of Ruth, that, in Palestine, the women lent their assistance in cutting down and gathering in the harvest; for Boaz commands her to keep fast by his maidens. The women in Syria shared also in the labours of the harvest; for Dr. Russel informs us, they sang the ziraleet, or song of thanks, when the passing stranger accepted their present of a handful of corn, and made a suitable return. It was another custom among the Jews to set a confidential servant over the reapers, to see that they executed their work properly, that they had suitable provisions, and to pay them their wages: the Chaldees call him rab, the master, ruler, or governor of the reapers. Such was the person who directed the labours of the reapers in the field of Boaz. The right of the poor in Israel to glean after the reapers was secured by a positive law, couched in these words: And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy land; neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard: thou shalt leave them to the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God, Lev_19:9. It is the opinion of some writers, that, although the poor were allowed the liberty of gleaning, the Israelitish proprietors were not obliged to admit them immediately into the field, as soon as the reapers had cut down the corn, and bound it up in sheaves, but when it was carried off: they might choose, also, among the poor, whom they thought most deserving, or most necessitous. These opinions receive some countenance from the request which Ruth presented to the servant of Boaz, to permit her to glean among the sheaves; and from the charge of Boaz to his young men, Let her glean even among the sheaves; a mode of speaking which seems to insinuate that though they could not legally hinder Ruth from gleaning in the field, they had a right, if they chose to exercise it, to prohibit her from gleaning among the sheaves, or immediately after the reapers.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
har?vest (קציר, ḳācı̄r; θερισμός, therismós): To many of us, harvest time is of little concern, because in our complex life we are far removed from the actual production of our food supplies, but for the Hebrew people, as for those in any agricultural district today, the harvest was a most important season (Gen_8:22; Gen_45:6). Events were reckoned from harvests (Gen_30:14; Jos_3:15; Jdg_15:1; Rth_1:22; Rth_2:23; 1Sa_6:13; 2Sa_21:9; 2Sa_23:13). The three principal feasts of the Jews corresponded to the three harvest seasons (Exo_23:16; Exo_34:21, Exo_34:22); (1) The feast of the Passover in April at the time of the barley harvest (compare Rth_1:22); (2) The feast of Pentecost (7 weeks later) at the wheat harvest (Exo_34:22), and (3) The feast of Tabernacles at the end of the year (October) during the fruit harvest. The seasons have not changed since that time. Between the reaping of the barley in April and the wheat in June, most of the other cereals are reaped. The grapes begin to ripen in August, but the gathering in for making wine and molasses (dibs), and the storing of the dried figs and raisins, is at the end of September. Between the barley harvest in April and the wheat harvest, only a few showers fall, which are welcomed because they increase the yield of wheat (compare Amo_4:7). Samuel made use of the unusual occurrence of rain during the wheat harvest to strike fear into the hearts of the people (1Sa_12:17). Such an unusual storm of excessive violence visited Syria in 1912, and did much damage to the harvests, bringing fear to the superstitious farmers, who thought some greater disaster awaited them. From the wheat harvest until the fruit harvest no rain falls (2Sa_21:10; Jer_5:24; compare Pro_26:1). The harvesters long for cool weather during the reaping season (compare Pro_25:13).
Many definite laws were instituted regarding the harvest. Gleaning was forbidden (Lev_19:9; Lev_23:22; Deu_24:19) (see GLEANING). The first-fruits were required to be presented to Yahweh (Lev_23:10). In Syria the Christians still celebrate 'id er-rubb (?feast of the Lord?), at which time the owners of the vineyards bring their first bunches of grapes to the church. The children of Israel were enjoined to reap no harvest for which they had not labored (Lev_25:5). In Proverbs the harvesting of ants is mentioned as a lesson for the sluggard (Pro_6:8; Pro_10:5; Pro_20:4).
Figurative: A destroyed harvest typified devastation or affliction (Job_5:5; Isa_16:9; Isa_17:11; Jer_5:17; Jer_50:16). The ?time of harvest,? in the Old Testament frequently meant the day of destruction (Jer_51:33; Hos_6:11; Joe_3:13). ?Joy in harvest? typified great joy (Isa_9:3); ?harvest of the Nile,? an abundant harvest (Isa_23:3). ?The harvest is past? meant that the appointed time was gone (Jer_8:20). Yahweh chose the most promising time to cut off the wicked, namely, ?when there is a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest? (Isa_18:4, Isa_18:5). This occurrence of hot misty days just before the ripening of the grapes is still common. They are welcome because they are supposed to hasten the harvest. The Syrian farmers in some districts call it et-tabbakh el'ainib wa tı̂n (?the fireplace of the grapes and figs?).
In the Gospels, Jesus frequently refers to the harvest of souls (Mat_9:37, Mat_9:38 bis; Mat_13:30 bis,39; Mar_4:29; Joh_4:35 bis). In explaining the parable of the Tares he said, ?The harvest is the end of the world? (Mat_13:39; compare Rev_14:15). See also AGRICULTURE.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Jer_8:20 (b) This is a description of the end time when the Lord will judge the earth and gather into Heaven believers who are profitable to Him (the grain), but will shut out of Heaven the weeds and the tares which have no value to Him. We see this on the farm constantly. That which is useful to the farmer he gathers into his barns. The vines and the stubble remain in the field to rot.
Jer_51:33 (a) This is a picture of the judgment of this great city when GOD would cut her down and destroy her because of her iniquity.
Mat_9:37 (a) This is a type of the great number of people who are interested in their souls' welfare, are hungry for deliverance, and are waiting for someone to lead them to CHRIST JESUS, the Saviour.
Mat_13:39 (a) By this figure the Lord is telling us of the judgment at the end of this age when the Lord will separate His people from the ungodly, will reward the Christian, but will punish the sinner.
Rev_14:15 (a) This is a picture of the Great Tribulation when the end comes and GOD comes forth in mighty judgment and terrible wrath to punish the wicked and the rebellious people of earth.
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.
Harvest
(קָצַיר, katsr', i.e. reaping; θερισμός), the season of gathering grain or fruits. In general, this fell, as now in Palestine, in the middle of April or Abib (Joh_4:35), although in many parts, e.g. at Jericho (whose inhabitants were the first to present the first fruits, Mishna, Pesach, 4:8), it began as early as March (Shaw, Tray. p. 291). (See Gerdes, De tempore messis Hebraeorum, Utrecht, 1720.) Dr. Robinson says: On the 4th and 5th of June, the people of Hebron were just beginning to gather their wheat; on the 11th and 12th, the threshing-floors on the Mount of Olives were in full operation. We had already seen the harvest in the same state of progress on the plains of Gaza on the 19th of May; while at Jericho, on the 12th of May, the threshing-floors had nearly completed their work (Bib. Res. 2, 99, 100). On the sixteenth day of the first month, Abib or Nisan (Josephus, Ant. 3, 10, 5), a handful of ripe ears was offered before the Lord as the first-fruits; after which it was lawful to put the sickle to the corn (Lev_23:9-14). (See Schramm, De manipulo hordeaceo, Frckft. a. O. 1706.) The harvest is described as beginning with the barley, and with the festival of the Passover (Lev_23:9-14; 2Sa_21:9-10; Ruth 2, 23), and ending with the wheat (Gen_30:14; Exo_34:22), and with the festival of Pentecost (Exo_23:16). (See Otho, Lex. Rabb. p. 684.) In the most ancient times the corn was plucked up by the roots. When the sickle was used, the wheat was either cropped off under the ear, or cut close to the ground; in the former case, the straw was afterwards plucked up for use; in the latter, the stubble was left and burnt on the ground for manure (Isa_17:5; Job_24:24). The sheaves were collected into a heap, or removed to the threshing-floor (Gen_37:7; Lev_23:10-15; Rth_2:7-15; Job_24:10, Jer_9:22; Mic_4:12; Amo_2:13). In Palestine at the present day, the grain is not bound into sheaves, but is gathered into two large bundles, which are carried home on either side of the backs of animals (Thomson, Land and Book, 2, 323).
The reapers were the owners and their children, and men and women servants (Rth_2:4; Rth_2:8; Rth_2:21; Rth_2:23; Joh_4:36; James 5, 4). Refreshments were provided for them, especially drink, of which the gleaners were often allowed to partake (Rth_2:9); so in the Egyptian scenes we see reapers drinking, and the gleaners applying to share the draught. The time of harvest was a season of very great enjoyment, especially when the crops had been plentiful (Psa_126:1-6; Isa_9:3). The harvest in Scripture is likewise put for a time of destruction (Hos_6:11), according to Newcome; but according to Horsley, for a time of mercy. Of the former sense there is an example in Jer_51:33, plainly referring to the judgments of God upon Babylon. So in the oracle concerning Damascus (Isa_17:5), as Lowth observes, the king of Assyria shall sweep away the whole body of the people, as the reaper strips off the whole crop of corn, and the remnant shall be no more in proportion than the scattered ears left to the gleaner. In Joe_3:13, the last words explain the figurative language which precedes: they are ripe for excision. The same comparison is used in Rev. 14:14; 15:18, where the person referred to as executing vengeance is Jesus Christ himself, though angels assist in the execution. But harvest is also used in a good sense, as in Mat_9:37; Luk_10:2; Joh_4:35. So in Jer_8:20, The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved; i.e. the time in which we expected to be saved is past. The harvest, in agricultural reckoning, is considered to be the end of the season, being the time appointed for gathering in the fruits of the earth, and finishing the labors of the year. So, in Mat_13:39, our Lord says, The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels In Mat_9:36, our Lord, seeing multitudes coming to hear him, remarks, The harvest truly is plenteous; i.e. many are willing to receive instruction. SEE AGRICULTURE.
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
BUSCADAVERDADE
Visite o nosso canal youtube.com/buscadaverdade e se INSCREVA agora mesmo! Lá temos uma diversidade de temas interessantes sobre: Saúde, Receitas Saudáveis, Benefícios dos Alimentos, Benefícios das Vitaminas e Sais Minerais... Dê uma olhadinha, você vai gostar! E não se esqueça, dê o seu like e se INSCREVA! Clique abaixo e vá direto ao canal!
Saiba Mais
-
Nutrição
Vegetarianismo e a Vitamina B12 -
Receita
Como preparar a Proteína Vegetal Texturizada -
Arqueologia
Livro de Enoque é um livro profético?
Tags