Overview
The Bible addresses threshing across 58 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Ruth, 2 Samuel and Isaiah. Closely related themes include Ornan, Araunah, Jerusalem and Agriculture or Husbandry. Figures whose stories touch this theme include David, Boaz, Gideon and Ruth.
Key Bible verses about threshing
Old Testament
Genesis
And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan. Abelmizraim: that is, The mourning of the Egyptians
Deuteronomy
Judges
And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. Gideon: Gr. Gedeon to hide: Heb. to cause it to flee
Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
Ruth
So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.
And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.
Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. uncover: or, lift up the clothes that are on
And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.
And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. turned: or, took hold on
And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman. a near: or, one that hath right to redeem
And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. city: Heb. gate
And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.
Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning.
And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.
2 Samuel
And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it. shook it: or, stumbled
And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.
And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house.
And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. Araunah: Heb. Araniah
And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded.
And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.
And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.
All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.
And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
2 Kings
And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress? If: or, Let not the LORD save thee
Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing.
1 Chronicles
Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat. And Ornan: or, When Ornan turned back and saw the angel, then he and his four sons with him hid themselves
Isaiah
O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared unto you. corn: Heb. son
For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. trodden down under: or, threshed, etc trodden down for: or, threshed in Madmenah
For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod.
Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.
The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. clean: or, savoury: Heb. leavened
Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. teeth: Heb. mouths
Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Hosea
Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor. upon: or, in, etc
The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her. winepress: or, winefat
And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods. her: Heb. the beauty of her neck
Micah
But they know not the thoughts of the LORD, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor.
Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the LORD, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.
New Testament
1 Corinthians
For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn.3361 Doth God take care for oxen?
Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.
People in the Bible and threshing
Biblical figures whose stories intersect with this theme.
In the Bible dictionary
Studying threshing for yourself
- Begin with Genesis 50:10, then read the passages below in canonical order.
- Compare how Ruth, 2 Samuel and Isaiah each treat the theme.
- Consider the lives of David, Boaz and Gideon and how their stories intersect with it.
- Widen the study to related themes: Ornan, Araunah, Jerusalem and Agriculture or Husbandry.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Bible say about threshing?
The Bible addresses threshing across 58 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Ruth, 2 Samuel and Isaiah. Closely related themes include Ornan, Araunah, Jerusalem and Agriculture or Husbandry. Figures whose stories touch this theme include David, Boaz, Gideon and Ruth.
How many Bible verses are about threshing?
The Bible references threshing in 58 verses (King James Version).
Where does the Bible first mention threshing?
In canonical order, the first of these passages is Genesis 50:10: “And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.”
Which people in the Bible are associated with threshing?
David, Boaz, Gideon, Ruth and Uzzah.
Preach & teach
Outline a sermon or build a study series on threshing.
Preach a series on Threshing →