Threshing Floors…Ancient Israel

Their Ritual and Symbolic Significance

Jaime L. Waters

• Publisher: Fortress Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781451485233
• eBook ISBN: 9781451496604
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

Vital to an agrarian community's survival, threshing floors are agricultural spaces where crops are threshed and winnowed. But the Hebrew Bible rarely refers to such agricultural activities taking place at such sites. Instead, biblical narratives repeatedly depict threshing floors in ancient Israel as sites for mourning rites, divination rituals, cultic processions, and sacrifices. Kings consult prophets there; even the Solomonic temple was built on a threshing floor. Jaime L. Waters shows that these originally agricultural sites were also considered sacred spaces connected to Yahweh, under his control, and subject to his power to bless, curse, and save and that Israel had a special ritual access to Yahweh in these powerfully symbolic sites. Waters also examines the various personnel active in the use and operation of threshing floors in these sacred functions in order to draw a more complete picture of ancient Israelite social life. An addendum discusses relevant material for comparison from Ugarit.

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Threshing Floors as Sacred Spaces

In the two previous chapters, several passages were discussed which elucidate how threshing floors were understood and conceived of in the Hebrew Bible. Chapter 2 asserted that Yahweh has control over and use of threshing floors, with the ability to bless, curse, and save them from attacks. Moreover, prophetic passages depict Yahweh using threshing-floor imagery to metaphorically punish enemies. In chapter 3, legal texts that mention threshing floors were examined. They highlight that these locations are associated with divine offerings and blessings; moreover, the divine name is invoked on a threshing floor. All of this is to suggest that within the Hebrew Bible, biblical writers assert a clear connection between threshing floors and Yahweh that manifests itself in different ways depending on the context and genre of the text. On multiple occasions, threshing floors are associated with the divine because of Yahweh’s interest in feeding and nourishing his people at these important agricultural centers. In this chapter, several passages will further demonstrate Yahweh’s connection to threshing floors, as they are chosen as effective locations to contact Yahweh, and they are places associated with theophanies. Here, the clearest examples will be discussed that depict divination rituals and prophecy, cultic processions, and even divine manifestations on these spaces. The end of the chapter will survey who in society is depicted using threshing floors for cultic activities. Notably, the social group that typically facilitates the cult, namely the priests, do not engage in cultic practices on threshing floors.^[1]

Consulting Yahweh at Threshing Floors

There are two narratives that depict threshing floors as locations to successfully contact Yahweh: Judg. 6:36–40 and 1 Kgs. 22:10 // 2 Chron. 18:9. In theory, any space could be used to contact Yahweh; however, in these narratives, threshing floors are presented as particularly effective places where Yahweh is reachable and provides a divine answer.

Judges 6:36–40

Judges 6:36–40 is situated in the passages about Gideon.^[2] In chapter 2, Gideon was introduced because he is called by Yahweh to save Israel and her threshing floors from Midianite attacks. He is uncertain whether his attack on Midian will be successful, but while he is beating wheat at a wine press (not a threshing floor because those are under attack), he receives a divine sign in the form of fire upon offerings. As Gideon readies his troops to prepare to attack the Midianites, he is still unsure if he will be successful. He asks for another sign to know that his battle will be successful, and this sign occurs on a threshing floor. Gideon goes to a threshing floor to perform a divination^[3] ritual in order to confirm the success of his battle. While on the threshing floor, Gideon says:

I am placing a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece alone, and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will deliver Israel by my hand, as you said.

hinnēh ’ānōkî maṣṣîg ’et-gizzat haṣṣemer baggōren ’im ṭal yihyeh ‘al-haggizzâ lĕbaddāh wĕ‘al-kol-hā’āreṣ ḥōreb wĕyāda‘tî kî-tôšîa‘ bĕyādî ’et-yiśrā’ēl ka’ăšer dibbartā. (Judg. 6:37)

The next day Gideon checks the fleece, and he drains enough dew from it to fill a bowl with water (wayyimeṣ ṭal min-haggizzâ mĕlô’ hassēpel māyim) (Judg. 6:38b). Then Gideon says:

Do not let your anger be kindled against me, let me speak one more time; let me test with the fleece once more; let it be dry only on the fleece, and on all the ground let there be dew.

’al-yiḥar ’appĕkā bî wa’ădabbĕrâ ’ak happā‘am ’ănasseh nā’-raq-happa‘am baggizzâ yĕhî-nā’ ḥōreb ’el-haggizzâ lĕbaddāh wĕ‘al-kol-hā’āreṣ yihyeh-ṭāl. (Judg. 6:39)

That night Gideon’s second request is answered with a dry fleece and dew on all of the ground (Judg. 6:40).

Rituals using dew and fleece are unattested elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible.^[4] Fleece is the skin of an animal, usually a sheep (Deut. 18:4; Job 31:20). It is used here as an effective absorbent of dew. Traditionally, dew is associated with divine blessings (Gen. 27:28; Exod. 16:13; Deut. 33:13) because it can serve as a source of water, especially when there is insufficient rainfall. John Beck asserts that “dew is a welcome presence in Israel, for it plays a critical role in the ancient agricultural cycle … the summer months in Israel are nearly rain free.”^[5] In his divination ritual, Gideon takes a commonplace material (fleece) and asks for God to manipulate nature (dew) in order to know the fate of his battle. Seeking a divine blessing for battle, Gideon chooses the threshing floor as a favorable location to reach God. God twice responds with a successful manipulation of the dew, suggesting that Gideon’s choice of the threshing floor is astute, as this is indeed an auspicious location to communicate with God and to receive a divine answer.

In addition to the successful divination, the narrative depicts Gideon’s awareness of an apparent danger associated with accessibility of the divine at the threshing floor. In Judg. 6:39, Gideon requests that God’s anger not be kindled against him. Gideon knows that as an auspicious location to reach God, the threshing floor may be a location of divine manifestation and divine anger. In two other narratives taking place on threshing floors, the danger and power of God are visible: God strikes and kills Uzzah on a threshing floor (2 Sam. 6:6–7 // 1 Chron. 13:9–10), and God sends destruction and plague on Israel via an angel associated with a threshing floor (2 Sam. 24:15–16 // 1 Chron. 21:14–16). Both narratives will be discussed later in this chapter. Gideon’s request that God’s anger not be kindled reflects a warranted fear of upsetting God, particularly on a location where God is reachable. Because God is accessible at the threshing floor, there is apparent power and danger associated with such direct access. Similarly, Gideon could be generally concerned about invoking divine wrath since he had asked for a divine sign while at the wine press earlier in the narrative (Judg. 6:15–21).

Depictions of the danger and lethality of divine power are pervasive in the Hebrew Bible. Some examples include God taking lethal action when people behave immorally—for example, the flood (Genesis 6) and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19). God also strikes people with plagues (Exodus 7–10; Num. 25:9) and fire (Num. 11:1–3). Likewise, wars are fought for and with Yahweh as a divine warrior (Exod. 14:4; 15:2; Num. 21:1–3; Pss. 18; 24:8; 98:1–3; 149:6–9; Isa. 42:10–13; Joshua 6; Judges 7). Gideon’s fear of angering God is justified and in line with the many narratives that describe God taking lethal action against people.

Overall, this episode on the threshing floor shows Gideon’s particular agrarian context and reflects the concerns of this agrarian community. While tasked with rescuing the food supply of Israel, Gideon uses the threshing floor as a space to contact Yahweh for approval to do so.

The Gideon narrative provides the only extant example of a threshing floor functioning as a private location for divine contact. The other narratives that will be discussed in this chapter describe groups of people and/or preternatural beings present on threshing floors. As it is the sole example of one individual using a threshing floor as a sacred space, an exploration into what Gideon may have been thinking in his selection of it could add further insights into this larger discussion of threshing floors. A few words from Henri Lefebvre on the topic of mental space are helpful in better understanding Gideon’s choice.

Judges 6:36–40 and Spatial Theory

In his tripartite analysis of space, Lefebvre highlights the physical, mental, and social aspects of space and notes that each is necessary and important to understanding how a space might function in a society. Lefebvre notes that understanding mental space is how one can grasp the reality of social and spatial practice. Understanding the thought process used in selecting space assists in understanding the functionality of that space. Moreover, mental space is the center of theoretical practice. In the case of Gideon, though his divination ritual theoretically could happen on any outdoor space, Gideon’s selection of a threshing floor shows an inclination toward this location as an effective space to contact the divine and to receive a divine answer. His choice suggests that culturally the threshing floor was perceived to be an auspicious location for human-divine communication. Moreover, the words that Gideon uses while on the threshing floor are particularly telling of his thoughts about the space. In requesting divine anger not to appear on the threshing floor, Gideon expresses and confirms that he thought a divine manifestation was probable because of the location. According to the author of this Gideon pericope, threshing floors were understood conceptually as more than just agricultural spaces. They were perceived as sacred spaces, and accordingly they are intentionally selected for this cultic activity.^[6]

Samuel-Kings and Chronicles Parallels

Just as Gideon goes to the threshing floor for divine approval for war, the narratives in 1 Kgs. 22:10 // 2 Chron. 18:9 depict kings doing the same.^[7] These passages are parallel, meaning the same event is found in a similar, though not necessarily identical, form in more than one account. The books of Samuel-Kings and Chronicles record versions of histories of Israel and Judah. Each of the books reveals insights about its compositional date and motivations. Samuel-Kings probably took its final form in the exilic period, while Chronicles is considered of the postexilic/early Persian period. Based on the many parallel passages, almost all scholars agree that large portions of the books of Samuel-Kings were available to the Chronicler as he recorded his history, even though he does make linguistic, textual, and theological emendations of his Vorlage.^[8]

While the books of Samuel-Kings focus on both kingdoms, the Chronicler has a particular Judean interest and perspective, so many of the accounts of Israelite kings are not included. The Chronicler is systematic in including many narratives found in Samuel-Kings but also excluding narratives that are problematic or of less concern. For example, the Chronicler is especially interested in presenting David in a positive light, so he often excludes lengthy portions of Samuel-Kings that depict David less favorably. Likewise, the Chronicler includes information not found in Samuel-Kings, including longer genealogies (1 Chronicles 1–8). Each historian has his own interest and style in creating and presenting available material and traditions, which likely accounts for the variant narratives and texts.

Scholars vary on their perceptions of the Chronicler, from devoted historian to creative writer. Gary Knoppers notes that the Chronicler is very faithful to his sources, and discrepancies between Samuel and Chronicles may be due to Samuel’s complex textual development as opposed to the Chronicler altering sources.^[9] Knoppers also characterizes Chronicles as ancient imitation (mimesis) and states that the Chronicler “self-consciously imitates and revises Deuteronomistic texts as one important means to construct his own literary work.”^[10] Steven McKenzie notes that 1 Chronicles relies heavily on Samuel as its major source, but frequently makes changes to introduce his theological ideas.^[11] Many of the Chronicler’s variants in parallel passages are supported by fragments of 4QSam^a from Qumran, so variations between the books should not be immediately disregarded and probably reflect the Vorlage of the Chronicler, which was not identical to Samuel-Kings. This is espe...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Table Of Contents
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Divine Control and Use of Threshing Floors
• Threshing Floors in Legal Contexts
• Threshing Floors as Sacred Spaces
• Temple Construction upon a Threshing Floor
• Conclusion
• Addendum: Threshing Floors as Sacred Spaces in Ugarit
• Bibliography
• Index of Names
• Index of Bible and Ancient Literature