מוֹרַג
mo.rag
threshing sled
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# מוֹרַג (morag): The Threshing Sled The Hebrew word *morag* designates a threshing sled—a specialized agricultural tool used in ancient grain processing. Based on its classification and definition, this device was part of the essential equipment for separating grain from chaff, a fundamental step in food preparation for ancient communities. The word's specific designation as a "sled" suggests a flat, dragging implement rather than a stationary tool, designed to be pulled across harvested grain to break it apart. The word appears only three times in the biblical text, which indicates it was a specialized term with limited but meaningful usage. This rarity suggests that while threshing was a common agricultural activity, the specific terminology for this particular tool was not frequently invoked in biblical literature. The limited occurrences may reflect either that *morag* was one of several terms for threshing equipment, or that biblical writers generally did not focus extensively on the mechanical details of grain processing compared to other agricultural or religious concerns. Understanding *morag* illuminates the material culture of ancient Levantine agriculture and the vocabulary associated with everyday subsistence practices. Even though the word appears infrequently, it provides concrete evidence that biblical communities had developed specialized implements for efficient grain harvesting and processing—knowledge essential to survival and prosperity in an agricultural society.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
3 total occurrences across the text
Behold, I have made you into a new sharp threshing instrument with teeth. You will thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and will make the hills like chaff.
2 Samuel 24:22Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Behold, the cattle for the burnt offering, and the threshing instruments and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.
1 Chronicles 21:23Ornan said to David, “Take it for yourself, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes. Behold, I give the oxen for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meal offering. I give it all.”