The Threshing usually took place in the fields. a custom made possible by the rainless Aveather of harvest. The Threshing-floop (pS) consisted of a round open .space, probably of a permanent character, and ])referably on an eminence where it was exposed to the free sweep of air currents. For bringing in the sheaves, carts were employed in old times (Am 2"). Threshing was performed in various ways. Small quantities of produce, also pulse-crops and cummin, were beaten out witli a stick (Ku 2"). In dealing with large quantities of grain, the sheaves were spread out over tlie
by stones and oy the driver, not only shelled out the com, but lacerated the straw (Is 41'', Job 41*').
TIIRESllINO-WAaOON.
The other kind of luachine was the threshing- waggon, ri'^yj^ (Is 2S'^' ^), now seldom seen in Pal. , but
AGRIPPA
AHAB
51
Btill common in Egypt. It consisted of a low-built, four-cornered waggon frame, inside which were attached two or three parallel revolving cylinders or rollers. Each of the rollers was armed with three or four sharpened iron discs. There was a Beat for the driver, and it was drawn by oxen yoked to a pole.
After the threshing came the work of Winnowing (Job 21"', Ps 35"). The mixture left by the previou.s operation, consisting of corn, chall", and broken straw, was turned about and shaken with a wooden fork (Is 3U''), and advantage was taken of the winds to separate the grain from the lighter material. This often necessitated night work, aa the winds usually blew from late in the afternoon till before sunrise.
lOM, FAK, AN'D TOK&
At the later stage of the winnowing process the fork was less needed than the fan ("ni^j, a kind of shovel ; or the grain might be scooped up, as shown in some Egyp. representations, by two pieces of wood. The chaff, after being separated, was burned (Mt 3"), or left to be scattered by the winds (Ps P). From the heavier impurities the corn waa cleansed by sieves (■tjjj) — an operation specially necessary in view of the mode of threshing, after which it was collected into large heaps. To prevent thieving, the owner might sleep by the threshing-lloor (Ru 3') until the removal of the grain, on waggons or otherwise, to the barns or granaries (Lk 12"). It was often stored in pits (.Jer 41'), the openings of which were carefully covered up to protect them from robbers ami vermin. The straw remaining from the threshing was used for cattle fodder (Is (>5»).
LrntRATURB. — On the (general BTihJect : Benzlnper, H^hrfiifrhe ATcliirulniie ; Stole. l,.».-A. d. I'lilkn Ikt. IVI. i. liuch vii.; LawluirUueh, Jahrhwhrr; .N'owiick, Ltlirbuch iler Archifdliniif ; Thoineon, Land awl Ilnuk ; Fi-Ilows, Aria Minor; Zntuchr^ft det Drutlchen Palitnlitia-VerHmi, IM. Ix., ' Ackerltau uihI Thlerzucht"; Indexed Quart. Statrm^ntt and other putih, of the Pal. Exjdor. Soc. On Ek>T). Agriculture : WilkiuHon, ilannerf and CttsUnng of the Ancient Kijyjitians (2nd Series). On the PloiiRh : Schumftf^her, ' I)er arnbiHche I'fluif.' in Brl. xii. of at)nve.nained /.eHiichrift. On the ThreMliJn;:-tiuu;hine : VVet?,itfin, 'Die syr. Ureschtalel,' In BmIUh'i ZeUich.J. Ethnoloaie (187^), Witt.
J. W. Patebson. AGRIPPA.— See Herod.
AGUE.— See Mkdicink.
AGUR (■•JK ; LXX pnraphrasen arbitrarily; Vnlg. congrerjins). — Menlioiud only in Pr 3U'. The name of an otherwise unknown lleb. sage, son of Jakeh. The word ha.s been understood from very early times aa a pseudonym, used symboli- cally. So .lerome, following tho Kabliis of liis time. In this case it miglit be interjiretcd as akin to the Syriuc (5f7«ro = ' hireling' (of wi.sdom), or derived from Ueb. -uk, and understood as 'col-
lector' (of proverbs). Cf. form e'v," in Ps 91', Pr 6°. The descrii)tion of Agur in Pr 30' is not easy to understand. With the Ma.ssoretic point- ing, the verse may be literally rendered, 'The words of Agur, son of Jakeh, the prophecy : the oracle of the man to Ithiel, to Ithiel and Ucal.' This sounds impossible. The conjunction of the words massa ( = prophecy) and ni'um ( = oracle) is unprecedented ; the use of the article with massn is iiie.xplicable ; and the words which follow have no prophetic character. Consequently Massa has been understood as the name of a country (so Del. ; and see RVm Jakeh of Massa) ; ci. Gn 25". Similarly, Lemuel would be understood to be king of Massa, Pr 31'. Cliejne (Jub and Solomon) and Strack (Kurzgef. Komm.) render massa as 'prophecy.' Both the country and the age of this unknown philosopher are imrely con- jectural. He may have been one of tlie ' men of Hezekiah,' Pr 25\ His name is probably to be associated, as compiler rather than author, with the gnomic utterances in Pr 30^-31' ; 31'"-" forming a separate section. The chief mono- graph on the subject is Mtihlau, De Prov. Aguri et Lem. originc (Istitt), and a full discussion of the subject IB to be found in Delitzsch's Comm. in loco. W. T. Davison.
AH, AHA. — 1. 'Ah' is nsed to express grief (esp. in face of coming doom), except in Ps 3.5^ 'Ah (IIV 'Aha'), so would we have it,' where it e.\pres.ses the exultation of an enemy, and Mk 15-^ 'Ah (KV 'Ha!'), thou that destroycst the temple,' where it expresses mocking. The RV h.as introduced 'Ah!' into Lk 4" for 'Let us alone' of AV (Gr. "Ea, which may be either the imperat. of the verb idw to let alone or an inde- pendent interjection, formeil from the sound). -Aha (a combination of a, the oldest form of 'ah,' and hn) expresses malicious satisfaction, except in Is 44", where it denotes intense satisfaction, but without malice, ' Aha, I am warm ; I feel the lire.' J. Hastings.