Lexical Summary
goren: Threshing floor
Original Word:גֹּרֶן
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:goren
Pronunciation:GO-ren
Phonetic Spelling:(go'-ren)
KJV: (barn, corn, threshing-)floor, (threshing-, void) place
NASB:threshing floor, threshing floors
Word Origin:[from an unused root meaning to smooth]
1. a threshing- floor (as made even)
2. by analogy, any open area
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
barn, void place
From an unused root meaning to smooth; a threshing- floor (as made even); by analogy, any open area -- (barn, corn, threshing-)floor, (threshing-, void) place.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom an unused word
Definitionthreshing floor
NASB Translationthreshing floor (34), threshing floors (2).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
(compare further vulgar Arabic
stone basin, trough, mortar, etc. Dozy Lane, see Mohit
243b, 7) —
Genesis 50:10 27t. (construct e.g.
Genesis 50:10,11;
2 Samuel 6:6);
Micah 4:12; suffix
Isaiah 21:10;
Deuteronomy 15:14;
Deuteronomy 16:13; plural
1 Samuel 23:1,
Joel 2:24; construct
Hosea 9:1 — threshing-floor, (on form see Rob
BR i. 550 compare Fl NHWB
i. 437)
Genesis 50:10,11 ( )
Numbers 18:27 ()
Deuteronomy 15:14;
Deuteronomy 16:13;
Judges 6:37;
Ruth 3:2 ( )
Ruth 3:3;
Ruth 3:6;
Ruth 3:14;
2 Samuel 6:6;
2 Samuel 24:16,18,21,24;
1 Chronicles 13:9;
1 Chronicles 21:15,18,21,22,28; 2Chronicles 3:1;
Hosea 9:1 ( )
Hosea 9:2;
Micah 4:12;
Job 39:12 compare Di;
Numbers 15:20;
Numbers 18:30; of these, three may be proper name, of a location: —
Genesis 50:10,11;
2 Samuel 6:6 (compare We Dr) =
1 Chronicles 13:9; place of storing corn, etc.
1 Samuel 23:1;
2 Kings 6:27;
Joel 2:24; open place at city-gate
1 Kings 22:10 2Chronicles 18:9, where kings of Israel & Judah sat (but this peculiar & text dubious; (in Kings) ; We omits; Th Be , agreeing with preceding; yet this elsewhere in Hebrew only of animals); in simile of daughter of Babylon,
Jeremiah 51:33 (trodden smooth) compare figurative of Israel "" )
Isaiah 21:10; ....
Hosea 13:3.
, see below .
see below .
Kt see below .
Topical Lexicon
Definition and Daily LifeThe גֹּרֶן was the open, often elevated, hard-packed area where grain was threshed, winnowed, and heaped into sheaves. Because the harvest signified covenant blessing (Leviticus 26:5), the threshing floor became a natural focal point of Israel’s agricultural, economic, legal, and religious life.
Patriarchal and Early National References
•Genesis 50:10–11 records “a great and solemn lamentation at the threshing floor of Atad,” turning an agricultural site into a place of national mourning that impressed the Canaanites with Israel’s hope in resurrection.
•Numbers 18:27, 30 andDeuteronomy 15:14 legislate offerings “from the fullness of your threshing floor,” tying firstfruits to priestly support and reminding the people that every harvest is the LORD’s provision.
•Deuteronomy 25:4 protects laboring animals: “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain”. Paul later applies the principle to gospel workers (1 Timothy 5:18), showing the abiding moral import of the goren.
The Threshing Floor in the Period of the Judges
Judges 6:11 pictures Gideon secretly threshing wheat in a winepress, highlighting Israel’s oppression and God’s choice of unlikely deliverers. Gideon’s fleece later lay on the “threshing floor” (Judges 6:37), making the site a place of divine reassurance.
Ruth 3 situates the drama of redemption on Boaz’s threshing floor. “Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor” (Ruth 3:2). The scene unites purity and provision, prefiguring Christ our Kinsman-Redeemer who shelters His people under His wing.
Royal History: Judgment and Mercy
1 Samuel 23:1 notes Philistine raids on “Keilah’s threshing floors,” underscoring the strategic value of grain stores.
Uzzah’s death at “Nacon’s threshing floor” (2 Samuel 6:6–7) warns that casual irreverence toward God’s holiness, even during worshipful enterprise, brings swift judgment.
The most far-reaching event occurs in2 Samuel 24 and1 Chronicles 21: David buys “the threshing floor of Araunah [Ornan]” to erect an altar: “I insist on paying the full price” (1 Chronicles 21:24). Fire falls from heaven upon the sacrifice, and the site becomes the location for Solomon’s temple (2 Chronicles 3:1). Thus the threshing floor moves from ordinary labor to the very center of atonement and worship.
In1 Kings 22:10 two kings sit “by the threshing floor at the entrance of Samaria,” receiving prophetic warning. The juxtaposition of royal pomp and prophetic truth illustrates that material abundance cannot silence God’s Word.
Prophetic and Poetic Imagery
Prophets repeatedly harness the imagery of the goren:
•Hosea 9:1 warns, “You have been unfaithful… you love the wages on every threshing floor.” Prosperity had bred spiritual adultery.
•Joel 2:24 promises restoration: “The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.”
•Micah 4:12 pictures nations gathered “like sheaves to the threshing floor,” an eschatological harvest of judgment and salvation.
•Jeremiah 51:33 announces Babylon’s doom: “Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time it is trampled; in a little while her harvest time will come.”
Psalms and Proverbs echo the same themes of provision (Psalm 65:13) and righteous reward (Proverbs 3:9–10, alluding to barns and threshing floors).
Festal and Cultic Connections
The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated “after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and winepress” (Deuteronomy 16:13–15). The festival linked Israel’s wilderness past, present harvest joy, and future Messianic hope, all against the background of the goren.
Grain offerings (Numbers 15:20) were brought “from the first of your dough,” a direct product of threshing. Thus the floor stood at the headwaters of Israel’s sacrificial system.
New Testament Echoes
Though the Greek term differs, New Testament writers assume the threshing-floor motif:
• John the Baptist speaks of the Messiah “whose winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor” (Matthew 3:12). The image of separation between wheat and chaff applies the Old Testament goren to final judgment.
•Hebrews 12:26–28 contrasts a kingdom that cannot be shaken with everything sifted out, employing harvest language rooted in the same agricultural reality.
Theological Themes
1. Holiness: Uzzah’s fate and the temple site remind worshipers that access to God requires reverence and substitutionary sacrifice.
2. Providence: Each appearance underscores God’s faithful supply, whether in famine (Ruth), war (Judges), or exile (Joel).
3. Sovereignty over Nations: Prophets use the threshing floor to depict global judgment, affirming God’s control of history.
4. Redemption: Boaz’s marriage covenant on a threshing floor typifies Christ’s redemptive embrace, turning a workplace into a sanctuary.
Practical Ministry Applications
• Stewardship: Like Israel, believers should honor God “from the first of your threshing floor,” giving the best, not the leftovers.
• Integrity in Work: The open, sunlit goren symbolizes transparency; Christian labor is to be conducted in honesty before God.
• Care for Workers:Deuteronomy 25:4, echoed in1 Timothy 5:18, calls churches to support those who minister the Word.
• Revival Hope: Joel’s promise to fill the floors with grain encourages prayer for spiritual renewal after seasons of loss.
• Evangelism and Discipleship: The winnowing motif urges sober proclamation of the gospel, knowing that Christ will gather wheat into His barn and burn chaff with unquenchable fire.
Summary
From Jacob’s funeral procession to Babylon’s downfall, from Boaz’s quiet kindness to David’s costly sacrifice, the threshing floor threads through Scripture as a place where God meets His people in judgment, provision, and redemption. It points forward to the ultimate harvest when the Lord of the harvest will gather His own into eternal rest.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּגֹ֔רֶן בְּגֹ֖רֶן בְּגֹ֙רֶן֙ בַּגֹּ֑רֶן בגרן גָּרְנ֥וֹת גָּרְנִ֑י גֹּ֔רֶן גֹּ֖רֶן גֹּ֣רֶן גֹּ֥רֶן גֹּֽרְנָה׃ גרן גרנה׃ גרנות גרני הַגֳּרָנ֖וֹת הַגֳּרָנֽוֹת׃ הַגֹּ֑רֶן הַגֹּ֔רֶן הַגֹּ֖רֶן הַגֹּ֗רֶן הַגֹּ֙רֶן֙ הַגֹּֽרֶן׃ הגרן הגרן׃ הגרנות הגרנות׃ וְֽגָרְנְךָ֥ וּגְרֹונֵ֖ךְ וּמִֽגָּרְנְךָ֖ וגרונך וגרנך ומגרנך כְּגֹ֖רֶן כגרן מִֽגָּרְנְךָ֖ מִגֹּ֔רֶן מגרן מגרנך bag·gō·ren bagGoren baggōren bə·ḡō·ren beGoren bəḡōren gā·rə·nî gā·rə·nō·wṯ gareNi gārənî gareNot gārənōwṯ gō·rə·nāh gō·ren Goren gōren Gorenah gōrənāh hag·go·rā·nō·wṯ hag·gō·ren haggoraNot haggorānōwṯ hagGoren haggōren kə·ḡō·ren keGoren kəḡōren mig·gā·rə·nə·ḵā mig·gō·ren miggareneCha miggārənəḵā migGoren miggōren ū·ḡə·rō·w·nêḵ ū·mig·gā·rə·nə·ḵā ugeroNech ūḡərōwnêḵ umiggareneCha ūmiggārənəḵā vegareneCha wə·ḡā·rə·nə·ḵā wəḡārənəḵā
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