Sift

(with a sieve)

The grain that people grew in their fields became the daily bread that sustained them. Consequently, those living in Bible times were aware of the dozens of steps required between planting field crops and turning them into food.[234] The ripened grain was carried to the threshing floor where the bond was broken between the grain kernel and the remainder of the plant by the hooves of animals and the threshing sledges they pulled. The mixture on the threshing floor was then thrown into the air by a winnowing fork or shovel so that the wind would carry the lighter by-products away while the heavier grain fell back to the floor. At this point the grain needed to be cleaned so the smaller pieces of straw, dust, and pebbles would not be ground in with the kernels and mixed into the bread dough. This final cleaning was done by sifting the grain with a sieve.

The sieve was typically a reed basket and came in two varieties: one had holes large enough to allow the grain kernel to pass through and the other had smaller holes through which the grain kernel could not pass. The grain and associated debris were first put into the sieve with larger holes and shaken from side to side as well as with a circular motion. The larger pieces of chaff as well as the pebbles would be flung to the sides of the sieve, opening the middle for the grain to tumble through the holes and back to the threshing floor. In this case the undesirable material stayed inside the sieve. “When a sieve is shaken, the refuse remains.”[235] After the first sifting, the grain that fell back to the threshing floor was still contaminated with dirt and tiny pieces of chaff, so it had to be cleaned again with the other sieve that had much smaller openings. This time the sieve was shaken up and down so that the dust and other undesirable elements would fall out the bottom of the container, leaving the desirable grain inside the sieve.[236]

Ancient sieves came in two varieties: those with small openings and those with large openings.

Though this tool and the sifting process were common components in ancient Near Eastern life, the literal sifting with a sieve is not mentioned by the biblical authors. Each of the five occurrences in the Bible of sifting is metaphorical: two associated with rainfall, two with oracles of judgment, and one with an urgent warning.

The first of the two associated with rainfall is found in the poetic verse of 2 Samuel 22:10–12.[237] David expresses his confidence in the Lord, who is capable of assisting him in every form of distress. He pictures the Lord as riding on the thunderstorm; his power is evident in the flashes of lightning, and his blessings are lavished in the rainfall. This rain falls from the sieve-like clouds that the Lord shakes; just as the grain tumbles from the bottom of the sieve with large holes, so the rain tumbles to earth. The same imagery of rainfall appears in Psalm 68:9. Although the word sieve does not appear in this verse, the Hebrew verb used in Isaiah 30:28 to describe the motion of the sieve is used here. The inspired psalmist invites us to praise the Lord who sifts out abundant showers from the clouds (NIV “gave”).

This sieve with large holes is designed to capture pieces of chaff while allowing the smaller grain kernels to fall through.

In the next set of metaphors, the prophets Isaiah and Amos use this imagery, likening the judgment of God to the violent shaking of the sieve and to the fate of the cast-off debris. But in order to correctly decode the metaphors, we need to see that two different types of sieve are mentioned. Isaiah 30:28 refers to the sieve with the smaller holes that is shaken up and down. This allows the smaller debris to fall through the openings while keeping the grain within the basket. Isaiah anticipates a day when the nations that have opposed Zion will be judged. In the imagery of the poet, the Lord “shakes the nations in the sieve of destruction.” The debris that is hiding among the valuable grain kernels is exposed as it falls from the sieve back to the threshing floor where it can meet its fate without harming the valuable grain kernels. The hostile nations will be exposed by this process and so are identified for destruction.

Amos also employs the image of sifting with a sieve, but this time the type of sieve in view is the one with the larger holes. It is shaken from side to side and in a circular motion, allowing the valuable grain to fall to the threshing floor while the debris remains in the sieve. “For I will give the command, and I will shake the house of Israel among the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, and not a pebble will reach the ground” (Amos 9:9 TNIV). The Lord will render judgment against Israel after he has shaken out the faithful. Those who remain in the sieve will stand in judgment before him, and not one “pebble” will escape.

Finally, Jesus uses the imagery of sifting when he offers the disciples in general and Peter in particular an urgent warning: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat” (Luke 22:31). This brief sentence is full of Old Testament imagery and reminds us of Satan asking to bring difficulty to the life of Job (Job 1:6–12; 2:1–6). The image of sifting recalls the judgment oracle imagery that links sifting to very difficult circumstances. In the hours ahead after Jesus is separated from them, Peter can expect to be pressed with particularly difficult challenges akin to the testing Job faced—testing that will come with the intensity of violent sifting.