H4671 H4671
Chaff — the light husks of threshed grain, used figuratively for what is worthless and swept away by wind
A masculine noun for chaff, the dry husks and broken straw separated from grain during threshing. In every biblical occurrence it appears in a simile introduced by the preposition כְּ ('like'), always driven by wind, painting a vivid picture of the impermanent and worthless. The wicked are 'like chaff that the wind drives away' (Ps 1:4), hostile nations scatter 'like chaff on the mountains' before God's rebuke (Isa 17:13), and an entire day can pass 'like chaff' (Zeph 2:2). The image is one of the Bible's most memorable metaphors for divine judgment sweeping away the ungodly.
Senses
1. like chaff — Chaff — the lightweight residue of threshing, invariably used in similes (always with כְּ, 'like') to depict what is insubstantial and easily blown away by wind. Applied to the wicked (Ps 1:4; 35:5; Job 21:18), to hostile nations scattered before God (Isa 17:13; 29:5), to Judah's crushing power over enemies (Isa 41:15), and to the fleeting passage of time (Hos 13:3; Zeph 2:2). The multilingual evidence reinforces the agricultural imagery: Spanish 'tamo,' French 'balle,' and German 'Spreu' all denote the specific threshing byproduct rather than a generic 'refuse,' confirming the concrete botanical sense underlying the metaphor. 8×
AR["كَ-العُصافَةِ", "كَ-العُصَافَةِ", "كَالتِبنِ", "كَالتِّبْنِ", "كَالعُصَافَةِ", "كَـ-العُصَافَةِ", "وَ-كَ-عُصَافَةٍ", "وَ-كَـ-العُصَافَةِ"]·ben["-তুষের-মতো", "এবং-তুষের-মতো", "ও-যেমন-তুষ", "তুষের-মতো", "যেমন-তুষ"]·DE["[וכמץ]", "[כמץ]", "wie-Spreu", "wie-der-Spreu"]·EN["and-like-chaff", "like-chaff", "like-chaff-of", "like-the-chaff", "passing", "you-shall-make"]·FR["[וכמץ]", "[כמץ]", "balle", "comme-balle", "et-וכמץ"]·heb["ו-כ-מוץ", "כ-ה-מוץ", "כ-מוץ"]·HI["और-जैसे-भूसा", "और-भूसी-की-तरह", "जैसे-भूसा", "जैसे-भूसी", "भूसी-की-तरह", "भूसे-के-समान"]·ID["dan-seperti-sekam", "seperti-sekam"]·IT["[כמץ]", "e-come-e-like-chaff", "e-pula", "pula"]·jav["kados-klaras", "kados-merang", "kados-sekam", "kados-uwuh", "lan-kados-sekam"]·KO["같으니라-겨에", "같이-겨", "겨-같이", "그리고-같이-겨", "그리고-쫓겨기-같이"]·PT["como-a-palha", "como-palha", "e-como-palha", "e-como-pragana"]·RU["и-как-мякина", "как-мякина", "как-мякину"]·ES["como-el-tamo", "como-tamo", "como-tamo-de", "y-como-tamo"]·SW["ambayo", "kama-makapi", "na-kama-makapi"]·TR["saman-gibi", "saman-çöpü-gibi", "ve-saman-gibi", "ve-saman-çöpü-gibi"]·urd["-بھوسے-کی-مانند", "اور-بھوسی-کی-طرح", "اور-بھوسے-کی-طرح", "بھوسے-کی-طرح"]
Related Senses
H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H3293a 1. forest, wood, thicket (55×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2232 1. sow seed, plant crops (41×)H1715 1. grain, cereal crop (40×)H7114b 1. reap, harvest grain (36×)H2132 1. olive tree (34×)H8184 1. barley (34×)H2406 1. wheat (grain crop) (30×)H7070 1. reed, cane (plant) (30×)H7848 1. acacia (28×)H8328 1. root of a plant (28×)H8384 1. fig tree (25×)H5488 1. reeds, rushes (in 'Sea of Reeds') (24×)G0290 1. a vineyard (23×)G2325 1. reap, harvest a crop (21×)G4687 1. sow seed, plant (21×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [מוֹץ], מֹץ n.m. Is 29:5 chaff (Talm. 𝔗 מוֹצָא, Arabic مَوْصٌ straw);—מ׳ abs. Ho 13:3 + 6 times; cstr. Is 17:13;—chaff, always as driven by wind, and always c. כְּ, in sim.; of wicked Jb 21:18 (‖ תֶּבֶן לִפְנֵי רוּחַ), cf. ψ 1:4; 35:5 Ho 13:3; of hostile nations Is 17:13 (מ׳ הָרִים), 29:5 (‖ אָבָק דַּךְ); hyperb. of Judah’s power, גְּבָעוֹת כַּמֹּץ תָּשִׂים Is 41:15 (‖ תָּדוּשׁ הָרִים וְתָדֹק); of passing time, יוֹם Zp 2:2.