### Core Meaning & Semantic Range
The Greek word **hálōn**, represented by `{{G257}}`, refers to a **threshing-floor**. It appears **2 times** across **2 unique verses** in the Bible. While its literal meaning is a hard, rolled surface for processing grain, it is used figuratively to represent a place of separation and the resulting grain and chaff.
### Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis
Both occurrences of `{{G257}}` are found in parallel accounts of John the Baptist's proclamation. He describes a coming figure whose "fan is in his hand," and who "will throughly purge his **floor**" ([[Matthew 3:12]], [[Luke 3:17]]). In this context, the **floor** is the setting for a decisive act of separation. The process involves gathering the valuable **wheat** `{{G4621}}` into a **garner** `{{G596}}` while the worthless **chaff** `{{G892}}` is burned with unquenchable **fire** `{{G4442}}`.
### Related Words & Concepts
Several related words help build the agricultural metaphor surrounding the threshing-floor:
* `{{G4425}}` **ptýon** (a winnowing-fork (as scattering like spittle):--fan): This is the instrument used on the **floor** to separate grain from chaff. It is mentioned as being "in his hand," signifying readiness and authority ([[Matthew 3:12]], [[Luke 3:17]]).
* `{{G4621}}` **sîtos** (grain, especially wheat:--corn, wheat): This represents the valuable part of the harvest that is carefully collected from the floor and preserved in a garner ([[Matthew 3:12]], [[Luke 3:17]]).
* `{{G892}}` **áchyron** (perhaps remotely from (to shed forth); chaff (as diffusive):--chaff): This is the waste material separated from the wheat on the floor. It is destined not for storage but for complete destruction by fire ([[Matthew 3:12]], [[Luke 3:17]]).
### Theological Significance
The theological weight of `{{G257}}` is centered on the theme of divine judgment.
* **A Place of Final Separation:** The threshing-floor serves as a powerful symbol for the moment of judgment, where humanity will be definitively sorted.
* **The Two Destinies:** The activity on the **floor** illustrates two distinct outcomes. The wheat is gathered `{{G4863}}` for preservation, representing the saved, while the chaff is burned up `{{G2618}}`, representing the fate of the unrighteous.
* **The Divine Judge:** The one who purges the floor is the agent of this judgment, separating the valuable from the worthless with absolute authority.
### Summary
In summary, `{{G257}}` is not merely an agricultural term but a potent symbol of eschatological judgment. Its use in the Gospels paints a vivid picture of a final, decisive separation. The image of the threshing-floor, though mentioned only twice, provides a foundational metaphor for understanding the ultimate division between the righteous and the unrighteous.
TRV