en_tw/bible/other/winnow/01.md

winnow, sift

Definition

The terms "winnow" and "sift" mean to separate food grain from unwanted materials. In the Bible, both words are also used in a figurative sense to refer to separating or dividing people.

• To winnow means to separate grain from the unwanted chaff by tossing both the grain and chaff into the air, allowing the wind to blow the chaff away.
• The word "sift" refers to shaking the winnowed grain in a sieve to separate any remaining unwanted materials, such as dirt or stones, from the grain.
• In the Old Testament, "winnow" and "sift" are used figuratively to describe hardship that separates the righteous people from the unrighteous people.
• One time Jesus also used the term "sift" in this figurative way when he was telling Simon Peter about how he and the other disciples would be tested in their faith.