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ἅλων

hálōn

G257 noun

SILEX Entry

Root ἁλων- threshing, separating grain from chaff, processing grain

Definition

A threshing floor; an open, typically circular, level area (often paved or beaten hard), used for the process of threshing grain by separating the grain from the chaff. The term fundamentally refers to the location or surface where threshing occurs, but, by extension in some contexts, may denote the pile of newly threshed grain or even, rarely, the act or process of threshing itself.

Semantic Range

threshing floor, area for threshing, place of agricultural processing, (rare) newly threshed grain

Root / Etymology

Probably related to the base of εἱλίσσω (to roll or turn), alluding to the circular motion or the layout of the threshing floor. Some scholars connect it to an older, perhaps pre-Greek, agricultural term, but the precise origin is uncertain.

Historical & Contextual Notes

ἅλων is primarily attested in classical, Hellenistic, and Koine Greek referring to the physical threshing floor, an essential feature of agricultural life in ancient Greece and the eastern Mediterranean. In the Septuagint, it often translates Hebrew גֹּרֶן, retaining the concrete sense of a place where grain is threshed. In the New Testament (e.g., Matt 3:12; Luke 3:17), ἅλων occurs in contexts drawing on agricultural metaphors for separation, judgment, or purifying processes, preserving the original sense of a place for threshing. English translations commonly render it as 'threshing floor,' which accurately captures the typical referent, though rare figurative uses may go untranslated or be rendered contextually. There is little evidence for ἅλων referring specifically to grain or chaff, despite some older glosses including these senses. The term is to be distinguished from related agricultural vocabulary such as ἄλως (for threshing instrument), and does not refer to storing grain or a barn. The imagery may carry metaphorical significance in moral or eschatological contexts but the word itself retains its primary, concrete reference throughout.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

probably from the base of εἱλίσσω; a threshing-floor (as rolled hard), i.e. (figuratively) the grain (and chaff, as just threshed):--floor.

Root Family

ἅλων (halōn) — threshing, grain separation, agricultural processing

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
G257-01 ἅλωνα alona N ACC F SG threshing-floor threshing floor 2

Occurrences in Scripture

2 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
G257-01 Matthew 3:12 ἅλωνα alona N ACC F SG threshing floor
G257-01 Luke 3:17 ἅλωνα alona N ACC F SG threshing-floor threshing floor
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