Farmer

Most Israelites lived from the land, and the farmer and his family did most of the work. New fields had to be cleared of trees, stones and thorns, and hillsides were terraced. A pair of oxen pulled a simple wooden plow that broke only 10–13 cm (4–5 inches) of soil; once iron came into use the tip was shod with it, and Israelites once had to take their plowshares to the Philistines to be sharpened (1 Samuel 13:20). The plowman drove the oxen with a pointed goad. Seed was sown by hand at the start of the autumn rains.

Harvest began as the rains ended: barley first, in April–May, then wheat in May–June. The grain was cut with sickles, tied in sheaves and carried to the threshing floor, an open patch on high ground. There oxen trampled the stalks or pulled a heavy sledge over them; then the farmer tossed it all into the air with a fork, and the wind blew the chaff away while the grain fell at his feet. Small amounts were beaten out with a stick, as Ruth did with her barley. The poor were allowed to glean what the reapers left (Ruth 2).