Harrow

Harrow in the Old Testament translates the Hebrew harits, which describes a sharp threshing sledge — a heavy wooden frame fitted with sharp stones or iron teeth on its underside, dragged over harvested grain to thresh it and cut the stalks. The implement is mentioned in 2 Samuel 12:31 and 1 Chronicles 20:3 in the description of David's treatment of the Ammonites after the siege of Rabbah, where the text states he put the population under or over saws, harrows of iron, and axes. This passage is debated: some translations and commentators read it as forced labor rather than execution.

Job 39:10 uses the term in questioning whether a human being can bind or harrow the valley with a wild ox, illustrating the animal's uncontrollable strength. Isaiah 28:24 refers to the farmer who "harreth" (breaks up) the ground for sowing. The implement's function of breaking and cutting made it a natural figure for destructive judgment, while its agricultural use in preparing the soil for seed was also available as a metaphor for redemptive preparation.