The Threshing Floor in Ruth

Michael Kinch

I am working on a course on Ruth by Daniel Block (OT319).  I am curious about the wind at the threshing floor.  In the NAC commentary Daniel Block states "Boaz chose to do his winnowing at night, presumably because the night breezes were more desirable than the gusty winds of the daytime."

However the New Manners and Customs states "The evening was selected not only because it was cooler than the day, but because the increase of wind at night enabled the husbandmen to winnow more thoroughly."

How can I find more information that will confirm whether the evening winds were stronger or less intense than the daytime winds?

Thank you for your help.

DMB

How can I find more information that will confirm whether the evening winds were stronger or less intense than the daytime winds?

Not answering your book request. But air movement is location specific. For example, if Boaz winnowed here, he'd have a constant mess during the day, due to random blustering, not normal wind speed. And in the evening the air blows north, while in the morning, it blows south (due to temperature inversions that occur in valleys), so Boaz would need to plan ahead.

If you look at nearby cultures,'threshing floors' have multiple social uses, not just seasonal threshing. And like springs and sheep, there's competition during various times of day.

So, Mr Block's weather forecasting is speculative. You might consider your Bible atlas, concerning temperature variation during end-of-season harvest in southeastern Palestine.