Pruning shears are specifically mentioned in the Bible with reference to pruning the vine. (Isa. 18:5) Since the Scriptures refer to converting spears into pruning shears and, by contrast, pruning shears into lances, this tool perhaps consisted of a sharp knifelike blade fastened to a handle and may have been similar to a sickle.—Isa. 2:4; Joel 3:10.

Sickles were used mainly for reaping standing grain, though the Bible also speaks of thrusting in the sickle to harvest the vine. (Joel 3:13; Rev. 14:18) The sickles that have been found in Palestine are slightly curved. Some specimens consist of notched flint chips that were pieced together and set with bitumen into a frame of either wood or bone. Iron sickle blades have also been found, and these were fastened to a handle by means of rivets, a tang or a socket.

The threshing sledge was designed to separate the kernels from the ears of grain. The implement used in ancient times likely resembled the two types still employed in some parts of the Bible lands today. One consists of wooden planks joined together and bent back at the front. Its underside is equipped with sharp stones or knives. (Compare 1 Chronicles 21:23; Job 41:30; Isaiah 41:15.) The driver stands on the sledge to weight it down. The other type has a seat for the driver and consists of a low-built four-cornered wagon frame. Two or three parallel revolving rollers equipped with iron strips are fitted into this frame.—Compare Isaiah 28:27, 28.

Winnowing shovels, probably made of wood, were used for tossing threshed grain into the air so that the wind would blow the straw and chaff away.—Matt. 3:12.

FAST

Rightly motivated fasts were to show godly sorrow and repentance concerning past sins. (1 Sam. 7:6; Joel 2:12-15; Jonah 3:5) They were also fitting in the face of great danger, when in sore need of divine guidance, while enduring tests and meeting temptations, or when studying, meditating, or concentrating on God’s purposes. (2 Chron. 20:3; Ezra 8:21; Esther 4:3, 16; Matt. 4:1, 2) Jesus fasted forty days, as did Moses and Elijah, both of whom appeared in a visionary way with Jesus at his transfiguration.—Matt. 17:1-9; Ex. 34:28; Deut. 9:9; 1 Ki. 19:7, 8.

The Mosaic law does not use the term “fast,” but in connection with the Day of Atonement it does command, “You must afflict your souls.” (Lev. 16:29-31; 23:27; Num. 29:7) This is generally understood to mean fasting, and this view is supported by Isaiah 58:3, 5 and Psalm 35:13.

Isaiah chapter 58 deals with a time when the sins of the Jews were heavy, yet they did not sincerely repent, though they made a pretense of worshiping Jehovah, giving him lip service and performing religious acts or practices for show. Fasting was one such practice, and they thought it should gain them divine notice and favor. This failing, they asked in apparent bewilderment: “For what reason did we fast and you did not see, and did we afflict our soul and you would take no note?” Jehovah told them why. Even during the fast, while asking for his righteous judgments and acting as if they carried on righteousness itself, they were pursuing their own pleasure and business, indulging in strife, oppression and violence, and showing none of the godly sorrow and repentance associated with sincere fasts. Their fast was not such as to make their voice heard in heaven, though their showy wailings were noisy indeed. Jehovah denounced the hypocritical act they put on: “Should the fast that I choose become like this, as a day for earthling man to afflict his soul? For bowing down his head just like a rush, and that he should spread out mere sackcloth and ashes as his couch? Is it this that you call a fast and a day acceptable to Jehovah?”—Isa. 58:1-5.

To be acceptable the fast must be accompanied by a correction of past sins. Through his prophet Isaiah, Jehovah made known what he considered to be a real fast, saying: “Is not this the fast that I choose? To loosen the fetters of wickedness, to release the bands of the yoke bar, and to send away the crushed ones free, and that you people should tear in two every yoke bar? Is it not the dividing of your bread out to the hungry one, and that you should bring the afflicted, homeless people into your house? That, in case you should see someone naked, you must cover him, and that you should not hide yourself from your own flesh?”—Isa. 58:6, 7.

FOUR ANNUAL FASTS OF THE JEWS

The Jews established many fasts, and at one time had four annual ones, evidently to mark the calamitous events associated with Jerusalem’s siege and desolation in the seventh century B.C.E. (Zech. 8:19) The four annual fasts were: (1) The “fast of the fourth month” apparently commemorated the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls by the Babylonians on Tammuz 9, 607 B.C.E. (2 Ki. 25:2-4; Jer. 52:5-7) (2) It was in the fifth Jewish month Ab that the temple was destroyed, and evidently the “fast of the fifth month” was held as a reminder of this event. (2 Ki. 25:8, 9; Jer. 52:12, 13) (3) The “fast of the seventh month” was apparently held as a sad remembrance of Gedaliah’s death or of the complete desolation of the land following Gedaliah’s assassination when the remaining Jews, out of fear of the Babylonians, went down into Egypt. (2 Ki. 25:22-26) (4) The “fast of the tenth month” may have been associated with the captive Jews already in Babylon receiving the sad news that Jerusalem had fallen (compare Ezekiel 33:21), or it may have commemorated the commencement of Nebuchadnezzar’s successful siege against Jerusalem on the tenth day of Tebeth (the postexilic name of the tenth Jewish lunar month of the sacred calendar), 609 B.C.E.—2 Ki. 25:1; Jer. 39:1; 52:4.

When certain Jews asked: “Shall I weep in the fifth month, practicing an abstinence, the way I have done these O how many years?” by means of Zechariah Jehovah answered: “When you fasted . . . for seventy years, did you really fast to me, even me?” God showed that a real fast to him would have been accompanied by obedience and that what he required was truthfulness, judgment, peace and a sincere heart. Then, instead of mournful fasts, looking back into the past, they would be able to exult and rejoice in festal seasons with the blessings of restoration of true worship and ingathering of others to Jehovah’s service.—Zech. 7:3-7; 8:16, 19, 23.

CHRISTIAN COUNSEL ON FASTING

When Jesus was on earth he gave instruction to his disciples: “When you are fasting, stop becoming sad-faced like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, They are having their reward in full. But you, when fasting, grease your head and wash your face, that you may appear to be fasting, not to men, but to your Father who is in secrecy; then your Father who is looking on in secrecy will repay you.” (Matt. 6:16-18) He alluded here to the insincere fasting of the Pharisees, which he mentioned in an illustration on another occasion. (Luke 18:9-14) It was customary for the Pharisees to fast twice a week, on the second and fifth days of the week.—Luke 18:12.

Mere abstaining from food in a formalistic manner Paul describes as subjecting oneself to decrees, “Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch,” and says that “those very things are, indeed, possessed of an appearance of wisdom in a self-imposed form of worship and mock humility, a severe treatment of the body; but they are of no value in combating the satisfying of the flesh.”—Col. 2:20-23.

Fasting has been enjoined on their members by some religious sects of Christendom, but the Bible itself gives no command to Christians to fast. When Jesus was talking to his disciples about fasting, as above (Matt. 6:16-18), he and his disciples were still under the Mosaic law and observed the Day of Atonement and its fast.

The text about fasting at Matthew 17:21, appearing in the Authorized Version, is not contained in some of the most important ancient manuscripts. Likewise, although the Authorized Version mentions fasting at Mark 9:29, Acts 10:30, 1 Corinthians 7:5 and 2 Corinthians 6:5, according to such manuscripts these texts do not contain any references to fasting.

Some have taken Matthew 9:15 as a command for Christians to fast. In reality, Jesus was merely making a statement of what was going to happen when he died. While Jesus was with his disciples on earth, it was not appropriate for them to fast. When he died, they did mourn and fast. But they had no cause for mournful fasting after his resurrection and especially after the marvelous outpouring of holy spirit. (Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35) Certainly Christians were not under obligation to fast on the anniversary of the Lord’s death, for the apostle Paul, correcting abuses that had crept into the annual observance of the Lord’s Evening Meal, said: “Certainly you do have houses for eating and drinking, do you not? . . . Consequently, my brothers, when you come together to eat it [the Lord’s Evening Meal], wait for one another. If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, that you may not come together for judgment.”—1 Cor. 11:22, 33, 34.

While not fasting as a religious requirement, the early Christians did fast on special occasions. When Barnabas and Paul were sent on a special missionary assignment into Asia Minor, there were both fasting and praying. Also, there was the offering of prayer “with fastings” when older men were appointed to office in a new congregation. (Acts 13:2, 3; 14:23) Hence, Christians are neither under command to fast nor prohibited from doing so.—Rom. 14:5, 6.

FAT

The English word fat is used to translate various Hebrew words that describe, not only the substance called “fat,” but also that which is full-fleshed and plump. These terms may also be used in a figurative sense as expressing that which is rich or fertile (just as in the English expression “fat of the land”), or to convey the idea of insensibility or dullness of mind and heart.

Hheʹlev is ordinarily used to refer to the substance “fat,” either of animals (Lev. 3:3) or of men (Judg. 3:22). The “suet” or hard fat about the kidneys or loins in the burnt offerings is also expressed by another word, peʹdher. (Lev. 1:8, 12; 8:20) Hheʹlev first appears at Genesis 4:4 in connection with Abel’s sacrifice to Jehovah of “fatty pieces” from the firstlings of his flock. Most references to hheʹlev thereafter simply relate to sacrificing. However, the root from which hheʹlev is drawn seems to carry the idea of smoothness and slipperiness and the word is also used metaphorically for the best or richest part of anything. For instance, at Genesis 45:18, Pharaoh tells Joseph that his family is welcome to eat the “fat part of the land.” Thus, too, Numbers 18:12 reads: “All the best [hheʹlev] of the oil and all the best [hheʹlev] of the new wine and the grain . . . I have given them to you.”—See Psalm 81:16; 147:14.

THE LAW REGARDING FAT

In the third chapter of Leviticus, Jehovah gave the Israelites instructions concerning the use of fat in communion sacrifices. When offering cattle or goats they were to make the fat around the loins and intestines and that over the kidneys smoke upon the altar. In the case of sheep, the entire fatty tail likewise was to be offered. (The sheep of Syria, Palestine, Arabia and Egypt have fat tails, often weighing ten pounds [4.5 kilograms] or more.) The Law specifically said, “All the fat belongs to Jehovah . . . You must not eat any fat or any blood at all.”—Lev. 3:3-17.

Fat would burn fiercely and would be quite thoroughly consumed upon the altar. Any fat offered on the altar was not to be left over until the next morning; it was likely to corrupt and become offensive, something very unseemly for any part of the sacred offerings.—Ex. 23:18.

Not incumbent on Christians

After the flood, when permission was given to Noah and his family to add flesh to their diet, nothing was stated regarding fat. (Gen. 9:3, 4) However, the eating of blood was prohibited. This was more than eight hundred and fifty years before the Law covenant, with its prohibitions against the eating of both blood and fat, was made with Israel. In the first century C.E. the governing body of the Christian congregation confirmed the prohibition against blood as remaining in force for Christians. (Acts 15:20, 28, 29) As in the case with Noah and his family, however, nothing was stated concerning the eating of fat by Christians. Thus, the law against eating fat was given only to the nation of Israel.

Reason for the law

Under the Law covenant, both the blood and fat were looked upon as exclusively Jehovah’s. The blood contains the life, which only Jehovah can give; therefore it belongs to him. (Lev. 17:11, 14) The fat was viewed as the richest part of the flesh of the animal. The offering of the fat of the animal would evidently be in recognition of the fact that the “first” or the best parts belong to Jehovah, who provides abundantly, and would demonstrate the desire of the worshiper to offer the best to God. Because it was symbolic of the Israelites’ devotion of their best to Jehovah, it was said to smoke upon the altar as “food” and for “a restful odor” to him. (Lev. 3:11, 16) To eat fat, therefore, was an illegal appropriation of what was sanctified to God, an invasion of the rights of Jehovah. Eating fat would incur the death penalty. Unlike blood, however, fat could be used for other purposes, at least in the case of an animal that died of itself or was killed by another beast.—Lev. 7:23-25.

Extent of the law’s application

Because of this latter text, many commentators have sought to limit the prohibition of Leviticus 3:17 only to the fat of those kinds of animals that were acceptable for offering in sacrifice, such as bulls, sheep and goats. Rabbinical Jewish teaching is divided on this subject. However, the injunction on fat at Leviticus 3:17 is linked with the one regarding the eating of blood, a law that clearly included the blood of all animals. (Compare Leviticus 17:13; Deuteronomy 12:15, 16.) It seems more consistent, therefore, that the law on fat should also have embraced the fat of all animals, including those killed for the Israelites’ common use.

The view that the prohibition applied to all fat is not controverted by the text at Deuteronomy 32:14, which speaks of Jehovah as giving Israel “fat of rams” to eat. This is a figurative expression referring to the best of the flock, or, as The Jerusalem Bible renders the phrase, “rich food of the pastures.” (See also Darby [ftn.] and Knox.) This poetic sense is indicated by later portions of the same verse referring to “the kidney fat of wheat” and the “blood of the grape.” So, too, with Nehemiah 8:10, where the people are commanded to “Go, eat the fatty things,” we are not to conclude that they literally consumed whole fat. “Fatty things” refers to rich portions, things not skinny or dry, but luscious, including tasty items prepared with vegetable oils. Thus, Knox’ translation here reads “regale yourselves with rich meat,” while Moffatt’s translation says “eat the dainty pieces.”

The Mosaic law restriction did not prevent the feeding or fattening of sheep or cattle for the table. We read of the ‘fattened young bull’ slaughtered for the prodigal son. (Luke 15:23) Solomon’s food included “fattened cuckoos” and cattle. (1 Ki. 4:23) The Hebrew mar·beqʹ translated “fattened calf” at 1 Samuel 28:24 literally means ‘a calf of the stall or tying place’; meʹahh and m^eriʼʹ refer to a ‘fatling’ or a