Bible Dictionary
Glean
To glean was to gather grain, grapes, or olives left after the main harvest. Moses’ law required landowners to leave such remnants for the poor, the foreigner, the widow, and the fatherless.
Definition
To glean is to gather grain, grapes, olives, or other produce left after the main harvest. It includes collecting what remains in field corners, fallen sheaves, or unharvested portions of vineyards and oliveyards.
Biblical Usage
Moses’ law required that remnants of the harvest be left for the poor. The practice is illustrated by Ruth, who gleaned in the fields of Boaz.
Historical Background
The law concerned fields, vineyards, and oliveyards and provided food for the poor. It required landowners not to reap field corners or retrieve sheaves accidentally left behind.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The corners of fields were not to be reaped, and the sheaf accidentally left behind was not to be fetched away, according to the law of Moses (Lev. 19:9; 23:22; Deut. 24:21). They were to be left for the poor to glean. Similar laws were given regarding vineyards and oliveyards. (Comp. Ruth 2:2.)