Texts in Conversation
Psalm 1 compares those who reject the Torah to chaff blown away, contrasting them with stable, fruitful lives. In Matthew, John the Baptist similar imagery to describe future judgment, separating those who are fruitful from those who are not.
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Psalm 1:4
Hebrew Bible
1 How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the assembly of scoffers. 2 Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; he meditates on his commands day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by flowing streams; it yields its fruit at the proper time, and its leaves never fall off. He succeeds in everything he attempts. 4 Not so with the wicked! Instead they are like wind-driven chaff. 5 For this reason the wicked cannot withstand judgment, nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Matthew 3:12
New Testament
10 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 “I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am—I am not worthy to carry his sandals! He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire!” 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan River.
Date: 70-90 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Originally, Eisler thinks, the Baptist said something like this, "I baptize you with water, but he that cometh after me, whose shoes I am not worthy to draw off, he will baptize you with wind and with fire. His fan is already in his hand and he will sweep his threshing floor, and gather the wheat into his garner, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire. Eisler refers to Psalm 1:4-5 where the wicked are pictured as chaff which the wind will blow away in judgment. The next verse (Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17) pictures a judgment of wind. The wind is not mentioned in that verse, but is supplied from our phrase, translated as wind. This would explain, Eisler said, why the Baptist's disciples in Acts 19:2-4 were wholly ignorant of a Holy spirit. This wind of judgment would be purifying for Jerusalem, as in Isaiah 4:4 ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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