Chaff

Easton, 1897

The refuse of winnowed corn. It was usually burned (Exodus 15:7; Isaiah 5:24; Matthew 3:12). This word sometimes, however, means dried grass or hay (Isaiah 5:24; Isaiah 33:11). Chaff is used as a figure of abortive wickedness (Psalms 1:4; Matthew 3:12). False doctrines are also called chaff (Jeremiah 23:28), or more correctly rendered "chopped straw." The destruction of the wicked, and their powerlessness, are likened to the carrying away of chaff by the wind (Isaiah 17:13; Hosea 13:3; Zephaniah 2:2).