They are all crushed and winnowed by the wind god. The poet refers to the wind as "wind god," and he says that the great god of the wind winnows, which means that he sifts all the people, and the weak fall down and are crushed. He gives the strong enough to bear and be proud of their lives.
This picture is one of many found in ancient Egypt. It comes from a tomb painting in the Brooklyn Museum called "The Wind God Crushes the Serpent." This particular scene shows Amenophis III confronting a snake during his reign from 1481 to 1457 B.C. The artist who painted this picture has given the king a royal face mask made of silver and gold. Around his head is a band representing the sun disk of Ra. On his chest is an image of a beetle, which represents life. In his hands he holds a scepter and an orb. Behind him are two rows of priests dressed in white linen robes and blue turban-like hats. They hold long poles with bells attached to them. A flame burns at their feet.
In this scene, we see Amenophis III crushing a serpent under his foot. This was a popular subject for artists in ancient Egypt. They often used snakes as a symbol for evil since these creatures were seen as agents of the gods. So when Amenophis III kills or defeats a snake, he has defeated an enemy of Ra.
The wind is regarded by the poet as a deity who operates as a winnower, sorting and destroying all that enters his domain. This signifies that the destructive strength of the wind crushes weak people and things. Because the poet makes fun of the weaklings, the poet says the wind God winnows...gold.
What does the poet have to say about the winnowing of the wind god? According to the poet, the wind god winnows and crushes the weak, collapsing buildings, doors, rafters, timber, bodies, lives, and hearts. This shows that the wind is a powerful force that cannot be taken lightly. It can cause great destruction if not treated with care.
Winnelling is a method used by farmers to separate grain from chaff. The farmer will put the wheat into a machine called a wainwright which is then dragged through the field. The chaff is blown away from the windmill and collected while the grain falls into a hopper where it is cleaned off before being sold or used as fuel. Farmers use different types of machines to winnow their crops. Some people still do this today but most grain is harvested by farmers who feed it into large trucks called combines. These trucks travel through the fields picking up the grain while the computer controls automatically open and close the hood of the truck when needed to keep out insects and weather.
Grain is used for food and fuel so it has to be clean to prevent diseases spreading through the community. Modern farmers protect their crops against pests and disease by using chemicals but there are dangers involved with this approach so some farmers go without pesticides to avoid harming non-target organisms such as bees.
Because the poet makes fun of the weaklings, the poet claims the wind God winnows. According to the poet, the wind god winnows the weak, collapsing buildings, doors, rafters, timber, bodies, lives, and hearts before crushing them all. This makes the wind god laugh uproariously.
The term "Winnower" comes from the old English word "winnow", which means "to separate good from bad grain by shaking it in a sieve or fan". The term was first used to describe the ancient Egyptian god Wnrt who winnowed the hearts of men before they were sent to stand before the gods for judgment.
Wnrt was the son of Osiris, who was himself the brother of Seth, who was himself the son of Adam. Therefore, Wnrt is one of the oldest gods in Egypt who existed long before Moses. He had the same role in Egypt that God has in Israel today- he judged people. Like God, Wnrt could either be benevolent or malevolent depending on how he felt at any given time. But like God, he always acted within his rights as determined by fate, destiny, and karma.
So, as you can see, both gods are very similar in nature. They are all powerful, all knowing, and both willing and able to judge humans.
A: The breeze "God winnows" signifies that nature separates the weak from the strong. Everything that is weak is blown away by the fierce wind and destroyed. The wind deity separates the weak from the strong in the same way as the winnower separates the grains of wheat from the chaff. The wind has power over both the living and the dead; it can blow away mountains or cause rivers to flood their banks. It is this power that makes it similar to a god.
B: The wind is associated with death because it carries away everything that is alive. Even though the wind has great power, it is not allowed to harm humans so priests use magic to protect themselves from its fury. Without the help of these priests there would be no crops and nothing to eat so people must have confidence in them to keep them safe. They pray to the wind gods for safety during storms so they don't have to fear for their lives when out in their own property.
C: The wind is associated with death because it destroys everything that is alive.
The wind god crushes all undesired and weak objects, such as weak buildings, doors, rafters, hearts, and lives. It annihilates any weakling that gets in its way. The wind has power over everyone, even deities.
The mind is a powerful tool. Use it well.