The fan was a small shovel, by which a portion of wheat was thrown up into the air, that the wind might carry away the chaff. Isaiah 30:24; Jeremiah 4:11 . It is also used symbolically for the judgements of God, Isaiah 41:16; Jeremiah 15:7; Jeremiah 51:2; and for the discriminating power of the testimony of the Lord Jesus. Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17 .