Topical Encyclopedia
A mill in biblical times was an essential tool for daily life, primarily used for grinding grain into flour, a staple in the ancient diet. The process of milling was labor-intensive and often performed by women or servants. Mills are mentioned in various contexts throughout the Bible, symbolizing both the mundane aspects of daily life and deeper spiritual truths.
Types of Mills1.
Hand Mill: The most common type of mill in biblical times was the hand mill, consisting of two circular stones. The upper stone, known as the "rider," was turned manually over the lower stationary stone, grinding the grain placed between them. This type of mill is referenced in several passages, including
Exodus 11:5, where the Lord speaks of the impending death of the firstborn in Egypt, "from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is at her hand mill."
2.
Millstone: Millstones were large, heavy stones used in larger mills, often powered by animals. The millstone is frequently mentioned in the Bible as a symbol of judgment and destruction. In
Matthew 18:6, Jesus warns, "But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea."
Symbolism and Usage·
Daily Life: The mill represents the daily sustenance and labor required to provide for one's family. In
Jeremiah 25:10, the cessation of the sound of the millstones is used to symbolize the end of normal life and joy in the land due to impending judgment: "I will banish from them the sound of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp."
·
Judgment and Punishment: The imagery of the millstone is also used to convey the severity of divine judgment. In
Revelation 18:21, the fall of Babylon is depicted with the imagery of a millstone: "Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: 'With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again.'"
·
Captivity and Oppression: Grinding at the mill was often associated with servitude and oppression. In
Judges 16:21, after Samson is captured by the Philistines, he is put to work grinding grain in prison: "Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison."
Cultural and Historical ContextIn ancient Israel, the mill was a vital part of the household, reflecting the agrarian lifestyle of the people. The process of milling was not only a daily necessity but also a communal activity, often bringing together women of the household or community. The sound of the millstone was a familiar and comforting presence, signifying normalcy and provision.
The biblical references to mills and millstones provide insight into the daily life of ancient peoples and serve as powerful metaphors for spiritual truths, illustrating themes of sustenance, judgment, and the consequences of sin.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
MillThe mills of the ancient Hebrews probably differed but little from those at present in use in the East. These consist of two circular stones, each about eighteen inches or two feet in diameter, the lower of which is fixed, and has its upper surface slightly convex, fitting into a corresponding concavity in the upper stone. In the latter is a hole thorough which the grain passes, immediately above a pivot or shaft which rises from the centre of the lower stone, and about which the upper stone is turned by means of an upright handle fixed near the edge. It is worked by women, sometimes singly and sometimes two together, who are usually seated on the bare ground. (Isaiah 47:1,2) "facing each other; both have hold of the handle by which the upper is turned round on the nether? millstone. The one whose right hand is disengaged throws in the grain as occasion requires through the hole in the upper stone. It is not correct to say that one pushes it half round and then the other seizes the handle. This would be slow work, and would give a spasmodic motion to the stone. Both retain their hold, and pullto or pushfrom , as men do with the whip or cross-cut saw. The proverb of our Saviour, (Matthew 24:41) is true to life, forwomen only grind. I cannot recall an instance in which men were at the mill." --Thomson, "The Land and the Book," c.34. So essential were millstones for daily domestic use that they were forbidden to be taken in pledge. (24:6) There were also larger mills that could only be turned by cattle or asses. Allusion to one of these is made in (Matthew 18:6) With the movable upper millstone of the hand-mill the woman of Thebez broke Abimelech's skull. (Judges 9:53)
ATS Bible Dictionary
MillSeeCORN.
Easton's Bible Dictionary
For grinding corn, mentioned as used in the time of Abraham (
Genesis 18:6). That used by the Hebrews consisted of two circular stones, each 2 feet in diameter and half a foot thick, the lower of which was called the "nether millstone" (
Job 41:24) and the upper the "rider." The upper stone was turned round by a stick fixed in it as a handle. There were then no public mills, and thus each family required to be provided with a hand-mill. The corn was ground daily, generally by the women of the house (
Isaiah 47:1, 2;
Matthew 24:41). It was with the upper stone of a hand-mill that "a certain woman" at Thebez broke Abimelech's skull (
Judges 9:53, "a piece of a millstone;" literally, "a millstone rider", i.e., the "runner, " the stone which revolves. Comp.
2 Samuel 11:21). Millstones could not be pledged (
Deuteronomy 24:6), as they were necessary in every family.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) A money of account of the United States, having the value of the tenth of a cent, or the thousandth of a dollar.
2. (n.) A machine for grinding or comminuting any substance, as grain, by rubbing and crushing it between two hard, rough, or indented surfaces; as, a gristmill, a coffee mill; a bone mill.
3. (n.) A machine used for expelling the juice, sap, etc., from vegetable tissues by pressure, or by pressure in combination with a grinding, or cutting process; as, a cider mill; a cane mill.
4. (n.) A machine for grinding and polishing; as, a lapidary mill.
5. (n.) A common name for various machines which produce a manufactured product, or change the form of a raw material by the continuous repetition of some simple action; as, a sawmill; a stamping mill, etc.
6. (n.) A building or collection of buildings with machinery by which the processes of manufacturing are carried on; as, a cotton mill; a powder mill; a rolling mill.
7. (n.) A hardened steel roller having a design in relief, used for imprinting a reversed copy of the design in a softer metal, as copper.
8. (n.) An excavation in rock, transverse to the workings, from which material for filling is obtained.
9. (n.) A passage underground through which ore is shot.
10. (n.) A milling cutter.
11. (n.) A pugilistic.
12. (n.) To reduce to fine particles, or to small pieces, in a mill; to grind; to comminute.
13. (n.) To shape, finish, or transform by passing through a machine; specifically, to shape or dress, as metal, by means of a rotary cutter.
14. (n.) To make a raised border around the edges of, or to cut fine grooves or indentations across the edges of, as of a coin, or a screw head; also, to stamp in a coining press; to coin.
15. (n.) To pass through a fulling mill; to full, as cloth.
16. (n.) To beat with the fists.
17. (n.) To roll into bars, as steel.
18. (v. i.) To swim under water; -- said of air-breathing creatures.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
MILL; MILLSTONEmil, mil'-ston (recheh; mulos, mulon): The two most primitive methods of grinding grain were
(1) by pounding it in a mortar, and
(2) by rubbing it between two stones.
InNumbers 11:8 both methods are mentioned as used for rendering the manna more fit for cooking. Numerous examples of both mill and mortar have been found in ancient excavations. Bliss and Macalister in their excavations at Gezer and other places have found specimens of what is called the saddle-quern or mill, which consists of two stones. The "nether" stone, always made of hard lava or basalt from the district of the Hauran, was a large heavy slab varying in length from 1 1/2 ft. to 2 3/4 ft., and in width from 10 inches to 1 1/3 ft. Its upper surface was hollowed out slightly, which made it look a little like a saddle and may have suggested the name of "riding millstone" applied by the Hebrews to the upper stone which rested on it (Judges 9:53). The "upper stone" or "rider" was much smaller, 4 inches to 8 in. long and 2 3/4 inches to 6 inches wide, and of varying shapes. This could be seized with the two hands and rubbed back and forth over the nether stone much the same as clothes are scrubbed on a wash-board. Such a stone could be used as a weapon (Judges 9:532 Samuel 11:21), or given as a pledge (Deuteronomy 24:6).
Macalister goes so far as to say that "the rotary handquern in the form used in modern Palestine and in remote European regions, such as the Hebrides, is quite unknown throughout the whole history, even down to the time of Christ" (Excavations at Gezer). The same writer, however, describes some mills belonging to the 3rd and 4th Sere periods which are much like the present rotary quern, except smaller (4 inches to 6 inches in diameter), and with no provision for a turning handle. Schumacher describes these as paint grinders. The only perforated upper millstones found in the excavations at Gezer belong to the early Arabic period.
If the above assertions are substantiated then we must alter somewhat the familiar picture of the two women at the mill (Matthew 24:41), commonly illustrated by photographs of the mills still used in modern Palestine These latter consist of two stone discs each 18 inches to 20 inches in diameter, usually made of Hauran basalt. The upper one is perforated in the center to allow it to rotate on a wooden peg fixed in the nether stone, and near the circumference of the upper stone is fixed a wooden handle for turning it. The grain to be ground is fed into the central hole on the upper stone and gradually works down between the stones. As the grain is reduced to flour, it flies out from between the stones on to a cloth or skin placed underneath the mill. To make the flour fine it is reground and sifted. Larger stones 4 ft. to 5 ft. in diameter, working on the principle of the handmill, are still used for grinding sesame seed. These are turned by asses or mules. Another form of mill, which is possibly referred to inMatthew 18:6Mark 9:42Revelation 18:21, 22, consisted of a conical nether stone on which "rode" a second stone like a hollowed-out capstan. The upper stone was probably turned with handspikes in much the same way as an old-fashioned ship's capstan was turned. The material to be ground was fed into the upper cone which formed the hopper and from which it was delivered to the grinding surfaces between the "rider" and the nether stone. This form of mill must have been known in late Biblical times, because many examples of the upper stone dating from the Greek-Roman period have been found. One may be seen in the museum of the Syrian Protestant College at Beirut. Another large one lies among the ruins at Petra, etc. InMatthew 18:6Mark 9:42, the mill is described as a mulos onikos, literally, a mill turned by an ass, hence, a great millstone. It is not at all unlikely that the writers have confused the meaning of onos (chamor), a term commonly applied to the upper millstone of a handmill, thinking it referred instead to the animal which turned the mill. This explanation would make Christ's words of condemnation more applicable. The upper millstone of a handmill would be more than sufficient to sink the condemned, and the punishment would be more easily carried out. A few years from now handmills will have disappeared from the Syrian households, for the more modern gristmills turned by water or other motor power are rapidly replacing them.
SeeCRAFTS, II, 8.
Figuratively:
(1) Of firmness and undaunted courage (Job 41:24). "The heart of hot-blooded animals is liable to sudden contractions and expansions, producing rapid alternations of sensations; not so the heart of the great saurians" (Canon Cook, at the place).
(2) To "grind the face of the poor" (Isaiah 3:15) is cruelly to oppress and afflict them.
(3) The ceasing of the sound of the millstone was a sign of desolation (Jeremiah 25:10Revelation 18:22).
James A. Patch
Greek
3459. mulon --mill.... 3458, 3459. mulon. 3460 .
mill.
... Cognate: 3459 -- a
mill; a building (
mill) used
to operate a grinding
mill-stone (it occurs only in Mt 24:41). See 3458 ().
...3458. mulos -- amill, a millstone
... amill, a millstone. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: mulos Phonetic
Spelling: (moo'-los) Short Definition: a millstone Definition: a millstone...
3457. mulikos -- of amill
... of amill. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: mulikos Phonetic Spelling:
(moo-lee-kos') Short Definition: belonging to amill Definition: belonging to a...
3457a. mulikos -- of amill
... of amill. Transliteration: mulikos Short Definition: millstone. Word Origin from
mule (amill) Definition of amill NASB Word Usage millstone* (1)....
3457b. mulinos -- of amill
... mulinos. 3458 . of amill. Transliteration: mulinos Short Definition: millstone.
Word Origin from mulos Definition of amill NASB Word Usage millstone (1)....
3037. lithos -- a stone
... stone, millstone. Apparently a primary word; a stone (literally or figuratively) --
(mill-, stumbling-)stone. (lithoi) -- 4 Occurrences....
Strong's Hebrew
2911a. techon -- grindingmill, handmill... 2911, 2911a. techon. 2911b . grinding
mill, hand
mill. Transliteration: techon
Short Definition:
mill. Word Origin from tachan Definition
...2913. tachanah -- amill
... 2912, 2913. tachanah. 2914 . amill. Transliteration: tachanah Phonetic
Spelling: (takh-an-aw') Short Definition:mill. Word Origin...
7347. recheh -- (hand)mill
... 7346, 7347. recheh. 7348 . (hand)mill. Transliteration: recheh Phonetic
Spelling: (ray-kheh') Short Definition: millstones....mill stone....
2911. tchown -- grindingmill, handmill
... 2910, 2911. tchown. 2911a . grindingmill, handmill. Transliteration: tchown
Phonetic Spelling: (tekh-one') Short Definition: grind. to grind...
Library
The Life of Mr. WalterMill.
... The Life of Mr. WALTERMILL.... Olip. Thou sayest there are not seven sacraments?Mill.
Give me the Lord's Supper and Baptism, and take you all the rest. Oliph....
The Scientific Aspects of Positivism.
... I was led to study these works partly by the allusions to them in Mr.Mill's "Logic,"
partly by the recommendation of a distinguished theologian, and partly by...
Model Speeches
... John StuartMill. Read the following speech delivered by John StuartMill, in his
tribute to Garrison. Note the clear-cut English of the speaker....
Given to Abstraction of Thought. Cases in Point. Opinion of...
... On one occasion I was told to go to the lot and catch a horse and come to the crib,
and my father would put the sack on for me, and I was to go tomill....
How Three Sunday School Children Met their Fate
... When the Lawrence Mills were on fire a number of years ago"I don't mean on fire,
but when themill fell in"the greatmill fell in, and after it had fallen...
The Exercises Suited to a Good Life.
... And they are, with their own hand, to fetch from the store what we require. And
it is no disgrace for them to apply themselves to themill....
Germantown, Pennsylvania.
... occupations of the colony. In 1690 W. Rittenhaus established in Germantown
the first paper-mill in America. Here also Christopher Sauer...
The Destruction of Babylon.
... "And a strong angel took up a stone like a greatmill-stone, and cast it into the
sea, saying, Thus violently, will Babylon, the great city, be cast down, and...
How Three Sunday School Children Met their Fate.
... When the Lawrence Mills were on fire a number or years ago"I don't mean on fire,
but when themill fell in"the greatmill fell in, and after it had fallen...
If You Give a Grape to Him when Hungry...
... What, if you go on to ask what a wheel is, or a sledge, [3555] a winnowing-fan,
jar, tub, an oil-mill, ploughshare, or sieve, amill-stone, ploughtail, or...
Thesaurus
Mill (9 Occurrences)... it as a handle. There were then no public mills, and thus each family required
to be provided with a hand-
mill. The corn was ground
...Millstone (9 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia.MILL; MILLSTONE.... Numerous examples of both
mill and mortar have been found in ancient excavations....
Grind (12 Occurrences)
... (Exodus 32:20; Deuteronomy 9:21; Judges 16:21), to crush small (Hebrews tahan);
to oppress the poor (Isaiah 3:5). The hand-mill was early used by... (seeMILL.)....
Grinding (13 Occurrences)
... Matthew 24:41 two women grinding at themill, one will be taken and one
will be left. (WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)....
Full (1047 Occurrences)
... 12. (n.) To thicken by moistening, heating, and pressing, as cloth; tomill;
to make compact; to scour, cleanse, and thicken in amill. 13....
Debtor (7 Occurrences)
... 10, 11). (2.) Amill, or millstone, or upper garment, when given as a pledge,
could not be kept over night (Exodus 22:26, 27). (3...
Food (2953 Occurrences)
... times by means of the primitive rubbing-stones, which excavations at Lachish, Gezer
and elsewhere show survived the introduction of the hand-mill (seeMILL...
Oil (281 Occurrences)
... in a handmill. Such amill was uncovered at Gezer beside an oil press. Stone
mortars with wooden pestles are also used. Any of these...
Miracle (15 Occurrences)
... of Negative Criticism 2. Sir George Stokes Quoted 3. Effects on Nature of New Agencies
4. Agreement with Biblical Idea and Terms 5. JSMill on Miracle 6...
Abimelech (63 Occurrences)
... When engaged in reducing the town of Thebez, which had revolted, he was struck mortally
on his head by amill-stone, thrown by the hand of a woman from the...
Resources
Who was Amy Carmichael? | GotQuestions.orgIs there a conclusive argument for the existence of God? | GotQuestions.orgWhat was the source of Samson's strength? | GotQuestions.orgMill: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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