Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. In biblical times, flint was a material of significant utility and symbolic meaning, often mentioned in the context of strength, durability, and sharpness. Its presence in the Scriptures underscores its importance in the daily life and spiritual symbolism of ancient Israel.

Biblical References and Symbolism

Flint is frequently mentioned in the Bible, often in relation to its hardness and ability to produce fire. In Deuteronomy 8:15, the Israelites are reminded of God's provision during their wilderness journey: "He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock." Here, the "hard rock" is understood to be flint, emphasizing God's miraculous provision of water from an unyielding source.

The prophet Isaiah uses flint metaphorically to describe the resolute determination of the Servant of the Lord: "Because the Lord GOD helps Me, I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame" (Isaiah 50:7). This imagery conveys an unwavering commitment to God's mission, highlighting the Servant's steadfastness in the face of opposition.

In Ezekiel 3:9, God tells the prophet, "I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house." Here, flint symbolizes the strength and resilience imparted to Ezekiel to withstand the rebelliousness of the people to whom he is sent.

Practical Uses

In ancient times, flint was commonly used for making tools and weapons due to its ability to be chipped into sharp edges. This practical application is alluded to in Joshua 5:2-3, where God commands Joshua to circumcise the Israelites with flint knives: "At that time the LORD said to Joshua, 'Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel again, the second time.' So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth." The use of flint knives for this sacred rite underscores the material's significance in covenantal practices.

Spiritual Lessons

Flint's characteristics of hardness and sharpness are often used to convey spiritual truths. The steadfastness and resilience associated with flint serve as a metaphor for the believer's faith and determination in the face of trials. Just as flint can spark a fire, so too can the believer's faith ignite spiritual fervor and perseverance.

In summary, flint in the Bible is a multifaceted symbol representing strength, resilience, and divine provision. Its practical and metaphorical uses in Scripture offer rich insights into the spiritual life and the enduring faithfulness of God.Flint

a well-known stone, a variety of quartz. It is extremely hard, and strikes fire. It was very abundant in and about Palestine.

Abounds in all the plains and valleys of the wilderness of the forty years' wanderings. In Isaiah 50:7 and Ezek. 3:9 the expressions, where the word is used, means that the "Messiah would be firm and resolute amidst all contempt and scorn which he would meet; that he had made up his mind to endure it, and would not shrink from any kind or degree of suffering which would be necessary to accomplish the great work in which he was engaged." (Comp. Ezek. 3:8, 9.) The words "like a flint" are used with reference to the hoofs of horses (Isaiah 5:28). 1. (n.) A massive, somewhat impure variety of quartz, in color usually of a gray to brown or nearly black, breaking with a conchoidal fracture and sharp edge. It is very hard, and strikes fire with steel.

2. (n.) A piece of flint for striking fire; -- formerly much used, esp. in the hammers of gun locks.

3. (n.) Anything extremely hard, unimpressible, and unyielding, like flint.

FLINT

flint (challamish (Deuteronomy 8:15; Deuteronomy 32:13 Job 28:9 Psalm 114:8), tsor (Exodus 4:25 Ezekiel 3:9), tser (Isaiah 5:28), tsur (Job 22:24 Psalm 89:43), tsurim (Joshua 5:2 f); (= kechlex "pebble"), kochlax (APC 1Macc 10:73)):

The word challamish signifies a hard stone, though not certainly flint, and is used as a figure for hardness in Isaiah 50:7, "Therefore have I set my face like a flint." A similar use of tsor is found in Ezekiel 3:9, "As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead," and Isaiah 5:28, "Their horses' hoofs shall be accounted as flint"; and of tsela` in Jeremiah 5:3, "They have made their faces harder than a rock." The same three words are used of the rock from which Moses drew water in the wilderness: challamish (Deuteronomy 8:15 Psalm 114:8); tsur (Exodus 17:6 Deuteronomy 8:15 Psalm 78:20 Isaiah 48:21); cela` (Numbers 20:8 Nehemiah 9:15 Psalm 78:16).

Tsur and cela` are used oftener than challamish for great rocks and cliffs, but tsur is used also for flint knives in Exodus 4:25, "Then Zipporah took a flint (the King James Version "sharp stone"), and cut off the foreskin of her son," and in Joshua 5:2, "Yahweh said unto Joshua, Make thee knives of flint (the King James Version "sharp knives"), and circumcise again the children of Israel the second time." Surgical implements of flint were used by the ancient Egyptians, and numerous flint chippings with occasional flint implements are found associated with the remains of early man in Syria and Palestine. Flint and the allied mineral, chert, are found in great abundance in the limestone rocks of Syria, Palestine and Egypt.

See ROCK.

Alfred Ely Day

6864. tsor -- a hard pebble, flint
... 6863, 6864. tsor. 6865 . a hard pebble, flint. Transliteration: tsor Phonetic
Spelling: (tsore) Short Definition: flint. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/6864.htm - 6k

2496. challamish -- flint
... 2495, 2496. challamish. 2497 . flint. Transliteration: challamish Phonetic
Spelling: (klal-law-meesh') Short Definition: flint. ...
/hebrew/2496.htm - 6k

6862d. tsar -- a hard pebble, flint
... a hard pebble, flint. Transliteration: tsar Short Definition: flint. Word Origin
from an unused word Definition a hard pebble, flint NASB Word Usage flint (1). ...
/hebrew/6862d.htm - 5k

8068. shamir -- a thorn, adamant, flint
... 8067, 8068. shamir. 8069 . a thorn, adamant, flint. Transliteration: shamir
Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-meer') Short Definition: briars. ...
/hebrew/8068.htm - 6k

6862. tsar -- narrow, tight
... narrow, tight. Transliteration: tsar Phonetic Spelling: (tsar) Short Definition:
adversary. adversary, affliction, anguish, close, distress, enemy, flint, foe, ...
/hebrew/6862.htm - 6k

LM Flint's Coll. The Strength of the Erring.
... VI. THE CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 206. LM Flint's Coll. The Strength of the
Erring. 1 Yes! prayer is strong, and God is good; Man is ...
/.../various/book of hymns for public and private devotion/206 l m flints coll.htm

LM Flint. Remembrance of Our Fathers.
... VIII. VARIOUS OCCASIONS. 433. LM Flint. Remembrance of Our Fathers. 1 In
pleasant lands have fallen the lines That bound our goodly ...
/.../book of hymns for public and private devotion/433 l m flint remembrance.htm

CM Flint's Coll. Suffer Little Children to Come unto Me.
... IX. MISCELLANEOUS. 445. CM Flint's Coll. Suffer Little Children to Come unto Me.
1 See Israel's gentle Shepherd stand With all-engaging charms! ...
/.../various/book of hymns for public and private devotion/445 c m flints coll.htm

September 14. "For the Lord God Will Help Me, Therefore Shall I ...
... "For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded; therefore,
have I set my face like a flint, and I know I shall not be ashamed" (Isa. ...
/.../simpson/days of heaven upon earth /september 14 for the lord.htm

February the Third Transforming the Hard Heart
... The Lord "turned the flint into a fountain of waters." "Psalm 114.p> What a violent
conjunction, the flint becoming the birthplace of a spring! ...
/.../february the third transforming the.htm

To Ask Therefore, Why the Fallen Angels were not Helped by the ...
... were not helped by the mercy and goodness of God, as fallen man was; is like asking,
why the refreshing dew of heaven does not do that to flint, which it does ...
/.../law/the way to divine knowledge/way-1-85 to ask therefore why.htm

The Servant's Inflexible Resolve
... 'For the Lord God will help Me; therefore shall I not be confounded:
therefore have I set My face like a flint.'"Isaiah 50:7. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/the servants inflexible resolve.htm

Letter F
... Received 1822, Located 1831 * Fletcher, Elliot B. "Received 1826 * Fletcher, Thomas
"Received 1799, Located 1803 * Flint, Calvin N. "Received 1818 ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bangs/an alphabetical list of m e preachers/letter f.htm

How, by the Contrivance of the Devil, Brother Juniper was ...
... his clothes all tattered and patched, and a torn hood falling on his shoulders,
and he will carry with him an awl, wherewith to kill you, and a flint and steel ...
/.../ugolino/the little flowers of st francis of assisi/chapter iii how by the.htm

This Therefore You May Rest Upon, as a Certain Truth...
... For as flame cannot communicate itself to flint, nor the Spirit of God to a beast;
because the flint stands in the utmost contrariety to flame, and the beast ...
/.../law/the way to divine knowledge/way-1-88 this therefore you may.htm

Flint (12 Occurrences)
... Ezek. 3:8, 9.) The words "like a flint" are used with reference to the hoofs of
horses (Isaiah 5:28). ... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. FLINT. ...
/f/flint.htm - 14k

Knife (10 Occurrences)
... (1.) Hebrews hereb, "the waster," a sharp instrument for circumcision (Joshua
5:2, 3, lit. "knives of flint;" Comp. Exodus 4:25); a razor (Ezek. ...
/k/knife.htm - 13k

Rock (176 Occurrences)
... ROCK. rok ((1) cela`; (2) tsur (3) challamish, "flint"; compare Arabic khalanbus,
"flint"; (4) kephim (Job 30:6 Jeremiah 4:29); compare Kephas, "Cephas" = Petros ...
/r/rock.htm - 49k

Knives (12 Occurrences)
... Joshua 5:2 At that time, Yahweh said to Joshua, "Make flint knives, and circumcise
again the children of Israel the second time." (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS ...
/k/knives.htm - 10k

Flinty (3 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (superl.) Consisting of, composed of, abounding in, or
resembling, flint; as, a flinty rock; flinty ground; a flinty heart. ...
/f/flinty.htm - 7k

Foreskin (12 Occurrences)
... Among the Jews of antiquity circumcision had to be performed by means of a flint
or stone knife (Exodus 4:25 Joshua 5:2, 3) on the eighth day after birth ...
/f/foreskin.htm - 14k

Crystal (7 Occurrences)
... The word occurs in Revelation 4:6; 21:11; 22:1. It is a stone of the flint
order, the most refined kind of quartz. ... See Flint glass. ...
/c/crystal.htm - 11k

Forehead (23 Occurrences)
... as an adamant harder than flint," whereby an unflinching loyalty to God and a complete
disregard of opposition is meant (Jeremiah 3:8, 9). Compare the phrase ...
/f/forehead.htm - 19k

Venomous (4 Occurrences)
... in which were fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty ground where there was no
water; who brought you forth water out of the rock of flint; (See NIV). ...
/v/venomous.htm - 8k

Zippo'rah (3 Occurrences)
... Exodus 4:25 Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and
cast it at his feet; and she said: 'Surely a bridegroom of blood art thou to me ...
/z/zippo'rah.htm - 7k

What does it mean to set your face like flint in Isaiah 50:7? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean that the heart is desperately wicked in Jeremiah 17:9? | GotQuestions.org

Questions about Isaiah | GotQuestions.org

Flint: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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