Millstones are significant agricultural tools mentioned frequently in the Bible, symbolizing both the daily sustenance and the heavy burdens of life. These large, circular stones were used to grind grain into flour, a staple in the ancient diet. The process of grinding grain was essential for making bread, a fundamental food item in biblical times.

Description and Use

A typical millstone setup consisted of two stones: a stationary lower stone, known as the "bedstone," and a rotating upper stone, called the "runner stone." Grain was poured through a hole in the center of the runner stone, and as it turned, the grain was crushed into flour. This labor-intensive process was often performed by women or servants, as seen in Exodus 11:5, which refers to "the firstborn of the maidservant who is behind the millstones."

Symbolism and Metaphorical Use

Millstones are used metaphorically in the Bible to represent 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." This vivid imagery underscores the severity of leading others into sin.

In Revelation 18:21 , the fall of Babylon is depicted with an angel casting a great millstone into the sea, signifying the complete and irreversible destruction of the city: "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 cast down, never to be seen again.'"

Cultural and Historical Context

Millstones were a common sight in ancient Israelite households and communities. They were so essential that the Law of Moses prohibited taking a millstone as a pledge, as it was considered a life-sustaining tool. Deuteronomy 24:6 states, "Do not take a pair of millstones or even the upper one as security for a debt, because that would be taking a man's livelihood as security."

The importance of millstones is further highlighted in the account of Samson, who, after being captured by the Philistines, was forced to grind grain in prison (Judges 16:21). This task, typically reserved for women or slaves, symbolized Samson's fall from strength and freedom to weakness and servitude.

Millstones in Warfare

Millstones also appear in the context of warfare. In Judges 9:53 , a woman drops an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, fatally wounding him: "But a woman dropped an upper millstone on Abimelech's head, crushing his skull." This incident illustrates the unexpected means by which God can deliver justice and defeat the enemies of His people.

Conclusion

Millstones in the Bible serve as powerful symbols of sustenance, judgment, and divine justice. They remind us of the daily provision of God, the seriousness of leading others astray, and the ultimate triumph of God's righteousness over evil.7347. recheh -- (hand)mill
... 7346, 7347. recheh. 7348 . (hand)mill. Transliteration: recheh Phonetic
Spelling: (ray-kheh') Short Definition: millstones. Word ...
/hebrew/7347.htm - 5k

Epistle iii. --To Fabius, Bishop of Antioch.
... bound her feet and dragged her through the whole city along the rough stone-paved
streets, knocking her at the same time against the millstones, and scourging ...
/.../dionysius/the works of dionysius/epistle iii to fabius bishop of.htm

And Now Diocletian Raged, not Only against his Own Domestics...
... their great multitude, they were not burnt one after another, but a herd of them
were encircled with the same fire; and servants, having millstones tied about ...
/.../of the manner in which the persecutors died/chap xv and now diocletian.htm

Sleep Not
... How backward! How prepost'rous is the motion. Of our ungain devotion! Our thoughts
are millstones, and our souls are lead,. And our desires are dead: ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 17 1871/sleep not.htm

The Little Ones and their Stumbling-Blocks.
... For there are also differences of millstones, so that one of them may be, so to
call it, the millstone of a man, and another that of an ass; and that is human ...
/.../origen/origens commentary on the gospel of matthew/17 the little ones and.htm

The Martyrs in Alexandria.
... away in detestation, they bound her feet and dragged her through the entire city
over the stone-paved streets, and dashed her against the millstones, and at ...
/.../pamphilius/church history/chapter xli the martyrs in alexandria.htm

Growing Faith.
... The Samaritans were hated by Jew and Gentile alike as belonging to neither,
ground between the two opposing social national millstones. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/gordon/quiet talks on johns gospel/growing faith.htm

Watch-Night Service
... to realms of joy unknown? Or is it downward that we sink with all our sins
round our necks like millstones? Oh! shall we go down ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 2 1856/watch-night service.htm

Blasphemer, or --Who?
... These Pharisees scented heresy at once. They were blind to the pathos of the story,
and hard as millstones towards the poor sufferer's wistful looks. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture e/blasphemer orwho.htm

Book vii. On the Useful or the Ordinary
... thing. [Job 40:16]. The two testaments, as we have mentioned, may signify
two millstones because two stones are in a mill. Likewise ...
/.../eucherius/the formulae of st eucherius of lyons/book vii on the useful.htm

The Last Events in Galilee - the Tribute-Money, the Dispute by the ...
... in so doing he disregard the law of love to the little ones, far better his work
should be abruptly cut short; better, one of those large millstones, turned by ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter iii the last events.htm

Millstones (6 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Millstones (6 Occurrences). ... Deuteronomy 24:6 None doth
take in pledge millstones, and rider, for life it 'is' he is taking in pledge. ...
/m/millstones.htm - 8k

Grind (12 Occurrences)
... 1. (vt) To reduce to powder by friction, as in a mill, or with the teeth; to crush
into small fragments; to produce as by the action of millstones. ...
/g/grind.htm - 11k

Millstone (9 Occurrences)
... Schumacher describes these as paint grinders. The only perforated upper millstones
found in the excavations at Gezer belong to the early Arabic period. ...
/m/millstone.htm - 15k

Mill (9 Occurrences)
... Comp. 2 Samuel 11:21). Millstones could not be pledged (Deuteronomy 24:6), as
they were necessary in every family. Noah Webster's Dictionary. ...
/m/mill.htm - 18k

Grinding (13 Occurrences)
... will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the
bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the ...
/g/grinding.htm - 10k

Runner (5 Occurrences)
... 7. (n.) The rotating stone of a set of millstones. 8. (n.) A rope rove through
a block and used to increase the mechanical power of a tackle. ...
/r/runner.htm - 9k

Rider (26 Occurrences)
... RSV NIV). Deuteronomy 24:6 None doth take in pledge millstones, and rider,
for life it 'is' he is taking in pledge. (YLT). Judges ...
/r/rider.htm - 15k

Mirth (18 Occurrences)
... will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the
bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the ...
/m/mirth.htm - 12k

Mimic

/m/mimic.htm - 6k

Moisture (8 Occurrences)
... Numbers 11:8 the people have turned aside and gathered 'it', and ground 'it' with
millstones, or beat 'it' in a mortar, and boiled 'it' in a pan, and made it ...
/m/moisture.htm - 8k

What is a millstone in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

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