What does "crush olives" and "tread the winepress" symbolize in Job 24:11?

Setting the Scene

• Job 24 records Job’s lament that many openly violate God’s law, yet judgment seems delayed.

• Verse 11 depicts the powerless laboring in others’ fields:

“They crush olives within their walls; they tread the winepresses, yet go thirsty.” (Job 24:11)

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Literal Picture

• Two essential staples in the ancient Near East—oil and wine—were produced by:

– Crushing olives under heavy stones.

– Stomping grapes in a winepress.

• These tasks were demanding, time-consuming, and usually done for the landowner’s profit.

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Symbolic Meaning

• Exhausting Exploitation

– The poor perform back-breaking work yet “go thirsty,” receiving none of the fruit of their toil.

– Picture parallels Deuteronomy 24:14-15, which forbids withholding wages from hired workers.

• Denial of Basic Blessings

– Oil and wine symbolize joy, refreshment, and prosperity (Psalm 104:15; Proverbs 3:10).

– To labor for them and still lack them spotlights cruel deprivation.

• Inverted Justice

– God intends produce to bless both owner and worker (Leviticus 19:13; Deuteronomy 24:19-22).

– Here, oppression turns blessing into bitterness, echoing Amos 5:11: “You trample on the poor… though you have planted pleasant vineyards, you will not drink their wine.”

• Silent Cry for Judgment

– Winepress imagery often signals God’s coming retribution (Isaiah 63:2-6; Revelation 14:19-20).

– Job implies that the same winepress abused by wicked men will one day become the place of God’s decisive justice.

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Takeaway

“Crush olives” and “tread the winepress” symbolize more than manual labor—they portray the grinding exploitation of the defenseless, the withholding of God-given joys, and the certainty that such injustice summons divine judgment.