In biblical literature, the term "grinders" is primarily associated with the act of grinding grain into flour, a common and essential task in ancient agrarian societies. The process of grinding was typically carried out by women using hand mills or larger millstones. This task is mentioned in various contexts throughout the Bible, symbolizing daily life, labor, and sometimes judgment or desolation.

Old Testament References

The most notable reference to grinders is found in Ecclesiastes 12:3-4, which uses the imagery of grinders to describe the aging process: "On the day the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those watching through the windows see dimly." Here, the grinders are metaphorically linked to teeth, which become fewer and less effective with age, illustrating the decline of physical strength and vitality.

In Exodus 11:5, the term is used to depict the breadth of the Egyptian society affected by the final plague: "And every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl behind the hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well." The mention of the servant girl behind the hand mill highlights the universality of the plague's impact, reaching from the highest to the lowest in society.

Isaiah 47:2 also references grinding as a symbol of humiliation and servitude: "Take millstones and grind flour; remove your veil, strip off your skirt, bare your thigh, wade through the streams." This passage addresses the fall of Babylon, using the imagery of a woman grinding at the mill to signify the city's impending disgrace and subjugation.

New Testament Context

In the New Testament, grinding is mentioned in the context of Jesus' teachings on the end times. Matthew 24:41 states, "Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left." This verse is part of a larger discourse on the suddenness and selectivity of the coming of the Son of Man, using the familiar scene of women grinding grain to illustrate the unexpected nature of divine judgment.

Cultural and Symbolic Significance

Grinding grain was a daily necessity in biblical times, and the imagery of grinders often conveys themes of routine labor, sustenance, and the passage of time. The act of grinding, while mundane, was vital for survival, providing the flour needed for bread, a staple food. As such, grinders symbolize the sustenance of life and the continuity of daily existence.

In prophetic and poetic literature, grinders can also represent vulnerability and the reversal of fortunes. The imagery of grinding is used to depict the humbling of the proud and the powerful, as seen in the prophecies against nations like Babylon. The act of grinding, typically performed by servants or women, becomes a metaphor for subjugation and loss of status.

Overall, the biblical references to grinders reflect a rich tapestry of meanings, from the ordinary rhythms of life to profound spiritual truths about human frailty, divine judgment, and the hope of redemption.

Our Last ChapterConcluded with the Words, "For Childhood and Youth ...
... they have so long borne. The few teeth (grinders) that may remain fail to
do their required service. Time's finger touches, too, those ...
/.../jennings/old groans and new songs/chapter xii our last chapter.htm

The Boyhood of Jesus
... you about. But the tailors, the shoemakers, the carpenters, and the
coffee-grinders do not always sit in their shops. They like ...
/.../anonymous/the good shepherd/chapter iii the boyhood of.htm

Satan's Banquet
... shall come forth afterwards that which is worse, for the keepers of the house shall
tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves; the grinders shall fail ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/satans banquet.htm

Last Things
... I hope you will have holy daring enough to let the same light shine forward on the
years yet to come, when your hair shall be grey and the grinders shall fail ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/last things.htm

Life as a Joy Shadowed by the Judgment
... clouds return after the rain: In the days when the keepers of the house shall tremble,
And the strong men shall bow themselves, And the grinders cease because ...
/.../various/select masterpieces of biblical literature/vii life as a joy.htm

The Conclusion of the Matter
... return after the rain; 3. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble,
and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/the conclusion of the matter.htm

Symmetry of the Body.
... turn, bruise and grind it like a mill, that it may be more conveniently digested
when it is conveyed into the stomach; whence also they are called grinders. ...
/.../unknown/recognitions of clement /chapter xxix symmetry of the body.htm

The First Epistle.
... most carefully. I brake the grinders of the wicked, and plucked the spoil
out of his teeth;" [2703] and so forth. You, therefore ...
//christianbookshelf.org/unknown/the decretals/the first epistle.htm

The Death of the Christian
... So, mark you the aged man; tottering are his steps, "they that look out of the windows
are darkened, the grinders cease because they are few, and the ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 1 1855/the death of the christian.htm

Faith (Preached Before the Queen at Windsor, December 5, 1865)
... Sorry for the Sheffield grinders, who go to work as to certain death; who count
how many years they have left, and say, 'A short life and a merry one. ...
/.../the water of life and other sermons/sermon xiii faith preached before.htm

Grinders (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Grinders (1 Occurrence). Ecclesiastes 12:3 in
the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and ...
/g/grinders.htm - 6k

Grind (12 Occurrences)
... lower being stationary. The grinders mentioned Ecclesiastes 12:3 are the
teeth. (see MILL.). Noah Webster's Dictionary. 1. (vt) To ...
/g/grind.htm - 11k

Grinder (1 Occurrence)

/g/grinder.htm - 7k

Grinding (13 Occurrences)
... Ecclesiastes 12:3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the
strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few ...
/g/grinding.htm - 10k

Grindeth (2 Occurrences)

/g/grindeth.htm - 7k

Windows (27 Occurrences)
... Ecclesiastes 12:3 in the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the
strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few ...
/w/windows.htm - 15k

Dimmed (3 Occurrences)
... Ecclesiastes 12:3 In the day that keepers of the house tremble, And men of strength
have bowed themselves, And grinders have ceased, because they have become ...
/d/dimmed.htm - 7k

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

Basin (37 Occurrences)
... 3. (n.) A hollow vessel, of various forms and materials, used in the arts or
manufactures, as that used by glass grinders for forming concave glasses, by ...
/b/basin.htm - 26k

Bar (27 Occurrences)
... called measures. 15. (n.) The space between the tusks and grinders in the
upper jaw of a horse, in which the bit is placed. 16. (n ...
/b/bar.htm - 21k

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