μύλος G3458
A mill or millstone; a heavy stone used for grinding grain, often symbolic of catastrophic judgment.
Refers to both the grinding apparatus and the stone itself. Jesus invokes the millstone in a vivid warning: it would be better to have a great millstone hung around one's neck and be cast into the sea than to cause a little one to stumble (Matt 18:6, Mark 9:42). In the apocalyptic vision, a mighty angel hurls a stone 'like a great millstone' into the sea to dramatize Babylon's fall, and the sound of the mill is heard no more (Rev 18:21-22). Spanish distinguishes 'piedra de molino' (millstone) from 'molino' (mill), reflecting both the object and the place. The everyday domestic item becomes a powerful image of divine judgment.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A mill or millstone used for grinding grain, employed both literally and as a dramatic symbol of catastrophic judgment. Jesus warns that causing a child to stumble warrants drowning with a millstone around the neck (Matt 18:6, Mark 9:42). In Matt 24:41, two women grinding at the mill illustrates the suddenness of the coming separation. In Revelation, the angel's casting of a millstone-like boulder into the sea symbolizes Babylon's irreversible destruction, and the ceasing of the mill's sound signifies total desolation (Rev 18:21-22). Spanish 'piedra de molino' and German 'Muehlstein' both preserve the concreteness of this grinding stone. 5×
AR["الرَّحى", "حَجَرُ-رَحًى", "رَحًى", "رَحَى"]·ben["জাঁতা", "যাঁতা", "যাঁতাকলের", "যাঁতাতে"]·DE["Muehlstein", "μύλος", "μύλῳ"]·EN["a-millstone", "mill", "of-a-mill"]·FR["meule"]·heb["רֵחַיִם"]·HI["चक्कि", "चक्की", "चक्की-का", "चक्की-की"]·ID["batu-kilangan", "kilangan", "penggilingan"]·IT["mulinon", "mulo", "mulos", "mulou"]·jav["gilingan", "panggilingan", "watu-gilingan", "watu-panggilingan"]·KO["맷돌", "맷돌-이", "맷돌에서", "맷돌의", "맷돌이"]·PT["de-mó", "pedra-de-moinho"]·RU["жернов", "жернова", "жерновах", "жёрнов"]·ES["de-molino", "molino", "piedra-de-molino"]·SW["jiwe-la-kusagia", "mmoja", "ya-jiwe-la-kusagia,"]·TR["değirmen-taşı", "değirmende", "değirmenin"]·urd["چکّی", "چکی", "چکی-کا", "چکی-کی"]
Related Senses
H2719 1. sword, weapon of war (410×)H4196 1. altar (place of sacrifice) (403×)H7393 1. chariot, chariotry (117×)H7198 1. bow (weapon) (72×)H7979 1. table (71×)H7782 1. ram's horn trumpet (69×)H4294 2. staff, rod, scepter (63×)H4043 1. shield, defensive weapon (60×)H0646 1. ephod (priestly garment) (49×)H8504 1. blue (violet-blue yarn/fabric) (49×)H2595 1. spear, lance (48×)H2671 1. arrow, projectile weapon (46×)H4818 1. chariot, war-chariot (44×)H3658 1. lyre, harp (stringed instrument) (42×)H1537 1. Gilgal (place name) (41×)H0713 1. purple (fabric/dye) (38×)H0905 3. poles, staves (37×)H7392 1. Qal participle: rider, charioteer (37×)H4501 1. cultic lampstand (menorah) (36×)H0212 1. wheel (35×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
μύλος [ῠ], ὁ, ={μύλη}, mill, LXX+1st c.AD+; μ. καβαλλαρικὸς ἐν λίθοις, μ. ὀνικός, μ. ὑδραλετικός, Refs __2 millstone, PCair. Zen.355.84 (uncertain, NT+3rd c.BC+: generally, stone, Refs 5th c.BC+ __3 grinder, molar, Refs 2nd c.AD+ __II poetry for μύλλος (which see), Refs 2nd c.AD+ __III ={μύλη} IV, Refs 1st c.AD+ see at {ἐμυλώθη}, Refs 5th c.AD+