H2913 H2913
grinding, milling; the sound or activity of grinding grain
A feminine noun appearing only in Ecclesiastes 12:4 in the famous allegory of old age. The phrase 'when the sound of the grinding is low' depicts the fading of daily life's familiar sounds as one ages. Whether this refers literally to the quieting of millstones in a declining household or metaphorically to the weakening of bodily functions (perhaps teeth), the image is one of diminishing vitality. The grinding of grain was a constant, rhythmic soundtrack to ancient domestic life; its fading signals approaching death.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Ecclesiastes 12:4 uses this term in a richly symbolic passage about aging and mortality. The Spanish 'milling' and English 'grinding' both preserve the sense of the mill's activity or sound growing faint. Whether literal (a household in decline) or metaphorical (the body's failing functions), the image evokes the slow silencing of life's ordinary rhythms. 1×
AR["هَ-طَّحَنَه"]·ben["পেষাইয়ের"]·DE["[הטחנה]"]·EN["the-grinding"]·FR["le-הטחנה"]·heb["ה-טחנה"]·HI["चक्की-की"]·ID["penggilingan"]·IT["il-il-grinding"]·jav["penggilingan"]·KO["갈음-그의"]·PT["a-moenda"]·RU["жернова,"]·ES["la-molienda"]·SW["kusaga"]·TR["ogutenin"]·urd["چکّی-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
† טַחֲנָה n.f. mill = foregoing, בִּשְׁפַל קוֹל הַטּ׳ Ec 12:4 when the sound of the mill is low (cf. v 3, sub vb. supr.)