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Bread in the Bible (Endnotes)

1. Many things besides grain were buried in the ground for safekeeping, especially money or valuables. In many places there was no bank or safe place of storage. If a person died unexpectedly, often the location of his buried valuables died with him. This is a great boon to archaeologists, and the reason that God encourages people to search for wisdom with the same intensity that they search for hidden treasure (Prov. 2:4). Close

2. The hole in the upper mill stone made it easy to tie to someone. Christ taught that it would be better for someone to be thrown in the water with a millstone tied around his neck than to cause a child who believes in him to sin (Matt. 18:6; Mark 9:42). Close

3. The Philistines made Samson grind grain. There are modern paintings of a very muscled Samson pushing a huge grinding wheel. This misses the point entirely. Samson ground “in” the prison, and there certainly would not have been a large grinding wheel there (Judg. 16:21). What Westerners need to know is that grinding with a hand mill was considered women’s work, and no man would do it. The Philistines forced Samson to grind with the hand mill in order to completely humiliate him. They wanted to break his spirit, not test his strength. The Babylonians made the Judean men grind wheat for the same reason (Lam. 5:13). Close

4. Another, more common type of grinding mill during Old Testament times was a stone trough that was used for a base and another stone that was often tapered at the ends for gripping, which was rubbed over the base stone. The wheat was poured in the trough of the base stone, which was usually 18-30 inches long and 10-15 inches wide. Then the top stone, or rubbing stone, which was 6-15 inches long, was rubbed back and forth over the grain to make the flour. This upper rubbing stone was the stone dropped on Abimelech’s head, cracking his skull (Judg. 9:53). It is the lower grinding stone that is mentioned in Job 41:24 (NIV). Close