Greek word · G3458

μύλος

mylos

millstone

μύλος is a mill or millstone. ὀνικός means 'belonging to a donkey', so together they mean a donkey-mill stone: the large upper stone of a mill turned by an animal.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

μύλος, -ου, ὁ

[in LXX for רֵחֶה, Numbers 11:8, Deuteronomy 24:6, al. ;]

1. = μύλη, a mill (Strab., Plut., LXX) : Matthew 24:41, Revelation 18:22.

2. a mill-stone (Anth.) : Revelation 18:21 (T); μ. ὀνικός, Matthew 18:6, Mark 9:42 (see Swete, in l).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Mark 9:42

Range of meaning

μύλος is a mill or millstone. ὀνικός means 'belonging to a donkey', so together they mean a donkey-mill stone: the large upper stone of a mill turned by an animal.

Against the English

KJV/WEB/YLT just say 'a millstone', and many readers picture the small hand stones of household grinding (Matthew 24:41). BSB/NIV 'large', ESV 'great' and NASB 'heavy' keep the size but lose the donkey that made it vivid.

Used elsewhere in the period

The phrase appears in Greek papyri for mills of this kind (noted in BDAG and in Moulton–Milligan). The two-part 'hourglass' donkey mills of the Roman world, well known from Pompeii, had upper stones weighing hundreds of kilograms. Basalt grinding stones are common finds around the Sea of Galilee. Luke 17:2 has the related λίθος μυλικός ('millstone'). Revelation 18:21 has an angel throwing 'a stone like a great millstone' into the sea to show Babylon's final ruin, echoing Jeremiah 51:63-64.

From the study of Matthew 18:6

Range of meaning

μύλος is a mill or millstone. ὀνικός means 'belonging to a donkey'. Together they mean the large upper stone of a mill turned by a donkey.

Against the English

KJV says only 'a millstone'. BSB/NIV 'large', ESV 'great', WEB 'huge', NASB/YLT 'heavy/weighty' all give the size but lose the donkey.

Used elsewhere in the period

Mark 9:42 has the same phrase. Luke 17:2 has λίθος μυλικός, 'millstone'. Donkey-driven mills with tall hourglass-shaped upper stones weighing hundreds of kilograms are known from Roman sites such as the bakeries of Pompeii. The small hand mill worked by women at home (Matt 24:41) is the contrast.

From the study of Revelation 18:22

Range of meaning

A mill or millstone. It could be the household hand-mill (a rotary quern turned by a woman or slave), or a large mill turned by a donkey (μύλος ὀνικός, Matt 18:6), like those in Roman bakeries.

Against the English

'Millstone' (KJV, BSB, ESV) or 'mill' (WEB). Both are accurate.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exodus 11:5 mentions 'the slave girl behind the mill'. Matthew 24:41 has 'two women grinding at the mill'. Jeremiah 25:10 (Hebrew) threatens to remove 'the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp'. John follows that pairing exactly here and in 18:23. In 18:21 the angel has just thrown a stone 'like a great millstone' into the sea, echoing Jeremiah 51:63–64, where a stone tied to Jeremiah's scroll is sunk in the Euphrates as a sign of Babylon's fall.

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 18:6 μύλος a millstone

    But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

    Here: A millstone. Here it is the heavy upper stone of a grain mill.

  2. Matthew 24:41 μύλῳ· mill;

    Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

    Here: The hand-mill: two stones, the upper one turned or pushed against the lower. Grain was ground into flour on it every day.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 9:42 μύλος a millstone

    But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea.

    Here: A grinding stone. Here it means the heavy upper stone of a large mill.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 18:22 μύλου of a millstone

    And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound of a millstone be heard in you again.

    Here: The mill that ground grain for each day's bread. Its sound was the steady background noise of a living household, usually heard at dawn.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.