טָחַן (ta.chan)
ta.chan
to grind
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 8 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Definition
Definition
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word for grinding in Hebrew carries a heavy weight of both daily labor and divine judgment. In everyday life, it describes the repetitive, often exhausting work required to sustain a community. We see this in the description of old age, where even the simple act of grinding grain becomes difficult because the grinders are few. It reminds us that our physical bodies have limits, and that sustenance is not automatic but requires effort.
Yet the same word appears in moments of severe consequence. When Israel worshiped a golden calf, Moses burned it and ground it to powder so fine it became dust. This act was not just destruction; it was a public demonstration of total accountability. The idol was reduced to nothingness, mixed with water, and forced upon the people. It shows that what we treat as sacred or valuable will eventually be tested by fire.
In prophetic warnings, grinding becomes a metaphor for oppression. Leaders who crush the faces of the poor are described using this same verb. It is a stark image of power used to degrade rather than serve. For us, it serves as a sobering reminder that our actions have weight. Whether we are working hard in service or facing the consequences of sin, the process of grinding leaves its mark.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 8 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- you grind1×
- the/ [female] grinders1×
- let her grind1×
- grinding [it]1×
- grinding1×
- and/ they ground1×
- and/ he ground [it]1×
- and/ grind1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- תִּטְחָ֑נוּ1×
- תִּטְחַ֣ן1×
- טוֹחֵ֖ן1×
- טָחוֹן֙1×
- וַ/יִּטְחַ֖ן1×
- וְ/טָחֲנ֣וּ1×
- וְ/טַ֣חֲנִי1×
- הַ/טֹּֽחֲנוֹת֙1×
Key Verses
-
Exodus 32:20
He took the calf which they had made, and burned it with fire, ground it to powder, and scattered it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it.
This verse shows the word used to describe the total destruction of idolatry, reducing a false god to unusable dust.
-
Judges 16:21
The Philistines laid hold on him and put out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with fetters of bronze; and he ground at the mill in the prison.
Here the term highlights the humiliation and forced labor imposed on Samson after his capture by the Philistines.
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Isaiah 3:15
What do you mean that you crush my people, and grind the face of the poor?” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.
The prophet uses this verb to condemn leaders who exploit and degrade the vulnerable faces of the poor.
-
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, and those who look out of the windows are darkened,
This occurrence illustrates the physical decline of old age, where even basic tasks like grinding grain become impossible.