Flint
“Hard rock, from its smoothness”
Summary
An extremely hard stone, abundant in Palestine, used for cutting instruments in ancient times and employed figuratively in Scripture to signify firmness and determination.
☩Physical Description
Flint is any hard stone of a silicious character, such as quartz or granite, but in mineralogical science it is applied only to silicious nodules. Flint and the allied mineral, chert, are found in great abundance in the limestone rocks of Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. Flints abound in nearly all the plains and valleys through which the Hebrews marched during the forty years of wandering.
☩Practical Uses
Surgical implements of flint were used by the ancient Egyptians, and numerous flint chippings with occasional flint implements are found associated with the remains of early man in Syria and Palestine. Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin. Joshua made flint knives to circumcise the children of Israel a second time at Gilgal.
☩Figurative Meaning
The word signifies a hard stone and is used as a figure for hardness and unyielding determination. Christ, because of His opposers, 'set His face like a flint,' knowing He would not be ashamed. God made Ezekiel's forehead as adamant, harder than flint, because of Israel's obduracy. The horses' hoofs of God's executors of judgment shall be like flint.
Related Verses5 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Flint," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. III (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Flint," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Flint," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).