Original Word: עֲטִין
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: `atiyn
Pronunciation: ah-teen
Phonetic Spelling: (at-een')
KJV: breast
NASB: sides
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning apparently to contain]

1. a receptacle (for milk, i.e. pail
2. (figuratively) breast)

breast

From an unused root meaning apparently to contain; a receptacle (for milk, i.e. Pail; figuratively, breast) -- breast.

Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
probably a pail, bucket
NASB Translation
sides (1).

[עֲטִין] noun [masculine] probably pail, bucket (Late Hebrew מַעֲטָן vessel for olives); — עֲטִינָיו מָֽלְאוּ חָלָב Job 21:24 his pails are full of milk.

Imagery of Abundant Nourishment

In Job 21:24 the rare noun עֲטִין (ʿāṭīn) evokes an udder or breast swollen with milk, an agrarian sign of vigor and plenty. Milk in Scripture regularly embodies covenant abundance (Exodus 3:8; Isaiah 55:1), so the word pictures a life outwardly overflowing with God-given material blessing.

Placement within Job’s Argument

Job 21 records Job’s rebuttal to the friends’ retribution theology. He observes that “the wicked spend their days in prosperity” (Job 21:13) and die with their “body … well nourished” (Job 21:24). ʿĀṭīn intensifies the contrast between external prosperity and the unseen issues of righteousness and judgment, exposing the limits of human moral calculus.

Historical and Cultural Backdrop

Milk production was both staple and trade commodity in the ancient Near East. Full udders signified economic stability and, by common perception, divine favor upon the household (Deuteronomy 32:14). The specialized pastoral term ʿāṭīn grounds Job’s poetry in daily herding life, lending realism to his lament.

Theological Themes

• Temporal prosperity is not a barometer of godliness (Psalm 73:7–17).
• Robust health cannot forestall death; all stand before God (Hebrews 9:27).
• True blessing centers on relational fidelity to the Lord, not on material indicators (Proverbs 3:5-10).

Connections with Broader Biblical Imagery

Genesis 49:12; Joel 3:18 and similar texts link milk with promised plenty. 1 Peter 2:2 employs milk figuratively for the Word that matures believers. Though ʿāṭīn appears only once, its imagery echoes across Scripture’s portrayal of physical and spiritual sustenance.

Pastoral and Ministry Application

• Addressing envy of the prosperous wicked: Job 21 equips believers to process dissonance between appearance and divine justice.
• Cultivating gratitude without presumption: material wellness, like the full ʿāṭīn, is a gift, not proof of spiritual standing.
• Comforting the afflicted: Job’s realism validates honest lament while directing hearts to God’s ultimate vindication.

Christological and Eschatological Trajectory

Jesus Christ, “despised and rejected” (Isaiah 53:3), embodies the righteous sufferer whom Job foreshadows. His resurrection assures that in the new creation visible circumstances will finally align with God’s verdict: “They will hunger no more, nor will they thirst” (Revelation 7:16). The single image of ʿāṭīn thus anticipates the day when fullness of life—physical and spiritual—is secured forever for the redeemed.

עֲ֭טִינָיו עטיניו ‘ă·ṭî·nāw ‘ăṭînāw AtinavInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts