Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 24:41

"two women [shall be] grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left." — Matthew 24:41 (ASV)

Two women shall be grinding at the mill — These words paint a picture of the lowest form of female labor, where one woman holds the lower stone of a small eastern hand-mill while another turns the upper stone to grind the grain. In Judges 16:21 and Lamentations 5:13, this work is depicted as the crowning degradation for male captives taken in battle.

It is likely that this illustration, as with the one involving the fig tree, was inspired by what our Lord could see at the time. As He spoke, the Mount of Olives may well have offered Him a view of two laborers in a field and two women at a mill.