The punishment instituted by Maacah initially was good for the household because the forced interaction with Baara gave the slave women an opportunity to spend time with the young girl. The first few chose to use the time to make amends and build a relationship as they toiled over the grinding mill for several hours in the morning.

The two-person mill was composed of two stones about a foot and a half in diameter. Two women operated the stones by means of a handle while sitting facing one another. They alternately pulled and pushed the handle that turned the upper stone on the lower one. The upper stone rotated around a wooden pivot fixed in the center of the lower stone. A funnel shaped opening in the upper stone received the grain while the resulting flour was caught in a sheepskin placed under the mill.

In Naaman's household, wheat was ground for bread. Baara had come from a poorer background where all bread was made from barley, but the grinding process was the same. Here, Barley was also ground, but the meal obtained was used in cooking various soups and other dishes that needed some sort of thickener, not for making bread. Food was prepared fresh each day because if left overnight it would usually spoil in the heat. Thus, each morning enough grain had to be ground to feed Namaan's large household including slaves and family, and so the chore required hours of labor by the women who toiled at the mill each morning.

All of the female slaves except Baara, Timna and the two women assigned to help care for the children of the household took turns grinding grain. As Maacah had mentioned, the chore was not a favorite among the slaves because it was tedious, boring work. Still, it did give the women an opportunity to visit with one another, and so Timna rotated the chore among the women on a regular schedule. She decided that Baara would work for two mornings in succession with each of the fifteen female slaves in order to fulfill her punishment. Timna assigned the women to her by age, starting with the oldest and working to the youngest. This meant Baara would work first with Rhoda, who was a graying older woman and had been in Naaman's household for many years. She would work last with Zipporah, a woman in her early twenties who had been in the household only three years.

In deciding how to match Baara with grinding partners, Timna had chosen age because it appeared to show no favoritism, but allowed her to pair Baara with the most sympathetic slave first and reserved the most difficult for last. In this way, Timna hoped peer pressure would diffuse Zipporah's obvious loathing of Baara. If the other women followed Rhoda's example as they had during the weaving, Zipporah would find herself an outcast if she continued her harassment of Baara. Timna expected this ploy to take care of the situation without the need for confrontation.

Baara was relieved the first morning to find herself paired with Rhoda for the grinding. Because Rhoda had been the first to offer thanks and make an overture of friendship the previous day, Baara felt a kinship for her. She and the older woman conversed easily about trivial matters for a while before Rhoda asked Baara about her home and family. In a low, grieved voice, Baara briefly told the woman of her capture and the death of her parents and brother. Because of Rhoda's empathic nature, Baara also told her of her capture and Naaman's rescue. She admitted that her nightmares after she arrived had been caused by what she suffered at the hands of the soldiers. Seeing her haunted eyes as she spoke, and knowing the grief was still raw, Rhoda asked Baara's permission to share the story with the other slaves so that she would be spared further questions as she worked with the other women. In gratitude, Baara gave her permission, asking only that Rhoda leave out the part about the soldiers casting lots for her favors before being rescued by Naaman.

Baara also told Rhoda about meeting Serah. She asked Rhoda to seek out Serah when it was her turn to go for water and tell her why Baara would not be joining her at the well for the coming month. She asked Rhoda to memorize and give Serah a specific message: "This was meant for evil against me, but Yahweh meant it for good."

When Rhoda asked the meaning of the puzzling message, Baara explained that God could take seemingly hopeless circumstances and turn them into something good. She felt God had done that by pairing her with Rhoda on the first morning of her punishment. She then told Rhoda the story of her ancestor Joseph who had been sold into slavery by his own brothers and how God had brought good from what the brothers meant for evil. The telling of the involved tale that began in Canaan and ended in Egypt took most of the time the two spent grinding grain together. When Baara completed the story, Rhoda was full of questions about a god so powerful he could provide food for his people by using an Egyptian Pharaoh who had no belief in the god. She found it unbelievable that any god's power could transcend geographical boundaries. When Baara told her Yahweh was with her here in Damascus, Rhoda shook her head in disbelief, reminding Baara that she was a slave whose family had been slaughtered.

Although Baara had shared much with Rhoda, she was unwilling to share her dream, the source of her assurance of Yahweh's presence. While she was willing to bear testimony of God's greatness through stories from her heritage, she was unwilling to expose herself to possible ridicule by claiming a vision from the God of the Universe. Although Baara believed in the vision and talked daily with God, she knew how preposterous the tale would sound to the other women. Since she was just beginning to form positive relationships, she did not wish to expose herself and open up channels for a new kind of mockery from the likes of Zipporah, or perhaps pity from those more sympathetic like Rhoda.

At first the punishment Maacah imposed seemed more like a reward for Baara. The first few women who sat with her at the grinding wheel were friendly and sympathetic. All had heard of her past from Rhoda and so felt some sympathy for her plight. They had also been told by Rhoda to request Baara share the tale of Joseph with them. The young girl was glad to comply and soon gained a reputation as a skilled storyteller.

As the month continued and her grinding partners got younger, Baara began to sense a coolness among those with whom she was paired. They had heard most of the story of Joseph from others by now and so asked her to tell a different story, the one she had mentioned about the adulterous king. Baara began with King David's life as a shepherd boy, but the women rushed her through the early days, telling her to get to the part about adultery. When she told of King David's liaison with Bathsheba after he watched her bathing, they asked her to elaborate on the sexual encounter between the two. When she said details were not a part of the story and sex was not the focal point but rather forgiveness, the young women smiled and cast knowing glances at Baara. When they suggested she fill in the details from experience, Baara blushed and told them she had no knowledge of such carnal matters. After this happened several times, Baara refused to tell the story of King David any longer and so her mornings grinding grain became times of discomfort and strained silence. Several times, she caught some of the women talking quietly and looking at her knowingly, but she was clueless as to what the gossip might entail.

Not until the end of the month when Baara faced Zipporah over the grinding stone did she find out why the women had become cool or what their pointed remarks and knowing looks meant. The vitriolic-tongued Zipporah wasted no time in coming to the point. As she and Baara began grinding, she smiled a falsely sweet smile at Baara and suggested she tell her the intriguing story about David and Bathsheba. When Baara demurred saying she did not wish to elaborate on the story, Zipporah began her attack.

"Why not?" Zipporah cooed. "Does it bring back too many memories? I'm sure you could embellish the story from your own experience. We all know why you received the coveted place as Maacah's maid. Having a room on the courtyard makes it easy to continue your affair with Naaman – the one started when he took you for himself after the capture."

When the astonished Baara started to sputter out a denial, Zipporah continued. "There is no need to pretend with me, you little deceiver. I've heard the tales whispered among the male slaves. I was watching from the shadows of the back courtyard the day Maacah lay sick. We all know Naaman's infidelity was the source of her headache and that he forces her to protect you. I understand that he has told her he will take you as a concubine, and Maacah will lose her place as his only wife if she does not cooperate."

"Lies," Baara gasped. "It's all lies."

"Really?" Zipporah countered. "From my vantage point in the shadows on the day of Maacah's illness, I could see into the front courtyard. I saw your whispered conversation with Naaman before you brought the basin to the back and poured the contents into the hog trough. Only wanton women make eyes at their masters and betray their mistresses. I know what you disposed of that day – an aborted child conceived by our master. I retrieved the evidence from the slop. I have it in a jar in my room. When we finish here, I'll show you."

"But that's impossible," Baara whispered. "I'm a virgin. Whatever supposed evidence you have cannot be my child. You have contrived a wicked story and spread a vicious, untrue rumor. Maacah knows the truth."

"Does she?" Zipporah asked. "If we go to her, I will tell her of the sleeping draught you gave her to make her sleep while you conspired with Naaman. Check the supply of the powder she gave you to keep in your room so you could regulate your nightmares. It's almost gone, although you have used none yourself. You can't prove the fetus is not yours. Of course Naaman will deny what is happening, as you will, but the evidence supports my story."

"What do you want from me?" Baara whispered. "Why are you doing this?"

"Don't look so pale and horrified," Zipporah replied. "Smile as we talk as though you're enjoying our conversation. I don't ask much. I only want you to use your influence with the mistress on my behalf. Tirzah's nanny is ill and has asked to be relieved of her duty. All I ask is that you suggest to Maacah and Tirzah that I would make a good nanny. Offer to share your room with me so I will be close by in case the children awake with fevers or nightmares, and I am needed in the night."

"I won't share my room with the likes of you," Baara hissed. "I would rather rot in Sheol."

"That is definitely one possibility," Zipporah said with a cruel smile. "I was the daughter of a healer. While some herbs heal, others can cause illness," she looked suggestively at Baara and paused, "...or even death. I learned a great deal about herbs before I was captured. I'm sure my medicinal knowledge will be an asset for a nanny. You might tell Maacah that when suggesting I be given the position."

Seeing fright and perhaps the dawning of resignation in Baara's eyes, Zipporah concluded. "You don't have to give me your answer now. We'll be grinding together again tomorrow. Take the night. Talk to the merciful God you're always prating about. I won't go to our mistress today. I'll give you time to ponder."

After that, silence reigned between the two women. The hypnotic hum of the treadmill made a foreboding counterpoint to the conversation, which played over and over in Baara's mind as the morning passed ever so slowly. No matter how hard she tried, Baara could not think of a way out of the trap so cleverly built by Zipporah. Yet she could not imagine sentencing little Rachel and the other children to the care of such an evil woman. She tried to pray as she sat across from Zipporah, but the malicious gaze of the woman made concentration on God difficult. Still, by the time the grain was ground, Baara had about decided to take her chances with Maacah.

As they got up from the treadmill, Zipporah reminded Baara that she had something she wanted to show her. Putting on her false smile and taking Baara by the hand, she invited her to come to the room shared by the women slaves. Unable to think of a way to refuse in front of the others who were watching, Baara dutifully followed Zipporah, even as her stomach lurched at the thought of viewing a fetus in a jar.

When they entered the room, Baara was grabbed from behind while Zipporah quickly closed the door. Before Baara could make a sound, the slave who had grabbed her covered her mouth, while Zipporah warned that even the smallest sound would mean she would go immediately to Maacah. Then in a derisive voice she added, "Do not expect our master to come to your rescue. He was called away early this morning. I understand he has been sent on a raid and will not return for some time. By that time, your fate will be sealed."

The slave holding Baara removed her hand and Zipporah tied a cloth over Baara's mouth. Once her mouth was covered, Zipporah led Baara to a sleeping mat and slid a small clay jar out of a hiding place in the linens. Using a pair of sticks, she lifted out something that resembled a worm with a large head, telling Baara to take a close look at the fetus she had tried to discard. While all of this transpired, another slave stood mutely by, watching the action with large eyes.

As Baara gagged at the sight, Zipporah returned the fetus to the jar. She then commanded Baara to lie down before she fainted. In a stupor, Baara complied. Zipporah immediately nodded to the other two slaves who positioned themselves on either side of the mat. Then Zipporah took out a long, pointed stick, saying, "Hold her down girls, while I take care of any evidence that she might be a virgin."

As Baara began to struggle with the two women now pinning her to the mat, Zipporah continued, "If you fight, it's possible I will injure you so that you can never have a child. If you cooperate, I'll simply pierce your maidenhead so you have no proof of virginity. Either way, you'll not appear to be a virgin."

As Baara ceased to struggle, Zipporah pulled up her dress, saying, "Ah, so you do have some wisdom. This shouldn't hurt too much if you are still. This is the instrument a healer uses to rid a woman of an unwanted baby, but I'll not have to penetrate that far to do what needs doing here. If you fail to cooperate, the damage will look more like that done during a botched abortion, giving more credence to the story about how I obtained the fetus in the jar."

Baara lay perfectly still while silent tears ran down her white face. As Zipporah did her deed, Baara looked in mute appeal from the face of one slave to the other. In the eyes of the one who had grabbed her by the door, she saw nothing but hatred. In the eyes of the other she saw raw pain, but no sympathy.

Zipporah completed her action quickly and then cleaned Baara's private area. Then telling Baara roughly to sit up, she took another cloth and wet it in a nearby basin and wiped Baara's face. Instructing her to regain her composure, she said, "You are to return to your mistress now. If you chose to tell her a wild tale about a healer's daughter who violated you, no evidence of these instruments will be found. All she will find if she searches this room is the jar with your aborted fetus in it. Naaman won't be here to defend you. If Maacah examines you to determine whether you are a virgin, she will find only evidence of a girl who has been penetrated. I understand she thinks her husband was supposed to have stopped his men from violating you when you were captured. That leaves only one plausible explanation for your lack of virginity, which I will be glad to provide. Go now and pray to your impotent God. I will expect your answer tomorrow."

Baara stood, squared her shoulders, raised her chin, and slowly left the room. As she exited she looked back over her shoulder at the three women. One's eyes shone with triumph, another's with disdain, but the third held no emotion whatsoever. Only the vacant eyes of one on the brink of insanity returned Baara's gaze.

Zippoah knew the power of fear and pain. She wasn't concerned that Baara would expose her treachery. The arts she learned from her mother included the power of intimidation. Although a slave, she planned to amass her own power and didn't care who she destroyed in the process.