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Jesus making wine in The Marriage at Cana, a 14th century fresco from the Visoki Dečani monastery.

Alcoholic beverages appear repeatedly in the Bible – from Noah planting a vineyard and becoming inebriated in the Hebrew Bible[1] to Jesus in the New Testament miraculously making copious amounts[2] of wine at the wedding at Cana[3] and later incorporating wine as part of the central rite of Christianity, the Eucharist.[4] Wine is the most common alcoholic beverage mentioned in biblical literature, where it is a frequent source of symbolism,[5] and was an important part of daily life in biblical times.[6][7][5] The inhabitants of ancient Palestine also drank beer and wines made from fruits other than grapes, and some references to these appear in the scriptures, too.[8]

On the whole, biblical literature displays an ambivalence toward intoxicating drinks, considering them both a blessing from God that brings joy and merriment and potentially dangerous beverages that can be unwisely and sinfully abused.[9][10][11][12][13][14] The relationships between Judaism and alcohol and Christianity and alcohol have generally maintained this same tension, though Christianity saw a number of its adherents, particularly around the time of Prohibition, rejecting alcohol itself as inherently evil.

Lexigraphy[edit]

Biblical literature includes the Hebrew Bible, which Judaism calls the Tanakh and Christianity calls the Old Testament; the Apocrypha/deuterocanonical books; and the New Testament. Different religious groups (e.g., Judaism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism, etc.) accept different combinations of these books as canonical, sacred writings (see books of the Bible), and collectively or in combination they can be called the Bible.

The Bible uses several words in its original languages to refer to different types of alcoholic beverages. The words in Hebrew overlap the words in Koine Greek, which is the language of both the Septuagint (an important and ancient translation of the Hebrew Bible) and the New Testament. While some apocryphal/deuterocanonical books may have been originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, some were written in Greek, and they are all best known in the Greek version found in the Septuagint. Hence, the meanings of the words used for alcoholic beverages in each of these languages has bearing on alcohol and the Bible.

Hebrew[edit]

The Hebrew Bible was largely written in Hebrew with portions in Aramaic, and the most common extant version, the Masoretic text, uses several words to represent alcoholic beverages:

Hebrew Transliteration Strong's no. Meaning[15] Examples Septuagint rendering(s)
יין yayin 3196 the common word translated "wine"[16] Ge 9:21; Ps 75:8; Is 5:11; and 135-137 other instances (depending on the manuscripts) gleukos (see below), katoinousthai ("to be drunken"),[17] oinopotes ("drunkard"),[18] oinos (see below), sumposion ("drinking party")[19][20]
תירוש tirosh 8492 properly "must"; sometimes rendered as "wine," "new wine," or "sweet wine." It can represent juice at any stage in the fermentation process,[5] and in some places it "represents rather wine made from the first drippings of the juice before the winepress was trodden. As such it would be particularly potent."[21] It can certainly be alcoholic as in Ho 4:11. [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ge27:28;Ps4:7;Is24:7 Ge 27:28; Ps 4:7; Is 24:7; and 35 other instances methusma (Ho 4:11; see below), oinos (all other references; see below)[22]
שכר shekar 7941 "strong drink"; "denotes any inebriating drink with about 7–10 percent alcoholic content, not hard liquor, because there is no evidence of distilled liquor in ancient times.... It was made from either fruit and/or barley beer";[8] the term can include wine as in Nu 28:7, but generally it is used in combination with it ("wine and strong drink") to encompass all varieties of intoxicants[23] Lv 10:9; Nu 6:3; Dt 14:26; Jg 13:4; 1Sa 1:15; Ps 69:12; Pr 20:1; Is 5:11; Mi 2:11; etc. methê ("strong drink, drunkenness"),[24] methusma (see below), oinos (see below), sikera (see below)[25]
חמר chemer corresponding to the Aramaic chamar 2561 and 2562 "wine"; the word "conveys the idea of 'foaming,' as in the process of fermentation, or when poured out. It is derived from the root hamar, meaning 'to boil up'"[16] Dt 32:14; Is 27:2; Ezr 6:9; 7:22; Da 5:1,2,4 methê ("string drink, drunkenness"),[24] oinos (see below)[26]
עסיס 'asis 6071 "sweet wine" or "new wine", the vintage of the current year with intoxicating power[16] SS 8:2; Is 49:26; Jl 1:5; 3:18; Am 9:13 glukasmos ("sweetness, sweet wine"),[27] methê ("strong drink, "drunkenness"),[24] nama, oinos neos ("new wine")[28][29]
חמץ chomets 2558 vinegar, which was made from wine or other fermented beverage and used as a condiment or, when mixed with water, a slightly intoxicating drink[30][31][32] Nu 6:3; Ru 2:14; Ps 69:21; Pr 10:26; 25:20 omphax ("unripe or sour grape"),[33] oxos (see below)[34]
שמר shemar (used in the plural: shemarim) 8105 lees or dregs of wine; "wine that has been kept on the lees, and therefore old wine"[16] ("if [the wine] were designed to be kept for some time a certain amount of lees was added to give it body")[35] Ps 75:8; Is 25:6; Jr 48:11; Zp 1:12 oinos (see below), trugias ("full of lees")[36][37]
סבא sobhe 5435 drink, liquor, wine Is 1:22; Ho 4:18; Na 1:10 oinos (see below)[38]
ממסך mamsak and mesekh 4469 and 4538 "mixed drink," "mixed wine," "drink-offering;" the word is "properly a mixture of wine and water with spices that increase its stimulating properties."[16] Ps 75:8; Pr 23:30; Is 65:11 kerasma ("mixture")[39][40]
מזג mezeg 4197 "mixture", "mixed wine" SS 7:2 krama ("mixture, especially mixed wine")[41][42]

Greek[edit]

Unlike Hebrew, which has a variety of words for alcoholic beverages, Koine Greek uses five primary words:

Greek Transliteration Strong's no. Meaning[43] Septuagint examples New Testament examples
οίνος oinos 3631 the common word translated "wine" in the New Testament and Septuagint.[16][44] Ge 9:21 (translating yayin); Dt 7:13 (translating tirosh); 23:14 (translating chemer); Ps 68:12 (69:12 in the Hebrew numbering, translating shekar); Is 1:22 (translating sobhe); 25:6 (translating shemarim); 49:26 (translating 'asis); etc.[45] Mt 9:17; Mk 2:22; Lk 1:15; Jn 2:3; Ro 14:21; Ep 5:18; 1Ti 3:8; Ti 2:3; Re 6:6; etc.
γλευκος gleukos 1098 "sweet wine" (sometimes rendered "new wine"), which was intoxicating.[16][46] Jb 32:19[47] Ac 2:13
σίκερα sikera 4608 a Hebrew loanword from shekar (see above) meaning "strong drink."[48] Lv 10:9; Nu 6:3; 28:7; Dt 14:26; 29:6 (29:5 in the Hebrew numbering); Jg 13:4,7,14; Is 5:11,22; 24:9; 28:7; 29:9[49] Lk 1:15
όξος oxos 3690 vinegar, sour wine; could be made from grape wine or other fermented beverages; when mixed with water, it was a common, cheap drink of the poor and of the Roman soldiers[50][31][32][51] Nu 6:3; Ru 2:14; Ps 68:21 (69:21 in the Hebrew numbering); Pr 25:20[52] Mt 27:48; Mk 15:36; Lk 23:36; Jn 19:29f
μέθυσμα methusma None an intoxicating drink[53] Jd 13:4,7,15; 1Ki 1:11,15; Ho 4:11 (translating tirosh); Mi 2:11; Jr 13:13 (all translating shekar except where noted)[54] None, but compare the related words methê ("drunkenness"),[55][56] methusos ("drunken"),[57][58] etc.

Alcoholic content[edit]

Yayin and oinos (which in the Septuagint also often translates most of the Hebrew words for alcoholic beverages listed above)[5][59] are commonly translated "wine," but the two are also rarely, and perhaps figuratively or anticipatorily,[60] used in the Bible to refer to freshly pressed juice.[61] For this reason, prohibitionist and some abstentionist Christians (see Christianity and alcohol on the different viewpoints) object to taking the default meaning to be fermented beverages,[62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69] but there is a broad consensus that the words did ordinarily refer to alcoholic beverages.[9][14][16][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80]

While the wines drunk in the times depicted in the Hebrew Bible were not diluted with water,[5][81][82] after the conquest of Palestine by Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic custom of diluting wine had taken hold such that the author of book of 2 Maccabees, which was written somewhere around the end of the 2nd century BC and the first half of the 1st century BC, speaks of diluted wine as "a more pleasant drink" and of both undiluted wine and unmixed water as "harmful"[83] or "distasteful."[5]

Biblical references[edit]

The many biblical references to alcoholic beverages are both positive and negative, real and symbolic, descriptive and didactic. Wine was commonly drunk at most meals and was a staple of life in ancient Palestine.[84][85]

Winemaking[edit]

Ancient wine press in Israel with the pressing area in the center and the collection vat off to the bottom left.

A number of passages refer to the practice of wine making. Both the climate and land of Palestine, where most of both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures takes place, were well-suited to growing grapes,[86] and the wine that the vineyards produced was a valued commodity in ancient times, both for local consumption and for its value in trade.[87][88] Vineyards were protected from robbers and animals by walls, hedges, and manned watchtowers.[89]

The harvest time brought much joy and play,[90] as "[m]en, women and children took to the vineyard, often accompanied by the sound of music and song, from late August to September to bring in the grapes."[91][92] Some grapes were eaten immediately, while others were turned into raisins. Most of them, however, were put into the wine press where the men and boys trampled them, also often to music.[91]

The fermentation process started within six to twelve hours after pressing, and the must was usually left in the collection vat for a few days to allow the initial, "tumultuous" stage of fermentation to pass. The wine makers soon transferred it either into large earthenware jars, which were then sealed, or, if the wine were to be transported elsewhere, into wineskins (that is, partially tanned goat-skins, sewn up where the legs and tail had protruded but leaving the opening at the neck).[86] After six weeks, fermentation was complete, and the wine was filtered into larger containers and either sold for consumption or stored in a cellar or cistern, lasting for three to four years.[91][93] Even after a year of aging, the vintage was still called "new wine," and more aged wines were preferred.[94][95][93]

Spices and scents were often added to wine in order to hide "defects" that arose from storage that was often not sufficient to prevent all spoiling.[96] One might expect about 10% of any given cellar of wine to have been ruined completely, but vinegar was also created intentionally for dipping bread[97] among other uses.[98]

The Feast of Booths was a prescribed holiday that immediately followed the harvest and pressing of the grapes.[99]

Drunkenness[edit]

The Drunkenness of Noah by Giovanni Bellini

Easton's Bible Dictionary says, "The sin of drunkenness ... must have been not uncommon in the olden times, for it is mentioned either metaphorically or literally more than seventy times in the Bible,"[16][100] though some suggest it was a "vice of the wealthy rather than of the poor."[101][102] Biblical interpreters generally agree that the Hebrew and Christian scriptures condemn ordinary drunkenness as a serious spiritual and moral failing[103] in passages such as these (all from the NIV):

  • Proverbs 20:1: "Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise."
  • Proverbs 23:20f: "Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags."
  • Proverbs 23:29f: "Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine."
  • Isaiah 5:11f: "Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine. They have harps and lyres at their banquets, tambourines and flutes and wine, but they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD, no respect for the work of his hands."
  • Hosea 7:2,5: "But they do not realize that I [God] remember all their evil deeds.... On the day of the festival of our king the princes become inflamed with wine, and he joins hands with the mockers."
  • Luke 21:34: "Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day [of Christ's return] will not come on you suddenly like a trap."
  • Romans 13:13: "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy."
  • 1 Corinthians 5:11: "But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is ... a drunkard.... With such a man do not even eat."
  • 1 Corinthians 6:9f: "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither ... the greedy nor drunkards ... will inherit the kingdom of God."
  • Galatians 5:19–21: "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: ... drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
  • Ephesians 5:18: "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."
  • 1 Timothy 3:2f: "Now the overseer [traditionally bishop] must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness [etc.]."
Judith Beheading Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi

Additionally, the consequences of the drunkenness of Noah[1] and Lot[104] "were intended to serve as examples of the dangers and repulsiveness of intemperance."[6] The title character in the Book of Judith, one of the Apocrypha, uses the drunkenness of the Assyrian general Holofernes to behead him in a heroic victory for the Jewish people and an embarrassing defeat for the general, who had schemed to seduce Judith.[105]

One of the original sections of the book of 1 Esdras,[106] a book accepted as deuterocanonical by the Eastern church but rejected by Judaism and the Western church including Catholicism, describes a debate between three courtiers of Darius I of Persia over whether wine, the king, or women (but above all the truth) is the strongest. The argument for wine does not prevail in the contest, but it provides a vivid description of the ancients' view of the power wine can wield in excessive quantity.[107]

A disputed but important passage is Proverbs 31:4–7: "It is not for kings, O Lemuel – not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more." Some Christians assert that alcohol was prohibited to kings at all times,[108] while most interpreters contend that only inappropriate use is in view here.[109][110][111][112] Some argue that the latter instructions regarding the perishing should be understood as sarcasm when compared with the preceding verses,[113][114][64] while others contend the beer and wine are intended as a cordial to raise the spirits of the perishing,[111][112][76] while some suggest that the Bible is here authorizing alcohol as an anesthetic.[108][76][115][116] Moreover, some suggest that the wines that Jesus was offered at his crucifixion[117] were also intended as an anesthetic.[111][115][118][119]

Sacrifices and feasts[edit]

The Hebrew scriptures prescribed wine for use in festal celebrations and sacrificial rituals.[16] In particular, fermented wine was presented daily as a drink offering,[120] as part of the firstfruits offering,[121] and as part of various supplementary offerings.[122] Wine was kept in the temple,[123] and the king had his own private stores.[124]


The banquet hall was called a "house of wine,"[125] and wine was used as the usual drink at most secular and religious feasts, including feasts of celebration[126] and hospitality,[127] tithe celebrations,[128] and official Jewish holidays such as Passover.[129] Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper, which took place at a Passover celebration, and set apart the bread and wine[130][131][70][132][133] that were present there as symbols of the New Covenant. St. Paul later chides the Corinthians for becoming drunk on wine served at their attempted celebrations of the Lord's Supper.[134]

Jews also customarily partook of bread and wine at burials for the dead.[135]

Bringer of joy[edit]

The Bible also speaks of wine in general terms as a bringer and concomitant of joy, particularly in the context of nourishment and feasting:[136]

  • Judges 9:13 NASB (in a parable about a king): "But the vine said to them, 'Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men, and go to wave over the trees?' "
  • Psalm 4:7 (in a positive, a fortiori comparison): "You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound."
  • Psalm 104:14f: "[The LORD] makes ... plants for man to cultivate – bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart."
  • Ecclesiastes 9:7: "Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do."
  • Ecclesiastes 10:19a: "A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry."
  • Zechariah 9:17: "How attractive and beautiful [the LORD's people] will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women."
  • Zechariah 10:7: "The Ephraimites will become like mighty men, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD."

The book of Sirach discusses the use of wine in several places,[137] emphasizing joy, prudence, and common sense:[107] "Wine is very life to man if taken in moderation. Does he really live who lacks the wine which was created for his joy? Joy of heart, good cheer and merriment are wine drunk freely at the proper time. Headache, bitterness and disgrace is wine drunk amid anger and strife" (31:27–29, NAB).

Vows and duties[edit]

Titian's John the Baptist, who held to a vow that excluded wine.

Certain persons were forbidden in the Hebrew Bible to partake of wine because of their vows and duties.[138] Kings were forbidden to abuse alcohol lest their judgments be unjust.[139] It was forbidden to priests on duty,[140] though the priests were given "the finest new wine" from the first fruits offerings for drinking outside the tabernacle and temple.[141]

The Naziritic vow excluded as part of its ascetic regimen not only wine, but also vinegar, grapes, and raisins,[142] though when Nazirites completed the term of their vow, they were required to present wine as part of their sacrificial offerings and could drink of it.[143] While John the Baptist adopted such a regimen,[144] Jesus evidently did not during his three years of ministry depicted in the Gospels.[145][146]

The Rechabites, a sub-tribe of the Kenites, vowed never to drink wine, live in houses, or plant fields or vineyards,[147] not because of any "threat to wise living" from these practices, but because of their commitment to a nomadic lifestyle by not being bound to any particular piece of land.[9] The Rechabites's strict obedience to the command of their father (rather than their nomadism and abstentionism) is commended and is contrasted with the failure of Judah and Jerusalem to listen to their God.[148]

During the Babylonian captivity, Daniel and his fellow Jews abstained from the meat and wine given to them by the king because they saw it as defiling in some way,[149] though precisely how these would have defiled the Jews is not apparent in the text.[150] A later passage implies that Daniel did drink wine at times, though it may not have been the king's.[151] Similarly, Judith refused the Assyrian general's wine, though she drank wine from the stores she brought with her.[152]

Christians are instructed regarding abstinence and their duty toward immature Christians: "All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall."[153][154]

Symbolism and metaphor[edit]

The commonness and centrality of wine in daily life in biblical times is apparent from its many positive and negative metaphorical uses throughout the Bible.[155][156] Positively, free wine is used as a symbol of divine grace,[157] and wine is repeatedly compared to intimate love in the Song of Solomon.[158] Negatively, wine is personified[159] as a mocker ("[t]he most hardened apostate" in the Book of Proverbs whose chief sin is pride)[160] and beer a brawler (one who is "mocking, noisy, and restless").[9]

Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek by Dieric Bouts the Elder

Additionally, the chosen people and kingdom of God are compared to a divinely owned vine or vineyard in several places,[161] and the image of new wine fermenting in new wineskins, a process that would burst old wineskins,[162] represents that the new faith Jesus was bringing "cannot be contained within the framework of the old."[163] The complacent – those who are "lax in doing the Lord's work"[164] – are compared with "wine left on its dregs" too long such that it lacks a good taste and is of no value,[165] and those who are corrupt are compared with "choice wine [that] is diluted with water."[166]

Wine was also used as a symbol of blessing and judgment throughout the Bible. Melchizedek blessed and refreshed Abram's army with bread and wine;[167] Isaac blessed Jacob by saying, "May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness – an abundance of grain and new wine";[168] and when Jacob blessed his sons, he used a great abundance of wine as a symbol of Judah's prosperity.[169] The nation of Israel was promised abundant wine and other central crops such as grain and oil[170] if they kept God's covenant commandments,[171] and their wine would be taken away as a curse if the Israelites failed to keep the covenant.[172]

Drinking a cup of strong wine to the dregs and getting drunk are sometimes presented as a symbol of God's judgment and wrath,[173] and Jesus alludes this cup of wrath, which he says he himself will drink, several times.[174] Similarly, the winepress is pictured as a tool of judgment where the resulting wine symbolizes the blood of the wicked who were crushed[175] (hence the famous line "He [the Lord] is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored" in "The Battle Hymn of the Republic").[176] Connected also to the cup of judgment is the wine of immorality, which the evil drink and which both brings and is part of the wrath of God.[177]

Detail from The Good Samaritan by Cornelis van Haarlem showing the Samaritan pouring oil and wine on the injured man's wounds.

The Day of the Lord, which is often understood by Christians to usher in the Messianic Age, is depicted as a time when "[n]ew wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills,"[178] when God's people will "plant vineyards and drink their wine,"[179] and when God himself "will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines."[180]

In the New Testament, Jesus uses wine at the Last Supper to signify the "New Covenant in [Jesus'] blood,"[181] but Christians differ over precisely how symbolic the wine is in the continuing ritual of the Eucharist (see Eucharistic theologies contrasted).[182]

Medicinal uses[edit]

Alcohol was used in ancient times for various medicinal ends, and the Bible refers to some of these practices. As discussed above, it was likely used as an anesthetic to dull pain, and many interpreters suggest[111][115][118][183] that it was in this capacity that wines were offered to Jesus at his crucifixion.[184]

Secondly, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus tells a story about a man from Samaria who assists an injured man by, among other things, pouring oil and wine on his wounds.[185] Oil mixed with wine was a common remedy in the ancient world to cleanse wounds and assuage their pain.[186]

Lastly, St. Paul advises Timothy that he should not drink water only but should use a little wine for the sake of his stomach and frequent infirmities.[187] Some have suggested this advice is particularly in reference to purifying low quality drinking water,[108][188] while others suggest it was simply intended to help his digestion and general sickliness.[189][190] Abstentionists generally regard this passage as a positive example of abstention from wine and see Paul's instructions as exceptional and purely for the sake of health,[108] while other interpreters suggest that Timothy was "upright in his aims" but here guilty of an "excess of severity"[191][192][5] or that he felt inappropriately bound by a Hellenistic custom that younger men should not drink.[193]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Ge 9:20–27
  2. ^ Six pots of thirty-nine liters each = 234 liters = 61.8 gallons, according to Seesemann, p. 163.
  3. ^ Jn 2:1–11
  4. ^ Mt 26:27–29; Mk 14:23–25; Lk 22:20; 1 Co 11:25
  5. ^ a b c d e f g B. S. Easton (1915b).
  6. ^ a b Broshi (1984), p. 33.
  7. ^ Broshi (1986), p. 46: In the biblical description of the agricultural products of the Land, the triad 'cereal, wine, and oil' recurs repeatedly (Deut. 28:51 and elsewhere). These were the main products of ancient Palestine, in order of importance. The fruit of the vine was consumed both fresh and dried (raisins), but it was primarily consumed as wine. Wine was, in antiquity, an important food and not just an embellishment to a feast.... Wine was essentially a man's drink in antiquity, when it became a significant dietary component. Even slaves were given a generous wine ration. Scholars estimate that in ancient Rome an adult consumed a liter of wine daily. Even a minimal estimate of 700g. per day means that wine constituted about one quarter of the caloric intake (600 out of 2,500 cal.) and about one third of the minimum required intake of iron."
  8. ^ a b Waltke (2005), p. 505.
  9. ^ a b c d Waltke (2005), p. 127.
  10. ^ Fitzsimmonds, p. 1255: "These two aspects of wine, its use and its abuse, its benefits and its curse, its acceptance in God's sight and its abhorrence, are interwoven into the fabric of the [Old Testament] so that it may gladden the heart of man (Ps. 104:15) or cause his mind to err (Is. 28:7), it can be associated with merriment (Ec. 10:19) or with anger (Is. 5:11), it can be used to uncover the shame of Noah (Gn. 9:21) or in the hands of Melchizedek to honor Abraham (Gn. 14:18).... The references [to alcohol] in the [New Testament] are very much fewer in number, but once more the good and the bad aspects are equally apparent...."
  11. ^ Raymond, p. 25: "This favorable view [of wine in the Bible], however, is balanced by an unfavorable estimate.... The reason for the presence of these two conflicting opinions on the nature of wine [is that the] consequences of wine drinking follow its use and not its nature. Happy results ensue when it is drunk in its proper measure and evil results when it is drunk to excess. The nature of wine is indifferent."
  12. ^ Edwards (1915b): "[Wine's] value is recognized as a cheering beverage (Jdg 9:13; Ps 104:15; Prov 31:7), which enables the sick to forget their pains (Prov 31:6). Moderation, however, is strongly inculcated and there are frequent warnings against the temptation and perils of the cup."
  13. ^ McClintock and Strong, p. 1016: "But while liberty to use wine, as well as every other earthly blessing, is conceded and maintained in the Bible, yet all abuse of it is solemnly condemned."
  14. ^ a b Ethical Investment Advisory Group: "Christians who are committed to total abstinence have sometimes interpreted biblical references to wine as meaning unfermented grape juice, but this is surely inconsistent with the recognition of both good and evil in the biblical attitude to wine. It is self-evident that human choice plays a crucial role in the use or abuse of alcohol."
  15. ^ All meanings from Brown et al. Specific links are given in the "Strong's no." column.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j M. G. Easton (1897b).
  17. ^ Entry for katoinoomai in Liddell et al.
  18. ^ Strong's 3630
  19. ^ Entry for sumposion in Liddell et al.
  20. ^ All references from Muraoka index in Hatch and Redpath, p. 269 (appendix).
  21. ^ Fitzsimmonds, p. 1254.
  22. ^ All references from Muraoka index in Hatch and Redpath, p. 366 (appendix).
  23. ^ Edwards (1915a).
  24. ^ a b c Entry for methê in Liddell et al.
  25. ^ All references from Muraoka index in Hatch and Redpath, p. 358 (appendix).
  26. ^ All references from Muraoka index in Hatch and Redpath, p. 260 (appendix).
  27. ^ Entry for glukasmos in Liddell et al.
  28. ^ Entry for neos in Liddell et al.
  29. ^ All references from Muraoka index in Hatch and Redpath, p. 321 (appendix).
  30. ^ Kellermann, pp. 487–493.
  31. ^ a b M. G. Easton (1897a).
  32. ^ a b B. S. Easton (1915a).
  33. ^ Entry for omphax in Liddell et al.
  34. ^ All references from Muraoka index in Hatch and Redpath, p. 260 (appendix).
  35. ^ Smith.
  36. ^ Entry for trugias in Liddell et al.
  37. ^ All references from Muraoka index in Hatch and Redpath, p. 361 (appendix).
  38. ^ Muraoka index in Hatch and Redpath, p. 310 (appendix).
  39. ^ Entry for kerasma in Liddell et al.
  40. ^ Muraoka index in Hatch and Redpath, p. 291f (appendix).
  41. ^ Entry for krama in Liddell et al.
  42. ^ Muraoka index in Hatch and Redpath, p. 288 (appendix).
  43. ^ All meanings derived from The New Testament Greek Lexicon except where noted. Specific links are given in the "Strong's no." column.
  44. ^ Compare the entry for oinos in Liddell et al.
  45. ^ Hatch and Redpath, pp. 983f.
  46. ^ Compare the entry for gleukos in Liddell et al.
  47. ^ Hatch and Redpath, p. 270.
  48. ^ Compare the entry for sikera in Liddell et al.
  49. ^ Hatch and Redpath, p. 1266.
  50. ^ Heidland, pp. 288f.
  51. ^ Compare the entry for oxos in Liddell et al.
  52. ^ Hatch and Redpath, p. 1001.
  53. ^ Entry for methusma in Liddell et al.
  54. ^ Hatch and Redpath, p. 908.
  55. ^ Thayer, p. 395.
  56. ^ Strong's 3178
  57. ^ Thayer, p. 396.
  58. ^ Strong's 3183
  59. ^ Hatch and Redpath, pp. 983.
  60. ^ Gentry (1991).
  61. ^ Is 16:10; Jr 48:33
  62. ^ Reynolds (1989): "[W]herever oinos [Greek for 'wine'] appears in the New Testament, we may understand it as unfermented grape juice unless the passage clearly indicates that the inspired writer was speaking of an intoxicating drink."
  63. ^ Moses, p. 621: "Wherever the Scriptures speak of wine as a comfort, a blessing or a libation to God, and rank it with such articles as corn and oil, they mean – they can mean only – such wine as contained no alcohol that could have a mischievous tendency; that wherever they denounce it, prohibit it and connect it with drunkenness and reveling, they can mean only alcoholic or intoxicating wines." Quoted in Reynolds (1989).
  64. ^ a b Bacchiocchi.
  65. ^ MacArthur "Living in the Spirit: Be Not Drunk with Wine – Part 2".
  66. ^ Earle: "Oinos is used in the Septuagint for both fermented and unfermented grape juice. Since it can mean either one, it is valid to insist that in some cases it may simply mean grape juice and not fermented wine."
  67. ^ D. Miller: "The term oinos was used by the Greeks to refer to unfermented grape juice every bit as much as fermented juice. Consequently, the interpreter must examine the biblical context in order to determine whether fermented or unfermented liquid is intended."
  68. ^ Lees and Burns, pp. 431–446.
  69. ^ Patton: "Oinos is a generic word, and, as such, includes all kinds of wine and all stages of the juice of the grape, and sometimes the clusters and even the vine...."
  70. ^ a b Ewing, p. 824 (emphasis in original): There is nothing known in the East of anything called 'wine' which is unfermented.... The wine used by the Jews in Palestine – people most conservative in their religious customs – at the Passover, is of the ordinary kind. And there is no trace of any tradition among them of a change having been introduced. Their attitude towards the drinker of unfermented grape juice may be gathered from the saying in Pirke Aboth (iv. 28), 'He who learns from the young, to what is he like? to one who eats unripe grapes and drinks wine from his vat [that is, unfermented juice].'"
  71. ^ C. Hodge, p. 3:616: "That [oinos] in the Bible, when unqualified by such terms as new, or sweet, means the fermented juice of the grape, is hardly an open question. It has never been questioned in the Church, if we except a few Christians of the present day. And it may safely be said that there is not a scholar on the continent of Europe, who has the least doubt on the subject."
  72. ^ A. A. Hodge, pp. 347f: "'Wine,' according to the absolutely unanimous, unexceptional testimony of every scholar and missionary, is in its essence 'fermented grape juice.' Nothing else is wine.... There has been absolutely universal consent on this subject in the Christian Church until modern times, when the practice has been opposed, not upon change of evidence, but solely on prudential considerations." Quoted in Mathison (2001).
  73. ^ Beecher, p. 472: "The Scriptures, rightly understood, are thus the strongest bulwark of a true doctrine of total abstinence, so false exegesis of the Scriptures by temperance advocates, including false theories of unfermented wine, have done more than almost anything else to discredit the good cause. The full abandonment of these bad premises would strengthen the cause immeasurably."
  74. ^ Kaiser and Garrett: "Then as now, there were many varieties of wine, including red, white and mixed wines. The Old Testament employs a number of words for different kinds of wine. Precise translations for the Hebrew words are elusive since we do not know exactly how they differ from each other, but translators regularly use terms such as 'wine', 'new wine', 'spiced wine' and 'sweet wine'. Passages such as Hosea 4:11 make clear that these wines were alcoholic and intoxicating; there is no basis for suggesting that either the Greek or the Hebrew terms for wine refer to unfermented grape juice."
  75. ^ Entries for yayin and shekar in Harris et al., pp. 1:376 and 2:927.
  76. ^ a b c MacArthur, "Bible Questions and Answers"
  77. ^ Mathison (2001): "The testimony of historic Presbyterians and Baptists is remarkable in its agreement on this subject. Until the middle of the 19th century, the use of wine in the Lord’s Supper in accordance with Christ’s institution was a non-issue for most of these theologians. Because no one since the early gnostics had made any argument or attempt to change the elements, they simply state the use of these elements as a given fact."
  78. ^ Hirsch and Eisenstein: "'Yayin' was the ordinary matured, fermented wine, 'tirosh' was a new wine, and 'shekar' was an old, powerful wine ('strong drink'). The red wine was the better and stronger.... Perhaps the wine of Helbon ([Ez 27:18]) and the wine of Lebanon ([Ho 14:7]) were white wines."
  79. ^ Pierard, p. 28: "No evidence whatsoever exists to support the notion that the wine mentioned in the Bible was unfermented grape juice. When juice is referred to, it is not called wine (Gen. 40:11). Nor can 'new wine' ... mean unfermented juice, because the process of chemical change begins almost immediately after pressing."
  80. ^ Edwards (1915b): "To insist on a distinction between intoxicating and unfermented wine is a case of unjustifiable special pleading."
  81. ^ Compare Is 1:22.
  82. ^ Clarke, commentary on Is 1:22: "It is remarkable that whereas the Greeks and Latins by mixed wine always understood wine diluted and lowered with water, the Hebrews on the contrary generally mean by it wine made stronger and more inebriating by the addition of higher and more powerful ingredients, such as honey, spices, defrutum, (or wine inspissated by boiling it down to two-thirds or one- half of the quantity,) myrrh, mandragora, opiates, and other strong drugs."
  83. ^ 2 Mac 15:39 (Vulgate numbering: 2 Mac 15:40)
  84. ^ Maynard (1997b), pp. 374–376.
  85. ^ Compare Jdt 10:5; 12:1–2
  86. ^ a b Ewing, p. 824.
  87. ^ See Broshi (1984), passim (for instance, p. 29: Palestine was "a country known for its good wines").
  88. ^ Compare 2Ch 2:3,10
  89. ^ Ps 80:8–15; Is 5:1f; Mk 12:1; compare SS 2:15
  90. ^ Compare Is 16:10; Jr 48:33
  91. ^ a b c Maynard (1997c), pp. 374f.
  92. ^ Broshi (1984), p. 24.
  93. ^ a b Broshi (1984), p. 26.
  94. ^ Lk 5:39; compare Is 25:6
  95. ^ Dommershausen, pp. 60–62.
  96. ^ Broshi (1984), p. 27.
  97. ^ Ru 2:14
  98. ^ Broshi (1984), p. 36.
  99. ^ Dt 16:13–15
  100. ^ Maynard (1997a), p. 114: "Excessive drinking was not uncommon in the ancient Near East."
  101. ^ Raymond, p. 26.
  102. ^ Edwards (1915b): "It ... is almost invariably the well-to-do who are charged with this vice [drunkenness] in the Bible. There is no evidence to prove that it prevailed to any considerable extent among the common people. Intoxicants were then an expensive luxury, beyond the reach of the poorer classes."
  103. ^ Raymond, p. 90: Drunkenness "is not merely a disgusting personal habit and social vice, but a sin which bars the gates of Heaven, desecrates the body, which is now in a special sense the dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit, and stains the mystical body of Christ, the Church."
  104. ^ Ge 19:31–38
  105. ^ Jdt 12-13
  106. ^ "1 Es 3:17b–24". Retrieved 2007-06-06.
  107. ^ a b Edwards (1915b).
  108. ^ a b c d MacArthur, "Living in the Spirit: Be Not Drunk with Wine – Part 3".
  109. ^ Waltke (2005), p. 507: "A total prohibition [of wine for kings], says Ross [Proverbs, p. 1128.], 'would be unheard of in the ancient courts,' and v. 6 assumes that the king has wine cellars."
  110. ^ Wesley.
  111. ^ a b c d Henry, Commentary vol. III.
  112. ^ a b Gill, "Commentary on Pr 31:4–7".
  113. ^ Waltke (2005), p. 508.
  114. ^ Compare the notes on Proverbs 31:6–7 in Pratt.
  115. ^ a b c Clarke, commentary on Pr 31:6, but compare his commentary on Ps 104:15.
  116. ^ Meyers.
  117. ^ Mt 27:34,48; Mk 15:23,36; Lk 23:36; Jn 19:28–30
  118. ^ a b Rayburn (2001a).
  119. ^ Seesemann, p. 164
  120. ^ Ex 29:38–41; Nu 28:7; compare Ho 9:4
  121. ^ Lv 23:9–14; compare Jdt 11:12–13
  122. ^ Nu 15:1–11
  123. ^ 1Ch 9:29; compare Jr 35:1–5 and compare Josephus's The Wars of the Jews 5.13.6: "... the vessels of that sacred wine and oil, which the priests kept [in the temple] to be poured on the burnt-offerings, and which lay in the inner court of the temple, and distributed it among the multitude, who, in their anointing themselves and drinking, used (each of them) above an hin of them."
  124. ^ 1Ch 27:27; compare Waltke on Proverbs 31:4–7: "v. 6 assumes that the king has wine cellars."
  125. ^ See translation and marginal note in the ESV for SS 2:4.
  126. ^ 1Ch 12:38–40; Jn 2:1–11; Job 1:13,18; Ne 8:9–12
  127. ^ Pr 9:2,5; Est 1:7f; 5:6; compare those of the unfaithful in Is 65:11–12
  128. ^ Dt 14:22–29
  129. ^ Mt 26:17–30; Mk 14:12–16; Lk 22:7–13. The Gospel of John offers some difficulties when compared with the Synoptists's accounts on whether the meal was part of the Passover proper. In any case, it seems that the Last Supper was most likely somehow associated with Passover, even if it wasn't the paschal feast itself. See the discussion in Morris, pp. 684–695.
  130. ^ Seesemann, p. 162: "Wine is specifically mentioned as an integral part of the passover meal no earlier than Jub. 49:6 ['... all Israel was eating the flesh of the paschal lamb, and drinking the wine ...'], but there can be no doubt that it was in use long before." P. 164: "In the accounts of the Last Supper the term [wine] occurs neither in the Synoptists nor Paul. It is obvious, however, that according to custom Jesus was proffering wine in the cup over which He pronounced the blessing; this may be seen especially from the solemn [fruit of the vine] (Mark 14:25 and par.) which was borrowed from Judaism." Compare "fruit of the vine" as a formula in the Mishnah, Tractate Berakoth 6.1.
  131. ^ Calvin (1555): "[T]he words related by Matthew – I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine – plainly show that what he delivered to the disciples to drink was wine." The issue of fermented vs. unfermented grape juice was not an issue in Calvin's day, and he is here instead opposing the view of the Catholic Church that the cup contained transubstantiated blood. Yet it is clear that he took "fruit of the vine" to mean wine.
  132. ^ Mathison (2000).
  133. ^ Raymond, p. 80: "All the wines used in basic religious services in Palestine were fermented."
  134. ^ 1Co 11:20–22
  135. ^ Tob 4:17 (Vulgate numbering: 4:18); compare Jr 16:7
  136. ^ See also Jdt 12:13,17–20 (Vulgate numbering: 12:12, 17–20).
  137. ^ Sir 31:25–32; 32:5f; compare 9:10; 40:20; 49:1 (KJV) (Vulgate numbering: 31:30–42; 32:7f; compare 9:14f; 40:20; 49:2)
  138. ^ Edwards (1915b): "Nowhere is the principle of total abstinence inculcated as a rule applicable to all. In particular cases it was recognized as a duty.... These, however, are isolated instances. Throughout the Old Testament the use of wine appears as practically universal.... Jesus and His apostles were not ascetics, and the New Testament gives no rough-and-ready prohibition of strong drink on principle."
  139. ^ Pr 31:4f; but compare the different views on these verses above.
  140. ^ Lv 10:9; compare Ez 44:21
  141. ^ Nu 18:12; Dt 12:17–19; 18:3–5; compare Ex 22:29
  142. ^ Nu 6:2–4; compare Jg 13:4–5; Am 2:11f
  143. ^ Nu 6:13–20
  144. ^ Compare Lk 1:15.
  145. ^ Mt 11:18f; Lk 7:33f; compare Mk 14:25; Lk 22:17f
  146. ^ Raymond p. 81: "Not only did Jesus Christ Himself use and sanction the use of wine but also ... He saw nothing intrinsically evil in wine.[footnote citing Mt 15:11]"
  147. ^ Jr 35
  148. ^ Jr 35:16f
  149. ^ Da 1:1–16
  150. ^ Rayburn (2001b) suggests the wine may have been used in pagan religious rituals.
  151. ^ Da 10:2f
  152. ^ Jdt 10:5; 12:1–2
  153. ^ Ro 14:20b–21
  154. ^ Raymond understands this to mean that "if an individual by drinking wine either causes others to err through his example or abets a social evil which causes others to succumb to its temptations, then in the interests of Christian love he ought to forego the temporary pleasures of drinking in the interests of heavenly treasures" (p. 87).
  155. ^ Dommershausen, p. 64.
  156. ^ Raymond, p. 24: "The numerous allusions to the vine and wine in the Old Testament furnish an admirable basis for the study of its estimation among the people at large."
  157. ^ Is 55:1f
  158. ^ SS 1:4; 4:10; 7:6–9; 8:2
  159. ^ Pr 20:1
  160. ^ Waltke (2004), p. 114.
  161. ^ Ps 80:8–15; Is 5:1–7; Jr 2:21; 12:10; Mt 21:33–46; Mk 12:1–12; Lk 20:9–19; Jn 15:1–17
  162. ^ Mt 9:17; Mk 2:22; Lk 5:37–38
  163. ^ Browning, p. 395.
  164. ^ Jr 48:10
  165. ^ Jr 48:11; Zp 1:12
  166. ^ Is 1:22
  167. ^ Ge 14:18f; compare Heb 7:1; 2Sa 16:1f
  168. ^ Ge 27:28
  169. ^ Ge 49:9–12
  170. ^ M. S. Miller et al., p. 158f.
  171. ^ Dt 7:13; 11:14; 15:14; compare 33:28; Pr 3:9f; Jr 31:10–12; Ho 2:21–22; Jl 2:19,24; compare 2Ki 18:31–32; 2Ch 32:28; Ne 5:11; 13:12
  172. ^ Dt 28:39; 28:51; compare Is 62:8; Ho 2:8–9; Jl 1:5–17; Mi 6:13–15; Zp 1:13; Hg 1:11
  173. ^ Ps 60:3; 75:8; Is 51:17–23; 63:6; Jr 13:12–14; 25:15–29; 49:12; 51:7; La 4:21f; Ezk 23:28–33; Na 1:9f; Hab 2:15f; Zc 12:2; Re 14:10; 16:19; compare Ps Sol 8:14
  174. ^ Mt 20:22; 26:39, 42; Lk 22:42; Jn 18:11
  175. ^ Is 63:1–6; La 1:15; Jl 3:13; Re 14:18–20; 19:15
  176. ^ Coogan, pp. 799f.
  177. ^ Jr 51:7; Re 14:8; 17:2,4; 18:3
  178. ^ Am 9:13; compare Jl 3:18; Is 27:2 (NAS)
  179. ^ Am 9:14
  180. ^ Is 25:6; compare Mt 8:11; 22:2; Lk 13:29; 14:15; 22:28–30; Re 19:9
  181. ^ Mt 26:26–29; Mk 14:22–25; Lk 22:17–20; 1 Co 10:16; 11:23–25
  182. ^ Lincoln, p. 848.
  183. ^ Seesemann, p. 164.
  184. ^ Mt 27:34,48; Mk 15:23,36; Lk 23:36; Jn 19:28–30
  185. ^ Lk 10:34
  186. ^ Gill, Exposition on Lk 10:34.
  187. ^ 1 Ti 5:23
  188. ^ Guzig.
  189. ^ Gill, Exposition on 1 Ti 5:23: "[The wine was intended] to help digestion, and to remove the disorders which might attend it."
  190. ^ Henry, Commentary on First Timothy, Chapter V: "Wine is most proper for sickly and weak people, whose stomachs are often out of order, and who labour under infirmities.... Wine should be used as a help, and not a hindrance, to our work and usefulness."
  191. ^ Calvin (1556).
  192. ^ Jamieson: "Timothy seems to have had a tendency to undue ascetical strictness.... God hereby commands believers to use all due means for preserving health, and condemns by anticipation the human traditions which among various sects have denied the use of wine to the faithful."
  193. ^ Clarke, commentary on 1 Ti 5:23.

References[edit]


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