Wine(intoxicants, wine skins)
“Yayin, from a root meaning 'to boil up' or 'effervesce,' referring to fermentation”
Summary
Wine was a common beverage in ancient Palestine, used both in daily life and religious rituals, often mixed with water or spices.
☩Hebrew and Greek Terms
Several Hebrew words describe wine and grape products. Tirosh refers broadly to vintage fruit or grape produce, often listed with grain and oil as blessings of the land. Yayin is the proper term for fermented wine, describing its effects including red eyes, loosened tongue, and impaired judgment. Shekar denotes strong drink including palm, pomegranate, and honey wines. The Greek oinos is used throughout the New Testament for wine, while gleukos refers to sweet wine made from the purest grape juice.
☩Production and Storage
The vintage took place in September and was celebrated with great rejoicing. Ripe grapes were gathered in baskets and carried to the winepress, where they were trodden by foot with shouts of encouragement. The juice flowed into a lower vat, then was placed in earthenware jars lined with pitch, or in leather wineskins. New wine required new wineskins because fermentation would burst old, inflexible skins. Wine was often mixed with spices to increase strength, or with water to reduce it.
☩Religious and Ceremonial Use
Wine formed the daily drink offering accompanying sacrifices, and tithes of wine were required of the people. Priests were forbidden wine while ministering, and Nazirites abstained during their vow. The Passover included wine, with the third cup called the cup of blessing. Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper using wine, declaring He would not drink again of the fruit of the vine until God's kingdom comes. The early Church continued using wine in the Eucharist, typically mixed with water.
☩Ancient Wine and Modern Interpretation
Ancient wine differed from most modern wines in several respects. The early Church mixed water with wine in proportions varying from one-fourth to one-third water, a practice authorized by canons of the Church. Ancient wines were also commonly mixed with spices either to increase or diminish their strength. Archaeological residue analysis of storage jars from Jerusalem dated to 586 BC revealed wine enriched with vanilla, evidencing the elite consumption of spiced wines in ancient Judah. Without modern stabilization techniques, wine spoiled more readily and was typically consumed within months of production rather than aged for years.
Related Verses235 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Wine," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 2.James Hastings (ed.), "Wine," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. II (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 3.F. N. Peloubet & M. A. Peloubet (ed.), "Wine," in Smith's Bible Dictionary (Porter & Coates, 1884).
- 4.James Orr (ed.), "Wine-Skins," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. V (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 5.George Morrish, "Wine," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 6.John McClintock and James Strong, "Wine, Ecclestastical Use Of," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. X (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 7.Ayala Amir, Israel Finkelstein, Yiftah Shalev, et al., "Residue analysis evidence for wine enriched with vanilla consumed in Jerusalem on the eve of the Babylonian destruction in 586 BCE" (PLOS ONE, 17(3), e0266085., 2022).