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Bible Dictionaries
Wine
People's Dictionary of the Bible
or Wine. Genesis 9:20-21. In the Bible, wine is spoken of as a blessing to a country. Genesis 27:28; Genesis 27:37; Deuteronomy 7:13; Deuteronomy 33:28; Hosea 2:8; Hosea 2:22. Our Saviour turned water into wine at a marriage feast, and directed it to be used in celebrating the Lord's supper. John 2:7-10; Matthew 26:27-29. The Bible represents wine as having intoxicating qualities, and it has many warnings in regard to its use. Noah was made drunk by it, and so was Lot. Genesis 9:26; Genesis 19:32-35. The ruler of the wedding feast where Jesus turned water into wine alluded to the intoxicating nature of wine. John 2:10. Drunkenness is condemned as a sin. 1 Corinthians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 6:10. The common wine required to be "refined" or strained previous to being brought to the table. Isaiah 25:6. Wine was also made from pomegranate as well as grape. Song of Solomon 8:2. In Palestine the vintage comes in September, and is celebrated with great rejoicings. The ripe fruit is gathered in baskets, Jeremiah 6:9, and carried to the wine-press. It is then placed in the upper one or the two vats or receptacles of the wine-press and is subjected to "treading," which has prevailed in all ages in oriental and south-European countries. Nehemiah 13:15; Job 24:11; Isaiah 16:10; Jeremiah 25:30; Jeremiah 48:33; Amos 9:13; Bey. 19:15. A certain amount of juice exuded from the ripe fruit from its own pressure before the treading commenced. This appears to have been kept separate from the rest of the juice, and to have formed the "new" or "sweet wine" noticed in Acts 2:13. The "treading" was by men. They encouraged one another by shouts. Isaiah 16:9-10; Jeremiah 25:30; Jeremiah 48:33. Their legs and garments were dyed red with the juice. Genesis 49:11; Isaiah 63:2-3. The juice ran by an aperture into the lower vat, or was at once collected in vessels. Wine is said to produce different effects: as the "darkly flashing" or "red eye," Genesis 49:12, a mocker, Proverbs 20:1, the unbridled tongue, Isaiah 28:7, the excitement of the spirit, Proverbs 31:6; Isaiah 5:11; Zechariah 9:15; Zechariah 10:7, the enchained affections of its votaries, Hosea 4:11, the perverted judgment, Proverbs 31:6; tea. 23:7, the indecent exposure, Habakkuk 2:15-16, and the sickness resulting from the heat (chemâh, A. V., "bottles") of wine. Hosea 7:5. The allusions to the effects of tîrôsh are confined to a single passage, but this a most decisive one, viz., Hosea 4:11, "Whoredom and wine (yayin) and new wine (tîrôsh) takeaway the heart," where tîrôsh appears as the climax of engrossing influences, in immediate connection with yayin. It has been disputed whether the Hebrew wine was fermented; but the impression produced by a general review of the above notices is that the Hebrew words indicating wine refer to fermented, intoxicating wine. Mingled liquor was prepared for high festivals, Proverbs 9:2; Proverbs 9:5, and occasions of excess. Proverbs 23:30; Isaiah 5:22. The wine "mingled with myrrh," given to Jesus, was designed to deaden pain, Mark 15:23, and the spiced pomegranate wine prepared by the bride, Song of Solomon 8:2, may well have been of a mild character. In the New Testament the "new" or "sweet wine," noticed in Acts 2:13, could not be new wine in the proper sense of the term, inasmuch as about eight months must have elapsed between the vintage and the feast of Pentecost. It had also the power to make persons drunk, at least in public estimation. The only wines of which we have special notice belonged to Syria; these were the wine of Helbon, Ezekiel 27:18, and the wine of Lebanon, famed for its aroma. Hosea 14:7. Wine was produced on occasions of ordinary hospitality, Genesis 14:18, and at festivals, such as marriages. John 2:3. Under the Mosaic law wine formed the usual drink offering that accompanied the daily sacrifice, Exodus 29:40, the presentation of the first-fruits, Leviticus 23:13, and other offerings. Numbers 15:5. Tithe was to be paid of wine, as of other products. The priest was also to receive first-fruits of wine, as of other articles. Deuteronomy 18:4; comp. Exodus 22:29. The use of wine at the paschal feast was not enjoined by the law, but became an established custom, in the post-Babylonian period. Some Biblical scholars hold that the Bible mentions two kinds of wine, one unfermented and one fermented and intoxicating.
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Rice, Edwin Wilbur, DD. Entry for 'Wine'. People's Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/rpd/w/wine.html. 1893.
