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Bible Encyclopedias
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Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or (usually חִלּוֹן ; chiallon; Chald. כִּו, kav, Daniel 6:10; — θυρίς ) The "window of an Oriental house consists generally of an aperture (as the word challon implies) closed in with lattice-work named in Hebrew by the terms arubbah (אֲרבָּה, Ecclesiastes 12:3, A.V. "window;" Hosea 13:3, A. V. "chimney"), charakkinz חֲרִכַּי, Song of Solomon 2:9), and eshnab (אֶשְׁנָב, Judges 5:28; Proverbs 7:6, A.V. "casement"), the two former signifying the interlaced work of the lattice, and the third the coolness produced by the ftee current of air through it. Other Heb. terms rendered "window" צֹהִר, tsohar (Genesis 6:16; a lightor opening to admit it, elsewhere "noon"), and שֶׁקֶ, shekeph (1 Kings 7:5) or שָׁקוּ, shukuph (6, 4; 7:4), which means timbers or beams. (See ARK); (See TEMPLE).
Glass has been introduced into Egypt in modern times as a protection against the cold of winter; but latticework is still the usual, and with the poor the only, contrivance for closing the window (Lane, Modern Egypt. 1, 29). When the lattice-work was open, there appears to have been nothing in early times to prevent a person from falling through the aperture (Acts 20:9). The windows generally look into the inner court of the house, but in every house one or more look into the street, and hence it is possible for a person to observe the approach hence it is possible of another without being himself observed (Judges 5:28; 2 Samuel 6:16; Proverbs 7:6; Song of Solomon 2:9). In Egypt these outer windows generally project over the doorway (Lane, Modern Egypt. 1, 27; Carne, Letters, 1, 94). When houses abut on the town-wall, it is not unusual for them to have projecting windows surmounting the wall and looking into the country, as represented in.Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul, 1, 124. Through such a window the spies escaped from Jericho (Joshua 2:15), and Paul from Damascus (2 Corinthians 11:33). In the Talmud, Tyrian windows are mentioned (Baba Bathria, 3, 6). See Hartmann, Hebrier, 3, 341 sq.; Oldermann, De Specularibus Voterum (Helmist. 1719). (See HOUSE).
Wine, both natural and artificial, is frequently mentioned in the Bible, and in modern times, especially in connection with the temperance cause, its character and use have been a subject of no little nor always temperate controversy. We propose here to treat it in the light of Scripture, history, and morals, unbiased by the disputes into which learned and good men have allowed themselves to fall upon the subject.
I. Bible Terms. — The produce of the wine-press was described in the Hebrew language by a variety of words indicative- either of the quality or of the use of the liquid. It may at once be conceded that the Hebrew terms translated "wine" refer occasionally to an unfermented liquor; but inasmuch as there are frequent allusions to intoxication in the Bible, it is clear that fermented liquors were also in common use. It is also obvious that the Bible generally speaks in terms of strong condemnation of the effects of wine; but it is a fair question whether the condemnation is not rather directed against intoxication and excess than against the substance, which is the occasion of the excess.
The following are the words more or less so rendered in the A. V., with a few others of cognate signification and application.
1. Yayin, יִיַן (A.V. invariably "wine," except Judges 13:14. "vine;" Song of Solomon 2, 4, "banqueting"). This word, the most commonly employed in the Old-Test. Scriptures for wine, is also the most comprehensive, including, like the corresponding English word, wines of all sorts, although used also in a more restricted; sense to denote red wine.
(1.) It is etymologically derived, according to Gesenius, from יוֹן, an unused root, having the force offervendi, cestuendi; according to Fü rst, from וַין, like the Arabic וִין, Aeth, וֵין, Gr. Γαινος, "et sic porro cseteris in linguis, Arm. gini; Lat. vinmuni; Eng. wine; Sept. οινος, ἀσκός, γλεῦκος "It has been the current opinion that the Indo-European languages borrowed the term from the Hebrews. The reverse, however, is thought by some to be the case (Renan, Lang. Sen. 1, 207), and the word has been referred either to the root we, "to weave," whence come viere, viimem, vitis, vitta (Pott, Etym. Forsch. 1, i20, 230), or to the root wan, "to love"(Kuhn, Zeitschrf. vergl. Sprachf. 1,-191 192). However this may be, the etymological connection and substantial identity of the above Heb., Greek, Latin, and English words cannot be doubted.
(2.) In most of the passages in the Bible where yà yin is used (83 out of 138), it certainly means fermented grape-juice, and in the remainder it may fairly be presumed to do so. In four only (Isaiah 16:10; Jeremiah 11:10-12; Lamentations 2:12) is it really doubtful. In no passage can it be positively shown to have any other meaning. The corresponding English word "wine" properly means "the fermented juice of the grape." It always has this meaning, except when expressly modified by the immediate connection, in which it is used. The same is true of its equivalent congeners-Greek, oivog; Latin, vinum; German, wein; French, 6, etc.
The intoxicating character of yà yin in general is plain from Scripture. To it nre attributed the "darkly flashing eye"(Genesis 49, 12 A. V. "red," but see Gesenius, Thesaur. Append. p. 89), the unbridled tongue (Proverbs 20:1; 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 31:5; Isaiah 28:7), the indecent exposure (Habakkuk 2:15-16), and the sickness resulting from the heat (chemdh, A.V. "bottles") of wine (Hosea 7:5). So in actual instances Noah planted a vineyard, and drank of the yà yin and was drunken (Genesis 9:21). Nabal drank yà yin and was very drunken (1 Samuel 25:36-37); the "drunkards of Ephraim" were "overcome with yà yin" (Isaiah 28:1), or rather, knocked down, or, as Gill paraphrases it, "smitten, beaten, knocked down with it as with a hammer, and laid prostrate on the ground, where they lie fixed to it, not able to rise." Jeremiah says, "I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom yà yin hath overcome"(Jeremiah 23:9). The intoxicating quality of yà yin is confirmed by Rabbinical testimony. The Mishna, in the treatise on the Passover, informs us that four cups of wine were poured out and blessed, and drunk by each of the company at the eating of the Paschal lamb, and that water was also mixed with the wine, because it was considered too strong to be drunk alone (Pesachiz, 7:13; 10:1). In Hieros. Sabb. (11, 1) we read, "It is commanded that this rite be performed with red wine;" Babylon Sabb. (77, 1), "Sharon wine is of famous report, with which they mix two parts of water;" Babylon. Berachoth (fol. 1), "Their wine (יין ) was very strong, and not fit for drinking without being mixed with water." The Gemara adds, "The cup of blessing is not to be blessed until it is mixed with water;" the Jerusalem Talmud says, "It became a man nobly to entertain his wife and children (at the Passover), that at this feast they might be merry with wine" (יין ). To meet the objection, How can intoxication be hindered? the rabbins replied, "Because wine between eating does not intoxicate a man" (Hieros. Talm.). See Dr. Tattam's Reply to a Pamphlet by Rev. W. Ritchie on the Scripture Testimony against Intoxicating Wine, p. 8, 9.
But, although usually intoxicating, yet it was not only permitted to be drunk, but was also used for sacred purposes, and is spoken of as a blessing. Thus, in Jacob's blessing on Judah, "His eyes shall be red with yà yin, and his teeth white with milk" (Genesis 49:12). So in God's promise to restore his people to their own land "I will bring again the captivity of my people, and they shall plant vineyards and drink the yà yin thereof" (Amos 9:19). "Drink thy yà yin," says the preacher, "with a merry heart, for God now accepteth thy works" (Ecclesiastes 9:7). The Nazarite, at the expiration of his vow, was permitted to drink yà yin (Numbers 6:13-20); the Israelites were permitted to drink yà yin at their feasts (Deuteronomy 14:24-26); yà yin was used in the sacred service of Jehovah, being poured out as a drink-offering to him (Exodus 19:40; Leviticus 23:13; Numbers 15:5). Hence, it not only "maketh glad the heart of man" (Psalms 104:15), but also "cheereth both God and man"(Judges 9:13); its cheering effects being symbolically transferred to the Divine Being.
Some, indeed, have argued from these passages that yà yin could not always have been alcoholic. But this is begging the question, and that in defiance of the facts. Although invariably fermented, it was not always properly inebriating, and in most instances, doubtless was but slightly alcoholic, like the vin ordinaire of France, or our own cider.
2. Tirô sh, תַּירוֹשׁ (Genesis 27:28-38; Numbers 18:12; Deuteronomy 7:13; Deuteronomy 11:14; Deuteronomy 12:17; Deuteronomy 14:23; Deuteronomy 18:4; Deuteronomy 28:5; Deuteronomy 33:28; Judges 9:13; 2 Kings 18:32; 2 Chronicles 31:5; 2 Chronicles 32:28; Nehemiah 5, 11; Nehemiah 10:37; Psalms 4:7; Isaiah 26:17; Isaiah 62:8; Jeremiah 31:12; Hosea 2:8-9; Hosea 2:22; Hosea 7:14; Joel 2:19; Joel 2:24; rendered "new wine" in Nehemiah 10:39; Nehemiah 13:5; Nehemiah 13:12; Proverbs 3:10; Isaiah 24:7; Isaiah 65:8; Hosea 4:11; Hosea 9:2; Joel 1:10; Haggai 1:11; Zechariah 9:17; "sweet wine," in Micah 6:15), properly signifies must, the freshly pressed juice of the grape (the γλεῦκος, or sweet wine of the Greeks, rendered "new wine?" in Acts 2:13). The word (rendered in the Sept. by three distinct terms, οινος, ώξ, ώξ, μέθυσμα ) occurs sometimes in connection with yà yin, sometimes with oil, and sometimes with words denoting the edible productions of the earth.
(1.) Etymologically, tirô sh is usually referred to the root yarô sh, יָרִשׁ, "to get possession of," applied to wine on account of its inebriating qualities, whereby it gets possession of the brain. So Gesenius, "Mustum, novum vinuim ita dictum quia inebriat, cerebrum occupat"(Thesaur. p. 633); and Fü rst, "Mustum uvis expressum, A. V. יָרִשׁ, occupare, acquirere, comparare" (Concord. p. 525, 2). But according to Bythner, as quoted by Lees (Tirô sh, p. 52), it refers to the vine as being a possession (κατ᾿ ἐξοχήν ) in the eyes of the He. brews. Neither of these explanations is wholly satisfactory, but the second is less so than the first, in as much as it would be difficult to prove that the Hebrews attached such pre-eminent value to the vine as to place it on a par with landed property, which is designated by the cognate terms yerushshash and morashah. Nor do we see that any valuable conclusion could be drawn from this latter derivation; for, assuming its correctness, the question would still arise whether it was on account of-the natural or the manufactured product that such store was set on the vine.
(2.) As to the exclusively liquid character of the substance denoted, both yà yin and tirô sh are occasionally connected with expressions that would apply properly to a fruit; the former, for instance, with verbs significant of gathering (Jeremiah 40, 10, 12) and growing (Psalms 104:14-15); the latter with gathering (Isaiah 62, 9, A. V. "brought it together"), treading (Micah 6:15), and weathering (Isaiah 24:7; Joel 1:10). So, again, the former is used in Numbers 6:4, to define the particular kind of tree whose products were forbidden to the Nazarite, viz. the "pendulous shoot of the vine;" and the latter in Judges 9:13, to denote the product of the vine. It should be observed, however, that in most, if not all, the passages where these and similar expressions occur there is something to denote that the fruit is regarded not simply as fruit, but as the raw material out of which wine is manufactured. Thus, for instance, in Psalms 104:15, and Judges 9:13, the cheering effects of the product are noticed, and that these are more suitable to the idea of wine than of fruit seems self-evident; in one passage, indeed, the A.V. connects the expression "make cheerful" with bread (Zechariah 9:17); but this is a mere mistranslation, the true sense of the expression there used being to nourish or make to grow. So, again, the treading of the grape in Micah 7:15 is in itself conclusive as to the pregnant sense in which the term tirô sh is used, even if it were not subsequently implied that the effect of the treading was, in the ordinary course of things, to produce the yà yin which was to be drunk. In Isaiah 62:9, the object of the gathering is clearly conveyed by the notice of drinking. In Isaiah 24:7, the tirô sh, which withers, is paralleled with yà yin in the two following verses. Lastly, in 65:8, the nature of the tirô sh, which is said to be found in the cluster of the grapes, is not obscurely indicated by the subsequent eulogium, "a blessing is in it." That the terms "vine" and "wine" should be thus interchanged in poetical language calls for no explanation. We can no more infer from such instances that the Hebrew terms mean grapes as fruit than we could infer the same of the Latin vinum because in some two or three passages (Plautus, Trin. 2, 4, 125; Varro, De Ling. Lat. 4:17; Cato, De Re Rustica, c. 147) the term is transferred to the grape out of which wine is made.
Moreover, tirô sh generally follows "corn " in the triplet "corn, wine, and oil," and hence the term applied to the consumption of corn is carried on, in accordance with the grammatical-figure zeugma, to the other members of the clause, as in Deuteronomy 12:17. In the only passage where the act of consuming tirô sh alone is noticed (Isaiah 62, 8, 9) the verb is shathah (שָׁתָה ), which constantly indicates the act of drinking (e.g. Genesis 9:21; Genesis 24:22; Exodus 7:21; Ruth 2:9), and is the general term combined with aká l (אָכִל ) in the joint act of "eating and drinking", (e.g. 1 Samuel 30:16; Job 1:4; Ecclesiastes 2:24). We can find no confirmation for' the cense of sucking assigned to the term by Dr. Lees (Tirô sh, p. 61); the passage quoted in support of that sense (Psalms 75:8) implies, at all events, a kind of sucking allied to drinking rather than to eating, if indeed the sense of. drinking be not the more correct rendering of the term. An argument has been drawn against the usual sense assigned to tirô sh, from the circumstance that it is generally connected with "corn," and therefore implies an edible rather than a drinkable substance. The very opposite conclusion may, however, be drawn from this circumstance; for it may be reasonably urged that in any enumeration of the materials needed for man's support, "meat and drink" would be specified rather than several kinds of the former and none of the latter. "Bread and water" occur together very often (e.g. Ezekiel 4:17; 1 Samuel 25:11, etc.). Is water, then, a solid?
There are, finally, passages which seem to imply the actual manufacture of tirô sh by the same process by which wine was ordinarily made. For, not to insist on the probability that the bringing together, noticed in Isaiah 62:9 would not appropriately apply to the collecting of the fruit in the wine-vat, we have notice of the "treading" in connection with tirô sh in Micah 6:15, and again of the "overflowing" and the "bursting out" of the tirô sh in the vessels or lower vat (יֶקֶב, yekeb, Sept. ὑπολήνιον ), which received the must from the proper press (Proverbs 3, 10; Joel 2, 24). ‘ This, according to the author of Tirô sh Lo Yà yin, is an "image of abundance;" the "vats piled up with fruits so fill that what was put on would roll of to the ground, because they could hold no more!"(p. 54).
(3.) As to the intoxicating character of this drink, the allusions to its effects are confined to a single passage, but this a most decisive one, viz. Hosea 4:11, "Whoredom and wine (yà yin), and new wine (tirô sh) take away the heart," where tirô sh appears as the climax of engrossing influences, in immediate connection with yà yin.
The inevitable impression produced on the mind by a general review of the above notices is that both yà yin and tirô sh, in their ordinary and popular acceptation, referred to fermented, intoxicating wine. In the condemnatory passages no exception is made in favor of any other kind of liquid passing under the same name, but not invested with the same dangerous qualities. Nor, again, in these passages is there any decisive condemnation of the substance itself, which would enforce the; conclusion that elsewhere an unfermented liquid must be understood. The condemnation must be understood, of excessive use in any case for even where this is not expressed, it is implied; and therefore the instances of wine being drunk, without any reproof of the act may with as great a probability, imply the moderate use of an intoxicating beverage, as the use of an unintoxicating one.
The notices of fermentation are not very decisive. A certain amount of fermentation is implied in the distension of the leather bottles when new wine was placed in them, and which was liable to burst old bottles. It has been suggested that the -object of placing the wine in bottles was to prevent fermentation, but that in the case of old bottles fermentation might ensue from their being impregnated with the fermenting substance" (Tirô sh, p. 65). This is not inconsistent with the statement in Matthew 9:17, but it detracts from the spirit of the comparison which implies the presence of a strong, expansive, penetrating principle. It is, however, inconsistent with Job 32:19, where the distension is ‘ described as occurring even in new bottles. It is very likely that new vine was preserved in the state of must by placing it in jars or bottles, and then burying it in the earth. But we should be inclined to understand the passages above quoted as referring to wine drawn off before the fermentation was complete, either for immediate use, or for the purpose of forming it into sweet wine after the manner described by the Geoponic. writers (7, 19). The presence of the gas-bubble, or, as the Hebrews termed it, "the eye that sparkled in the cup" (Proverbs 23:31), was one of the tokens of fermentation having taken place, and the same effect was very possibly implied in the name chemer (הֶמֶר ).
The testimony of the rabbins is to the same effect. They say, "Tirosh, תירושׁ, is new wine; the liquor of the grapes first pressed out, which easily takes possession of the mind of man" (Sanhedr. 76, 1). "If thou abuse it, thou shalt be poor; if thou rightly use it, thou shalt be head" (Yoma, 76, 2). Again, in the, Gernara. "Wherefore is it called tirô sh? Because all who are drawn to it shall be poor." Such is the testimony of the rabbins, "who ought to know something of their own language." In accordance with this, the Targumists Onkelos and Jonathan render tirô sh, in every instance of its occurrence (except in three cases where there is no word, or the word for vineyard), by the word המר, chamar (see Tattam, Reply, p. 5, 6).
3. Chehme?, חֶמֶר. (from חָמִר, cestuavitferbuit), or in, its Chaldee form, chamar, חֲמִר ‘(Sept. οϊ v νος, καλός ), is "in vinum a fervendo et fermentando dictum"(Gesenius, Thesaur. p. 493). The word occurs eight times-twice. (Deuteronomy 32:14; Isaiah 27:2) in its Hebrew and six times (Ezra 6:9; Ezra 7:22; Daniel 5:1-2; Daniel 5:4; Daniel 5:23) in the Chaldee form. In Deuteronomy 32:14 it is (in the A. V., after the Vulg.) treated as an adjective, and rendered "pure", "the pure blood of the grape," instead of "the blood of the grape-wine," chemer. The rabbins call it "pure or neat wine" (i.e. no water being mixed with the juice of the grape), "because it disturbs the head and the brain" (Tattam). They regarded chemer and tirô sh "as equivalent terms." This pure, powerful wine, was permitted to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 32:14); and is spoken of with approbation by Isaiah, "In that day sing ye unto him. A vineyard of red wine (chemer); I, the Lord, do keep it"(Isaiah 27:2-3). Cyrus and Arta xerxes commanded that chemer should be given to the people of Israel "for the service of the God of heaven (Ezra 6:9).
Sheká r, שֵׁכָר (from , שֵׁכָר inebriavit se; Sept. σίκερα, οινος μεθυσμα, μέθη -; Vulg. vinun), is "fermetum an inebriating drink, whether wine prepared or distilled from barley or from honey or from dates (Geseniuts, Thesaur. p. 1440). So Fü rst who adds, "or any other kind, of intoxicating drink comprehended under the name τῶν σικέρωνς " Jerome says, Sicera (שֵכִר ) Hebraeo sermone omnis potio, qule inebriare potest, sivrilla quae frumento conficitulr, sive pomorum succo, aut quum favi decoquuitur in dulcem et barbaaram potionem, aut. palmarum fructus exprimuntur in liquorem coctisque frugibus aqua pinguior coloratur (Ep. ad Nepotianum). In the A.V. the word is once rendered "strong- wine"(Numbers 28:7); and elsewhere, occurring along with yà yin, "strong drink" (Numbers 6:3; Deuteronomy 29:61 Judges 13:4; Judges 13:7; Judges 13:14; Isaiah 5:11; Isaiah 56:12; Micah 2:11; and the passages cited below). Onkelos, On Numbers 28:7, calls it "old wine." Rabbi Solomon, rabbi Eleasar, Aben - Ezra, and others call it "intoxicating wine." "The word means strong drink, from whatever substance made" (Tattam). It was used as a drink-offering in the service of God (Numbers 28:7), and was, notwithstanding its highly intoxicating property, permitted to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 14:26). (See DRINK); (See STRONG).
A vain attempt has been made, by connecting the word etymologically with sugar, to prove, in the face of the clearest evidence to the contrary, that it was a sweet, non-intoxicating syrup (see Lees, Works). The word is employed in the following passages in such a manner as to show decisively that it denotes an intoxicating drink: Leviticus 10:9, where the priests are forbidden to drink wine or sheká r when they go into the tabernacle; 1 Samuel 1:15, where Hannah, charged with drunkenness by Eli, replies it is not so "I have drunk neither wine nor sheká r" Psalms 69:12, where the psalmist complains, "I was the song of the drinkers of sheká r" (A. V. "drunkards"); Proverbs 20:1, "Wine is a mocker, sheká r is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise;"31:4, 5, "It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes sheká r, lest they drink and forget the law;" Isaiah 5:22, "Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle shekar" 28:7: "They also have erred through wine, and through sheká r are out of the way: the priest'and the prophet-have erred through sheká r, they are swallowed up of wine. they are out of the way through sheká ru;" 29:9, "They are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with sheká r."
5. ‘ Asis, עָסַיס (from עָסִס, to tread; Sept. νᾶμα, γλυκασμός, οινος νέος, μέθη; Targ. חֲמִר מֵרִת, "pure wine;" Vulg. "dulcedo, mustum"), is must, that which is expressed from grapes by treading, or from pomegranates (Gesenisus. Thesaur. p. 1054). Henderson says, "By עָסַיס is meant the fresh wine, or juice of the grape or other fruit which has just been pressed out, and is remarkable for its sweet flavor and its freedom from intoxicating qualities" (Comment. on Joel 1, 5). Its extraction from pomegranates is referred to in Song of Solomon 8:2 ("juice"), Yet its intoxicating quality seems intimated in Isaiah 49:26, "They shall be drunken with their own blood as with sweet wine" (asis); Joel 1:5, "Awake, ye drunkards, and weep… because of the new wine (asis), for it is cut off from your mouth." It is promised by God as a blessing (Joel 3:17-18; Amos 9:13).
6. Sô bè, סֹבֶא (from סָבָא, pofavit, idque intemperantius, gurgitavit, to drink to excess, to tope [Gesenius, Thesaur. p. 932]; Sept. οιμος; Vulg. vinum), occurs only in three places (Isaiah 1, 22, "wine;" Hosea 4:18, "drink;" Nahum 1:10, "drunken"), but the verb and participle often-the latter to denote drunk, a drunkard, a toper. Gesenius renders the noun in Isaiah 1, 22 vinum, but in Hosea 4:18compotatio, a drinking-bout, a carouse; so Henderson, Dathe, etc. The Sept. must have followed a various reading in this place. Sô bè, then, means some (or perhaps any) kind of intoxicating drink.
7. Mesek, מֶסֶךְ (from מָסִךְ, to mix, or mingle), is wine mixed with water or aromatics (Sept. κέρασμα; Vulg. inistum). It occurs only once (Psalm 60.15, 9); but the participial noun מַמְסָךְ, nmimsdak, is found in Proverbs 23:30; Isaiah 56:11, in a similar sense-wine highly spiced, to improve its flavor and enhance its intoxicating power. See below.
8. Shemanrim, שְׁמָרַים (from שָׁמִר, to keep, preserve lay up; Sept. τρυγέας, φύλαγμα, δόξα; Villg. faces, vendemice; A. V. "lees," "dregs," "wine on the lees"), occurs five times, and always in the plural. It is used both of lees and of wine preserved on the lees: of lees, Psalms 75:8; Jeremiah 48, 11; Zephaniah 1, 2, in all which passages it is used in a figurative sense; in the second and third, the form of expression is proverbial, being used of individuals and nations— "de iis qui desides, atque otiosi sunt, vel certe vita utuntur quieta, tranquilla, metaphora a vino petita, quod diu in cella reconditum fbecibus superjaciet et intactum asservatur, quo validius fit vinum odorque fragrantior" (Gesenius, Thesaur. p. 1444). It is used of wine, Isaiah 25:6 (bis), where the prophet foretells the rich provision of Gospel blessings under the figure of "a feast of fat things, of wines on the lees, shemarim, well refined (מַזקְקַים, defecated i.e. "vinum vetus et nobilissimum a tdcibus purgatum"(Gesenius), or "curm feecibus servatium (Hefenwein), quod defecatum et clarificatun in conviviis opiparis apponitur"(Ftirst, Concord. p. 1177). The word is used of lees, according to some, "from their preserving the strength and flavor of wine"(Alexander); according to others as "id quod ad ultimum usque reservatur et remanet faeces, utpote quae in imo vasis fundo subsident" (Fü rst). This "vetus et nobilissimum vinum" is spoken of approvingly in the last-cited passage.
9. Ashishah, אֲשַׁישָׁה (Sept. λάγανον ἀπὸ πηγάνου, πέμμα, ἀμορίτης, i.e. a cake from the frying-pan, a baked cake, a sweet cake, is a variation of rendering truly. The Targ. of Jonathan on Exodus 16:31 uses אֲשַׁישְׁיָן for the Heb. צפַּיחית a flat cake. The traditio Judaica is גִּרַבא דַחִמְרָא,a ajar of wine. The A. V. has "flagons," "flagons of wine"). The plural of the word occurs both in the masculine and feminine forms. Critics are pretty generally agreed that it does not denote wine or any other drink, but a cake, such as was "prepared from dried grapes, or raisins pressed or compacted into a certain form. Cakes of this kind are mentioned as delicacies with which the weary and languid are refreshed (2 Samuel 6:19; 1 Chronicles 16:3; Song of Solomon 2:5), and were offered in sacrifice to idols (Hosea 3:1). They differed from צַמּוּק, i.e. grapes dried but not compacted into the form of cakes; and also from דְּבֵלָה, i.e. figs pressed into cakes." So Gesenius, who derives the word from אָשִׁשׁ, to press, although Ginsburg would derive it from a similar form denoting to burn. The evidence seems in favor of a cake, especially a grape cake, in which latter sense it certainly occurs in Hosea 3:1, where, however, it is written more fully, or rather with the addition of עֲנָבַים, grapes, which fills up its meaning, אֲשַׁישֵׁי עֲנָבַים =Z cakes of grapes. Dr. Tattam, resting on the authority of rabbins whom he quotes, seems inclined to abide by the rendering of the A.V. (see Reply, p. 13, 14). (See CAKE).
10. Three other words may here be noticed. חמֶ, chomeets (Sept. ὄξος, but in Proverbs 10:26 ὄμφαξ, i.e. sour grapes; so the Syr.; Vulg. acetum; A. V. "vinegar," rightly), occurs five times. This, it appears, was obtained either from yà yin or sheká r (Numbers 6:3), and was used by those engaged in the labors of the field to soften and render more palatable the dry bread which formed the food of the reapers (Ruth 2:14). It was also used as a beverage, probably mixed, with water (Numbers 6:3), in which case it would resemble the posca of the Komans, which was not an intoxicating drink, and was used only by the poorer classes (Plaut. Mil. Glor. 3, 2, 23). In Matthew 27:34 our Lord is said to ‘ have had vinegar mingled with gall offered to him to drink when on the cross. Mark (Mark 15:23) says it was wine mingled with myrrh; Luke that it was vinegar offered by the soldiers in mockery (Luke 23:36); and John that it was vinegar (John 19:29). Possibly these accounts refer to two separate occurrences-the one an act of cruelty on the part of the soldiers, who, in response to our Lord's exclamation, "I thirst," offered him some of their own posca; the other an act of intended kindness; designed to alleviate his sufferings by an anodyne. (See VINEGAR).
Anabim, עֲנָבַים (A.V. "wine" in Hosea 3:1; elsewhere correctly "grapes"). (See GRAPE).
Yekeb, יֶקֶב (A. V. "wine" in Deuteronomy 16:13; elsewhere correctly "press"). (See WINE-PRESS).
11. In the New Test. several words are employed denoting wine.
(1.) Οινος , comprehending every sort of wine.
(2.) Γλεῦκος, sweet, or "new wine," which, as well as the former, seems, from the use made of it (Acts 2:13), to signify wine of an intoxicating quality. "These men are full of new wine," to which charge Peter replies, "These men are not drunken as ye suppose" (Acts 5:15), although Dr. Lees's, interpretation is fairly admissible that the language is that of mockery, as if we should say of a drunken man, He has taken too much water. The gleukos was the fruit of the grape, so kept as to preserve its sweetness, "perhaps made of a remarkably sweet, small grape, which is understood by the Jewish expositors to be meant by sorek ( שׂרֵךְ Genesis 49, 11), or soreká h (שׂרֵכָה, Isaiah 5, 2), and still found in Syria and Arabia"(Alford, On Acts 2, 13). So Suidas, τὸ ἀποσταλάγμα τῆς σταφυλῆς πρὶν πατηθῆ. It 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 might have been applied, just as mustum was by the Romans, to wine that had been preserved for about a year in an unfermented state (Cato, De Re Rustica, c. 120). But the explanations of the ancient lexicographers rather lead us to infer that its luscious qualities were due, not to its being recently made, but to its being produced from the very purest juice of the grape; for both in Hesychius and the Etymologicum Magnum the term γλεῦκος is explained to be the juice that flowed spontaneously from the grape before the treading commenced. The name itself, therefore, is not conclusive as to its being an unfermented liquor, while the context implies the reverse for Peter would hardly have offered a serious defense to an accusation that was not seriously made; and yet if the sweet wine in question were not intoxicating, the accusation could only have been ironical (see Walch, De Vatura τοῦ γλεύκους [Jen. 17551).
As considerable stress is laid upon the quality of sweetness as distinguished from strength, we may' observe that the usual term for the inspissated juice of the grape, which was characterized more especially by sweetness, was debá sh (דְּבִשׁ ), rendered in the A.V. "honey"(Genesis 43:11; Ezekiel 27:17). This was prepared by boiling it down either to a third of its original bulk, in which case it was termed sapa by the Latins and ἕψημα or σίραιον by the Greeks, or else to half its bulk, in which case it was termed deiutum (Pliny, 14:11). Both the substance and the name, under the form of dibs, are in common use in Syria at the present day. We may further notice a. less artificial mode of producing a sweet liquor from the grape, namely, by pressing the juice directly into the cup, as described in Genesis 40:11.
Lastly, there appears to have been a beverage, also of a sweet character, produced by macerating grapes, and hence termed the "liquor" (מַשְׁרָה ) of grapes (Numbers 6:3). These later preparations are allowed in the Koran (16, 69) as substitutes for wine.
(3.) Γέννημα , or γένημα, τῆς ἀμπέλου, fruit of the vine=wine (Luke 22:18).
(4.) Οινος ἄκρατος , pure wine (Revelation 14:10)— οινον ἄκρατον ειναι λέγομεν, ῳ μὴ μέμικται τὸ Þ δωρ, ἤ παντάπασιν ὀλίγον μέμικται (Galen in Wettstein, cited by Alford). Here the phrase is used figuratively. See below.
(5.) Ο᾿ξος, sour wine, or vinegar (Matthew 27:48; Mark 15:36, etc.).
(6.) Σίκερα (A.V. "strong drink;" Heb. שֵׁכָר ), "any strong drink made of grapes"(Robinson, Alford, etc.).
II. Historical Notices of the Use of Wine in the Bible. The first instance we have of wine in the Old Test. is in the case of Noah, who "planted a vineyard, and did drink of the wine (yà yin), and was drunken"(Genesis 9:20-21). The culture of the vine no doubt existed before, but the patriarch now resumes the occupation which had been interrupted by the Flood. "Nowhere does the vine grow spontaneously in such abundance and excellence as in the region of Ararat, in Armenia, and the Eastern Pontus; but, no doubt, the culture of the vine was of remote antiquity, invented by one nation and spread to other countries; for thus only can the remarkable circumstance be accounted for that wine bears the same name in almost all Eastern and Western nations" (Kalisch, On Genesis 9:20-21). "It may be added that the Egyptians attributed the manufacture of wine to Osiris, the Phoenicians and Greeks to Bacchus, the Romans to Saturn" (ibid.). (See VINE).
The second notice of wine is in the history of Lot, whose daughters "made their father drink wine" (yà yin), so that he became stupidly intoxicated (Genesis 19:32, etc.). It next occurs in Isaac's blessing pronounced on Jacob: "The Lord give thee . . . plenty of corn and wine" (yà yin) (Genesis 27:28). The next notice of the juice of the grape (although, be it observed, the product is not called wine) is in connection with Egypt (Genesis 40, 11), when the chief butler says, "I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup." Are we to take these words according to their strict literality? Did the kings of Egypt, at the time, drink the unfermented juice of the grape only? However that maybe, and although an affirmative answer seems demanded, yet we know that the vine was cultivated in Egypt from very ancient times, representations of the process of the manufacture of wines being found on tombs belonging: to the 4th dynasty; that wine was used almost universally by the rich; that it was freely drunk at the banquets of both men and women, and even excessively, as the monuments abundantly testify; that it was drunk even by the priests, and offered in the temples to their gods. All this is now well ascertained, notwithstanding the contradictory statements of Herodotus on some points (see Rawlinson, Herod. 2, 103, 126; Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt. 1, 144, etc.). It has been inferred from a passage in Plutarch (De Isid. 6) that no wine was drunk in Egypt before the reign of Psammetichus, and this passage has been quoted in illustration of Genesis 40, 11. The meaning of the author seems rather to be that the kings subsequently to Psammetichus did not restrict themselves to the quantity of wine prescribed to them by reason of their sacerdotal office (Diod. 1, 70).
In the laws of Moses wine is frequently mentioned as forming 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). It appears from Numbers 28:7 that strong drink
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McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Window'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/w/window.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.
