My preacher said that the words “carousing” and “reveling” are often misused today. Some have associated these words with social drinking. However, carousing and reveling refer to parties where drunkenness is either the goal or by-product of the party. I tried to discuss\u00a0I Peter 4:3\u00a0with him, suggesting that “tippling” means drinking in any amount, but he wouldn’t accept the definition because it was some man’s commentary on what the word means.<\/p>\n\t
Let me see if I have this straight: A man uses another man’s dictionary to determine that “carousing” and “reveling” are not being used appropriately, but when confronted with evidence from a man’s dictionary that he is not using the word “tippling” appropriately, he is able to dismiss it because it comes from a man’s dictionary. This appears to be hypocritical to me. Paul did warn about such men, “Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers<\/i>” (II Timothy 2:14). Paul also said, “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself<\/i>” (I Timothy 6:3-5).<\/p>\n
The verse we are interested in is\u00a0I Peter 4:3, “For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles–when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.<\/i>” There are three words that we are interested in knowing the definition: “drunkenness” (oinophlugia<\/i>), “revelries,” which is also translated as “carousing” (komos<\/i>), and “drinking parties” (potos<\/i>).<\/p>\n
Oinophlugia<\/i>\u00a0is a word only found in\u00a0I Peter 4:3. It is a compound word of “wine” (oinos<\/i>) and “bubble up” (phluo<\/i>). It refers to someone who is overflowing with wine; in other words, a person who is rolling-in-the-gutter drunk.<\/p>\n
Komos<\/i>\u00a0is found three times in the New Testament (Romans 13:13;\u00a0Galatians 5:21; and\u00a0I Peter 4:3). In classical Greek, it referred to the festivals worshipping Bacchus, the god of wine, and related pagan deities. Since heavy drinking occurred at these feasts,\u00a0komos<\/i>\u00a0is always connected with drunkenness, but where\u00a0oinophlugia<\/i> refers to a person who is usually drunk (i.e., an alcoholic), komos<\/i>\u00a0is reserved for those who are occasionally drunk as a result of excessive partying. The college fraternity parties come to mind when one reads of\u00a0komos<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Potos<\/i>\u00a0is again only found in\u00a0I Peter 4:3. In classical Greek, it referred to drinking in a social setting, such as at a party. Some Greek dictionaries associate it with excessive drinking or sexual parties (orgies), not because the word is defined as such, but because of the other terms associated with it in\u00a0I Peter 4:3. In other words, these authors can’t see anything wrong with social drinking, so they assume that Peter’s use of the word includes something worse to cause him to condemn it. Of interest is how\u00a0potos<\/i> was used in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible. It was used in\u00a0Genesis 19:3 regarding the feast Lot served the angels, again in\u00a0Genesis 40:20\u00a0to describe the birthday party of Pharaoh, the feast given to celebrate Esther becoming queen in\u00a0Esther 2:18, and God’s warning to Jeremiah not to go to a house of feasting to eat and drink in\u00a0Jeremiah 16:18. The latter is interesting because Jeremiah is a priest (Jeremiah 1:1). Priests were not allowed to use strong drinks and not allowed to get drunk. If houses of feasting were places of drunkenness, then God’s warning is simply redundant. However, if houses of feasting were where casual drinking took place (like our restaurants, inns, or bars of today), then the warning makes sense. Similarly, I have a hard time associating the celebration of Esther becoming queen with a drunken orgy.\u00a0The Hebrew word in these verses is\u00a0mishteh,<\/em> which means “drinking,” but is often extended to a feast or a festive meal.\u00a0It is usually used in reference to a meal where drinks are served (i.e., social drinking). For example, in\u00a0Daniel 1:5,\u00a08,\u00a010,\u00a016\u00a0mishteh<\/i>\u00a0is behind the word “drank” when Daniel and his friends refused the wine from the king’s table. This was the beverage the king drank with his everyday meals. It doesn’t imply that Nebuchadnezzar was a daily drinker. There are cases where a feast (mishteh<\/em>) does include someone getting drunk, such as I Samuel 25:36, but the breath of the word shows that it was not limited to drunken situations. In each example, the Hebrew word\u00a0mishteh<\/em>\u00a0is translated into Greek in the Septuagint with the Greek word\u00a0potos<\/em>, indicating that\u00a0potos<\/em>\u00a0has a similar breadth of meaning.<\/p>\n The problem your preacher faces is that two of these three words are only found in I Peter 4:3. Any knowledge of the meaning of the words comes from the research of uninspired men. While these men could be mistaken, he must find a greater, more credible source from which to argue his point. The thing you should note is that he doesn’t. He uses the same sources as anyone else, but he only uses them when he agrees with them. When he disagrees, he uses his own opinion, which, frankly, has proven to be extremely inaccurate. I will grant him this: “carousing” and “reveling” indeed don’t refer to social drinking. His mistake is that he is focused on the wrong word. Peter’s use of the three words for drinking shows a progression from over-imbibing to occasional excessive use to casual social usage. He is making sure that we understand that drinking alcoholic beverages recreationally is condemned no matter what quantities of consumption or situations for drinking are under consideration.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: My preacher said that the words “carousing” and “reveling” are often misused today. Some have associated these words with social drinking. However, carousing and reveling refer to parties where drunkenness is either the goal or by-product of the party. I tried to discuss\u00a0I Peter 4:3\u00a0with him, suggesting that “tippling” means drinking in any amount,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[371],"class_list":["post-2618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-alcohol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1679,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/new-testament-beverages\/","url_meta":{"origin":2618,"position":0},"title":"New Testament Beverages","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 1, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton One of the greatest difficulties in studying God's stance on drinking is the bias translators have brought to the meaning of words used in the Bible in regards to drinking. The most common Greek word, which is translated \"wine\" is oinos\u00a0which is directly equivalent to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87315,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/refutation-by-ridicule\/","url_meta":{"origin":2618,"position":1},"title":"Refutation by Ridicule","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by R. Andrew Parker via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 17 No. 1, 31 March 1991 \"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49667,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-decided-that-some-words-are-inappropriate\/","url_meta":{"origin":2618,"position":2},"title":"Who decided that some words are inappropriate?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good Evening, Regarding words like gosh, gee whiz, etc., does anyone know who and when was it decided that these were words that had meanings referring to God, Jesus, etc.? As a child, my mother didn't like the word \"gosh,\" so it wasn't said. As an adult and a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53350,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-repent-but-every-week-i-go-out-party-and-get-drunk\/","url_meta":{"origin":2618,"position":3},"title":"I repent, but every week I go out, party, and get drunk","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, I have a problem. I am saved, well I think I'm saved. I repent every week after drinking and partying with friends. After a night of binge drinking, I wake up the next day feeling very anxious and thinking that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1002,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-repentance-and-faith-the-same-thing\/","url_meta":{"origin":2618,"position":4},"title":"Isn’t repentance and faith the same thing?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 2, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Isn't repentance just another word for faith? If someone were fighting and defending themselves in a brawl, aren't the words 'fighting' and 'defending themselves' describing different aspects of the same action? Likewise, I think\u00a0Acts 20:21\u00a0shows repentance and belief to be intrinsically related to the same attitudinal\/belief event\/process. Answer: While\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4811,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-want-to-become-a-christian-but-i-still-like-to-party\/","url_meta":{"origin":2618,"position":5},"title":"I want to become a Christian, but I still like to party","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I had a saving experienced with Jesus, but I have not been baptized to be forgiven for my sins. I find myself in a predicament. I was in an abusive relationship and there where acts of pure evil being committed. I came away from that turmoil into the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2618"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2618\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}