{"id":29620,"date":"2021-01-06T15:10:03","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T21:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=29620"},"modified":"2021-01-06T15:10:03","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T21:10:03","slug":"wine-has-not-always-implied-alcohol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wine-has-not-always-implied-alcohol\/","title":{"rendered":"“Wine” Has Not Always Implied Alcohol"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Jeff Belknap
\n“Wine Defined,”\u00a0Sentry Magazine<\/em>, December 2002\n

“whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise<\/em>” (Proverbs 20:1).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Today we have a serious problem in our society with drinking alcoholic beverages. Unfortunately, it even seems to be a perplexing issue in the body of Christ. There is a great deal of ignorance (lack of knowledge) concerning this subject, as it is revealed in the Holy Scriptures. For this reason, I have compiled the following truths in hopes of eradicating much of the misunderstanding and deception that prevails throughout this country and abroad. The\u00a0old saying “Tell a lie long enough, and\u00a0everyone will eventually believe it” is true\u00a0with a great number of Bible subjects, and\u00a0the topic of wine is no exception.<\/p>\n

In this compilation, I would like to prove that usage of the word “wine” does not <\/b>always infer a fermented beverage. It is a generic word (meaning fermented or unfermented), not only in the Old and New Testaments but also in the secular world. Let’s begin by acknowledging just a few reputable sources. The following material is just a portion of a list that comes from F. R. Lees’ work, The Bible Wine Question<\/em>.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Aristotle … new wine “it is wine <\/b>in name, but not in effect…” (4th century B.C.)<\/li>\n
  2. Callixenus … they “were trampling on the grapes, and the new-wine<\/strong> (gleukos) ran out over the whole road … ” (300 B.C.)<\/li>\n
  3. Papias … “Each grape shall yield five and twenty measures of wine <\/b>(oinos) ..” (90 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  4. Babylonian paraphrase on Genesis 27:25 speaks of “wine <\/b>reserved in its grapes.”<\/li>\n
  5. The Gemara speaks of “wine <\/b>preserved in its grapes.”<\/li>\n
  6. Suidas … “GLEUKUS … the droppings of the grapes before being trodden ..” (950 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  7. Sir Thomas Herbert speaks of wine <\/b>gotten from wounding the Toddy Tree and catching the juice (1638 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  8. John Parkinson under the heading “Vines” says: “The juyce or liquor pressed out of the ripe grape is called VINUM, wine <\/b>…” (1640 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  9. Henry Southwell speaking of martyrs said that they were “like grapes when pressed, they yield luxuriant wine<\/strong>” (1660 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  10. Thomas Blount speaks of must as new-wine<\/strong>, or, “that which is first pressed out of the grape.” (1670 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  11. Edward Phillips says of must, “wine <\/b>newly pressed from the grapes (1670 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  12. J. W. Gent speaks of “wine<\/strong>-cinder” and “cherrywine<\/strong>.” The juice of the cherry is “gently pressed” and makes “a very pleasant wine<\/strong>” (1676 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  13. W. Robertson, “Wine<\/strong>; Vinum … New-Wine<\/strong>; Mustum – New wine <\/b>that runs out without pressing.” (1693 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  14. Thomas Sprat speaks of vessels into which is put “cute or unfermented wine<\/strong>.” (1702 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  15. J. M. Gesner says: “Once for all it must be observed, that the words VINUM (wine), VITIS (vine), UVAE (grape-clusters), and VINEA (vineyard), as kindred terms are sometimes used synonymously …” and “The juice of apples, pears, pomegranates, and sorbs, was called VINUM.” (1730A.D.)<\/li>\n
  16. Miller’s Gardener’s Dictionary: The first time they lower the great beams upon the grapes, they (the French) call the wine <\/b>that runs out the WINE of Guotte, because it is the finest and most exquisite in the grape … The wine <\/b>strains from the press into a puncheon … Vin Bourra, as they call it, i.e., a new and sweet white wine <\/b>that has not worked … ” (1748 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  17. E. Chambers speaks of, “Sweet wine<\/strong>” which has not yet fermented; wine <\/b>which is called “Mere-goutte,” mother-drop, which is the virgin-wine<\/strong>; Burnt wine <\/b>is “boiled up with sugar.” (1750 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  18. Samuel Johnson speaks of Must as “New wine<\/strong>” (1773 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  19. John Parkhurst tells of Ovid applying the Latin “merum” to mean “pure wine <\/b>as it is pressed out of the grapes.”<\/li>\n
  20. J. F. Schleusner: “OINOS; generally VINUM liquor expressed from grapes whether new or old … OINOS neos, VINUM novum i.e., must, alias gleukos … GLEUKOS, properly the liquor which drops from the grape before treading.” (1810A.D.)<\/li>\n
  21. Gesenius (in the last edition of his lexicon, 1844): “TIROSH, must, of the juice of the grape.” (1844 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  22. James Donegan: “GLEUKOS; new, unfermented wine<\/strong>, must…SIRAION … a wine <\/b>prepared by boiling grapes ..” (1826 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  23. Noah Webster: “Must, New wine<\/strong>; wine <\/b>pressed from the grape but not fermented.” (1828 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  24. S. Lee: “Ahsis; Literally, trodden. New wine<\/strong>; the juice of the grape ..” (1830 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  25. John Avenarius has: “Ahsis – mustum, which is recently expressed juice. German susz: susur wein<\/b>.” (1588A.D.)<\/li>\n
  26. Dr. Ure: “Juice, when newly expressed, and before it has begun to ferment, is called must, and in common language sweet wine<\/strong>.” (1836 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  27. H. Bullinger speaks of wine <\/b>running out of the wine-press (1573 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  28. Bretschneider: “Oinos neos, mustum. Sept. for ahsis and tirosh. 2 …Gleukos, mustum. That which drops from the grapes before being trodden. Acts 2:13. Job 32:19 where the Hebrew is yayin.” (1840A.D.)<\/li>\n
  29. Baron Liebig: “If a flask be filled with grape juice and made air-tight, and then kept for a few hours in boiling water … the wine<\/strong> does not now ferment.” (1844 A.D.)<\/li>\n
  30. Encyclopedia Americana (1855): “The juice of the grape, when newly expressed, and before it has begun to ferment, is called must, and, in common language, sweet wine<\/strong>.”<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Hopefully, these authorities will help offset some of the unqualified statements of others. Just because we (today in America) use the word “wine” to indicate that which is intoxicating doesn’t mean that it was always used in that way! Fairness and honesty demand that we understand this topic from their perspective, not ours.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    by Jeff Belknap “Wine Defined,”\u00a0Sentry Magazine, December 2002 “whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1). Today we have a serious problem in our society with drinking alcoholic beverages. Unfortunately, it even seems to be a perplexing issue in the body of Christ. There is a great deal of ignorance (lack of knowledge) concerning…<\/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":[27],"tags":[371],"class_list":["post-29620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-alcohol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9095,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wouldnt-wine-need-to-be-fortified-in-order-to-be-used-as-starter-fluid\/","url_meta":{"origin":29620,"position":0},"title":"Wouldn’t wine need to be fortified in order to be used as starter fluid?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A question: if strong-drink was only 15% alcohol and below in biblical times, how was it used as a starter fluid? I believe you need much stronger alcohol to light a fire, no? Answer: From a recipe: As soon as the mushrooms are colored add the marsala wine. Caution:\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":20646,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-answer-people-who-try-to-use-jesus-turning-water-to-wine-as-proof-for-drinking-alcohol\/","url_meta":{"origin":29620,"position":1},"title":"How do you answer people who try to use Jesus turning water to wine as proof for drinking alcohol?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding John 2 and Jesus turning water to wine: So many people refer to this story when trying to verify it's OK to drink. They ignore all the other passages that it's not OK. What should my response be to this when they do that? Answer: A good summary\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":29414,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/drinking-in-the-new-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":29620,"position":2},"title":"Drinking in the New Testament","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 18, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Proverbs 23:29-33 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Consistently in the Scriptures, drunkenness is condemned \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I Corinthians 6:9-10 - A drunkard cannot inherit the kingdom of God \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Romans 13:13 - Carousing and drunkenness is improper behavior \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Few people argue that being down and out drunk is acceptable. We understand that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1676,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/old-testament-beverages\/","url_meta":{"origin":29620,"position":3},"title":"Old Testament Beverages","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 1, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Throughout the Bible, drunkenness is consistently condemned. We understand that a drunkard cannot inherit the kingdom of God (I Corinthians 6:9-10). Paul warned that carousing and drunkenness are improper behaviors for Christians to engage in (Romans 13:13). The warnings are clear enough that few people argue\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":3587,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-ephesians-518-imply-that-some-use-of-alcohol-is-permitted\/","url_meta":{"origin":29620,"position":4},"title":"Doesn’t Ephesians 5:18 imply that some use of alcohol is permitted?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 13, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: God wrote in\u00a0Ephesians 5:18, \"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.\" When God tells us not to get speeding tickets, what is He inferring? Obviously, that driving is not a sin. When God tells us not to get drunk, what\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":14854,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/drinking-in-the-old-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":29620,"position":5},"title":"Drinking in the Old Testament","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 6, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Consistently in the Scriptures, drunkenness is condemned \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I Cor 6:9-10 - A drunkard cannot inherit the kingdom of God \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rom 13:13 - Carousing and drunkenness is improper behavior \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Few people argue that being down and out drunk is acceptable. We understand that it is wrong. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0D.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29620","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=29620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29620\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}