Wine; Wine Press

wīn, wīn ́pres:

(1) (יין, yayin), apparently from a non-Tsere root allied to Greek (w)oínos, Latin vinum, etc. This is the usual word for “wine” and is found 141 times in Massoretic Text. (2) חמר, ḥemer, perhaps “foaming” (Deuteronomy 32:14 and Massoretic Text Isaiah 27:2 (but see the English RV margin)); Aramaic חמר, ḥămar (Ezra 6:9; 7:22; Daniel 5:1-2, 5:4, 5:23). (3) תּירושׁ, tīrōsh. Properly this is the fresh grape juice (called also משׁרה, mishreh, Numbers 6:3), even when still in the grape (Isaiah 65:8). But unfermented grape juice is a very difficult thing to keep without the aid of modern antiseptic precautions, and its preservation in the warm and not over-cleanly conditions of ancient Palestine was impossible. Consequently, tīrōsh came to mean wine that was not fully aged (although with full intoxicating properties (Judges 9:13; Hosea 4:11; compare Acts 11:13)) or wine when considered specifically as the product of grapes (Deuteronomy 12:17; 18:4, etc.). The Septuagint always (except Isaiah 65:8; Hosea 4:11) translates by oinos and the Targums by ḥămar. The King James Version has “wine” 26 times, “new wine” 11 times, “sweet wine” in Micah 6:15; the Revised Version “vintage” in Numbers 18:12; Micah 6:15 (with the same change in Nehemiah 10:37, 10:39 the Revised Version margin; Isaiah 62:8 the English RV margin). Otherwise the English RV has left the KJV unchanged, while the ASRV uses “new wine” throughout. (4) Two apparently poetic words are עסיס, ‛āṣīṣ (RV “sweet wine,” Isaiah 49:26; Amos 9:13; Joel 1:5; 3:18, “juice”; Song of Solomon 8:2), and סבא, ṣōbhe' (“wine,” Isaiah 1:22; “drink,” Hosea 4:18 (margin “carouse”); Nahum 1:10). (5) For spiced wine three words occur: מסך, meṣekh, Psalms 75:8 (English Versions of the Bible “mixture”); ממסך, mimṣākh, Proverbs 23:30 (“mixed wine”); Isaiah 65:11 (RV “mingled wine”); מזג, mezegh, Song of Solomon 7:2 (RV “mingled wine”); compare also הרקח יין, yayin hāreḳaḥ, Song of Solomon 8:2 (“spiced wine”). (6) ממתקּים, mamethaḳḳīm, literally, “sweet,” Nehemiah 8:10.

(7) שׁכר, shēkhār (22 times), translated “strong drink” in English Versions of the Bible. Shēkhār appears to mean “intoxicating drink” of any sort and in Numbers 28:7 is certainly simply “wine” (compare also its use in parallelism to “wine” in Isaiah 5:11, 22, etc.). In certain passages (Leviticus 10:9; Numbers 6:3; 1 Samuel 1:15, etc.), however, it is distinguished from “wine,” and the meaning is not quite certain. But it would seem to mean “drink not made from grapes.” Of such only pomegranate wine is named in the Bible (Song of Solomon 8:2), but a variety of such preparations (made from apples, quinces, dates, barley, etc.) were known to the ancients and must have been used in Palestine also. The translation “strong drink” is unfortunate, for it suggests “distilled liquor,” “brandy,” which is hardly in point. See DRINK, STRONG.

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Author: International Std. Bible Encyclopedia

Keywords: Wine, Wine Press, Alcohol, Drink, Drinking, Drunk, Grapes, Grapevine, Grape vine, Mixed drink, Mixed wine

Bible reference(s): 1 Chronicles 27:27, 1 Chronicles 9:29, 1 Samuel 1:15, 1 Samuel 16:20, 1 Timothy 5:23, 2 Chronicles 11:11, 2 Samuel 13:28, Acts 11:13, Acts 2:23, Amos 9:13, Daniel 5:1, Deuteronomy 12:17, Deuteronomy 28:30, Deuteronomy 32:14, Deuteronomy 7:13, Ecclesiastes 9:7, Ephesians 1:11, Esther 1:10, Ezra 6:9, Genesis 14:18, Genesis 27:28, Haggai 2:16, Hebrews 6:17, Hosea 4:11, Isaiah 1:22, Isaiah 16:10, Isaiah 25:6, Isaiah 27:2, Isaiah 49:26, Isaiah 5:11, Isaiah 55:1, Isaiah 62:8, Isaiah 63:3, Isaiah 65:8, Jeremiah 25:30, Jeremiah 48:11, Job 24:11, Job 32:19, Joel 1:5, Joel 3:18, John 1:13, Joshua 9:4, Judges 19:19, Judges 6:11, Judges 7:25, Judges 9:13, Lamentations 2:12, Leviticus 10:9, Leviticus 23:13, Luke 23:25, Luke 5:39, Luke 7:30, Mark 12:1, Mark 15:23, Mark 2:22, Matthew 11:19, Matthew 18:14, Matthew 21:33, Matthew 6:10, Micah 6:15, Nahum 1:10, Nehemiah 10:37, Nehemiah 8:10, Numbers 18:12, Numbers 28:7, Numbers 6:3, Proverbs 23:30, Psalms 104:15, Psalms 75:8, Revelation 14:19, Romans 7:18, Romans 9:19, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 33:16, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 9:10, Song of Solomon 7:2, Song of Solomon 8:2, Zechariah 14:10, Zechariah 9:17, Zephaniah 1:12

Source: James Orr (editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 5 volume set.

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