drunk ́'n-nes (רוה, rāweh, שׁכּרון, shikkārōn, שׁתי, shethī; μέθη, méthē):
The Bible affords ample proof that excessive drinking of intoxicants was a common vice among the Hebrews, as among other ancient peoples. This is evident not only from individual cases of intoxication, as Noah (Genesis 9:21), Lot (Genesis 19:33, 19:15), Nabal (1 Samuel 25:36), Uriah made drunk by David (2 Samuel 11:13), Amnon (2 Samuel 13:28), Elah, king of Israel (1 Kings 16:9), Benhadad, king of Syria, and his confederates (1 Kings 20:16), Holofernes (Judith 13:2), etc., but also from frequent references to drunkenness as a great social evil. Thus, Amos proclaims judgment on the voluptuous and dissolute rulers of Samaria “that drink wine in (large) bowls” (Amos 6:6), and the wealthy ladies who press their husbands to join them in a carousal (Amos 4:1); he also complains that this form of self-indulgence was practiced even at the expense of the poor and under the guise of religion, at the sacrificial meals (Amos 2:8; see also Isaiah 5:11, 5:12, 5:22; 28:1-8; 56:11 f). Its prevalence is also reflected in many passages in the New Testament (e.g. Matthew 24:49; Luke 21:34; Acts 2:13, 2:15; Ephesians 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:7). Paul complains that at Corinth even the love-feast of the Christian church which immediately preceded the celebration of the Eucharist, was sometimes the scene of excessive drinking (1 Corinthians 11:21). It must, however, be noted that it is almost invariably the well-to-do who are charged with this vice in the Bible. There is no evidence to prove that it prevailed to any considerable extent among the common people. Intoxicants were then an expensive luxury, beyond the reach of the poorer classes. See DRINK, STRONG.
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Author: International Std. Bible Encyclopedia
Keywords: Drunkenness
Source: James Orr (editor), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 5 volume set.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.