Does wine really mean wine in the Bible?

Question

In discussions I have had in the past over the acceptability of a Christian drinking alcohol I have heard that some 'dry' believers say that the wine in the Bible is not wine as we know it commonly today. It is actually grape juice.

I personally believe that the wine of Jesus' day is the wine that we know.

Is there any Biblical/historical evidence to the contrary, that the wine of the past was non-fermented juice?

Answer 1

First understand people. They will adjust the literal translations of the Bible in order to hear what they want to hear. They will also interpret the words of the Bible based off of their own definitions as defined by their surroundings without truly finding out what those words meant to Jesus.

When the Bible says that Jesus turned water into wine. Then that's what it means. Jesus literally turned water into wine.

Jesus was not opposed to you drinking alcohol, He specifically states that we need to stay sober in all things and to not drink to the point that we become fools. We also have a responsibility to take care of our bodies and not trash them with excessive drink.

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1 Samuel 1:13-14, NIV
¹³Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk ¹⁴and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine.”

It's pretty clear that they had fermented drinks far before Christ came.

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And finally to answer your question, here is a verse just for you, straight from God.

1 Timothy 5:23, NIV
²³Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.

Answer 2

It is simply impossible to keep the juice from crushed grapes from fermenting without modern refrigeration and pasteurization techniques. So yes, the wine was alcoholic.

There is plenty of textual evidence as well, but this should do:

The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners! Luke 7:34, Darby

Hard to be accused of being a drunkard if the wine isn't alcoholic!

Answer 3

Wine in the Bible may have had alcohol in it, as it was necessary to keep it from spoiling. Proverbs 23:31 does seem to distinguish that some wines had higher alcohol contents than others and it says to avoid that wine:

Proverbs 23:29-31 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. 31Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

Also, in Isaiah 65:8, it mentions new wine being found in a cluster, which obviously is not fermented, so it clearly doesn't always have alcohol in it, at least.

Isaiah 65:8 Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.

Answer 4

Important Question

What purpose could the prohibition against drunkenness possibly have to a group of people who were unable to get drunk?

If the wine wasn't really wine, then how could they get drunk? Noah certainly got drunk and appears to have passed out from wine. This could be the result of wine fermenting faster in the post-flood environment than it did prior to that. Nonetheless, he certainly became drunk on wine.

Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. He drank of the wine and became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. Genesis 9:20-21

Additionally, there is proverb that prescribes wine and strong drink for those who are in misery. It seems to reach a level of absurity if you think grape juice will help people forget their misery.

Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more.

It seems that "dry" Christians as you call them are fearful that some people among them (in their church or even their children) will become alcoholics if they don't think any alcohol at all is absolutely sinful.

There is also an issue of "the weaker brother". If you're around a group of devout Christians who believe it's wrong to drink alcohol, it would certainly be wrong for you to do so in their midst and be a stumbling block to them.

Finally, there are those whose consciences bother them about things that aren't sin. Eating meat sacrificed to idols was the issue addressed by Paul. People who came out of idolatry had a genuine problem with that. For that reason, Paul was willing to honor them by his own personal choices, lest he make them stumble. Those who have come from backgrounds where alcohol was a vice often have similar reactions against alcohol. For such people, it is best to honor them and not be a stumbling block to them.

We live as free men--free from the law--yet it is wrong to exercise our freedom to the detriment of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Answer 5

Jesus first miracle was to turn water into wine. The guest of the party responds to the host, saying that most people serve bad wine after the guests are drunk:

John 2:10 (NWT)

and said to him: “Every other man puts out the fine wine first, and when people are intoxicated, the inferior. You have reserved the fine wine until now.”

If we go further back in the bible, we see Noah getting drunk on wine directly after getting off the ark:

Genesis 9:20-21 (NWT)

20 Now Noah started off as a farmer and proceeded to plant a vineyard. 21 And he began drinking of the wine and became intoxicated, and so he uncovered himself in the midst of his tent.

I don't know about you, but drinking a bunch of grape juice generally doesn't make me run around naked.

It's very safe to say that wine from back then would get you drunk. (And that's not even mentioning the multitude of verses telling you not to get drunk on wine!)

Answer 6

Wine (and alcoholic) beverages most certainly are in the Bible - in similar or identical forms to what we'd consider now (possibly excluding complex distillation).

I've recently started a study on the history of alcohol in the Bible, and have found nearly 200 references to the substances.

Answer 7

I have heard (but cannot at this time back up) that the wine of biblical times did have alcohol. However, the alcohol content was typically much lower than that of wine, liquor, or beer we have today. Stronger stuff was very hard to come by. This is part of what makes Jesus' first miracle so significant. This however, is not the main part of my answer: I just wanted to get that out of the way.

The important thing here is to understand what the bible does say about alcohol, and when you look there it comes down pretty hard, not against alcohol, but against drunkeness, especially in Proverbs. It should be noted, though, that the book of Proverbs is more about truisms than absolute doctrinal decrees. Still, it's more than just "don't be an alcoholic", but also, "don't ever drink to get drunk."

Answer 8

A lot is made, by Christians opposed to the drinking of wine, of the idea that the same word in NT Greek might have been used to describe unfermented grape juice and alcoholic wine. While it gives an 'out' for the interpreters opposed to wine to interpret all the passages in favour of wine as meaning 'grape juice' while interpreting all the passage opposed to it as 'wine', the very idea actually indicates the insigificance of the problem. If it was really important in the early church that believers abstain from alcohol, the bible writers would certainly have made the distinction clear - otherwise they would be just opening themselves to misinterpretation.

Answer 9

All of you need to understand that the meaning of "wine" itself is very unclear.

Our modern day English Bible translations all stem from Greek translations, and the Greek word for "Wine" is basically any juice that comes from grapes. Therefore, it can be alcoholic, or not. The context of the word is important.

Ultimately, Proverbs tells us not to drink the wine once it ferments and becomes alcoholic. Go to a winery some day and ask the folks there what wine does when it ferments. It moves and changes color, just like Proverbs says.

Also, if any of you think that using an example of someone sinning means its somehow OK to do, you're way off. David had someone killed just so he could have sex with his beautiful wife. Does that mean the Bible preaches murder and adultery? No. The Bible does not promote getting drunk. All of the examples given on this page of people getting intoxicated are simply stories of sin.

Its very clear: The Bible does not want us to drink alcohol.

P.S. By the way folks, if you're having a party, and everyone is drunk from the wine the host provides (ie: not provided by Jesus), then you don't need to make more alcoholic wine. Its entirely possible that Jesus just made some high quality grape juice.

Reference: http://www.cai.org/bible-studies/hebrew-and-greek-words-translated-wine

Answer 10

The Christian & Alcohol supports that some references of wine meant unfermented wine or grape juice.

Two Types of Wine-Biblically Speaking

The word "wine" in the Bible sometimes refers to the new, or fresh, juice of the grape; other times it is used to describe the aged or fermented product containing the drug alcohol. The translators never used the term "grape juice." In the Hebrew text, the writers use different words to distinguish between the two. The word tîyrôsh is used for new unfermented wine, and yayin is generally used for fermented wine, but there are some exceptions (Isaiah 16:10). However, in the New Testament, only one Greek word is used to describe both fermented and fresh grape juice: oinis. But this shouldn't be a problem. By simply understanding the context of the word in a passage, the appropriate meaning will usually surface. So unless the passage says old or new wine (as in Luke 5:37-39), the context will often tell us what kind of grape juice is being described.

One simple example occurs in Mark 2:22: "And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins." Obviously, the new wine would be the fresh unfermented variety.

Additionally, from the Old Testament, in Isaiah 65:8, we read, "As the new wine is found in the cluster ... one says, 'Do not destroy it, For a blessing is in it' " It is clear in both these passages that the new wine is simply grape juice.

The article comments on common verses that people interpret as fermented wine.

• Paul telling Timothy to drink wine.
• Paul saying not to be drunk with wine.
• Wedding miracle of turning water to wine.
• and more!

Here's a quote.

Wine and the Spirit

On Pentecost, when the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, onlookers said, "They are [drunk] with new wine" (Acts 2:13). The Greek word here is gleukos, which was either new unfermented wine or "must," a sweet, boiled non-alcoholic grape juice. These onlookers were mocking the devoted disciples by saying, "They are drunk on grape juice." This indicates that the disciples were known for their abstinence of alcohol! How is it that we should not follow their pointed examples?

Paul also tells Timothy, "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake" (1 Timothy 5:23). Timothy must have been living as a Nazarite, drinking only water. Paul was telling him to use a little grape juice, which has a very soothing effect on the body, indicating that Timothy abstained and needed to be urged to take even a little new wine. Drinking fermented wine can contribute to stomach ulcers. Paul would never recommend old wine for stomach therapy.

When Paul says "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit," some have thought this verse says just don't drink too much (Ephesians 5:18). But the word "excess" in Greek is asotia, which is translated as riot and riotous living (Luke 15:13; 1 Peter 4:4). Darby's version translates it this way: "And be not drunk with wine, in which is debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). We are called to be sacred vessels filled with God's Spirit.

The article's response to the Pharisees accusing the Son of Man being a drunkard.

Was Jesus a Drunkard?

Pharisees frequently accused Jesus of being a winebibber, drunkard, and a glutton. They also said He had a devil and blasphemed God, among other things. We know He wasn't a glutton or demon-possessed blasphemer! So if these things are not true, why should we assume that our Lord was a drinker as indicated by the Pharisees, a group of Jesus' most-outward adversaries well known for their suspect sincerity?