Recommendation: Read “Is It Acceptable for Christians to Smoke or Consume Drugs?” before starting this study.
All sorts of wine
Why does wine play such a prominent role in the Bible?
Deuteronomy 8:7-8 – For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines {gephen}, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey…
Remark: The Levant has long offered—and still offers—some of the best conditions for vineyards and grape production.
Does “wine” always mean alcoholic wine?
Nehemiah 5:18 – Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine {yayin}: yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people.
Remark: No—there were different types of “wine.”
Isaiah 65:8 – Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine {tiyrowsh} 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.
Proverbs 3:10 – So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine {tiyrowsh}.
Remark: The word “tiyrowsh” meant “grape juice,” is often translated as “new wine,” and is related to “yarash,” meaning “to squeeze out,” implying freshly pressed juice. References to “clusters” and “presses” point to wine presses, where cleaned feet crushed grapes to extract fresh juice. See Numbers 18:12; Deuteronomy 7:13; 11:14; Joel 1:10; 2:19, 24; Hosea 9:2; and Micah 6:15, where the term is often translated simply as “wine,” without “new.”
What about when “wine” is mentioned without saying it is “new”?
Isaiah 16:10 – And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine {yayin} in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease.
Jeremiah 48:33 – And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab, and I have caused wine {yayin} to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.
Revelation 19:15 – And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress {press of the wine; oinos} of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Remark: Still, in these cases the word must be studied in context to determine whether it refers to alcoholic or non-alcoholic wine. When grapes are trodden in the press, what comes out is grape juice. It has not substantially fermented yet—fermentation typically takes days, and the juice is not left in the press long enough for this to occur—and is therefore non-alcoholic. The Bible also refers to this unfermented product as “wine,” since anything derived from the vine and made from grapes could be called “wine.”
Jeremiah 40:10,12 – As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to serve the Chaldeans, which will come unto us: but ye, gather ye wine {yayin}, and summer fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken. / Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine {yayin} and summer fruits very much.
Numbers 6:4 – All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree {yayin}, from the kernels even to the husk.
Remark: Even grapes and the plants themselves were sometimes referred to as “wine.”
Lamentations 2:11-12 – Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers, Where is corn and wine {yayin}? when they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out into their mothers’ bosom.
Remark: Unless we want to believe that the Israelites gave alcoholic wine to their babies and children, this is a clear example of “wine” being used for a non-alcoholic beverage.
What types of “wine” existed in ancient Israel?
Proverbs 23:30-31 – They that tarry long at the wine {yayin}; they that go to seek mixed wine {mamcak}. Look not thou upon the wine {yayin} when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
Remark: “Yayin” primarily referred to alcoholic wine, but, as noted earlier, it was also used for non-alcoholic grape juice. More broadly, the term denoted grape-based beverages regardless of alcohol content—which, at the time, could not be measured precisely. Historians and Jewish scholars also note a third category: wine diluted with water in various ratios (e.g., 3:1, 8:1, and sometimes even up to 20:1). Grape juice was almost certainly diluted as well. Thus, at least four drinks could be called “yayin”: (1) pure alcoholic wine, (2) diluted alcoholic wine, (3) pure grape juice, and (4) diluted grape juice. The same applies to the Greek word “oinos.” Hosea 4:11 may even suggest mixing old with new wine. Moreover, not all beverages were purely grape-based. The term “mamsak” (“mixed wine”) referred to various mixtures, and “shekar,” often translated “strong drink,” referred to non-grape-based beverages, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. * **
There were very few truly non-alcoholic beverages in the ancient world. Even drinks like fresh grape juice contained a small amount of alcohol, since fermentation begins shortly after the grapes are picked. However, this minimal alcohol content would have little effect unless the beverage underwent a longer, deliberate fermentation, was consumed in extremely large quantities, or was insufficiently diluted.
People in the ancient world used several methods to prevent drinks from fermenting. One involved placing fresh grape juice in sealed containers under cold water, which preserved it from fermenting for a considerable time. Another involved boiling grape juice into a high-sugar, syrup-like concentrate (see sapa/defrutum in the writings of Columella and Pliny) that could be stored without fermenting and later mixed with water to make non-alcoholic drinks (the term “shekar” was quite possibly used for this kind of syrup).
Is there biblical evidence that wine was diluted with water?
Proverbs 9:1-2,5 – Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine {yayin}; she hath also furnished her table. / [5] Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine {yayin} which I have mingled.
Isaiah 1:22 – Thy silver is become dross, thy wine {cobe} mixed with water …
Revelation 14:10 – The same shall drink of the wine {oinos} of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb …
Remark: According to Proverbs 9, it is wise to mingle wine (i.e., dilute it with water), which supports the points made above. The alcohol content of wine in antiquity is often estimated at around 10–12% (by comparison, some modern wines reach up to 20%). When diluted at ratios of 3:1, 8:1, and 20:1 (water to wine), the resulting alcohol levels would be approximately 3%, 1.33%, and 0.57%, respectively. Thus, diluted wine in ancient Israel could be roughly 4–7 times—and in some cases 21–35 times—lower in alcohol than undiluted modern wine.
The widespread practice of diluting wine also helps explain why the same term was used for beverages with varying alcohol levels, from unfermented juice to fully fermented wine. Where, after all, would one draw the line between “alcoholic” and “non-alcoholic”? People then could not measure alcohol content precisely and did not have completely alcohol-free beverages like those available today.
Why was wine diluted with water?
1 Timothy 5:23 – Drink no longer water, but use a little wine {oinos} for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.
Remark: It appears Timothy practiced total abstinence and drank only water, which was not ideal for his stomach in the region where he lived. Water in the ancient world was often polluted or contaminated. Historians note that people commonly added small amounts of wine to water to reduce contamination, which may explain why Paul recommends that Timothy drink wine. Additionally, the compounds and nutrients in grapes can be beneficial to health. Note that, in this case, the Bible endorses alcohol for medicinal rather than recreational use (see also Luke 10:34).
In summary, even grape juice—if not properly preserved, which was difficult in antiquity—could contain small amounts of alcohol due to rapid fermentation. Water was often disinfected with wine to make it safer to drink. Thus, people in the ancient world had limited options and made do without getting drunk. Today, however, alcoholic beverages can be completely avoided; there is no necessity to risk impaired judgment, self-control, or spiritual well-being by consuming alcohol.
Wine is a mocker
When does the Bible first mention wine?
Read Genesis 9:20-25
Remark: The first mention of wine in the Bible depicts a tragic scene: Noah drunk—the very man who, when sober, fulfilled God’s purpose by building the ark.
What wisdom does the Bible offer about drinking alcohol?
Proverbs 20:1 – Wine {yayin} is a mocker, strong drink {shekar} is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Proverbs 23:29-35 – Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine {yayin}; they that go to seek mixed wine {mamcak}. Look not thou upon the wine {yayin} when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Isaiah 5:22 – Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine {yayin}, and men of strength to mingle strong drink {shekar} …
Remark: See also Jeremiah 25:27; 51:39, 57; Proverbs 4:17; and Galatians 5:19–21. These passages use strong language to warn about the dangers of wine, mixed wine (blends or mixtures that enhance intoxicating effects), and other alcoholic drinks, urging readers to avoid them. Contemporary research increasingly shows how harmful alcohol consumption can be. It directly affects the brain—and thus cognitive function—the liver, overall metabolism, sleep quality, the cardiovascular system, and stress levels, and it is also linked to various cancers.
What does the Bible say about recreational drinking with other people?
Habakkuk 2:15 – Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
Romans 14:13,21 – Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. / It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine {oinos}, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
Why is facilitating others’ drinking condemned?
Read Genesis 19:30-38
2 Samuel 11:12-13 – And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow. And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
Remark: Intoxication isn’t just a byproduct of socializing; it is often used to cloud another person’s judgment and exploit their vulnerability for selfish ends. The question we should ask is this: if alcohol has such effects—making us susceptible to poor decisions and abuse—does this drink come from God?
Doesn’t the Bible also say good things about wine?
Psalm 104:15 – And wine {yayin} that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s heart.
Judges 9:13 – And the vine {gephen} said unto them, Should I leave my wine {tiyrowsh}, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?
Remark: In passages where the Bible speaks positively about wine, it is either clearly grape juice (“tiyrowsh”) or likely minimally fermented wine. The rationale is that Scripture generally speaks negatively about alcoholic wine; therefore, when it speaks positively, it must be referring to a different kind of “wine.” Otherwise, a contradiction would arise.
Is there a clear line between moderate drinking and drunkenness?
Habakkuk 2:5 – Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine {yayin}, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people …
Read again Proverbs 20:1; 23:31-32.
Remark: There is no clear boundary between moderate drinking and drunkenness. Alcohol “deceives”—you don’t know where the red line is—and it “bites like a snake,” often noticed only when it’s too late. One can drink a little and not become drunk, but the line is frequently crossed. There are no clearly defined limits and no guarantees against excessive use. Once alcohol is consumed, it impairs mental capacities, including the ability to resist temptation, making it progressively harder to stop. In ancient times, alcoholic wine was often used to dilute and partially disinfect drinking water, resulting in a much lower alcohol concentration and making severe intoxication less likely. Nowadays it is easier to get drunk than ever before. Total abstinence is the best option.
Footnotes
* Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 10.426a–e; Plutarch, Moralia “Table Talk” 3.9 (653E–F); Mishnah Pesahim 10.7; Pliny the Elder, Natural History 14.61–65; Homer, Odyssey 9.208–209, 9.345–349—each attests that wine was ordinarily mixed with water, giving ratios and disapproving of unmixed wine.
** Question: In Deuteronomy 14:26 God allowed Israelites to buy wine and strong drink. If wine (yayin/oinos) was sometimes non-alcoholic, then “strong drink” (shekhar) must surely refer to strong alcoholic beverages?
Answer: The word shekhar, often translated “strong drink,” could in some contexts refer to non-alcoholic preparations.
1. “Shekar” was very likely non-alcoholic in Deuteronomy 14:26, since the festival involved priests, families, and children—participants who would not be encouraged to drink intoxicants (and priests were forbidden to drink alcohol; see Leviticus 10:8–11). Another instance where “shekar” can be understood non-alcoholically is Numbers 28:7, where it is presented as a drink offering to God—who would not receive something corrupt or fermented as a symbol of sin (cf. Exodus 12:15; Matthew 16:6; 1 Corinthians 5:6–8). Wine (yayin) was also offered (Exodus 29:40), and, as argued above, there is substantial evidence that “yayin” could often be non-alcoholic.
2. Translating shekhar as “strong” is partially interpretive. It can also be understood along the semantic line of “filling” or “satisfying,” related to the verb shākar, “to be filled/sated” (cf. Haggai 1:6).
3. In ancient times, there were no “strong drinks” in the modern sense, since true distillation was not yet in use and yeast-based fermentation typically tops out around 15% alcohol. Therefore, translating shekar—in tandem with yayin—as “strong drink” can be misleading if it implies vastly higher alcohol strength. Both wine and other fermented beverages generally reached similar upper limits. A more suitable rendering in context could be “wine and other (fermented) beverages,” with “other” rather than “strong.”
4. Even if rendered “strong drink,” the “strength” or potency could refer to sweetness or richness rather than alcohol content. It may have been a syrup (see sapa/defrutum in the writings of Columella and Pliny) produced by boiling down fruit juice—like concentrated must—described in various historical sources.
Recommendation: Read “Can Followers of Jesus Drink Alcohol?” after finishing this study.
