Moderate Drinking: Sinful or Unwise? (Part 3)

This is the third article in a series I've been posting here on my blog on the issue of drinking. Of course, most, if not all Christians agree that drunkenness is sinful (Gal. 5:21, et al), but when it comes to "lesser," more moderate forms of drinking, debate and contention abound. In Part 1 of this series, I made the point that moderate drinking is, in the very least, extremely unwise. In Part 2, I went on to prove from the Scriptures that moderate drinking is, not only unwise, but sinful as well. I would encourage you to read those two articles before you read this one.

In this article, my objective is to correct a few very common misunderstandings about wine in the Bible. To do so, I will not only define the wine of the Bible, but will explain the role of wine in the ancient Jewish culture (the setting of much of the Bible).

The Meaning of Wine

If I were to tell you that I drank a glass of wine with my dinner, or that I bought some wine at the store, you would automatically think that I was speaking of an alcoholic beverage and be very concerned. But many make the mistake of imposing this modern definition of wine on the wine of the Bible.

There are many words in the Bible - both in the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament - that are translated wine. 

In the Old Testament, 140 of the 194 times that wine is mentioned, the Hebrew word is yayin. Strong's defines the word as "to effervesce; wine (as fermented); by implication intoxication: - banqueting, wine, winebibber." From this definition, we might conclude that yayin refers to an alcoholic beverage. However, a deeper study will reveal that it is actually a more generic term that can refer to either fermented or unfermented grape juice.

From an examination of the Scriptures, we find examples where yayin is non-alcoholic:

"Gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful field; in the vineyards also there will be no cries of joy or jubilant shouting, no treader treads out wine in the presses, for I have made the shouting to cease" (Isaiah 16:10).

“As the new wine is found in the cluster…” (Isaiah 65:8).

In both of these verses, the wine hadn't yet reached the point where it could have fermented. In the first verse, the grapes (wine) were still being crushed, or pressed. In the second verse, the wine was still on the grapevine. There can be no doubt that yayin may refer to fresh juice in some cases.

From a secular perspective, we again learn that yayin could be non-alcoholic:

• The Jewish Encyclopedia provides a concise description of the various usages of yayin: "Fresh wine before fermenting was called ‘yayin mi-gat’’ (wine of the vat; Sanh 70a). The ordinary wine was of current vintage. The vintage of the previous year was called ‘yayin yashan’’(old wine). The third year’s vintage was ‘yayin meyushshan’’(very old wine)."
• We find an almost parallel definition in the more recent Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): "The newly pressed wine prior to fermentation was known as yayin mi-gat (‘wine from the vat;’ Sanh 70a), yayin yashan(‘old wine’) was wine from the previous year, and that from earlier vintages, yashan noshan (‘old, very old’)." 
• A Talmudic treatise - Sanhedrin 70a - to which both encyclopedias refer, reads as follows: "Newly pressed wine, prior to fermentation, was known as yayin mi-gat (wine from the press)."

So the Hebrew word yayin, which is the most common word for wine in the Old Testament, can refer to either the fermented or unfermented juice of the grape. 

In the New Testament, the most common Greek word for wine is oinos. In fact, 33 of the 37 times that the word "wine" is used, it is the Greek word oinos. Strong's defines this word simply as "wine," which isn't much help, but a more thorough study will reveal that, as with yayin, oinos can refer to either the fermented or unfermented juice of the grape.

First of all, in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), the word oinos is commonly used in place of the Hebrew yayin. This tells us that the Jews who lived in the centuries preceding Christ (when the Septuagint was translated) viewed these two words as nearly synonymous. So if yayin could refer to fresh grape juice, so could oinos.

Along these same lines, The Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary says, "It is important to note that the Hebrew word tirosh, "grape juice, unfermented wine," appearing 38 times in the Old Testament (Harris, "tirosh," Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 2:969), is almost exclusively translated by oinos (36 times). In other words, oinos can and does refer to either unfermented or fermented wine in the Septuagint."

More than that, oinos in the New Testament may refer to fresh grape juice. Most of the usages of oinos are very generic so that we cannot tell from the context whether it is fermented or not. But there is this:

“Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved” (Mt. 9:17).

It’s implied here that the new wine is unfermented because it’s only through time that it undergoes the natural process of fermentation thereby expanding and putting pressure on the wineskin (container). 

It can also be shown from history that the English word wine can refer to a fermented as well as unfermented drink. For the sake of brevity, I won't include the many references here in this article.

So what must we conclude about the meaning of wine in the Bible? Simply that the word itself, generally speaking, may refer either to fermented or unfermented grape juice. While sometimes a different word may be used that gives us additional insight into the nature of the wine, the only way to tell the nature of the wine in the majority of cases is by examining the context. Sometimes, the context will tell us of the wine is alcoholic or non-alcoholic, but in many cases, there is not enough information to draw a solid conclusion.

Most importantly, please understand that when you see wine mentioned in the Bible, you cannot make the assumption that it is alcoholic. This very point alone should change the way you view wine in the Bible (e.g. when Jesus turned water into "wine" in John 2, which we'll examine in the final article).

Wine in the Ancient Jewish Culture

Now that I have defined biblical wine - from linguistic, historical and biblical sources - let's examine how the ancient Jews and even the early Christians viewed wine.

When we talk about wine in America, we always have an alcoholic beverage in mind. But beyond that - and more to the point in this section of the article - the wine that is deemed the best and most preferred is wine that has aged and that has a higher alcoholic content.

Here are some questions that I want to address in this section about the way the ancient Jews and early Christians viewed wine:

1. Did they prefer fermented or unfermented wine?
2. Was the "best" wine the freshest or the most alcoholic?
3. Were they forced to drink fermented grape juice (because it naturally ferments)?
4. In what sense did wine bring them joy and gladness of heart?

Regarding which kind of wine the ancient Jews preferred, Professor M. Stuart says, “Facts show that the ancients not only preserved their wine unfermented, but regarded it as of a higher flavor and finer quality than fermented wine.” W.H. Rule says, “This very grape juice, notwithstanding its purity, was chiefly known in antiquity as the casual drink of the peasantry, or, when carefully preserved, as the choice beverage of epicures.” 

This may sound odd to you, especially if you consider yourself to be a wine connoisseur. Perhaps you’re thinking that grape juice isn’t anything special, but it was very special to the Jewish people of old. Think about it. If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, I’m sure you’ve seen all the varieties of soda, juice, flavored water, Kool-Aid, etc., but the Jewish culture didn’t have the beverage options that we have. They did have access to milk, but milk was hard to preserve because it would spoil easily. They did drink a lot of water, but clean water wasn’t always accessible, and while water can be very refreshing, it's not known for its flavor. Being that grapes were one of the main commodities of ancient Israel, grape juice was a very common beverage, and unlike milk, could be easily stored and preserved.

Even though the Jews preferred fresh wine, it’s common knowledge that fresh wine will ferment naturally, reaching as high as 14% alcohol content. Many people today think that because grape juice ferments naturally, that the ancient Jews were forced to drink fermented wine. Contrary to popular opinion, however, they had many different ways of preserving fresh wine and even reversing the fermentation process. Here are some examples of their methods:

• They would seal wine in jars and submerge the jars in cold water.
• They would fumigate wine jars with sulfur.
• They would filter out gluten (see Isaiah 25:6).
• They would boil the wine down to a concentrate and add water later.
• They would also dilute wine with 3-5 parts water to prolong supply and diminish the effects of fermentation (see Isaiah 1:22).

It makes sense that if the Jews of old preferred fresh wine, they would have used methods such as these to prevent, hinder and/or reverse the fermentation process. 

To take it a step further, I am not personally aware of any verse in the Bible where the Holy Spirit speaks positively of fermented wine (at least, in the context of social or recreational drinking). Whenever wine in the biblical text is clearly alcoholic, we are either shown its deleterious effects (Gen. 9:20-23; Isaiah 28:7) or it is spoken against (as in Proverbs 20:1).

Perhaps you're thinking that if the Jews had such a positive view of fresh wine and such a negative view of alcoholic wine - if this is really true - then what about the many verses where they drank wine that made them merry and brought them gladness? This is a valid question. Consider a few of these verses with me:

“But the vine said to them, ‘Should I cease my new wine, which cheers both God and men, and go to sway over the trees?’” (Judges 9:13). 

“And wine that makes glad the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread which strengthens man’s heart” (Psalm 104:15). 

“A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry, but money answers everything” (Eccl. 10:19). 

“How fair is your loves, my sister, my spouse! How much better than wine is your love, and the scent of your perfumes than all spices!” (Song of Solomon 4:10)

Now, when we imagine folks being made “merry” because of wine, we picture them being buzzed, tipsy or even drunk. In fact, I had a brother in Christ one time use Psalm 104:15 to say that God approves of our being buzzed by wine or other alcoholic beverages. But again, we cannot impose our 21st century views of wine on the Scriptures. When the Bible speaks of the blessing and enjoyment of wine, I believe that it’s in the context of societal prosperity (economically and spiritually), not of the intoxicating effects of fermented wine. This is especially clear in the first verse listed above. In Judges 9:13, the “new wine” (Hebrew tirosh which is defined as fresh grape juice) which was said to cheer “God and men” was still on the vine.

It may be hard for us to understand this, but the agrarian, God-fearing Israelites viewed fresh wine (grape juice) as a source of great joy and pleasure because they saw it as a blessing from God. Their prosperity was dependent on how well their crops did. If God blessed them with rain and good weather, there would be an abundance of grapes/wine, and God’s blessings hinged on their faithfulness. This point is clearly seen in the following verses:

“Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks…The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Deuteronomy 28:4, 8). 

“Thus says the Lord: ‘As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for a blessing is in it,’ so will I do for My servant’s sake, that I may not destroy them all’” (Is. 65:8). 

“Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, streaming to the goodness of the Lord – for wheat and new wine and oil, for the young of the flock and the herd; their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all” (Jeremiah 31:12).

In each of these verses, fresh wine (often still being in the cluster) is portrayed as a blessing from God and therefore a source of great joy. So, while grape juice may not be a very special drink for us in 21st century America, it was a very special drink for the ancient Jewish world. It was one of the major commodities of Israel, was viewed as a blessing from God, could be easily stored and preserved, and had much more flavor than water. "Fine wine" for them was the fresh stuff.

Before I conclude this rather lengthy (but far from complete) article on the wine of the Bible, there is one other point to consider, and this is very important.

You see, we’ve discussed both ends of the spectrum – fresh grape juice and fermented wine, or strong drink – but as you might imagine, there was a range of wine in between that may have been mildly fermented.

Grape juice that is left out will naturally sour due to the influence of bacteria. Usually, it will turn into vinegar (Jn. 19:29-30) and is called “sour wine” (Matt. 27:34). It may be fermented, but isn’t too pleasant to drink. 

Wine that is kept in a sealed container or wineskin may ferment without souring, but this process doesn’t happen overnight! The sources that I have read indicated that it takes about a week for “primary fermentation” to take place. The maximum alcohol content of wine that is naturally fermented is 12-14%, but please notice that the Jews would have considered this to be “strong drink.” Wine that did experience this level of fermentation could be diluted as much as 20-1, but even still, there were varying degrees of wine that did contain levels of natural fermentation.

NOTE: The process of distillation wasn't discovered until the 12th century A.D., so the Jews of old didn't have the technology or knowledge to create the hard liquors or fortified drinks that we have today. So they didn't have whiskey, rum, vodka, etc.

Suppose with me that a Jew left his wineskin out in the sun for half a day while he was tending his crops? Or what if a certain amount of fresh wine was left out for a few days to be gradually consumed by the family? Rather than be dogmatic about the total absence of even the slightest fermentation, the Jews did drink wine that may have undergone the early stages of fermentation. In some cases, they may have diluted it with water, but in other cases, they may have drunk the slightly soured wine. This wasn’t preferred, but it was possible. However, there is a huge difference between drinking grape juice that has suffered mild, natural fermentation and going to the store today to willfully purchase fortified wine!

Conclusion

There is so much more to say about wine in the Bible – the etymology and meaning of words as well as the role of wine in the ancient culture – but a basic understanding such as this will help us immensely to understand some of the more difficult verses in the New Testament which are often misused to support moderate drinking. In my next article, I will conclude this series by addressing these arguments.

Click here to access the fourth and final article in this series.