How strong an alcoholic content was the Old Wine of the Old and New Testaments? So what does it mean about the wine of the ancient world that it can be diluted to such an extent and still be "good?" The wine served as a disinfectant to their water supply. However, many scholars believe that the wines of that era were probably around 14-16% alcohol by volume, which is slightly higher than the average wine today . and of having a high alcoholic content. We may unknowingly commit similar anachronisms when we read the New Testament. Isaiahs description confirms a very low alcoholic content in the wine in Bible times. Significantly, the Bible makes it clear that Jesus drank wine (Matthew 15:11; Luke 7:33-35). Traditionally, the fermentation process has been effected by yeast cells present in the grape skins, but special strains of cultured yeast are now often substituted for the natural agent. 1 Without the introduction of other sugars, etc. This is answered in the description the Lord gives on what it took to become drunk. Wine was a disinfectant. Memory loss. More on the archaelogical side of things: Patrick E. McGovern, Stuart J. Fleming & Solomon H. Katz: "The Origins and Ancient History of Wine", Food and Nutrition in History and Anthropology, Routledge, London, New York, 1996. 6:9-11). But whether we drink moderately or abstain entirely is not the point. Everywhere the Bible speaks negatively of drunkenness. He is amazed that it can withstand this kind of dilution. That is, an average drink = 5 ounces of wine = 12 ounces of beer = 1 1/2 ounces of whiskey = 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol. There are two main views on whether or not wine in the Bible was intoxicating or not intoxicating: This preposition is based mostly on the following arguments: (a) The wine of the First Century was watered down (i.e. The issue of alcohol content in wine is an important one. 0.31-0.40 Loss of temperature regulation and loss of bladder control. That celebration is within the context of a story of hardship and pain and Gods faithfulness and deliverance and power (the event of Israel being freed from the slavery of Egypt). 6. It was often consumed as part of the every day diet, during times of celebrations, during weddings, as gifts and offerings, and as a symbol of blessing. The Bible never speaks of any alcoholic drink stronger than the strongest naturally occurring alcohols. But didnt Jesus keep the party going at a wedding with wine? 0.11-0.20 Reasoning, depth perception, inappropriate behavior. By Dr. Charles L. Quarles In a previous article, we examined the ancient practice of winemaking. Gods Word clearly tells us that both drunkenness and gluttony are sinful. The Christian and Alcohol in Biblical Times. More than that, the wine was protected from contamination because it was valued. Wine can represent love between neighbors and the good of faith. For example, Isaiah 16:10 says, "And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing . Proud member the alcohol is limited in naturally fermented grapes. |. Thats not very practical. Of the 23 times the word shekar appears in the Hebrew Bible, in all but two passages, it is combined with yayin, "wine," either as a word pair or in poetic parallelism. Being apathetic to the apathetic will cause more harm than good. 1 Corinthians 6:12. Clearly, Noah or Lot did not get intoxicated on unfermented drink (Genesis 9:21, 19:32 - 35). Gastritis. We may assume, then, that all the poets from Homer downwards have no grasp of reality but merely give us superficial representation of any subject they treat. Didnt he instruct people at the Passover to drink wine? Anymore :: Wine in Grand Junction, When in Aspen? In stopping over the question of wine in biblical times, it is well known that grape juice was a valuable commodity in Middle Eastern society, and a convenience well appreciated in Bible times. Wine from the biblical era was much weaker than today's. Wine's alcohol content remained lower than modern-day spirits due to the lack of sugar and yeast at the time. Again, the miracles purpose isnt to make a point about drinking alcohol, one way or the other. 0.21-0.30 Slurred speech and lack of balance. Many Christians have strong convictions about drinking alcohol, with a wide and varied spectrum in different traditions and denominations. Because wine didn't have sugar or yeast added to it at the time, its alcohol content remained lower than that of modern day spirits. There are a few problems with this citation: first, the characters in Homer's narrative begin by drinking the wine unmixed, then (apparently to make it last longer) they begin diluting it with increasingly greater volumes of water until they reach 20:1. Distillation was invented by Arab alchemists in the 8th century long after the New Testament era. The remaining skins were then squeezed in a winepress located near the vineyard to preserve the freshness of the grapes. For grape juice to exceed 4% alcohol, then the winemaker must add yeast. Listen to Plato on Homer. 23:29-35; Gal. It could also be that by the time they were drinking at 20:1 they were so drunk that they could not taste/notice the dilution (cf. Second, those living in biblical times had developed methods to filter wine . 3 parts water to 1 part wine) so they would have had to drink a considerable amount in order to become intoxicated. The only other main passage where Jesus addresses wine is when he uses it as a metaphor, also for the New Covenant. Unfortunately, many Christians know little about the ancient Mediterranean world. Jesus said to them, Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; (Eph. Alcohol-related crashes cost taxpayer over $100 billion dollars. But, there is a second problem: this citation from Homer is like using The RugRats as a research tool for understanding toddlers. of It was also the most widely consumed beverage in the Mediterranean world. The wedding celebration wasnt over yet, and the host ran out of wine. 1. Everything we do should be in moderation. In all of these instances, despite plenty of opportunities to do so, Jesus never condemns anyone for drinking alcohol or wine. About 13,000 people are killed each year in the U.S.A. in alcohol-related accidents. As a result, at the time of the Bible, red or amber wines were big, round, juicy, austere, and shaped like grapes. Both Pliny and Plato refer to the "legendary" aspects of Homer's wine. After the flood, Noah grows a vineyard, makes wine, and gets drunk. The adding of sugars in wine was not in common use until well after the New Testament period. Not until the 12th century did the great wine-growing districts begin to recover. 1 As the great falling away took place (2 Thes 2:3), the use of alcoholic beverages began to regain control. To speak of its "strength," "body," "bouquet," and to say that it "improves with age" makes it obvious that this is fortified (and rather sweet) wine, perhaps with an enhanced alcoholic content. Wine shows up several times in the Gospel narratives. Wine production on Israeli lands began thousands of years ago, perhaps even prior to the Biblical era. This verse iterates the reason that God gave grapes: to make wine. It must, however, be remembered that Pliny is discussing an exceptional wine. The New Testament clearly prohibits drunkenness (Eph. In a recent letter, a visitor to the Biblical Studies Foundation web site asked, "Could you help explain whether the Bible promotes drinking alcohol or whether it condemns it." . Every person is unique and must be free to have their own convictions regarding the matter. Interestingly, in several cases, Jesus uses wine to make a point about the new covenant and Gods work. (b) Those of Biblical times frowned upon the abuse of wine. Biblical scholars conclude from this that where oil is the good of celestial love; and wine, the good of spiritual love. Not having access to all the modern groceries, the old ones savored all the commodities provided in the . They called him a drunk because they saw him drinking wine with sinners. 5:18) and even insists that drunkenness is inconsistent with an authentic Christian lifestyle (1 Cor. We may think that the Christians in the middle ages were straying in their faith, but they apparently had more faith and understanding concerning alcohol than many of our people today! Stein does the same, "In other words, it is possible to become intoxicated from wine mixed with three parts water, but one's drinking would probably affect the bladder long before it affected the mindthere is a striking difference between the drinking of alcoholic beverages today and the drinking of wine in New Testament times." Its the exact opposite of forgetting our problems. Again Stein uses the same citation from Homer's Odyssey. As narrow and somewhat legalistic as those statements might have been, they werent necessarily wrong or bad. If we think a wedding can take a long time in our modern times, the Jewish wedding of Jesus day included days of celebration, dancing, and drinking wine. Amos 9:14 and Zechariah 10:7 use the merriment that wine creates as a figure of how God's people will rejoice at the time of His final victory. Contact CH101 Wine skins harden after a year. Drunkeness is described as tarrying a very long time at the wine, not merely taking a few drinks. The alcohol comes from the sugars, and when all sugar was gone there was no more alcohol produced. Instead, Israeli wine was filled with a reputation for being a type of drink someone should put a cork in. Why? The first major issue which always comes up is that most of the wine (oinos) mentioned in the Bible was not fermented, or alcoholic. www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9605/07/wine.digestion/ (1996) Water can contain diseases and bacteria. (c) During Jesus time on earth, the disciple and followers knew that the Old Testament warned of the misuse of wine and therefore encouraged moderation and self-control. Lack of sound judgement. * (*download the PDF version of this article for footnotes and references) The typical wine sold today is in the range of 11.5 percent to 15 percent ABV, with the strongest wines having 17 percent to 23 percent ABV. There are approximately 256 references to wine written in the contents of the Good Book. Hepatitis. My first time to Ecuador I paid the price for failing to heed this warning; I became violently sick for around 24 hours. New wine could not make anyone drunk even if they had tarried over the wine for three hours. Not Jeff Zweerink. There are hardly any people arguing on the premise that Jesus consumed large amounts of wine. We never want to make alcohol (or anything, an idol) and always need to practice self-control. Does Approval of the Use of New Testament Wine Justify Use of Modern Alcoholic Beverages? Everything we do should be in moderation. Wine, in the Bible (as today) can be both good and bad. In an exchange of e-mails he confirmed what I had thought all along: The closest thing I can find to this idea that wine can make bacteria-laden water safe to drink are studies clearly indicating that the consumption of wine with a meal can protect a person against certain kinds of food poisening - the alcohol and the acid in wine does kill bacteria in the stomach: The relatively little that was produced was consumed locally, and because wine was needed for Christian sacraments, it was for the most part the produce of ecclesiastical foundations. Instead, people argue whether or not the Bible condemns all use of alcohol or whether it condones its use in moderation. According to Proverbs 31:6-7, the influence of wine helps people forget their misery. Virtually every scholar agrees that the alcohol content of wine during Biblical times was usually between 5-20%, which is enough to intoxicate. While one reason for this was the addition of water, another reason was naturally fermented wine (wine that does not have additives) was the only wine available during this time. Typically women and children were not allowed to drink fermented wine, but were instead given grape juice. Thisfruit of the vine means wine. Are You Actually a Christian Apatheist? who hath contentions? I have had several requests for Part 2 of "Wine in the Ancient World." But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day (Acts 2:13-15). High blood pressure. [] a previous article, we examined the ancient practice of winemaking. The scripture is consistent on this point. In the gritty and often solitary work of farming, God has met me in some powerful ways. On this point there can be little argument; it is certain that people in the ancient world drank grape juice, and oinos was sometimes used to refer to fresh, non-alcoholic wine. If the wine was in fact wine and not grape juice, then it obviously had some sort of alcohol content. Depending on which side a person prefers to linger, innumerous references from the Bible can go in both directions. Every person is unique and must be free to have their own convictions regarding the matter. The sugar of grape juice can only ferment to 3 or 4% alcohol with wild yeast airborne yeast. We should be sensitive to diverse perspectives, remembering not to judge Gods servants if they differ on food and drink details (Romans 14:17). Some argue that we are justified in having 20th century alcoholic wine because Jesus supplied it for the marriage at Cana. Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus/Rostislav_Sedlacek. Courses - Sommelier Training and Sommelier Certification, Food & Wine in Paonia and the North Fork It acknowledges the hardship and Gods ability to see us through to good things. No modern wine could withstand dilution with three parts water. The most common Hebrew word for wine is yayin, from a root meaning to boil up, to be in a ferment. Others derive it from a root meaning to tread out, and hence the juice of the grapes when stepped on or pressed. In some states, a beverage with the weak alcohol content of New Testament wine is not even considered an alcoholic beverage. 0.06-0.10 Visual tracking and Coordination. The Spirit gives us what lasts forever. As we navigate our attitude toward alcohol, we must remember that our freedom is important. Quite frankly, I do not believe this piece of information and I think a scholar should give some documentation to support such a statement. R.A. Baker The notion of "unfermented wine" in the Bible, comes from American fundamentalist Christians and has no basis in reality. They typically diluted wine with large amounts of water before the wine was consumed. It also documents that he approved of its moderate consumption (Matthew 15:11). Liver cancer. We are only given two options, neither of which is to drink alcoholic wine in any appreciable way. Num 6, Judges 13). If the wine was in fact wine and not grape juice, then it obviously had some sort of alcohol content. Fourth Century Maybe attitude is what they are looking for? There are two types of Kosher wine: Mevushal and non-Mevushal. Some hold strongly to total abstinence, while others see nothing wrong with a moderate use of alcohol. Fermenting a substance such as grape juice kills that bacterium and gives something safe to drink. Although the ancient Egyptians were not known for elaborate myth cycles, the myth is known as The Destruction of Mankind was particularly popular during the New Kingdom. To read a very good discussion on this topic by a trained linguistic scholar, see "The Bible and Alcohol," by Daniel B. Wallace, Ph.D. Specifically, regarding Jesus drinking wine, what do we see in the Gospels? In ancient times there were not many beverages that were safe to drink. www.decanter.com/news/46268.html (2002) 11. Your email address will not be published. I have an explanation, but that will have to wait for "Wine in the Ancient World, Part II." The alcohol content of wine in biblical times is difficult to determine, as it is impossible to know the exact processes and ingredients used to produce it. Jesus was around wine a great deal in his ministry, whether at weddings, meals, or the Passover celebration the night before his death. It also documents that he approved of its moderate consumption (Matthew 15:11). Alcohol is defiling our nation. No, the wine in Bible times contained enough alcohol to cause people to get drunk, which would have been more than "a little" alcohol. The alcoholic content must have been only a fraction of what it is in todays wine. The implication is he drank before but wouldnt drink again until the kingdoms fulfillment. B. Pesahim 108b states that the wine consumed during Passover was 3:1 wine. Although the principles of distillation were known in the ancient Orient, the distillation of liquor, a much younger art than the fermentation of beers and wines, is believed to date from the 11th century in Europe. 1 The Jews depended on the yeast and sugars in the grape itself to produce the alcohol. The only reference offered by Stein is his personal experience in Greece. This bold claim is precisely the opposite of reality. How much alcohol was in the wine in the Bible? This means that first-century wine was never stronger than 6% alcohol, and often was only 3% or less. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. The Old Testament Apocrypha also documents the practice of diluting wine with water. The strongest drink possible in biblical times was not a modern fortified wine with 14-20 percent alcohol content, much less bourbon or tequila at 40-50 percent alcohol content, but naturally fermented wine or beer with a maximum possible alcohol content of 10-11 percent. In all my reading of ancient writers I cannot remember a single reference to this issue (while I obviously have not read all ancient documents, I have read a good many documents of first and second century writers). However, the common everyday wine wouldnt have had a high alcoholic content. The wine in the ancient world was most likely stronger (in flavor, not necessarily alcoholic content) than modern wines to withstand such a dilution. John 2:10). He describes the alcoholic content in wine stating that it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder, which strongly indicates alcoholic content. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles (Mark 2:22). Certainly, it was fermented and had a modest alcohol content. Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed, and Lot is left alone with his daughters, who have no children. 5 Things You Should Know about the ESV Bible Translation. . . (LogOut/ Without distillery, which was not in common use until 1,000 years after Christ, the alcoholic content was quite low. With the exception of the sweet wines referred to above, fermentation continues until all sugar in the juice has been converted to alcohol. 1 We know the fermentation process stopped after a short time, for the skins would be burst after the hardened if it had not. The use of wine is not the same today as it was in ancient times. That is not a biblical understanding, however. Some people assert that the wine referenced in the Bible was nothing more than nonalcoholic grape juice. [2] [3] [4] Additionally, the inhabitants of ancient Israel drank beer, and wines made from fruits other than grapes, and references to these appear in scripture. 11.0. People of the kingdom might also drink wine at Passover like Jesus. Perry Stone shared a little history about wine.. he found that their water was not suitable to drink.. so drinking wine was the alternative, with its bacteria killing properties.. While I do have an opinion on this issue, my first intention is not to engage in this dispute here. No one does these things with new and old wine. He eventually does, going into a storage area where there were large cisterns of water for washing, also culturally important for the cleanliness of the Old Covenant Law. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Charles L. Quarles is Research Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology and Charles Page Chair of Biblical Theology at SEBTS. Ironically, one popular abstentionist argues that the burden of proof should fall on those who claim that Biblical wine contained alcohol. Atrophy of testes. Slow reaction time. Second Century 8-14%. One of the great "woes" of God is for people to partake in the consumption of alcohol. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. who hath babbling? The strongest alcoholic beverage that was accessible to the New Testament authors and their original readers was natural wine that had an alcoholic content of 11-12 percent (before dilution). We will seek to determine if the approval of New Testament wine in moderation provides ethical justification for the consumption of significantly stronger alcoholic beverages today. This, however, wasnt for lack of trying. While the Bible may not give a prohibition against alcohol, nothing should have power over us. Ecclesiastes 9:7 instructs, "Drink your wine with a merry heart." Psalm 104:14-15 states that God gives wine "that makes glad the heart of men." Amos 9:14 discusses drinking wine from your own vineyard as a sign of God's blessing. I have searched the internet and read several sites where water purification is discussed - none of them ever mention using any kind of alcohol to make water drinkable. He distinguishes between wine and strong drink. Joy and gladness are gone from the orchards and fields of Moab. Absolutely right! First, in Matthew 26:27-29, he institutes the new covenant by sharing a cup of wine with the twelve apostles. Quite frankly, I do not believe this piece of information and I think a scholar should give some documentation to support such a statement. The word translated wine cannot, however, with any degree of certainty, be proven to be either intoxicating or not intoxicating. I will report his response in "Wine in the Ancient World, Part II." [xiii . (fermented, boiled up, etc.). Biblical evidence shows a consistent reference, from cover to cover, that wine is an alcoholic beverage able to make a person drunk with its overuse. This testimony agrees with the secular history of alcoholic beverages. Stopping just short of adding RediWhip, people tossed in everything from honey to berries, from pepper to salt. Therefore, we get several occasions where the drinking of alcohol is addressed. Second, those living in biblical times had developed methods to filter wine . Athenaus mentions several different dilution rates that he culled from ancient works. Drunkenness is never looked at in a good light in scripture. Yet the locals drink it and do not get violently sick. The Ancient Greeks and Romans likely watered down their wine, or more accurately added wine to their water, as a way of purifying (or hiding the foul taste) from . The Lower Alcohol Content Of Wine In Biblical Times. 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