WINE

Several Hebrew words are rendered by the English "wine," the most common of which are yayin (134 times) and tirosh (33 times). The basic term for "wine" in the Greek New Testament is oinos (33 times).

In both Hebrew and Greek, wine is a generic term for the liquid produced from squeezed grapes. Sometimes it refers to fresh grape juice. For example, Isaiah referred to "wine in the presses" (16:10), which obviously is simply grape juice. There were ways in antiquity to preserve juice year-round without fermentation. There is no reason to assume that the "wine" made by Jesus was alcoholic in content (Jn. 2:1ff).

Frequently, "wine" refers to a beverage capable of producing intoxication (Eph. 5:18). There are, therefore, many warnings against the indiscriminate use of wine (Prov. 20:1; 21:17; 23:20-21; 30-31; Isa. 5:22; 28:7; Joel 1:5; Amos 6:6; Hab. 2:5; 1 Tim. 3:8; Tit. 2:3). See DRUNKENESS.

Wine is sometimes viewed as a substance of medicinal value (Lk. 10:34; 1 Tim. 5:8).

The term may also be used as a symbol of the wrath of God (Jer. 25:15; 51:7; Rev. 14:10; 16:19).