📖 Biblical Definition
Wine carries three simultaneous biblical weights: blessing, warning, and sacrament. As blessing, it is the "wine that gladdens the heart of man" (Ps 104:15), promised throughout the covenant: new wine, old wine, wine on the lees; the vat overflowing. As warning, wine enslaves the drunkard — Noah, Lot's daughters, and Proverbs' vivid portraits of the sluggard and the mocker. As sacrament, wine is the cup of the Passover, transfigured by Christ at the Last Supper into "the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). Wine at the marriage of Cana was His first sign; wine at Gethsemane was His cup of wrath drained to the dregs; wine at the wedding supper of the Lamb is the joy promised to every believer.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
WINE, n.
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WINE, n. [Sax. win; L. vinum.] The fermented juice of grapes; and in a more general sense, the fermented juice of any other fruit or plant used as a beverage. In Scripture, wine is spoken of as a blessing of the covenant (Deut. 7:13), as the joy of the heart (Ps. 104:15), and as that which the LORD appoints for the sacred feasts and libations of the temple. Yet it is also denounced against the drunkard, and against the nations that drink the cup of God's wrath. The Lord's Supper is instituted with wine as the sign of the blood of Christ, the blood of the new covenant, shed for many for the remission of sins.
📖 Key Scripture
Psalm 104:15 — "And wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man's heart."
Proverbs 20:1 — "Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise."
Luke 22:20 — "And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.""
John 2:10 — "Every man serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Two opposite errors circle the biblical theology of wine: teetotal legalism that forbids what Scripture blesses, and drunken license that ignores what Scripture warns.
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American evangelicalism has long had a troubled relationship with wine. On one side, a nineteenth-century temperance movement, seared by real societal evils of drunkenness, overcorrected into a blanket prohibition that Scripture never teaches — inventing dubious translations of "wine" as "grape juice" and allegorizing away the Cana miracle. On the other side, modern casual drinking culture treats getting drunk as harmless entertainment despite Paul's explicit listing of drunkenness among works of the flesh that bar from the kingdom (Gal 5:21, 1 Cor 6:10). The biblical position is neither: wine is a created gift, a covenant blessing, and a sacramental sign; drunkenness is sin. Enjoy the gift, reject the abuse, and never forget that the wine at communion is the blood of the King. Serve it reverently.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
H3196 — yayin (יַיִן) — wine; G3631 oinos.
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H3196 — yayin (יַיִן) — wine, fermented grape juice; the common OT wine word.
H8492 — tirosh (תִּירוֹשׁ) — new wine, fresh wine; the fruit of the harvest year.
G3631 — oinos (οἶνος) — wine; used of Cana, the Last Supper, and the wrath of God poured out unmixed in Revelation.
Usage
"The first miracle was wine. The last supper was wine. Heaven is a wedding with wine. The teetotaler is reading a different Bible."
"Drunkenness disqualifies from the kingdom (1 Cor 6:10). The gift of wine is not the permission to make a fool."