The Meaning Of The Word “Wine”
Introduction
Many Hebrew and Greek words are translated into one English word ‘wine.’ It is a sin to drink alcohol. Jesus used grape juice for the Lord’s Supper.
“Fulfil”: satisfy, accomplish, complete
Matthew 5:17 (KJV) ¶ Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Matthew 5:18 (KJV) For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Jesus did not destroy or bring to and end of the law, he fulfilled it. Every prophecy about the Messiah matched up with the life of Jesus. No moral commandment was broken by Jesus. He lived a sinless life.
Dictionary Definitions
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
fulfilling
FULFILL’ING, ppr. Accomplishing; performing; completing.
Strong’s Greek Dictionary
- πληρόω pleroo (plēróō)
Search for G4137 in KJVSL; in KJV; load in ESI.
πληρόω plēróō, play-ro’-o
from G4134; to make replete, i.e. (literally) to cram (a net), level up (a hollow), or (figuratively) to furnish (or imbue, diffuse, influence), satisfy, execute (an office), finish (a period or task), verify (or coincide with a prediction), etc.:—accomplish, × after, (be) complete, end, expire, fill (up), fulfil, (be, make) full (come), fully preach, perfect, supply.
Verb
The 2 Components Of The Law
Luke 1:6 (KJV) And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
There are two components of “the Law”
- commandments,
- ordinances
The “Commandments”
Jesus “fulfilled” the commandments because he never sinned. He never broke any of the moral laws (commandments).
No Sin
Hebrews 4:15 (KJV) For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
1 John 3:5 (KJV) And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
No Deceit
Isaiah 53:9 (KJV) And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Titus 1:2 (KJV) In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
The “Ordinances”
Jesus “fulfilled” the ordinances in the sense that every sacrificial type and every prophetic statement that was made about the Messiah was satisfied/met in Jesus. He was of the lineage of David, a male, first born, without blemish, taken outside the camp, crucified by the whole congregation of Israel.
The Old Testament >> The Mosaic Covenant
In a general sense, the Old Testament is thought of as the first 39 books of the Bible starting with Genesis and ending with Malachi and the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation. Whenever the Old Testament is mentioned the first 39 books of the Bible is what is brought to mind.
However, God gave various covenants to man and as the Bible is read the covenants are referred to a “covenant” and they are identified in the text.
For example: the Abrahamic Covenant
Acts 3:25 (KJV) Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
For example: the Mosaic Covenant
Hebrews 8:9 (KJV) Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
God made covenant with Moses when he went up on Mount Sanai to receive the Ten Commandments as well as other commandments. These commandments are known as “the law”.
The “Mosaic Covenant” did not end until Jesus died on the cross. It was the covenant that God made with Israel before Moses received the Ten Commandments and the rest of the law (what is generally referred to as “the law”).
Exodus 19:1 (KJV) ¶ In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.
Exodus 19:2 (KJV) For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
Exodus 19:3 (KJV) And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
Exodus 19:4 (KJV) Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.
Exodus 19:5 (KJV) Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Exodus 19:6 (KJV) And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Exodus 19:7 (KJV) And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
Exodus 19:8 (KJV) And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
It was a conditional covenant “if” you will do… “then” I will do… God knowing full well that they would break their end of the covenant. The ordinances (sacrifice, symbol, ritual) pictured them breaking the covenant (crucifying Jesus on the cross) in some way.
So, when Jesus died on the cross the veil in the temple was torn in half and that conditional Mosaic Covenant with Israel ceased to exist.
Matthew 27:50 (KJV) ¶ Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
Matthew 27:51 (KJV) And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
Mark 15:37 (KJV) And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
Mark 15:38 (KJV) And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
The “Mosaic Covenant” of the Old Testament did not end until Jesus died on the cross. In other words, everyone (including Jesus) was required to obey all of the law given to Moses. The moral commandments and the ordinances.
So, if Jesus was actually the Messiah, he could not have broken any of the moral laws.
Also, if Jesus was the Messiah, every picture that was typified in the ordinances would point to Jesus: his lineage, place of birth, how he would die, when he would die, etc.
Jesus Cannot Violate His Own Moral Commands
1 John 3:4 (KJV) ¶ Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
1 John 3:5 (KJV) And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
So, Jesus never broke any moral command that was given in the Old Testament under the Mosaic Covenant. Jesus was under the ordinances and commandments of the Mosaic covenant from his birth until his death.
Consider This:
So, if it was a sin to drink intoxicating drinks in the Old Testament then Jesus would have sinned if he drank intoxicating drinks before he died on the cross.
“Wine” In Hebrew (Strong’s Hebrew)
3196. יַיִן yayin (yayin)
from an unused root meaning to effervesce; wine (as fermented); by implication, intoxication:—banqueting, wine, wine(-bibber).
masculine noun
The Two States Of Yayin
Proverbs 23:29 (KJV) ¶ Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes?
Proverbs 23:30 (KJV) They that tarry long at the wine [yayin]; they that go to seek mixed wine [mamsak].
Proverbs 23:31 (KJV) Look not thou upon the wine [yayin] when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.
Proverbs 23:32 (KJV) At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
Proverbs 23:33 (KJV) Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.
Proverbs 23:34 (KJV) 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.
Proverbs 23:35 (KJV) 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.
There is a very interesting thing to notice about the passage above. It describes a particular state of “yayin” in which it is wrong to consume it.
“…when it moveth itself aright.”
Before Vs After
This verse places no restriction on drinking it before fermentation, but directly commands that it is not to be used once fermentation begins. The command is to not even look at it in that state: “Look not thou upon the yayin when…”
- Non-alcoholic beverages do not move by themselves; they do not have bubbles.
- Alcoholic beverages do move by themselves; they have bubbles.
Type Vs State
So we can see that “yayin” is used to describe a type of a drink (juice) but not the state of the drink (fermented). You can tell by the context of the verse if the word “yayin” is referring to its fermented or non-fermented state.
7941. שֵׁכָר shekar (shêkâr)
שֵׁכָר shêkâr, shay-kawr’
from H7937; an intoxicant, i.e. intensely alcoholic liquor:—strong drink, drunkard, strong wine.
masculine noun
Proverbs 20:1 (KJV) ¶ Wine [yayin] is a mocker, strong drink [shekar] is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
The Hebrew word “shekar” clearly describes intensely alcoholic liquor and this verse says that anyone that drinks that type of drink is not wise. In this context it places “yayin” in the same category.
Consider This:
If Jesus drank “yayin” or “shekar” then, according to this verse, he was not wise… he was a fool.
8492. תִּירוֹשׁ tiyrowsh (tîyrôwsh)
תִּירוֹשׁ tîyrôwsh, tee-roshe’
or תִּירֹשׁ tîyrôsh; from H3423 in the sense of expulsion; must or fresh grape-juice (as just squeezed out); by implication (rarely) fermented wine:—(new, sweet) wine.
masculine noun
Isaiah 65:8 (KJV) ¶ 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.
When new grapes are growing and they are still on the vine in a cluster they cannot be fermented. The “wine” in them is non-alcoholic.
Proverbs 3:9 (KJV) Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
Proverbs 3:10 (KJV) So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine [tiyrowsh].
We see here the word “wine” used in the sense of freshly squeezed grape juice.
Leaven
The First Passover
The Passover pictured Jesus dying on the cross. When Jesus died on the cross he became what the Passover pictured. He was a male, first of the flock, without blemish (sin), taken outside the camp, killed by the congregation of Israel. The important thing to notice here is without sin. Leaven is a type of sin and it was forbidden to be in anything during the Passover.
Exodus 12:15 (KJV) Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
Exodus 12:16 (KJV) And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you.
Exodus 12:17 (KJV) And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.
Exodus 12:18 (KJV) In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
Exodus 12:19 (KJV) Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
Exodus 12:20 (KJV) Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.
During the Passover they were not to consume leaven in anything because it was a type of sin. Alcohol has leaven in it, that is what makes it ferment. Grape juice has no leaven, alcohol does.
1 Corinthians 5:6 (KJV) Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
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Galatians 5:9 (KJV) A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
The Lord’s Supper
Fruit Of The Vine
During the last Passover, right before Jesus became the actual Passover, they were drinking the “fruit of the vine”.
Matthew 26:29 (KJV) But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
Mark 14:25 (KJV) Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
Luke 22:18 (KJV) For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
The Pure Blood Of Grapes
No form of the word “wine” is used. Those verses very clearly identifies non-alcoholic grape juice as the drink that was consumed. The reason is that the fruit of the vine (grape juice) contains no leaven.
Deuteronomy 32:14 (KJV) Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.
Wine/Leaven Is Unholy/Unclean
Leviticus 10:8 (KJV) ¶ And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying,
Leviticus 10:9 (KJV) Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
Leviticus 10:10 (KJV) And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
Leviticus 10:11 (KJV) And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
Notice that the reason Aaron was not to drink wine was because God said wine is unholy and unclean. To use wine for the Lord’s Supper therefore would be to symbolically declare Christ’s blood unholy and unclean.
Furthermore, please notice that so major a sin did God consider drinking alcohol in the tabernacle to be that he threatened to kill the priests if they drank it.
Speaking In Hebrew, Writing In Greek
John 4:25 (KJV) The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
John 4:26 (KJV) Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
The New Testament was written in Greek. However, as we read the New Testament we notice that even though it was written in Greek it was spoken in Hebrew. You speak your native tongue to those who speak your native tongue, it is a natural thing to do. The woman at the well was speaking to Jesus in Hebrew. She interpreted the Hebrew word Messiah into the Greek word Christ. Even though the text was written in Greek the original conversation was in Hebrew. That is an important thing to understand as a person reads through the New Testament.
“Wine” In Greek (Strong’s Greek)
3631. οἶνος oinos (oînos)
οἶνος oînos, oy’-nos
a primary word (or perhaps of Hebrew origin (H3196: yayin)); “wine” (literally or figuratively):—wine.
masculine noun
IMPORTANT: Notice that this Greek word is thought to have been of Hebrew origin used as they used the word “yayin”.
Water Into Wine
John 2:1 (KJV) ¶ And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:
John 2:2 (KJV) And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.
John 2:3 (KJV) And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.
John 2:4 (KJV) Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.
John 2:5 (KJV) His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
John 2:6 (KJV) And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
John 2:7 (KJV) Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
John 2:8 (KJV) And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
John 2:9 (KJV) When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
John 2:10 (KJV) And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
John 2:11 (KJV) This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
Consider This:
- Even though the New Testament was written in Greek the Jews talked to each other in Hebrew. That is a very common thing to do. The Hebrew conversation was recorded in Greek. The Greek word “wine” that is being used had appears to have its origin in Hebrew.
- The fermented state of “yayin” was forbidden.
- Those who took it were called fools.
- Under the Mosaic Covenant, the priests were expressly forbidden to drink alcohol.
- The Mosaic Covenant didn’t end until Jesus died on the cross.
Leviticus 10:8 (KJV) ¶ And the LORD spake unto Aaron, saying,
Leviticus 10:9 (KJV) Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations:
Leviticus 10:10 (KJV) And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
Leviticus 10:11 (KJV) And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the LORD hath spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.
- Jesus is our High Priest.
- If Jesus had made fermented “yayin” he would have sinned.
- Jesus never sinned.
So, could the “wine” mentioned here have been alcoholic? The answer is absolutely not.
New Wine vs Old Wine
Luke 5:37 (KJV) And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
Luke 5:38 (KJV) But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.
Luke 5:39 (KJV) No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
Remember what “new wine” is? It is unfermented grape juice.
Isaiah 65:8 (KJV) ¶ 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.
If you want to preserve grape juice so that it doesn’t spoil you have to put it into a container that has no leaven, yeast, germs, etc.
The Church At Corinth
The church of Corinth was a very ungodly church. The Bible truthfully records the sinful things that they were doing. They are NOT an example to follow.
1 Corinthians 11:17 (KJV) ¶ Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.
1 Corinthians 11:18 (KJV) For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
1 Corinthians 11:19 (KJV) For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
1 Corinthians 11:20 (KJV) When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.
1 Corinthians 11:21 (KJV) For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
1 Corinthians 11:22 (KJV) What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
First, notice that there were heresies in the this church.
Second, notice that the word “wine” is not mentioned in any form.
Third, notice that it does appear that some of them were actually getting drunk.
Lastly, notice that this passage is rebuking the church for what they were doing, NOT recommending it as an example.