There are questions and many different opinions or ideas that people have when it comes to the subject of wine and its uses in the Bible. People wonder if it is alright to drink wine. The excuse given is that Jesus turned the water to wine so it must be alright. Others say that the wine that is referred to is actually just plain grape juice. This article is in no means placing a stamp of approval on the drinking of wine or any alcoholic beverage. The Bible clearly states that "wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." (Proverbs 20:1) To say that it is lawful to do so is not an excuse for the drinking of wine and other alcoholic drinks either. Paul said, "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." (1 Corinthians 6:12) This article is designed to help you to understand what the Hebrew and Greek words that have been translated "wine" are and the actual meanings of those words. So, let's ask the questions, what does the word "wine" that we read of in the Bible really mean? and is it the same as the wine we have today?

Many of the instances that are said of "wine" as being just grape juice is incorrect. In some cases they are grape juice and others they are actual wine. But, it is also incorrect to think that the wine spoken of in the Bible was the same as the wine that we commonly know as wine today. In that day, wine was fermented and contained alcohol. The wine of the Bible times was fermented naturally and did not have the alcoholic content that the wines of today have. The wines of today are made in a different way than those of the Bible time. Sugar is added in the wine-making process to bring the alcoholic content higher and yeast is added to quicken the fermentation process.

The Greek word translated "wine" in John 2:9 is G3631 "oinos oy'-nos" A primary word (or perhaps of Hebrew origin [H3196]); "wine" (literally or figuratively): - wine. There are, however, references in the Old Testament where it refers to freshly pressed grape juice (must). The Hebrew word used for these references is tiyrosh (H8492). There are 52 occurrences of the Hebrew word tiyrosh. It is translated as wine in Gen_27:28, Gen_27:37, Deu_11:12-14 (3), Deu_12:17, Deu_14:23, Deu_18:4, Deu_28:51, Deu_33:28, Jdg_9:13, 2Ki_18:32, 2Ch_31:5, 2Ch_32:28, Neh_5:11, Neh_10:37, Neh_10:39, Neh_13:5, Neh_13:12, Psa_4:7, Pro_3:10, Isa_24:7, Isa_36:17, Isa_65:8 (2), Jer_31:12, Hos_2:8-9 (2), Hos_2:22, Hos_4:11, Hos_7:14, Hos_9:2, Hos_9:4, Hos_14:7, Joe_1:10, Joe_2:19, Joe_2:24, Mic_6:15, Hag_1:11, and Zec_9:17. It is translated as new wine in Neh_10:39, Neh_13:5, Neh_13:12, Pro_3:10, Isa_65:7-8 (2), Hos_4:11, Hos_9:2, Hag_1:10-11 (2), and Zec_9:17, and sweet wine in Mic_6:15. The new wine in the New Testament is not the same as the new wine mentioned in the Old Testament. The use of new wine in Acts 2:13 "These men are full of new wine." is the Greek G1098 gleukos, akin to G1099 glukus. This use in Acts 2:13, the only occasion of the Greek word gleukos, is not talking about fresh wine, but a highly intoxicating wine. The Greek word glukus (G1099) is used three (3) times and is in James 3:11 and Revelation 10:9-10. In Revelation 10:9-10 it is used two (2) times and is translated sweet and one (1) time in James 3:12 where it is translated fresh.

The Hebrew word that means literally, "wine" is translated from the Hebrew yayin (H3196)

(The following is an exerpt from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
In Old Testament times wine was drunk undiluted, and wine mixed with water was thought to be ruined (Isa_1:22). The "mixed" or "mingled wines" (see I, 1, (5), above) were prepared with aromatic herbs of various sorts and some of these compounds, used throughout the ancient world, were highly intoxicating (Isa_5:22). Wine mixed with myrrh was stupefying and an anesthetic (Mar_15:23). At a later period, however, the Greek use of diluted wines had attained such sway that the writer of 2 Maccabees speaks (15:39) of undiluted wine as "distasteful" (polemion). This dilution is so normal in the following centuries that the Mishna can take it for granted and, indeed, R. Eliezer even forbade saying the table-blessing over undiluted wine (Berakhoth 7 5). The proportion of water was large, only one-third or one-fourth of the total mixture being wine (Niddah 2 7; Pesahim 108b).
Note.
The wine of the Last Supper, accordingly, may be described in modern terms as a sweet, red, fermented wine, rather highly diluted. As it was no doubt the ordinary wine of commerce, there is no reason to suppose that it was particularly "pure."