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Jesus making wine in The Marriage at Cana, a 14th century fresco from the Visoki Dečani monastery.

Alcoholic beverages appear repeatedly in biblical literature – from Noah planting a vineyard and getting drunk in the Hebrew Bible to Jesus in the New Testament miraculously making copious amounts of wine at the wedding at Cana and later incorporating wine as part of the central rite of Christianity, the Eucharist. Wine is the most common alcoholic beverage mentioned in biblical literature, where it is a frequent source of symbolism, and was an important part of daily life in biblical times. The inhabitants of ancient Palestine also drank beer and wines made from fruits other than grapes, and some references to these appear in the scriptures, too.

On the whole, biblical literature displays an ambivalence toward intoxicating drinks, considering them both a blessing from God that brings joy and merriment and potentially dangerous beverages that can be unwisely and sinfully abused. The relationships between Judaism and alcohol and Christianity and alcohol have generally maintained this same tension, though Christianity saw a number of its adherents, particularly around the time of Prohibition, rejecting alcohol itself as inherently evil.

Biblical literature

The term Bible can refer to several collections of books that are considered canonical by one or more religious group, and there is some variation on what books different subgroups consider canonical (see books of the Bible). The Hebrew Bible, which Judaism calls the Tanakh and Christianity calls the Old Testament, is canonical for both groups. Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and to some extent the churches of the Anglican Communion accept the biblical apocrypha, or deuterocanonical books, which the Jewish and Protestant canons exclude. All Christians accept the New Testament, while Judaism rejects it.

Irrespective of the official standing of these collections with various religious groups, each is a set of historical artifacts that evidence views during their respective time periods of composition and editing. The Hebrew Bible contains the Torah, or Mosaic Law, which is the preeminent part of the Bible for modern Judaism and for the Jews living in the days of the New Testament. The apocryphal/deuterocanonical books, while not universally accepted as canonical, have yet had significant influence among Jews and Christians alike and give evidence of views during the Second Temple or intertestamental period. The Hebrew Bible and the apocryphal/deuterocanonical books contain the background assumed by the New Testament and particularly by the Gospels, Christianity's centerpiece of scripture, and the New Testament teaching on and exemplary use of alcoholic beverages reflects the attitudes and ideas found in earlier biblical literature.

Lexigraphy

Biblical literature uses several words in its original languages to refer to different types of alcoholic beverages. Some of these words have overlapping meaning, particularly the words in Hebrew compared to the words in Koine Greek, which is the language of both the Septuagint (an important and ancient translation of the Hebrew Bible) and the New Testament. While some apocryphal/deuterocanonical books may have been originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, some were written in Greek, and they are all best known in the Greek version found in the Septuagint. Hence, the meanings of the words used for alcoholic beverages in each of these languages has bearing on alcohol and the Bible.

Hebrew

The Hebrew Bible was largely written in Hebrew with portions in Aramaic, and it uses several words to represent alcoholic beverages:

Hebrew	Transliteration	Strong's no.	Meaning	References	Septuagint translation(s)
יין	yayin	3196	the common word translated "wine"	Ge 9:21; Ex 29:40; Lv 10:9; Nu 6:3; Dt 14:26; Jos 9:4; Jg 13:4; 1Sa 1:14; 1Ch 9:29; Ne 2:1; Es 1:7; Jb 1:13; Ps 75:8; Pr 4:17; Ec 2:3; SS 1:2; Is 5:11; Jr 13:12; Ezk 27:18; Da 1:5; Ho 4:11; Jl 1:5; Am 2:8; Mi 2:11; Hb 2:5; etc.	gleukos (see below), katoinousthai ("to be drunken"), oinopotes ("drunkard"), oinos (see below), sumposion ("drinking party")
תירוש	tirosh	8492	properly "must"; sometimes rendered as "wine," "new wine," or "sweet wine." It can represent juice at any stage in the fermentation process, and in some places it "represents rather wine made from the first drippings of the juice before the winepress was trodden. As such it would be particularly potent." It can certainly be alcoholic as in Ho 4:11.	Ge 27:28; Nu 18:12; Dt 7:13; Jg 9:13; 2Ki 18:32; 2Ch 32:28; Ne 5:11; Ps 4:7; Pr 3:10; Is 24:7; Jr 31:12; Ho 2:8; Jl 1:10; Mi 6:15; Hg 1:11; Zc 9:17; etc.	methusma (Ho 4:11; see below), oinos (all other references; see below)
שכר	shekar	7941	"strong drink"; "denotes any inebriating drink with about 7–10 percent alcoholic content, not hard liquor, because there is no evidence of distilled liquor in ancient times.... It was made from either fruit and/or barley beer"; the term can include wine as in Nu 28:7, but generally it is used in combination with it ("wine and strong drink") to encompass all varieties of intoxicants	Lv 10:9; Nu 6:3; Dt 14:26; Jg 13:4; 1Sa 1:15; Ps 69:12; Pr 20:1; Is 5:11; Mi 2:11; etc.	methê ("string drink, drunkenness"), methusma (see below), oinos (see below), sikera (see below)
חמר	chemer corresponding to the Aramaic chamar	2561 and 2562	"wine"; the word "conveys the idea of 'foaming,' as in the process of fermentation, or when poured out. It is derived from the root hamar, meaning 'to boil up'"	Dt 32:14; Is 27:2; Ezr 6:9; 7:22; Da 5:1,2,4	methê ("string drink, drunkenness"), oinos (see below)
עסיס	'asis	6071	"sweet wine" or "new wine", the vintage of the current year with intoxicating power	SS 8:2; Is 49:26; Jl 1:5; 3:18; Am 9:13	glukasmos ("sweetness, sweet wine"), methê ("strong drink, "drunkenness"), nama, oinos neos ("new wine")
חמץ	chomets	2558	vinegar, which was made from wine or other fermented beverage and used as a condiment or, when mixed with water, a slightly intoxicating drink	Nu 6:3; Ru 2:14; Ps 69:21; Pr 10:26; 25:20	omphax ("unripe or sour grape"), oxos (see below)
שמר	shemar (used in the plural: shemarim)	8105	lees or dregs of wine; "wine that has been kept on the lees, and therefore old wine" ("if [the wine] were designed to be kept for some time a certain amount of lees was added to give it body")	Ps 75:8; Is 25:6; Jr 48:11; Zp 1:12	oinos (see below), trugias ("full of lees")
סבא	sobhe	5435	drink, liquor, wine	Is 1:22; Ho 4:18; Na 1:10	oinos (see below)
ממסך	mamsak and mesekh	4469 and 4538	"mixed drink," "mixed wine," "drink-offering;" the word is "properly a mixture of wine and water with spices that increase its stimulating properties."	Ps 75:8; Pr 23:30; Is 65:11	kerasma ("mixture")
מזג	mezeg	4197	"mixture", "mixed wine"	SS 7:2	krama ("mixture, especially mixed wine")

Greek

Unlike Hebrew, which has a variety of words for alcoholic beverages, Koine Greek uses five primary words:

Greek	Transliteration	Strong's no.	Meaning	Septuagint references	New Testament references
οίνος	oinos	3631	the common word translated "wine" in the New Testament and Septuagint.	Ge 9:21 (translating yayin); Dt 7:13 (translating tirosh); 23:14 (translating chemer); Ps 68:12 (69:12 in the Hebrew numbering, translating shekar); Is 1:22 (translating sobhe); 25:6 (translating shemarim); 49:26 (tanslating 'asis); etc.	Mt 9:17; Mk 2:22; Lk 1:15; Jn 2:3; Ro 14:21; Ep 5:18; 1Ti 3:8; Ti 2:3; Re 6:6; etc.
γλευκος	gleukos	1098	"sweet wine" (sometimes rendered "new wine"), which was intoxicating.	Jb 32:19	Ac 2:13
σίκερα	sikera	4608	a Hebrew loanword from shekar (see above) meaning "strong drink."	Lv 10:9; Nu 6:3; 28:7; Dt 14:26; 29:6 (29:5 in the Hebrew numbering); Jg 13:4,7,14; Is 5:11,22; 24:9; 28:7; 29:9	Lk 1:15
όξος	oxos	3690	vinegar, sour wine; could be made from grape wine or other fermented beverages; when mixed with water, it was a common, cheap drink of the poor and of the Roman soldiers	Nu 6:3; Ru 2:14; Ps 68:21 (69:21 in the Hebrew numbering); Pr 25:20	Mt 27:48; Mk 15:36; Lk 23:36; Jn 19:29f
μέθυσμα	methusma	None	an intoxicating drink	Jd 13:4,7,15; 1Ki 1:11,15; Ho 4:11 (translating tirosh); Mi 2:11; Jr 13:13 (all translating shekar except where noted)	None, but compare the related words methê ("drunkenness"), methusos ("drunken"), etc.

Alcoholic content

Yayin and oinos (which in the Septuagint also often translates most of the Hebrew words for alcoholic beverages listed above) are commonly translated "wine," but the two are also rarely, and perhaps figuratively or anticipatorily, used in the Bible to refer to freshly pressed juice. For this reason, prohibitionist and some abstentionist Christians (see Christianity and alcohol on the different viewpoints) object to taking the default meaning to be fermented beverages, but there is a broad consensus that the words did ordinarily refer to alcoholic beverages.

While the wines drunk in the times depicted in the Hebrew Bible were not diluted with water, after the conquest of Palestine by Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic custom of diluting wine had taken hold such that the author of book of 2 Maccabees, which was written somewhere around the end of the 2nd century BC and the first half of the 1st century BC, speaks of diluted wine as "a more pleasant drink" and of both undiluted wine and unmixed water as "harmful" or "distasteful."

Biblical references

The many biblical references to alcoholic beverages are both positive and negative, real and symbolic, descriptive and didactic. Wine was commonly drunk at most meals and was a staple of life in ancient Palestine.

Winemaking

Ancient wine press in Israel with the pressing area in the center and the collection vat off to the bottom left.

A number of passages refer to the practice of wine making. Both the climate and land of Palestine, where most of both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures takes place, were well-suited to growing grapes, and the wine that the vineyards produced was a valued commodity in ancient times, both for local consumption and for its value in trade. Vineyards were protected from robbers and animals by walls, hedges, and manned watchtowers.

The harvest time brought much joy and play, as "[m]en, women and children took to the vineyard, often accompanied by the sound of music and song, from late August to September to bring in the grapes." Some grapes were eaten immediately, while others were turned into raisins. Most of them, however, were put into the wine press where the men and boys trampled them, also often to music.

The fermentation process started within six to twelve hours after pressing, and the must was usually left in the collection vat for a few days to allow the initial, "tumultuous" stage of fermentation to pass. The wine makers soon transferred it either into large earthenware jars, which were then sealed, or, if the wine were to be transported elsewhere, into wineskins (that is, partially tanned goat-skins, sewn up where the legs and tail had protruded but leaving the opening at the neck). After six weeks, fermentation was complete, and the wine was filtered into larger containers and either sold for consumption or stored in a cellar or cistern, lasting for three to four years. Even after a year of aging, the vintage was still called "new wine," and more aged wines were preferred.

Spices and scents were often added to wine in order to hide "defects" that arose from storage that was often not sufficient to prevent all spoiling. One might expect about 10% of any given cellar of wine to have been ruined completely, but vinegar was also created intentionally for dipping bread among other uses.

The Feast of Booths was a prescribed holiday that immediately followed the harvest and pressing of the grapes.

Drunkenness

File:Drunkenness of Noah EUR.jpg

The Drunkenness of Noah by Giovanni Bellini

Easton's Bible Dictionary says, "The sin of drunkenness ... must have been not uncommon in the olden times, for it is mentioned either metaphorically or literally more than seventy times in the Bible," though some suggest it was a "vice of the wealthy rather than of the poor." Biblical interpreters generally agree that the Hebrew and Christian scriptures condemn ordinary drunkenness as a serious spiritual and moral failing in passages such as these (all from the NIV):

• Proverbs 20:1: "Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise."
• Proverbs 23:20f: "Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags."
• Proverbs 23:29f: "Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine."
• Isaiah 5:11f: "Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine. They have harps and lyres at their banquets, tambourines and flutes and wine, but they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD, no respect for the work of his hands."
• Hosea 7:2,5: "But they do not realize that I [God] remember all their evil deeds.... On the day of the festival of our king the princes become inflamed with wine, and he joins hands with the mockers."
• Luke 21:34: "Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day [of Christ's return] will not come on you suddenly like a trap."
• Romans 13:13: "Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy."
• 1 Corinthians 5:11: "But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is ... a drunkard.... With such a man do not even eat."
• 1 Corinthians 6:9f: "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither ... the greedy nor drunkards ... will inherit the kingdom of God."
• Galatians 5:19–21: "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: ... drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
• Ephesians 5:18: "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."
• 1 Timothy 3:2f: "Now the overseer [traditionally bishop] must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness [etc.]."

Judith Beheading Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi

Additionally, the consequences of the drunkenness of Noah and Lot "were intended to serve as examples of the dangers and repulsiveness of intemperance." The title character in the Book of Judith, one of the Apocrypha, uses the drunkenness of the Assyrian general Holofernes to behead him in a heroic victory for the Jewish people and an embarrassing defeat for the general, who had schemed to seduce Judith.

One of the original sections of the book of 1 Esdras, a book accepted as deuterocanonical by the Eastern church but rejected by Judaism and the Western church including Catholicism, describes a debate between three courtiers of Darius I of Persia over whether wine, the king, or women (but above all the truth) is the strongest. The argument for wine does not prevail in the contest, but it provides a vivid description of the ancients' view of the power wine can wield in excessive quantity.

A disputed but important passage is Proverbs 31:4–7: "It is not for kings, O Lemuel – not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights. Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more." Some Christians assert that alcohol was prohibited to kings at all times, while most interpreters contend that only inappropriate use is in view here. Some argue that the latter instructions regarding the perishing should be understood as sarcasm when compared with the preceding verses, while others contend the beer and wine are intended as a cordial to raise the spirits of the perishing, while some suggest that the Bible is here authorizing alcohol as an anesthetic. Moreover, some suggest that the wines that Jesus was offered at his crucifixion were also intended as an anesthetic.

Sacrifices and feasts

The Hebrew scriptures prescribed wine for use in festal celebrations and sacrificial rituals. In particular, fermented wine was presented daily as a drink offering, as part of the firstfruits offering, and as part of various supplementary offerings. Wine was kept in the temple, and the king had his own private stores.

The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci

The banquet hall was called a "house of wine," and wine was used as the usual drink at most secular and religious feasts, including feasts of celebration and hospitality, tithe celebrations, and official Jewish holidays such as Passover. Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper, which took place at a Passover celebration, and set apart the bread and wine that were present there as symbols of the New Covenant. St. Paul later chides the Corinthians for becoming drunk on wine served at their attempted celebrations of the Lord's Supper.

Jews also customarily partook of bread and wine at burials for the dead.

Bringer of joy

The Bible also speaks of wine in general terms as a bringer and concomitant of joy, particularly in the context of nourishment and feasting:

• Judges 9:13 NASB (in a parable about a king): "But the vine said to them, 'Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men, and go to wave over the trees?' "
• Psalm 4:7 (in a positive, a fortiori comparison): "You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound."
• Psalm 104:14f: "[The LORD] makes ... plants for man to cultivate – bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart."
• Ecclesiastes 9:7: "Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do."
• Ecclesiastes 10:19a: "A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry."
• Zechariah 9:17: "How attractive and beautiful [the LORD's people] will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women."
• Zechariah 10:7: "The Ephraimites will become like mighty men, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD."

The book of Sirach discusses the use of wine in several places, emphasizing joy, prudence, and common sense: "Wine is very life to man if taken in moderation. Does he really live who lacks the wine which was created for his joy? Joy of heart, good cheer and merriment are wine drunk freely at the proper time. Headache, bitterness and disgrace is wine drunk amid anger and strife" (31:27–29, NAB).

Vows and duties

Titian's John the Baptist, who held to a vow that excluded wine.

Certain persons were forbidden in the Hebrew Bible to partake of wine because of their vows and duties. Kings were forbidden to abuse alcohol lest their judgments be unjust. It was forbidden to priests on duty, though the priests were given "the finest new wine" from the first fruits offerings for drinking outside the tabernacle and temple.

The Naziritic vow excluded as part of its ascetic regimen not only wine, but also vinegar, grapes, and raisins, though when Nazirites completed the term of their vow, they were required to present wine as part of their sacrificial offerings and could drink of it. While John the Baptist adopted such a regimen, Jesus evidently did not during his three years of ministry depicted in the Gospels.

The Rechabites, a sub-tribe of the Kenites, vowed never to drink wine, live in houses, or plant fields or vineyards, not because of any "threat to wise living" from these practices, but because of their commitment to a nomadic lifestyle by not being bound to any particular piece of land. The Rechabites's strict obedience to the command of their father (rather than their nomadism and abstentionism) is commended and is contrasted with the failure of Judah and Jerusalem to listen to their God.

During the Babylonian captivity, Daniel and his fellow Jews abstained from the meat and wine given to them by the king because they saw it as defiling in some way, though precisely how these would have defiled the Jews is not apparent in the text. A later passage implies that Daniel did drink wine at times, though it may not have been the king's. Similarly, Judith refused the Assyrian general's wine, though she drank wine from the stores she brought with her.

Christians are instructed regarding abstinence and their duty toward immature Christians: "All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall."

Symbolism and metaphor

The commonness and centrality of wine in daily life in biblical times is apparent from its many postitive and negative metaphorical uses throughout the Bible. Positively, free wine is used as a symbol of divine grace, and wine is repeatedly compared to intimate love in the Song of Solomon. Negatively, wine is personified as a mocker ("[t]he most hardened apostate" in the Book of Proverbs whose chief sin is pride) and beer a brawler (one who is "mocking, noisy, and restless").

Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek by Dieric Bouts the Elder

Additionally, the chosen people and kingdom of God are compared to a divinely owned vine or vineyard in several places, and the image of new wine fermenting in new wineskins, a process that would burst old wineskins, represents that the new faith Jesus was bringing "cannot be contained within the framework of the old." The complacent – those who are "lax in doing the Lord's work" – are compared with "wine left on its dregs" too long such that it lacks a good taste and is of no value, and those who are corrupt are compared with "choice wine [that] is diluted with water."

Wine was also used as a symbol of blessing and judgment throughout the Bible. Melchizedek blessed and refreshed Abram's army with bread and wine; Isaac blessed Jacob by saying, "May God give you of heaven's dew and of earth's richness – an abundance of grain and new wine"; and when Jacob blessed his sons, he used a great abundance of wine as a symbol of Judah's prosperity. The nation of Israel was promised abundant wine and other central crops such as grain and oil if they kept God's covenant commandments, and their wine would be taken away as a curse if the Israelites failed to keep the covenant.

Drinking a cup of strong wine to the dregs and getting drunk are sometimes presented as a symbol of God's judgment and wrath, and Jesus alludes this cup of wrath, which he says he himself will drink, several times. Similarly, the winepress is pictured as a tool of judgment where the resulting wine symbolizes the blood of the wicked who were crushed (hence the famous line "He [the Lord] is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored" in "The Battle Hymn of the Republic"). Connected also to the cup of judgment is the wine of immorality, which the evil drink and which both brings and is part of the wrath of God.

Detail from The Good Samaritan by Cornelis van Haarlem showing the Samaritan pouring oil and wine on the injured man's wounds.

The Day of the Lord, which is often understood by Christians to usher in the Messianic Age, is depicted as a time when "[n]ew wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills," when God's people will "plant vineyards and drink their wine," and when God himself "will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines."

In the New Testament, Jesus uses wine at the Last Supper to signify the "New Covenant in [Jesus'] blood," but Christians differ over precisely how symbolic the wine is in the continuing ritual of the Eucharist (see Eucharistic theologies contrasted).

Medicinal uses

Alcohol was used in ancient times for various medicinal ends, and the Bible refers to some of these practices. As discussed above, it was likely used as an anesthetic to dull pain, and many interpreters suggest that it was in this capacity that wines were offered to Jesus at his crucifixion.

Secondly, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus tells a story about a man from Samaria who assists an injured man by, among other things, pouring oil and wine on his wounds. Oil mixed with wine was a common remedy in the ancient world to cleanse wounds and assuage their pain.

Lastly, St. Paul advises Timothy that he should not drink water only but should use a little wine for the sake of his stomach and frequent infirmities. Some have suggested this advice is particularly in reference to purifying low quality drinking water, while others suggest it was simply intended to help his digestion and general sickliness. Abstentionists generally regard this passage as a positive example of abstention from wine and see Paul's instructions as exceptional and purely for the sake of health, while other interpreters suggest that Timothy was "upright in his aims" but here guilty of an "excess of severity" or that he felt inappropriately bound by a Hellenistic custom that younger men should not drink.

References

• Samuele Bacchiocchi. "A Preview of Wine in the Bible". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
• W. J. Beecher. "Total abstinence". The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
• Magen Broshi (1984). "Wine in Ancient Palestine – Introductory Notes". Israel Museum Journal. III: pp. 21–40. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
• Magen Broshi (1986). "The Diet of Palestine in the Roman Period – Introductory Notes". Israel Museum Journal. V: pp. 41–56. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
• W. R. F. Browning (2004). "Wine". A Dictionary of the Bible. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0198608905. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
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• John Calvin (1555). "Matthew 26:26–30; Mark 14:22–26; Luke 22:17–20". Harmony of the Evangelists, Part 3. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
• Adam Clarke (1825). Clarke's Commentary.
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  • Commentary on Is 1:22. Retrieved on 2008-05-19.
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• Ralph Earle (1986). "1 Timothy 5:13". Word Meanings in the New Testament. Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press. ISBN 0834111764.
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• Burton Scott Easton (1915b). "Wine; Wine Press". In James Orr (ed.). International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
• Matthew George Easton (1897a). "Vinegar". Easton's Bible Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
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• D. Miall Edwards (1915a). "Drink, Strong". In James Orr (ed.). International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
• D. Miall Edwards (1915b). "Drunkenness". In James Orr (ed.). International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
• Ethical Investment Advisory Group (January 2005). "Alcohol: An inappropriate investment for the Church of England" (PDF). Church of England. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
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• F. S. Fitzsimmonds (1982). "Wine and Strong Drink". In J. D. Douglas (ed.). New Bible Dictionary (2nd ed. ed.). Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press. ISBN 0830814418. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
• Kenneth Gentry (May /June 1991). "Issue and Interchange – Gentry Responds". Antithesis. 2 (2). Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• John Gill (1748). John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
  • Commentary on 1 Ti 5:23. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  • Commentary on Lk 10:34. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
  • Commentary on Pr 31:4–7. Retrieved on 2007-01-22.
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• R. Laird Harris, Gleason Archer, Bruce Waltke (1980). Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Moody.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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• Hans Wolfgang Heidland (1967). "όξος". In Gerhard Kittel and Ronald E. Pitkin (ed.). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Vol. V. trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0802822479.
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• Matthew Henry (1706–1721). "First Timothy, Chapter V". Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume VI (Acts to Revelation). {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
• Emil G. Hirsch, Judah David Eisenstein, and the Encyclopedia's Executive Committee of the Editorial Board. "Wine". Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2007-01-22.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• A. A. Hodge (1977). Evangelical Theology. Banner of Truth Trust. ISBN 978-0851512365. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Charles Hodge (1940). "The Lord's Supper". Systematic Theology. Wm. B. Eerdmans. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Robert Jamieson (1871). "First Timothy, Chapter 5". Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
• William Kaiser and Duane Garrett, eds. (2006). "Wine and Alcoholic Beverages in the Ancient World". Archaeological Study Bible. Zondervan. ISBN 9780310926054. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
• D. Kellermann (1986). "Chomets [et al.]". In G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren (ed.). Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Vol. IV. trans. David E. Green. Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0802823289.
• Frederic Richard Lees and Dawson Burns (1870). "Appendix C-D". The Temperance Bible-Commentary. New York: National Temperance Society and Publication House. pp. pp. 431–446. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
• Henry Liddell and Robert Scott (1940). A Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0198642261. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Bruce Lincoln (2005). "Beverages". In Lindsay Jones (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 2 (2nd ed. ed.). MacMillan Reference Books. ISBN 978-0028657332. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
• John F. MacArthur. ""Bible Questions and Answers, part 39"". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
• John F. MacArthur. "Living in the Spirit: Be Not Drunk with Wine – Part 3". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
• John F. MacArthur. ""Living in the Spirit: Be Not Drunk with Wine – Part 2"". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
• Keith Mathison (December 4–10, 2000). "Protestant Transubstantiation – Part 1: Thesis; Biblical Witness". IIIM Magazine Online. 2 (49). Retrieved 2007-01-22.
• Keith Mathison (January 8 to January 14, 2001). "Protestant Transubstantiation – Part 3: Historic Reformed & Baptist Testimony". IIIM Magazine Online. 3 (2). Retrieved 2007-01-22. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• Jill Maynard, ed. (1997a). "Drunkenness". Illustrated Dictionary of Bible Life & Times. Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |author= has generic name (help)
• Jill Maynard, ed. (1997b). "Wine". Illustrated Dictionary of Bible Life & Times. Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |author= has generic name (help)
• Jill Maynard, ed. (1997c). "Wine Making". Illustrated Dictionary of Bible Life & Times. Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |author= has generic name (help)
• John McClintock and James Strong (eds.) (1891). "Wine". Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature. Vol. X. New York: Harper and Brothers. pp. pp. 1010–1017. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |author= has generic name (help); |pages= has extra text (help)
• Jeffrey J. Meyers (November 1996). "Concerning Wine and Beer, Part 1". Rite Reasons, Studies in Worship (48). Retrieved 2007-01-22.
• Dave Miller (2003). "Elders, Deacons, Timothy, and Wine". Apologetics Press. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
• M. S. and J. L. Miller revising B. M. Bennett, Jr. and D. H. Scott (1996). "The Life of the Farmer: Land Use and Crops". Harper's Encyclopedia of Bible Life (3rd ed. ed.). Castle Books. ISBN 0785807268. {{cite encyclopedia}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
• Leon Morris (1995). "Additional Note H: The Last Supper and the Passover". The Gospel According to John. New International Commentary on the New Testament (revised ed. ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0802825049. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
• "The New Testament Greek Lexicon (based on Thayer's and Smith's Bible Dictionary plus others)". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
• "The Old Testament Hebrew Lexicon (based on the Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon)". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
• William Patton (1871). "Christ Eating and Drinking". Laws of Fermentation and the Wines of the Ancients. New York: National Temperance Society and Publication House. pp. p. 79. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
• R. V. Pierard (1984). "Alcohol, Drinking of". In Walter A. Elwell (ed.). Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House. ISBN 0801034132.
• Richard L. Pratt, Jr., ed. (2003). The Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible. Zondervan. ISBN 978-0310923602. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Robert S. Rayburn (2001a). ""Revising the Practice of the Lord's Supper at Faith Presbyterian Church No. 2, Wine, No. 1"". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
• Robert S. Rayburn (2001b). ""Revising the Practice of the Lord's Supper at Faith Presbyterian Church No. 3, Wine No. 2"". Retrieved 2007-01-22.
• I. W. Raymond (1970). The Teaching of the Early Church on the Use of Wine and Strong Drink. AMS Press. ISBN 978-0404512866. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help)
• Stephen M. Reynolds (1989). The Biblical Approach to Alcohol. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
• Heinrich Seesemann (1967). "οινος". In Gerhard Kittel and Ronald E. Pitkin (ed.). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Vol. V. trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 0802822479.
• William Smith (1884). "Wine". Smith's Bible Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
• Moses Stuart (1891). Encyclopedia of Temperance and Prohibition. New York: Funk and Wagnalls. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• Joseph Henry Thayer (1977). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Baker. ISBN 0801088720. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |origdate= ignored (|orig-date= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |origpub= ignored (help)
• "Tractate Berakoth 6.1". Retrieved 2007-03-15.
• Crawford Howell Toy and Israel Lévi. "Sirach, The Wisdome of Jesus the Son of". Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2007-01-22.
• Bruce Waltke (2004). The Book Of Proverbs: Chapters 1–15. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0802825452.
• Bruce Waltke (2005). The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15–31. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Wm. B. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0802827760.
• John Wesley. "Notes on Pr 31:4–7". Wesley's Notes on the Bible. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)