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Alcoholic beverages appear repeatedly in the Bible – from Noah planting a vineyard and becoming inebriated 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.

Lexigraphy
Biblical literature includes the Hebrew Bible, which Judaism calls the Tanakh and Christianity calls the Old Testament; the Apocrypha/deuterocanonical books; and the New Testament. Different religious groups (e.g., Judaism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism, etc.) accept different combinations of these books as canonical, sacred writings (see books of the Bible), and collectively or in combination they can be called the Bible.

The Bible uses several words in its original languages to refer to different types of alcoholic beverages. The words in Hebrew overlap 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 the most common extant version, the Masoretic text, uses several words to represent alcoholic beverages:

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

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
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
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 Tetragrammaton, 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.]."

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 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 ] 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 '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 ."

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
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 positive 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").

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.

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.