Subject: did the wine from the water make you dr |
Bible Note: In answer: 1. There are 3 words used in the OT for wine. Not a single one can be shown to imply non alcoholic grape juice. 2. The whole point of the parable of the wine skins is that in the early stages of fermentation considerably more gas is produced which would burst old, inflexible, skins. This would of course result in the skin being ruined and the wine being spilt and therefore ruined. 3. I live in Cape Town in the heart of the wine producing area of South Africa. A friend of mine consulted a local winemaker concerning the potency of New Testament wine. The winemaker theorised that the wine then may in fact have been considerably stronger than many wines of today. His theory is that the water in the wine might transpire through the skin leaving a more potent, thick, almost syrupy wine. That is theory but the same friend consulted a Rabbi at one of the Universities in Israel (I can get the names and addresses if you want) who believed that New Testament wines may have been as strong as 17 or 18 percent As you point out, those drinks do not compare with the distilates of today but they certainly do compare with the wines produced today. It was as strong as or stronger than todays naturally fermented wines. |