– Drink much appreciated among eastern peoples, it was a sign of joy and should not be missing at parties:
1Sm 25,36 : Nabal had a merry heart and was completely drunk.
Ps 103 :15: The wine that gladdens the heart of man, the oil that makes his face shine and the bread that sustains his strength.
Ecclesiastes 9:7: Eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with joy, for God is pleased with your work.
Eclo 31,27 : In all your actions, be diligent, and no disease will overtake you.
Zech 10,7 : Ephraim will be like a hero; his heart will rejoice, strengthened by wine
– There were, however, advices so that it would not harm those who took it:
Pr 23,31-32 : Do not consider the wine: how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it flows!
Pr 31 :4 : It is not for kings, Lamuel, it is not fitting for kings to drink wine, nor for princes to indulge in liquor.
– It was also a symbol of the wrath of God:
Ps 59,5 : You imposed severe tests on your people, you made them drink a stupefying wine.
Jer 13:12-13 : This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: A vessel is meant to be filled with wine.
Jr 25,15-29 : Take this cup full of the wine of my wrath from my hands.
Jr 51,39.57 : When they are thirsty, I will give them a drink, and I will make them drunk […] putting them to sleep in an eternal sleep.
– In the NT, John writes that Jesus performed his first sign by turning water into wine:
Jn 2,1-11 : As the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him: “They have no more wine”.
– In the institution of the Eucharist, Jesus transforms wine into his blood to ratify the New Covenant of God with men:
Mt 26,27-28 : Drink from him all of you, because this is my blood, the blood of the New Covenant.
Mark 14:23-24 : Then he took the cup, gave thanks and presented it to him, and they all drank from it.
Lk 22:20 : This cup is the New Covenant in my blood, which is shed for you…
1Cor 11,25-26 : This cup is the New Covenant in my blood; as often as you drink it, do it in remembrance of me.
– Paul advises its use as a remedy:
1Tm 5,23 : Do not continue to drink only water, but also drink a little wine, for the sake of your stomach.
