Deut 14:26 Permission to drink alcohol?

[PaleHorse]

Deut 14:26 - And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

Definitions:

“or for wine,” comes from the word yayin which means “wine” (Strong’s #03196)

“or for strong drink,” comes from the word shekar which means “strong drink, intoxicating drink, fermented or intoxicating liquor” (Strong’s #07941)

I’ve been critical of the Strong’s Lexicon in the past for inaccurately defining words despite overwhelming contradictory evidence from other respected commentaries, historical documents, etymological evidence, dictionaries and lexicons; and in this case it must be pointed out again that these definitions are misleading in the Strong’s Concordance/Lexicon.

The adjectives strong & intoxicating in the Strong’s definition for shekar are added descriptors that are not part of the original meaning. For instance, Kitto’s Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature explicitly acknowledges the generic nature of shekar by stating:

“Shekar is a generic term, including palm-wine and other saccharine beverages, except those prepared from wine [grape juice]. That shechar was made inebriating by being mingled within potent drugs, we have just seen.” (John Kitto, Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, 1845 edition, vol. 2, p. 953)

Jerome, the translator of the Latin Vulgate (around 400 A.D.) defined shekar as a comprehensive term used for different kinds of fermented drinks, excluding wine (yayin) but the list he gives allows for unfermented drinks! In his Letter to Nepotian he states:

“Shechar in the Hebrew tongue means every kind of drink which can intoxicate, whether made from grain or from the juice of apple, or when honey-combs are boiled down into a sweet and strange drink, or the fruit of palm pressed into liquor, and when water is coloured and thickened from boiled herbs.” (Jerome, Letter to Nepotian, cited in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, p. 273)

In his Analytical Concordance of the Bible, Robert Young states that shekar denotes a beverage that is either fermented or unfermented. Under “strong drink” he defines it as “sweet drink” (that which satiates (to fully satisfy) OR intoxicates). It can be either depending on what the drink is.

Several standard English dictionaries* and Bible encyclopedias derive our English words “sugar” and “cider” from shekar. This connection further establishes that shekar originally denoted a sweet beverage and not necessarily a strong one. This is plainly seen when one looks at the verse in the John Wycliffe 1395 English rendering:

“and thou schalt bie of the same money what euer thing plesith to thee, ethir of droues, ether of scheep; also thou schalt bie wyn, and sidur, and al thing that thi soule desirith; and thou schalt ete bifor thi Lord God, and thou schalt make feeste,”

The WordWeb Online defines sidur as merely being cider and is differentiated from “strong cider” by the Old English “haard”. The W3Dictionary.com defines sidur as “a beverage made from juice pressed from apples”.

*To name some of the dictionaries that show our English “sugar” comes from shekar are the Oxford English Dictionary (1933 edition), the Webster’s New international Dictionary (1959), the A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (1893), and The New American Encyclopedic Dictionary (1906).

In fact, we find in Isaiah 24:9 that shekar is referring to a sweet beverage. The point of the matter is that shekar being rendered “strong drink” can be misleading for it is not exclusive to fermented drink and thus, strengthened with the overwhelming evidence supplied by other respected translations, lexicons, dictionaries, and ancient literature, I must again state that it is incorrect for the Strong’s lexicon to interpret shekar exclusively as being strong or intoxicating drink.

(end part 1)

 

[PaleHorse]

Regarding shakar in Deuteronomy 14: 26, many translations do translate shakar "strong drink." However, some have "similar drink" (see the New King James). There is obviously an intended distinction being made between the "wine" and "shakar." Clearly a distinction is being made, but what is it? Is God not only allowing intoxicating drink but actually telling them to go buy it when God considers strong drink something concerning which man is to totally avoid (Prov. 23:31)?

I believe the harmonious answer to the distinction between "wine" and "shakar" in Deuteronomy 14:26 is seen in the celebrated scholar Patton's work, Bible Wines, pg.. 62: "Shakar (sometimes written shechar, shekar) signifies sweet drink expressed from fruits other than the grape and drunk in an unfermented or fermented state. It occurs in the Old Testament twenty-three times...." Since God prohibited the unnatural fermentation of juices for simple human intoxication, we must understand shakar in Deuteronomy 14:26 to simply mean unfermented or sweet juices other than juice from grapes; for that type of juice was called specifically yayin. Deuteronomy 14:26, then, would be a case of shakar being used for sweet juice other than juice from the grape ("similar drink," NKJV).

Now, as for the word yayin that is rendered “wine” in Deut 14:26, I would hope that everyone is already acquainted with the knowledge that wine (yayin) in the Bible can mean either fermented or unfermented grape juice. For those that aren’t clear on this here are some of the verses that establish this:
Fermented – Gen 9:20-21, Gen 19:32-33, 1 Sam 25:36-37, 2 Sam 13:28, Esther 1:10, Proverbs 23:29-35, & Proverbs 23:31-32

Unfermented – Isaiah 16:10, Jeremiah 40:10-12, Nehemiah 13:15, Lamentations 2:12, Gen 49:11, Psalm 104:15

If this fact is still unclear, let me know and I’ll provide my full study on yayin.

How all the facts of this study affect the interpretation of the verse in question is as follows:

First, in the larger context of the passage, which calls the people to be “holy to the Lord” by abstaining from anything unclean (Deut 14:3-21), precludes the free consumption of intoxicating beverages at a solemn harvest festival “before the Lord” (verses 23, 26).

Secondly, the immediate context (verse 23) specifies that the tithe was to be paid with fresh harvest products (grain, grape juice, oil, and newborn lambs and calves) by those living close to the sanctuary. When consumed, the grape juice was unfermented wine. It would be absurd to assume that while the worshippers who lived in close proximity celebrated the harvest by eating fresh produce while those that had to come from distant places would be drinking fermented beverages. The harvest is a time of fresh crops and other produce; fermentation would be contrary to that concept and also makes the worship inconsistent and confused between the people who lived close and those who had to travel. God is not the author of confusion.

Third, the participation of the Levite priests in the harvest festival (verse 27) would preclude the consumption of fermented beverages (Lev 10:9-10).

Fourth, the word shekar, like yayin, is a generic term which could denote either fermented or unfermented beverages. Due to the above contexts it should be clear that it is the latter (unfermented) which makes the most hermeneutical sense. This is made especially true when learn that shekar originally denoted a sweet beverage which could become bitter when allowed to ferment naturally (Isaiah 24:9).

(end of essay)

 

[nodrinking]

SHEKHAR: unfermented sweet cider, or else fermented. Certain types of shekhar (sakar) were permitted amongst the Arabs, and other types of it were not, because of alcohol. The breadth of meaning is apparent throughout the Vulgate and NKJV translations.

"it is unjustifiable to claim that shekar must essentially be an intoxicating drink."
Stephen M. Reynolds, 2003, The Biblical Approach to Alcohol, p. 31.

 

[Castaway57]

The official Adventist teaching on this question would be covered under the following:

We are called to be a godly people who think, feel, and act in harmony with the principles of heaven. For the Spirit to recreate in us the character of our Lord we involve ourselves only in those things which will produce Christlike purity, health, and joy in our lives. This means that our amusement and entertainment should meet the highest standards of Christian taste and beauty. While recognizing cultural differences, our dress is to be simple, modest, and neat, befitting those whose true beauty does not consist of outward adornment but in the imperishable ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit. It also means that because our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, we are to care for them intelligently. Along with adequate exercise and rest, we are to adopt the most healthful diet possible and abstain from the unclean foods identified in the Scriptures. Since alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and the irresponsible use of drugs and narcotics are harmful to our bodies, we are to abstain from them as well. Instead, we are to engage in whatever brings our thoughts and bodies into the discipline of Christ, who desires our wholesomeness, joy, and goodness.-Fundamental Beliefs, 22

(Rom. 12:1, 2; 1 John 2:6; Eph. 5:1-21; Phil. 4:8; 2 Cor. 10:5; 6:14-7:1; 1 Peter 3:1-4; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 10:31; Lev. 11:1-47; 3 John 2.)

Christian Behavior

CHRISTIAN BEHAVIOR-THE LIFESTYLE of a follower of God-arises as a grateful response to God's magnificent salvation through Christ. Paul appeals to all Christians: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove which is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom_12:1-2). So Christians willingly protect and develop their mental, physical and spiritual faculties in order that they may honor their Creator and Redeemer.

Christ prayed, "'I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world'" (Joh_17:15-16). How can a Christian be both in the world and separate from it? How should the Christian lifestyle differ from that of the world?

Christians should adopt a different lifestyle, not for the sake of being different but because God has called them to live by principle. The lifestyle to which He has called them enables them to reach their full potential as His creation, making them efficient in His service. Being different also advances their mission: to serve the world-to be salt in it, light to it. Of what value would salt be without taste, or light that didn't differ from darkness?

Christ is our example. He lived so thoroughly in the world that people accused Him of being "'a glutton and a drunkard'" (Mat_11:19, NIV), though He was not. He so consistently lived out God's principles that no one could prove Him guilty of sin (Joh_8:46, NIV).

 

[Castaway57]

Behavior and Salvation

In determining what is appropriate behavior, we should avoid two extremes. The first is accepting the rules and applications of principles to become as a means of salvation. Paul sums up this extreme with the words, "You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace" (Gal_5:4, NIV).

The opposite extreme is believing that since works do not save, they are therefore unimportant-that what a person does really doesn't matter. Paul spoke to this extreme too: "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature" (Gal_5:13, NIV). When each member follows his or her own conscience, "there is no mutual discipling of fellow Christians in keeping with Matthew 18 and Gal_6:1, Gal_6:2. The church becomes not the body of Christ, within which there is mutual love and care, but a collection of atomistic individuals, each of whom goes his or her own way without taking any responsibility for one's fellows or accepting any concern for them."1

While our behavior and our spirituality are closely related, we can never earn salvation by correct behavior. Rather, Christian behavior is a natural fruit of salvation and is grounded in what Christ has already accomplished for us at Calvary.

 

[Castaway57]

Temples of the Holy Spirit

Not only the church but the individual Christian is a temple for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit: "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" (1Co_6:19).

Christians, then, practice good health habits to protect the command center of their body temples, the mind, the dwelling place of the Spirit of Christ. For this reason Seventh-day Adventists-throughout the past 100 years-have stressed the importance of proper health habits.2 And this emphasis has been paying off: Recent research reveals that Adventists are less likely than the general population to develop almost any of the major diseases.3

As Christians, we are concerned with both the spiritual and the physical aspects of people's lives. Jesus, our pattern, healed "every disease and sickness among the people" (Mat_4:23, NIV).

The Bible views human beings as a unit (see Gen_1:26-28- Nature of Man). "The dichotomy between spiritual and material is foreign to the Bible."4 So God's call to holiness involves a call to physical as well as spiritual health. Susannah Wesley, mother of the founder of Methodism, aptly summarized this principle: "Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, decreases the strength and authority of your mind over your body-that thing is wrong, however innocent it may be in itself."5

God's laws, which include the laws of health, are not arbitrary but are designed by our Creator to enable us to enjoy life at its best. Satan, the enemy, wants to steal our health, our joy, our peace of mind, and ultimately to destroy us (see Joh_10:10).