Vine

vin:

1. Hebrew Words:

(1) gephen, usually the cultivated grape vine. In Num 6:4; Judg 13:14 we have gephen ha-yayin, literally, "vine of wine," translated "grape vine" (Numbers) and "vine," margin "grape vine" (Jgs); 2 Kgs 4:39, gephen sadheh English Versions of the Bible "wild vine"; Deut 32:32, gephen cedhom, "vine of Sodom."

(2) soreq, in Isa 5:2, "choicest vine"; soreq, in Jer 2:21, "noble vine"; soreqah, in Gen 49:11, "choice vine"; compare SOREK, VALLEY OF (which see). The Hebrew is supposed to indicate dark grapes and, according to rabbinical tradition, they were unusually sweet and almost, if not quite, stoneless.

(3) nazir, in Lev 25:5; Lev 25:11, "undressed vine," the King James Version "vine undressed," margin "separation." This may mean an unpruned vine and be a reference to the uncut locks of a Nazirite, but it is equally probable that nazir should be batsir, "vintage."

For the blossom we have peraq (Isa 18:5), "blossom"; nitstsah, either the blossom or half-formed clusters of grapes (Gen 40:10; Isa 18:5); cemadhar, "sweet-scented blossom" (Song 2:13; Song 2:15; Song 7:12).

For grapes we have commonly: `enabh (a word common to all Semitic languages) (Gen 40:10; Deut 32:14; Isa 5:2, etc.); dam `anabhim, literally, "blood of grapes," i.e. wine (Gen 49:11); bocer, "the unripe grape" (Isa 18:5, "ripening grape," the King James Version "sour grape"; Job 15:33, "unripe grapes"; Jer 31:29 f; Eze 18:2, "sour grapes"); be'ushim "wild grapes" (Isa 5:2; Isa 5:4; see GRAPES, WILD); 'eshkol, a "cluster" of ripe grapes (Gen 40:10; Song 7:8; Hab 3:17, etc.; compare ESHCOL (which see)); qartsannim, usually supposed to be the kernels of grapes (Num 6:4).

2. Greek and Latin:

In Greek we have ampelos, "vine" (Matt 26:29, etc.), staphule (Sirach 39:26, "blood of grapes"; Matt 7:16, "grapes," etc.), and botrus (Rev 14:18), "cluster of the vine." In the Latin of 2 Esdras vinea is "vine" in 5:23 ("vineyard" in 16:30,43); botrus (9:21) and racemus (16:30) are "cluster"; acinium (9:21) and uva (16:26) are "a grape."

3. Antiquity and Importance:

Palestine appears to have been a vine-growing country from the earliest historic times. The countless wine presses found in and around centers of early civilization witness to this. It is probable that the grape was largely cultivated as a source of sugar: the juice expressed in the "wine press" was reduced by boiling to a liquid of treacle-like consistency known as "grape honey," or in Hebrew debhash (Arabic, dibs). This is doubtless the "honey" of many Old Testament references, and before the days of cane sugar was the chief source of sugar. The whole Old Testament witnesses to how greatly Palestine depended upon the vine and its products. Men rejoiced in wine also as one of God's best gifts (Judg 9:13; Ps 104:15). But the Nazirite might eat nothing of the vine "from the kernels even to the husk" (Num 6:4; Judg 13:14).

The land promised to the children of Israel was one of "vines and fig trees and pomegranates" (Deut 8:8); they inherited vineyards which they had not planted (Deut 6:11; Josh 24:13; Neh 9:25). Jacob's blessing on Judah had much reference to the suitability of his special part of the land to the vine (Gen 49:11). When the leading people were carried captive the poor were left as vine dressers (2 Kgs 25:12; Jer 52:16), lest the whole land should lapse into uncultivated wilderness. On the promised return this humble duty was, however, to fall to the "sons of the alien" (Isa 61:5 the King James Version).

4. Its Cultivation:

The mountain regions of Judea and Samaria, often little suited to cereals, have always proved highly adapted to vine culture. The stones must first be gathered out and utilized for the construction of a protecting wall or of terraces or as the bases of towers (Isa 5:2; Matt 21:33). Every ancient vineyard had its wine press cut in a sheet of rock appearing at the surface. As a rule the vinestocks lie along the ground, many of the fruit-bearing branches falling over the terraces (compare Gen 49:22); in some districts the end of the vine-stock is raised by means of a cleft stick a foot or more above the surface; exceptionally the vine branches climb into trees, and before a dwelling-house they are sometimes supported upon poles to form a bower (compare 1 Kgs 4:25, etc.).

The cultivation of the vine requires constant care or the fruit will very soon degenerate. After the rains the loosely made walls require to have breaches repaired; the ground must be plowed or harrowed and cleared of weeds--contrast with this the vineyard of the sluggard (Prov 24:30-31); in the early spring the plants must be pruned by cutting off dead and fruitless branches (Lev 25:3; Lev 25:4; Isa 5:6) which are gathered and burned (John 15:6). As the grapes ripen they must be watched to keep off jackals and foxes (Song 2:15), and in some districts even wild boars (Ps 80:13). The watchman is stationed in one of the towers and overlooks a considerable area. When the grape season comes, the whole family of the owner frequently take their residence in a booth constructed upon one of the larger towers and remain there until the grapes are practically finished. It is a time of special happiness (compare Isa 16:10). The gleanings are left to the poor of the village or town (Lev 19:10; Deut 24:21; Judg 8:2; Isa 17:6; Isa 24:13; Jer 49:9; Mic 7:1). In the late summer the vineyards are a beautiful mass of green, as contrasted with the dried-up parched land around, but in the autumn the leaves are sere and yellow (Isa 34:4), and the place desolate.

5. Vine of Sodom:

The expression "vine of Sodom" (Deut 32:32) has been supposed, especially because of the description in Josephus (BJ, IV, viii, 4), to refer to the colocynth (Citrullus colocynthis), but it is far more probable that it means "a vine whose juices and fruits were not fresh and healthy, but tainted by the corruption of which Sodom was the type" (Driver, Commentary on Deuteronomy).

See SODOM, VINE OF.

Figurative: Every man "under his vine and under his fig-tree" (1 Kgs 4:25; Mic 4:4; Zech 3:10) was a sign of national peace and prosperity. To plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof implied long and settled habitation (2 Kgs 19:29; Ps 107:37; Isa 37:30; Isa 65:21; Jer 31:5; Ezek 28:26; Amos 9:14); to plant and not eat the fruit was a misfortune (Deut 20:6; compare 1 Cor 9:7) and might be a sign of God's displeasure (Deut 28:30; Zech 1:13; Amos 5:11). Not to plant vines might be a sign of deliberate avoidance of permanent habitation (Jer 35:7). A successful and prolonged vintage showed God's blessing (Lev 26:5), and a fruitful wife is compared to a vine (Ps 128:3); a failure of the vine was a sign of God's wrath (Ps 78:47; Jer 8:13; Joel 1:7); it might be a test of faith in Him (Hab 3:17). Joseph "is a fruitful bough, .... his branches run over the wall" (Gen 49:22). Israel is a vine (Isa 5:1-5) brought out of Egypt (Ps 80:8; Jer 2:21; Jer 12:10; compare Ezek 15:2; Ezek 15:6; Ezek 17:6). At a later period vine leaves or grape clusters figure prominently on Jewish coins or in architecture.

Three of our Lord's parables are connected with vineyards (Matt 20:1; Matt 21:28; Matt 21:33), and He has made the vine ever sacred in Christian symbolism by His teaching regarding the true vine (John 15).

E. W. G. Masterman