Portal:Wine/Selected article/2
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Alcoholic beverages appear repeatedly in biblical literature — from Noah planting a vineyard and getting drunk in the Hebrew Bible to Jesus miraculously making copious amounts of wine at the wedding at Cana and later incorporating wine as part of the central rite Christianity, the Eucharist, in the New Testament. Wine (that is, fermented grape juice) is the most common alcoholic beverage mentioned in biblical literature, where it is 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 other fruits, 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 followed this same pattern, with some dissenters particularly among Christians around the time of Prohibition.
