Liquor is found in the King James Bible exactly 3 times. It is a word that use to mean something completely different than what we tend to think of it today. Today, it is used to mean a strong alcoholic drink of some type, but what did it mean in the 1600’s when the translation of the Hebrew Bible was taking place? what did it mean before that? lets dive right in.

Some Christians today believe that drinking a little bit of alcohol is perfectly fine, as long as you are not drunk. People will say things like, well, Jesus turned the water into wine, so it must be alright for someone to have a drink from time to time. I want it to be known that it is not this authors position. Much of this type of thinking comes from a misunderstanding of biblical words. the word Wine, for example can have multiple nuanced meanings. It can refer to intoxicating liquids and non-intoxicating liquids. Before we tackle the giant of Wine, however, let’s start small.

That brings us to liquor. While it is only used three times in the Authorized (King James) Version, as listed below, each time it is from a different Hebrew word that is only found one time. This tells us that it is not a common word, and that the exact meaning will probably be hard to ascertain.

Exodus 22:29

“Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.”

The Hebrew word for liquor(s) here is “דֶּמַע” – dema or (dah’-mah) *H1831 Defined by Strongs as: a tear; figuratively, juice: —liquor.

To a modern reader it may seem as if God is telling them to bring an offering of the alcohol that they made, but in understanding the word Liquor, it simply means the juice. it can also mean oil, not just juice. So, God is telling them not just to offer the fresh ripe fruits, but also the product of the fruit harvested. This product is often in a concentrated but fluid state, i.e. juice or oil.

While dema is used only once, there is a primitive root used in Jerimiah13:17, dāma. This word is translated into weeping and sore In the AV and dimâ (a far more popular word) is translated as tears in that same verse. So, the Hebrew word Dema has a connotation of tears. It is as if when the fruit was crushed the tears were gathered as juice, or it could be referring to the effort it took to turn the fruit into a preserved thick syrup. We often use the figure of speech, blood, sweat, and tears to refer to something that took a lot of time to do. In any event, this verse is simply referring to the liquid derived from a crop.

Numbers 6:3

“He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.”

The Hebrew word for liquor here is “מִשְׁרָה” – mishrah or (mish-raw’) *H4952 Defined by Strongs as: in the sense of loosening; maceration, i.e. steeped juice: —liquor.

This verse offers a simple understanding of the word. Liquor here simple refers to the juice of grapes specifically. It may be possible that other juices were okay to be drunk, however they may also fall under the category of wine as we will look at later on. There is without a doubt the fruit of the grape, juice and flesh were to be avoided by a person taking a vow of a Nazarite. There is an emphasis on Grapes and the fruit of the vine.

This particular Hebrew word carries a new connotation with it being derived from the root šārâ or (shaw-raw’) which means to loosen or let go. The idea is that when the fruit macerates it starts to loosen and lets go of its juices and forms a syrup or liquor. If you have heaven cut up strawberries and let them set for a while you will know that they will be sitting in a pool of juice in a few hours. This juice becomes thicker over time and forms into a syrup given the right conditions. so again the main understanding of this word Liquor is juice.

Song of Solomon 7:2

“Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.”

The Hebrew word for liquor here is “מֶזֶג” – mezeg or (meh’-zeg) *H4197 Defined by Strongs as: from an unused root meaning to mingle (water with wine); tempered wine: —liquor.

Again, we have liquor being used as a drink. A goblet is a type of cup, and this symbolic language is talking about drinking Liquor. since wine is in our definition we must touch on it here. Wine is mentioned in the Song of Solomon 6 times, and it is always the Hebrew word “yayin.” The last time it is used in Song of Solomon is Chapter 8:2

“… I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.”

The word juice here is “asis” which is used elsewhere in the AV; 2 times as sweet wine and two times new wine. While wine, and the Hebrew word Yayin, can mean a fermented or intoxicating juice it can also simply refer to the juice. this last time is a clear example of wine meaning juice because it is clarified what type of wine is referred.

So here we have mixed juice with something else. It could be mixed with spices into a type of cyder or it could be mixed with water as to reconstitute a thick syrup into a less viscous liquid. One thing is certain, this symbolic liquor has been mixed so it is no longer just juice. It is possible for liquor to mean some type of alcoholic beverage, but it is extremely doubtful. It is probably just referring to reconstituted spiced juice. The language is poetic and intended to cause or demonstrate a sense of pleasure and delight. I have never tasted alcoholic wine, but a spiced cyder sounds delightful.

As an interesting tid bit, the Geneva Bible Contains the same use of the word, plus one additional.

1. Exodus 22:29 Thine abundance and thy liquor shalt thou not keep back. The firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give me.
2. Numbers 6:3He shall abstain from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no sour wine nor sour drink, nor shall drink any liquor of grapes, neither shall eat fresh grapes nor dried.
3. Deuteronomy 32:14Butter of kine, and milk of sheep with fat of the lambs, and rams fed in Bashan, and goats, with the fat of the grains of wheat: and the red liquor of the grape hast thou drunk. NOTE: In the AV the word translated “liquor” is translated “blood.”
4. Song of Solomon 7:2Thy navel is as a round cup that wanteth not liquor: thy belly is as an heap of wheat compassed about with lilies.

* Represents the Strongs Numbering system for a Hebrew or Greek word.