Encyclopedia entry

Vine

One of the most important products of Palestine. The first mention of it is in the history of Noah (Gen. 9:20). It is afterwards frequently noticed both in the Old and New Testaments, and in the ruins of terraced vineyards there are evidences that it was extensively cultivated by the Jews. It was cultivated in Palestine before the Israelites took possession of it. The men sent out by Moses brought with them from the Valley of Eshcol a cluster of grapes so large that “they bare it between two upon a staff” (Num. 13: 23). The vineyards of En-gedi (Cant. 1:14), Heshbon, Sibmah, Jazer, Elealeh (Isa. 16:8-10; Jer. 48:32, 34), and Helbon (Ezek. 27:18), as well as of Eshcol, were celebrated.

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The Church is compared to a vine (Ps. 80:8), and Christ says of himself, “I am the vine” (John 15:1). In one of his parables also (Matt. 21:33) our Lord compares his Church to a vineyard which “a certain householder planted, and hedged round about,” etc.

Hos. 10:1 is rendered in the Revised Version, “Israel is a luxuriant vine, which putteth forth his fruit,” instead of “Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself,” of the Authorized Version.

Also from Smith's (1884) +

the well-known valuable plant (vitis vinifera) very frequently referred to in the Old and New Testaments, and cultivated from the earliest times. The first mention of this plant occurs in (Genesis 9:20,21) That it was abundantly cultivated in Egypt is evident from the frequent representations on the monuments, as well as from the scriptural allusions. (Genesis 40:9-11; Psalms 78:47) The vines of Palestine were celebrated both for luxuriant growth and for the immense clusters of grapes which they produced, which were sometimes carried on a staff between two men, as in the case of the spies, (Numbers 13:23) and as has been done in some instances in modern times. Special mention is made in the Bible of the vines of Eshcol, (Numbers 13:24; 32:9) of Sibmah, Heshbon and Elealeh (Isaiah 16:8,9,10; Jeremiah 48:32) and of Engedi. (Song of Solomon 1:14) From the abundance and excellence of the vines, it may readily be understood how frequently this plant is the subject of metaphor in the Holy Scriptures. To dwell under the vine and tree is an emblem of domestic happiness and peace, (1 Kings 4:25; Psalms 128:3; Micah 4:4) the rebellious people of Israel are compared to “wild grapes,” “an empty vine,” “the degenerate plant of a strange vine,” etc. (Isaiah 6:2,4; Jeremiah 2:21; Hosea 10:1) It is a vine which our Lord selects to show the spiritual union which subsists between himself and his members. (John 15:1-6) The ancient Hebrews probably allowed the vine to go trailing on the ground or upon supports. This latter mode of cultivation appears to be alluded to by Ezekiel. (Ezekiel 19:11,12) The vintage, which formerly was a season of general festivity, began in September. The towns were deserted; the people lived among the vineyards in the lodges and tents. Comp. (Judges 8:27; Isaiah 16:10; Jeremiah 25:30) The grapes were gathered with shouts of joy by the “grape gatherers,” (Jeremiah 25:30) and put into baskets. See (Jeremiah 6:9) They were then carried on the head and shoulders, or slung upon a yoke, to the “wine-press.” Those intended for eating were perhaps put into flat open baskets of wickerwork, as was the custom in Egypt. In Palestine, at present, the finest grapes, says Dr. Robinson, are dried as raisins, and the juice of the remainder, after having been trodden and pressed, “is boiled down to a sirup, which, under the name of dibs, is much used by all classes, wherever vineyards are found, as a condiment with their food.” The vineyard, which was generally on a hill, (Isaiah 5:1; Jeremiah 31:5; Amos 9:13) was surrounded by a wall or hedge in order to keep out the wild boars, (Psalms 80:13) jackals and foxes. (Numbers 22:24; Nehemiah 4:3; Song of Solomon 2:15; Ezekiel 13:4,5; Matthew 21:33) Within the vineyard was one or more towers of stone in which the vine-dressers lived. (Isaiah 1:8; 5:2; Matthew 21:33) The vat, which was dug, (Matthew 21:33) or hewn out of the rocky soil, and the press, were part of the vineyard furniture. (Isaiah 5:2)

In the Bible

Verses where Vine is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).

1 Kings 4:25
Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.
2 Chronicles 26:10
Since he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain, he built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns. And since he was a lover of the soil, he had farmers and vinedressers in the hill country and in the fertile fields.
2 Kings 4:39
One of them went out to the field to gather herbs, and he found a wild vine from which he gathered as many wild gourds as his garment could hold. Then he came back and cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were.
2 Kings 18:31
Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree and drink water from his own cistern,
Deuteronomy 32:32
But their vine is from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are poisonous; their clusters are bitter.
Ezekiel 15:2
“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any other branch among the trees in the forest?

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Voices on Vine

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Lecture: Biblical Series VIII: The Phenomenology of the Divine