Winepress
Wine-press
is the rendering in the A.V. of three. Hebrew and one Greek words: גִּת, gath ("wine-press," Jg 6:11; Ne 13:15; La 1:15; "wine-fat," Isa 63:2; "press," Joe 3:13), which denotes the whole apparatus, SEE GETHSEMANE, or (as Gesenius prefers) simply the large vat (ληνός) in which the grapes were trodden, the latter being a meaning specifically borne by פּוּרָה, purah ("wine-press," Isa 63:3; "press," Hag 2:16); while יֶקֶב yekeb ("wine-press," Nu 18:27,30; De 15:14; Jg 7:25; 2Ki 6:27; Job 24:11; Isa 5:2; Jer 48:33; Ho 9:2; Zec 14:10; "press," Pr 3:10; Isa 16:10; "fat," Joe 2:24; Joe 3:13; "press-fat," Hag 2:16; "wine,"' De 16:13) is thought to denote the lower trough or receptacle into which the expressed juice flows, theὑπολήνιον of Mr 12:1. The last Hebrew word is derived by Gesenius (Thesaur. page 619 b) from a root signifying to hollow or dig out; and in accordance with this is the practice in Palestine, where the "wine-press" and "vats" appear to have been excavated out of the native rock of the hills on which the vineyards lay. From these scanty notices contained in the Bible we gather that the wine- presses of the Jews consisted of two receptacles or vats placed at different elevations, id the upper one of which the grapes were trodden, while the lower one received the expressed juice.. The two. vats are mentioned together only in Joe 3:13: "The press (gath) is full; the fats (yekebim) overflow" the upper vat being full of fruit, the lower one overflowing with the must. Yekeb is similarly applied in Joe 2:24, and probably in Pr 3:10, where the verb rendered "burst out" in the A.V. may bear the more general sense of "abound" (Gesen. Thesaur. page 1130). Gats is also strictly applied to the upper vat in Ne 13:15; La 1:15, and Isa 63:2, with purdh in a parallel sense in the following verse. Elsewhere yekeb is not strictly applied; for in Job 24:11, and Jer 48:33, it refers to the upper vat, just as in Mt 21:33, ὑπολήνιον (properly the vat under the press) is substituted for ληνός, as given in Mr 12:1. It would, moreover, appear natural to describe the whole arrangement by the term gath, as denoting the most important portion of it; but, with the exception of "proper names" in which the word appears, such as Gath, Gath-rinmmon, Gath-hepher, and Gittaimn, the termn ye'ekeb is applied to it (Jg 7:25; Zec 14:10). The same term is also applied to the produce of the wine-press ( Nu 18:27,30; De 15:14; 2Ki 6:27; Ho 9:2). The term purdh, as used in Hag 2:16, perhaps refers to the contents of a winevat, rather than to the press or vat itself. The two vats were usually dug or hewn out of the solid rock (Isa 5:2, marg.; Mt 21:33). Ancient wine-presses, so constructed, are still to be seen in Palestine (Robinson, Bibl. Res. 3:137; comp. page 603). Dr. Tristram examined several of these on Mount Carmel, which he describes as being exactly like others observed in the south of Judah. "In all cases a flat or gently sloping rock is made use of for their construction. At the upper end a trough is cut about three feet deep and four and a half by three and a half feet in length and breadth. Just below this, in the same rock, is hewn a second trough, fourteen inches deep and four feet by three in size. The two are connected by two or three small holes bored through the rock close to the bottom of the upper trough, so that, on the grapes being put in and pressed down, the juice streamed into the lower vat. Every vineyard seems to have had one of these presses" (Land of Israel, page 106). The wine-presses were thus permanent, and were sufficiently well known to serve as indications of certain localities (Jg 7:25; Zec 14:10). The upper receptacle (gath) was large enough to admit of threshing being carried on in (not "by," as in the A.V.) it, as was done by Gideon for the sake of concealment (Jg 6:11). SEE PRESS; SEE VINEYARD.
In Palestine the vintage takes place in September, and is celebrated with great rejoicings (Robinson, Bibl. Res. 1:431; 2:81). The ripe fruit was gathered in baskets (Jer 6:9), as represented in Egyptian paintings (Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt. 1:41-45), and was carried to the wine-press. It was then placed in the upper one of the two vats or receptacles of which the wine-press was formed, and was subjected to the process of "treading," which has prevailed in all ages in Oriental and South-European countries (Ne 13:15; Job 24:11; Isa 16:10; Jer 25:30; Jer 48:33; Am 9:13; Re 19:15). A certain amount of juice exuded from the ripe fruit from its own pressure before the treading commenced. This appears to have been kept separate from the rest of the juice, and to have formed the gleukos, or "sweet wine," noticed in Ac 2:13. The first drops of juice that reached the lower vat were termed the dema, or "tear," and formed the first-fruits of the vintage (Sept. ἀπαρχὰς ληνοῦ) which were to be presented to Jehovah (Ex 22:29). The "treading" was effected by one or more men, according to the size of the vat, and, if the Jews adopted the same arrangements as the Egyptians, the treaders were assisted in the operation by ropes fixed to the roof of the wine-press (Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt. 1:46). They encouraged one another by shouts and cries (Isa 16:9-10; Jer 25:30; Jer 48:33). Their legs and garments were dyed red, with the juice (Ge 49:11; Isa 53:2-3). The expressed juice escaped by an aperture into the lower vat, or was at once collected in vessels. A hand-press was occasionally used in Egypt (Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt. 1:45), but we have no notice of such an instrument in the Bible. As to the subsequent treatment of the wine, we have but little information. Sometimes it was drank as must, but more generally it was bottled off after fermentation, and, if it were designed to be kept for some: time, a certain amount of lees was added to give it body (Isa 25:6). The wine consequently required to be "refined," or strained, previously to being brought to a table (ibid.). For further elucidation of the subject see Hackett, Illustr. of Script. page 156 sq.; Van Lennep, Bibl. Lands, page 117 sq. SEE WINE.
