Strong Drink
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Isa. 5:11; Luke 1:15)—fermented intoxicating drink other than ordinary grape wine. The biblical Hebrew term shekar can include beer and beverages made from dates or other fruit. Wine and strong drink are distinguished in the priestly and Nazirite regulations (Lev. 10:9; Num. 6:3). Ancient peoples did not possess modern distilled spirits in the form now commonly called hard liquor, so the term should not be read as a precise modern category. Scripture repeatedly condemns drunkenness and enslavement to drink; the force of each passage must be determined from its setting.