Any plant of the genus Phytocrene, climbing shrubs of Asia and Africa, the stems of which are singularly porous, and when cut stream with a limpid potable juice.

VINE, VINEYARD . The usual Heb. word for ‘vine’ is gephen , used of the grape-vine everywhere except in 2 Kings 4:39 , where gephen sâdeh (lit. ‘field vine’) refers to a wild-gourd vine. Another word, sôrçq ( Isaiah 5:2 , Jeremiah 2:21 ), or sôrçqâh ( Genesis 49:11 ), refers to superior vines with purple grapes. The vine ( Vitis vinifera ) is supposed to be a native of the shores of the Caspian, but has been cultivated in Palestine from the earliest times, as is witnessed by the extensive remains of ancient vineyards. The climate is peculiarly suited to the grape, which reaches perfection during the prolonged sunshine and the dewy nights of late summer. Vines specially flourish on the hillsides unsuited for cereals ( Jeremiah 31:5 , Amos 9:13 ). Viticulture, which languished for centuries under the Arabs, has recently been revived by the German and Jewish colonies, and millions of imported vines of choice strain have been planted. As in the case of the olive, the culture of the vine needs a peaceful, settled population, as the plants require several years’ care before bearing fruit ( Zephaniah 1:13 ), and constant attention if they are to maintain their excellence; hence to sit under one’s ‘own vine and fig tree’ was a favourite image of peace ( 1 Kings 4:25 , Micah 4:4 , Zechariah 3:10 ). In some districts to-day vines are trained over a trellis at the front door, making a cool summer resort. The Israelites found Palestine ready planted with vineyards ( Deuteronomy 6:11 , Joshua 24:13 , Nehemiah 9:25 ). The steps taken in making a vineyard are described in detail in Isaiah 5:1-30 . The land must be fenced (cf. Psalms 80:12 ), the stones gathered out, the choicest possible plants obtained. A winepress was cut in the rock, and a watch tower ( Isaiah 5:2 , Matthew 21:33 ) was built to guard against intruders. These last included foxes (or jackals) ( Song of Solomon 2:15 ) and boars ( Psalms 80:13 ). In such a tower the owner’s family will probably pass all the grape season; during the vintage a large proportion of the people are to be found living in the vineyards. Every spring the soil between the vines must be dug or ploughed up and the plants pruned ( Leviticus 25:3-4 , Isaiah 5:6 ); neglect of this leads to rapid deterioration of the grapes; only the slothful man could permit his vineyard to be overgrown with ‘thorns and nettles’ and ‘the stone wall thereof to be broken down’ ( Proverbs 24:30-31 ). The clusters of grapes are often enormous (cf. Numbers 13:23 ). When the vintage is over and the leaves turn sere and yellow, the vineyards have a very desolate look ( Isaiah 34:4 ). The failure of the vintage was looked upon as one of God’s terrible punishments ( Psalms 78:47 , Jeremiah 8:13 , Habakkuk 3:17 ), and a successful and prolonged vintage as a sign of blessing ( Leviticus 26:5 ). Of the vast quantities of grapes produced in ancient times a large proportion was, without doubt, converted into dibs (Arab. ^[1] ) or grape honey (cf. Heb. dĕbash = ‘honey’), a form of thick, intensely sweet grape juice, which is still made in considerable quantities in Syria, but which must have been much more important in the days when cane sugar was unknown. Many references to ‘honey’ probably refer to this product rather than to that of the bee. Israel is compared to a vine in Ezekiel 15:1-8 ; Ezekiel 17:1-24 , Isaiah 5:1-30 , and Psalms 80:1-19 . The vine-leaf was a favourite design on Jewish coins. The numerous references to the vine in the NT ( e.g . Matthew 20:1 ff; Matthew 21:28 ; Matthew 21:33 ff., John 15:1-27 ) point to the continued importance of viticulture in those days. Vine of Sodom ( Deuteronomy 32:32 ). If the reference is to any particular plant which is very doubtful the most probable is the colocynth ( Citrullus colocynthis ); see Gourd. The apple-sized fruit of the curious ‘osher ( Calotropis procera ) has been suggested; but though this answers well to the description by Josephus ( BJ IV. viii. 4) of the ‘fruits of Sodom’ which vanish into ashes, so substantial a tree, with its cork-like bark and large glossy leaves, could in no sense be called a vine. E. W. G. Masterman.

One of the most important products of Palestine. The first mention of it is in the history of Noah (Genesis 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" (Numbers 13 :: 23 ). The vineyards of En-gedi (Song of Solomon 1:14 ), Heshbon, Sibmah, Jazer, Elealeh (Isaiah 16:8-10 ; Jeremiah 48:32,34 ), and Helbon (Ezekiel 27:18 ), as well as of Eshcol, were celebrated. The Church is compared to a vine (Psalm 80:8 ), and Christ says of himself, "I am the vine" (John 15:1 ). In one of his parables also (Matthew 21:33 ) our Lord compares his Church to a vineyard which "a certain householder planted, and hedged round about," etc. Hosea 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.

Referred to only in Deuteronomy 32:32 . Among the many conjectures as to this tree, the most probable is that it is the 'osher of the Arabs, which abounds in the region of the Dead Sea. Its fruit are the so-called "apples of Sodom," which, though beautiful to the eye, are exceedingly bitter to the taste. (See EN-GEDI.) The people of Israel are referred to here by Moses as being utterly corrupt, bringing forth only bitter fruit.

occurs only in (32:32) It is generally supposed that this passage alludes to the celebrated apples of Sodom, of which Josephus speaks, "which indeed resemble edible fruit in color, but, on being plucked by the hand, are dissolved into smoke and ashes." It has been variously identified. Dr. Robinson pronounced in favor of the 'osher fruit, the Asclepias (Calotropis) procera of botanists. He says, "The fruit greatly resembles externally a large smooth apple or orange, hanging in clusters of three or four together, and when ripe is of a yellow color. It is now fair and delicious to the eye and soft to the touch but, on being pressed or struck, it explodes with a puff: like a bladder or puff-hall, leaving in the hand only the shreds of the thin rind and a few fibres. It is indeed filled chiefly with air, which gives it the round form." Dr. Hooker writes," The vine of Sodom always thought might refer to Cucumis calocynthis , which is bitter end powders inside; the term vine would scarcely be given to any but a trailing or other plant of the habit of a vine." His remark that the term vine must refer to some plant of the habit of a vine is conclusive against the claims of all the plants hitherto identified with the vine of Sodom.

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 ; Psalm 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 ; Psalm 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, (Psalm 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 )

(ἄμπελος, βότρυς, ἀμπελών) Apart from the Gospels, the only books in the NT containing a reference to the vine or to grapes are the Epistle of St. James (James 3:12) and the Apocalypse (Revelation 14:18). In 1 Corinthians 9:7 a vineyard supplies the subject for one of St. Paul’s rhetorical questions. Wine is frequently alluded to, chiefly in apostolic exhortations against excess in this direction (see article Abstinence). In the apocalyptic vision, as elsewhere in the NT, the work of judgment is compared to the vintage. In the OT both the vintage and the wheat-harvest are used as similes of the overthrow of the enemies of Jahweh, but here the wheat-harvest represents the ingathering of the faithful (see article Harvest). In Palestine the vintage is the latest crop gathered in the autumn. In the warmer parts of the country it commences at the beginning of September. There are few countries so well adapted for the cultivation of the vine, and the extensiveness of the industry in ancient times is attested by the numerous presses and vats found all over the country. From the Mishna we learn that vine-culture was still flourishing about a.d. 200, but with the coming of the Arabs it almost entirely disappeared. Within the last century, however, it has revived under European influence, and large numbers of imported vines have been planted by German and Jewish colonists. The mode of their cultivation depends on the natural characteristics of the particular district. In very stony soils parallel ridges are made of the loose stones, and the vines are planted near the side of one or other of these ridges. The shoots are trained up these primitively constructed walls, carried over the top, and brought down to the other sides by stones attached to them. Where, however, the conditions permit, and the vineyards are extensive, the plants are arranged at a considerable distance apart, and are allowed to grow to a height of about 6 or 8 ft.; the bearing shoots supported by poles are carried horizontally across to the adjoining row. In ancient times they were carefully fenced in to protect them from human spoliators, on the one hand, and from the trespasses of sheep and cattle, whose partiality for vine-leaves is well known, on the other (cf. Psalms 80:12-13, Ca 2:15, Isaiah 5:2). Apparently every vineyard had its own wine-press. In many cases it is difficult to say whether the fruit-press under consideration was an olive-press or a wine-press. Those which are deep and well adapted for treading were probably wine-presses. No doubt many of the large quantities of grapes produced in olden days were used for dibs, a thick sweet juice which is still made in Syria, and which was probably used to a much greater extent in ancient times when cane-sugar was unknown. See, further, articles Abstinence, Harvest. Literature.-H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible10, London, 1911, pp. 402-413; W. M. Thomson, The Land and the Book, 3 vols., ed. do., 1881-86, passim; J. C. Geikie, The Holy Land and the Bible, do., 1903, pp. 50-52, 74; H. B. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John 2, do., 1907, p. 254 f.: J. B. Mayor, The Epistle of St. James 3, do., 1910, p. 125 C. Bigg, International Critical Commentary , ‘The Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude,’ Edinburgh, 1901, p. 168; The Speaker’s Commentary, iii. ^[1] 776; R. A. S. Macalister, The Excavation of Gezer, 3 vols., do., 1912, passim; Dict. of Christ and the Gospels ii. 800 f., 824; Hastings’ Single-vol. Dictionary of the Bible , pp. 959, 973 f.; Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) iv. 868-870. P. S. P. Handcock.

Noah appears as its first cultivator (Genesis 9:20-21); he probably preserved the knowledge of its cultivation from the antediluvian world. Pharaoh's dream (Genesis 40:9-11, see Speaker's Commentary) implies its prevalence in Egypt; this is confirmed by the oldest Egyptian monuments. So also Psalms 78:47. Osiris the Egyptian god is represented as first introducing the vine. Wine in Egypt was the beverage of the rich people; beer was the drink of the poor people. The very early monuments represent the process of fermenting wine. The spies bore a branch with one cluster of grapes between two on a staff from the brook Eshcol. Bunches are found in Palestine of ten pounds weight (Reland Palest., 351). Kitto (Phys. Hist. Palest., p. 330) says a bunch from a Syrian vine was sent as a present from the Duke of Portland to the Marquis of Rockingham, weighing 19 pounds, and was carried on a staff by four, two bearing it in rotation. Sibmah, Heshbon, and Elealeh (Isaiah 16:8-10; Jeremiah 48:31) and Engedi (Song of Solomon 1:14) were famous for their vines. Judah with its hills and tablelands was especially suited for vine cultivation; "binding his foal unto the vine and his ass' colt unto the choice vine he washed his garments in wine and his clothes in the blood of grapes, his eyes shall be red with wine" (Genesis 49:11-12). Both Isaiah (Isaiah 5) and the Lord Jesus make a vineyard with fence and tower, the stones being gathered out, the image of Judah (Matthew 21:33). Israel is the vine brought out of Egypt, and planted by Jehovah in the land of promise (Psalms 80:8; compare Isaiah 27:2-3). The "gathering out of the stones" answers to God's dislodging the original inhabitants before Israel, and the "fencing" to God's protection of Israel from surrounding enemies. "The choicest vine" (sowreq , still in Morocco called serki , the grapes have scarcely perceptible stones; Judges 16:4 mentions a town called from this choice vine Sorek) is the line of holy patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, etc. The square "tower" was to watch against depredations, and for the owner's use; the "fence" to keep out wild boars, foxes, jackals, etc. (Psalms 80:13; Song of Solomon 2:15). The "fence" may represent the law, the "stones" gathered out Jerome thinks are the idols; the "tower" the temple "in the midst" of Judaea; the "winepress," generally hewn out of the rocky soil, the altar. The vine stem is sometimes more than a foot in diameter, and 30 ft. in height. "To dwell under the vine and fig tree" symbolizes peace and prosperity (1 Kings 4:25). When apostate, Israel was "an empty vine," "the degenerate plant of a strange vine," "bringing forth fruit unto himself" not unto God (Jeremiah 2:21; Hosea 10:1). In Ezekiel 15:2-4 God asks "what is the vine wood more than any tree?" i.e., what is its preeminence? None. Nay the reverse. Other trees yield good timber; but vine wood is soft, brittle, crooked, and seldom large; "will men take a pin of it, to hang any vessel thereon?" not even a "pin" or wooden peg can be made of it. Its sole excellence above all trees is its fruit; when not fruit bearing it is inferior to other trees. So, if God's people lose their distinctive excellency by not bearing fruits of righteousness, they are more unprofitable than the worldly, for they are the vine, the sole end of their being is to bear fruit to His glory. In all respects, except in bearing fruit unto God, Israel was inferior to other nations, as Egypt, Nineveh, Babylon, in antiquity, extent, resources, military power, arts and sciences. Its only use when fruitless is to be "cast into the fire for fuel." Gephen is a general term for the vine, from whence the town Gophna, now Jifna, is named. Νazir is "the undressed vine," one every seventh and 50th year left unpruned. The vine is usually planted on the side of a terraced hill, the old branches trailing along the ground and the fruit bearing shoots being raised on forked sticks. Robinson saw the vine trained near Hebron in rows eight or ten feet apart; when the stock is six or eight feet high, it is fastened in a sloping direction to a stake, and the shoots extend front one plant to another, forming a line of festoons; sometimes two rows slant toward each other and form an arch. Sometimes the vine is trained over a rough wall three feet high, sometimes over a wooden framework so that the foliage affords a pleasant shade (1 Kings 4:25). The vintage is in September. The people leave the towns and live in lodges and tents among the vineyards (Judges 9:27); sometimes even before the vintage (Song of Solomon 7:11-12). The grape gatherers plied their work with shouts of joy (Jeremiah 25:30). The finest grapes in Palestine are now dried as raisins, tsimuq . The juice of the rest, is boiled down to a syrup, called fibs, much used as an accompaniment of foods. The vine was Judaea's emblem on Maccabean coins, and in the golden cluster over the porch of the second temple. It is still to be seen on their oldest tombstones in Europe. The Lord Jesus is the antitypical vine (John 15). Every branch in Jesus He "pruneth," with afflictions, that it may bring forth more fruit. So each believer becomes "pure" ("pruned," katharoi , answering to kathairei , "He purgeth" or pruneth). The printing is first in March, when the clusters begin to form. The twig formed subsequently has time to shoot by April, when, if giving no promise, it is again lopped off; so again in May, if fruitless; at last it is thrown into the fire. On the road from Akka to Jerusalem, Robinson saw an upper ledge of rock scooped into a shallow trough, in which the grapes were trodden, and by a hole in the bottom the juice passed into a lower vat three feet deep, four square (Bib. Res. 3:137). Other winepresses were of wood; thus the stone ones became permanent landmarks (Judges 7:25). The vine is the emblem, as of Christ, so of the church and each believer. Vine of Sodom. Deuteronomy 32:32; Isaiah 1:10; Jeremiah 23:14. (See APPLES OF SODOM.) J.D. Hooper objects to the Calotropis or Αsclepias procera , the osher of the Arabs, that the term "vine" would scarcely be given to any but a trailing or other plant of the habit of a vine, and that its beautiful silky cotton within would never suggest the idea of anything but what is exquisitely lovely. He therefore prefers the Cucumis colocynthis. Tacitus writes, "all herbs growing along the Dead Sea are blackened by its exhalations, and so blasted as to vanish into ashes" (Hist. 5:7). Josephus (B. J. 4:8, section 4) says" the ashes of the five cities still grow in their fruits, which have a color as if they were fit to be eaten, but if you pluck them they dissolve into smoke and ashes." The Asclepius gigantea or Calotropis has a trunk six or eight inches in diameter, and from ten to 15 ft. high, the bark cork-like and grey. The yellow apple-like fruit is yellow and soft and tempting to the eye, but when pressed explodes with a puff, leaving in the hand only shreds and fibres. The acrid juice suggests the gall in Deuteronomy 32:32, "their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter."

See GRAPES.

VINE, ALLEGORY OF THE.—In the allegory of the vine (John 15:1-10) Christ describes the close relation which exists between the disciples and Himself, and impresses on them the necessity of the continuance of this intimate union as the indispensable condition of fruitfulness on their part. The figurative side of the allegory is not developed first and then followed by the interpretation, but figure and interpretation are woven together throughout the passage. When we separate them we find that the figurative material is comparatively slight. It presents to us the picture of a vine tended by a husbandman who takes away the unfruitful branches and cleanses the fruitful, i.e. cuts off from them all useless shoots, that they may become more productive. Attention is also directed to the fact that the unfailing condition of fruit-bearing is that the branch abide in the vine. If by any chance it is separated from the parent stock, it is of no more use, but is cast forth from the vineyard and withers away, and is fit only for firewood. In the interpretation Christ Himself is the vine (‘the true vine’ is the phrase used, of which we shall discuss the significance presently); His Father is the husbandman, believers, especially the disciples, are the branches. As there are unfruitful branches in the natural vine, so there may be some who, in spite of their communion with Christ, yet prove unproductive. The fate which overtakes them is similar to that of the unfruitful branches of the natural vine. The Heavenly Husbandman severs the connexion between them and Christ (John 15:2 a). Wherein fruitfulness consists Christ does not say. Some take it as the keeping of His commandments (John 15:10), and the practice of that righteousness whereby the soundness of the tree is proved (Matthew 7:16; Matthew 7:20-21), while others think specially of that Apostolic work which is to fall to the disciples (so Bruce, Training of the Twelve, p. 402). By the cleansing of the branches (John 15:2 b) we must understand such Divine dealings as tend to greater fruitfulness in the life of the believer. The process of cleansing in the natural vine suggests to us the chastening discipline to which the Father subjects believers (so de Wette). But in proceeding to speak of the disciples, to whom He now directly refers as the branches, Christ gives a more general interpretation of the figure of cleansing. They are already clean, He says (John 15:3), on account of the word which He has spoken to them, i.e. the revelation He has given them has had a purifying influence upon their life. The vital matter for them is to continue in such close relationship to Christ, whose word has had this cleansing influence upon them, that they may ever remain clean. Therefore He proceeds to insist upon the necessity of their abiding in Him, i.e. making Him the source from which they derive all their strength and nourishment (John 15:4). This is the indispensable condition of fruitfulness in the spiritual life (John 15:4-5). Before proceeding to describe with greater fulness the blessed results that follow from such close adherence to Him, Christ pauses to indicate the fate of those who sever their connexion with Him (John 15:6). They are like the branches that have been broken off from the vine, which are cast out of the vineyard and wither away, and are gathered together and burned. Some would find an exact equivalent to all the details in this description. The casting forth corresponds to their exclusion from the Church, the withering to their loss of spiritual life, the gathering to the work of the angels (Matthew 13:30; Matthew 13:39), and the fire to Gehenna. In any case the language indicates the certainty of the destruction that awaits all who break away from their adherence to Christ. In contrast to this, Christ proceeds to describe the condition of those who abide in Him. United to Him in close communion, they will obtain whatsoever they ask (John 15:7). The result will be abundant fruitfulness to the glory of the Father, whereby they will become true disciples of Christ (John 15:8). The exhortation to abide in Him is finally strengthened by an appeal to the example of God and Christ in their relation to one another. Christ’s love to the disciples is like the love of the Father to the Son. As Christ abides in the love of the Father by keeping His commandments, so will the disciples abide in the love of the Son if they keep His commandments (John 15:9-10). Such is the course of the allegory. The following points in connexion with it may be briefly discussed: 1. What is meant by the true (ἀληθινή) vine? It is often taken as suggesting that the natural vine only imperfectly represents the idea of the communion of Christ with believers. But why should the vine be selected rather than any other plant? And in what respect is the organic relationship suggested by the figure only imperfectly represented by the natural vine? H. Holtzmann understands the phrase as meaning that Christ is the vine which belongs to the higher world and has been planted by God in the midst of mankind; and he finds here another instance of the Platonic tendency of the Fourth Gospel to regard sensible things as imperfect copies of archetypes which exist in the world above (Handcom. ad loc. and p. 35). Calvin takes the phrase as equivalent to ‘Ego vere sum vitis’; and van Koetsveld (De Gelijkenissen van den Zaligmaker, ii. 199 f.), on the analogy of the true light (John 1:9), and the true bread (John 6:32-35), understands it as meaning the vine which may be called so in truth, and does not merely bear the name and appearance of such. But in the case of the true light and the true bread we can understand the force of the adjective in this sense, as light and bread are metaphors which we are in the habit of employing in a spiritual reference, and it is proper to emphasize the fact that, for the illumination and nourishment of the spiritual life, a higher light and bread than the natural are necessary. But before we can understand the force of the adjective as applied to the vine, we must recognize in what sense it is appropriate to introduce the vine metaphorically in a religious reference. The Old Testament supplies the connexion. The vine was a familiar metaphor as applied to Israel (Jeremiah 2:21, Ezekiel 15:1 ff; Ezekiel 19:10 ff., Psalms 80:8 ff., cf. Isaiah 5:1 ff.). But Israel had proved unfaithful to her calling. She had ‘turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine’ (Jeremiah 2:21). Delitzsch has further pointed out that the vine is used as a symbol of the Messiah (Iris, English translation pp. 184–186). It is with reference to this familiar metaphor that Christ calls Himself the true vine. The idea that was held before Israel in the prophetic application to her of the figure of the vine is realized in Him and His disciples. 2. What is the relationship between Christ and the disciples indicated by the mutual abiding in one another? Viewed from the side of the disciples, this relation is presented as an injunction, ‘Abide in me’; from the side of Christ as a promise, ‘and I in you,’ i.e. and I will abide in you (John 15:4). This is the usual interpretation of the verse, though Bengel makes the injunction embrace the whole: ‘Facite ut maneatis in me et ut ego maneam in vobis.’ In the following verses more particular statements occur, which seem to define more clearly the relationship thus indicated. But the difficulty is to determine to which of the sides of the relationship the statements in question apply. Thus in John 15:7 we have the phrase, ‘If ye abide in me and my words abide in you.’ Does the latter clause take the place of the ‘and I in you’ of John 15:4, or is it a fuller description of the clause immediately preceding it, thus corresponding to the ‘abide in me’ of John 15:4? Either view may be adopted with some show of reason. In support of the first, it may be pointed out that, on this interpretation, the phrase exactly corresponds to the ‘He that abideth in me and I in him’ of John 15:5. On the other hand, when it is remembered that the ‘and I in you’ of John 15:4 contains a promise, and that in John 15:7 the two clauses together embrace the condition upon which the promise which immediately follows (‘ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you’) depends, there seems good ground for taking the clause ‘and my words abide in you’ as a more definite statement of what is involved in our abiding in Christ; while the promise which immediately succeeds may be regarded as presenting under a new aspect what is meant by Christ’s abiding in us. Again, in John 15:9 we have another aspect of abiding presented, ‘Abide ye in my love,’ i.e. continue to be the objects of my love. Here again the question arises, To which of the two abidings does the phrase apply? To our abiding in Christ, or to Christ’s abiding in us? The parallelism of the phrase to the ‘abide in me’ of John 15:4 favours the first alternative. On the other hand, it may be pointed out that while the phrase occurs in John 15:9 as an injunction, it is repeated in John 15:10 as a promise, conditional on our keeping Christ’s commandments. Now, in the interpretation of John 15:7 suggested above, to have Christ’s words abiding in us, i.e. to keep His commandments, corresponds to the ‘abide in me’ of John 15:4. Here, therefore, the promise which is held forth to those who keep the commandments, i.e. to those who abide in Christ, will correspond to the promise of John 15:4, and to abide in Christ’s love will represent under a new aspect what is meant by Christ’s abiding in us. Each of the ways of regarding the verses in question yields a view of the relationship of the believer and Christ to one another which seems to be true in fact, and to harmonize with the general Johannine conception of that relationship. To have Christ’s words abiding in us is a phrase which, in view of the importance assigned in this Gospel to the word, may well represent what is meant by abiding in Christ. It is in the word that Christ reveals Himself, and that only is the true relationship to His Person which involves trustful acceptance of, and obedience to, His word (John 8:31; John 14:15; John 14:21). On the other hand, just because of the importance thus assigned to the word as that through which Christ reveals Himself, the phrase may likewise denote the manner in which Christ abides in the believer. The sanctifying power of the word has already been referred to in the passage (John 15:3). The words which Christ speaks, they are spirit and they are life (John 6:63), and to have them abiding in us is already to have everlasting life (John 5:24). In like manner, to abide in Christ’s love is a phrase which may equally well describe either our abiding in Him or His abiding in us. Our abiding in Christ may in John 15:4 be the condition upon which the promise of Christ’s abiding in us is given. But in the spiritual life it is difficult to draw a hard and fast line between conditions and consequences. The conditions upon which promises or blessing are fulfilled become an integral part of the blessedness bestowed. To abide in Christ’s love is at once the condition and the constituent of spiritual blessedness. It is at once our abiding in Christ and Christ’s abiding in us. These two abidings seem to be the same relation regarded from different sides. On the one side we have the subjective aspect of the relation presented, on the other the objective (Weiss, Die johan. Grundbegriffe, p. 71); on the one side the attitude of faith towards the Saviour, on the other the response of the Saviour to the faith which unites the believer to Him. See also art. Abiding. 3. Can we accept the allegory as authentic in its present form? It has been felt by some that that form is far from satisfactory. Illustration and interpretation are mixed together throughout. No clear and connected picture, of which the details are in due course interpreted, is brought before the mind; but the figure of the vine is used as the foundation upon which is based a series of metaphors, loosely strung together, describing the relation of Christ and the believer to one another. When we compare it with the parables and similitudes of the Synoptic Gospels, we realize at once what a vast difference there is between them. It has been suggested that the allegory of the vine may have been originally a parable which John has worked up into its present form. B. Weiss believes he can find the original elements in John 15:2; John 15:4; John 15:6, and thinks that it had taught that, as the husbandman does all in his power to make the vine productive, but if his efforts are in vain casts forth the worthless branches and burns them up, so God’s purpose in the planting of the Kingdom of God in Israel had been to increase the fruitfulness of its members, and if that purpose is not fulfilled the only result will be the exclusion of Israel from the Kingdom. The main point in the parable could not have been that the increasing fruitfulness of the branches depended upon their abiding in the vine, but that this abiding might be forfeited by continued unfruitfulness. But the Evangelist, who ever puts the personal relation to Christ in the foreground, made this abiding in Christ as the condition of fruitfulness in the religious life the central thought, though in John 15:2; John 15:6 the original tendency of the parable is still apparent (in Meyer’s Kommentar, 1893, ad loc., and Leben Jesu ii. 334 ff.). Jülicher thinks that Weiss is influenced by a desire to make John approach as closely as possible to the Synoptists; and while he does not believe the allegory as preserved by John to be genuine, confesses himself unable to conjecture what its original form was, supposing it to be based upon authentic reminiscences (Die Gleichnisreden Jesu, 1888, pp. 120, 196). 4. Is the present place of the allegory in the Gospel the correct one? Sanday (Fourth Gospel, p. 231) thinks that it belongs to an earlier and more didactic period in the life of Christ, and that it is out of place in the present speech, of which the object is to comfort the disciples in view of their Lord’s departure. De Wette and B. Weiss bring forward the same objection. The latter thinks that the allegory in its original parabolic form, of which the main point was a warning against unfruitfulness, belongs to the period of crisis in the life of Christ, when the multitudes who had been attracted to Him fell away, and He foresaw that even one of the Twelve was to prove unfaithful. The Evangelist has brought together in these farewell speeches all that seemed to deal with the self-revelation of Christ to believers; and as the interpretation which he put upon the allegory, by making the central point of it an exhortation to abide in Christ, led him to include it in this category, he has inserted it here (Leben Jesu, ii. 334). Bruce meets the objection that the allegory is out of place in the farewell discourse, by showing that Christ’s object in that discourse is not merely to comfort the disciples in view of His departure, but to prepare them for the continuance of His work. When we realize that this is the purpose of the speech in which it occurs, the aptness of the allegory cannot, he thinks, be questioned (Training of the Twelve, p. 401). Literature.—The various commentaries and works on NT theology; Wendt, Lehre Jesu, ii. 497 f.; Weiss, Die johan. Grundbegriffe, § 8; van Koetsveld, De Gelijkenissen van den Zaligmaker, ii. 194–204. For homiletical treatment see Maclaren, Holy of Holies, 168 ff.; Macmillan, Bible Teachings in Nature, 174; A. Whyte, Walk, Conversation, and Character of Jesus Christ, ch. xxxiv.; A. Murray, Abide in Christ, passim; Westcott, Revelation of the Father, 119; P. J. Maclagan, Gospel View of Things, 146; ExpT ^[1] ix. ^[2] 211. G. Wauchope Stewart.

VINE, VINEYARD (ἀμπελών).—Vine-culture was one of the oldest industries in Palestine. This is attested by the presence of rock-hewn wine-presses and traces of ancient vine terraces where all is wilderness to-day. Work in the vineyard furnished occupation to many (Matthew 20:1 ff; Matthew 21:28). Landowners planted vineyards, and let them to husbandmen (Matthew 21:33 ff. etc.). The vineyard requires much care and attention. It is surrounded by a dry-stone wall, a bank of thorns, or fence of prickly pear. If it be on a slope, the terraces must be kept in good repair, lest the soil be washed away by winter rains. The ground is well worked with the hoe, and thoroughly cleansed of alien roots. Pruning is done in Dec. or Jan.; the blossom is out in April and May; the vintage is general in Sept. ^[1] , but somewhat earlier in the Jordan Valley. The ‘tower’ (Matthew 21:33 etc.) is the shelter for the watchman who guards the crop against injury from man and beast. The familiar form of the vine, with its abundant and luxuriant branches, would lend itself all the more readily to the allegorical use of Jesus, inasmuch as ‘in the OT, and partially in Jewish thought, the vine was the symbol of Israel, not in their national, but in their Church capacity’ (Edersheim, LT ^[2].] ii. 520; cf. John 15). See next article. The fig and the vine are often closely associated (Luke 13:6). The mod. Arab, karm stands for both vineyard and fig-orchard. From the Mishna we gather that 200 years after Christ vine-culture was still a flourishing industry in Palestine. With the coming of the Arabs, vineyards almost entirely disappeared. During the last cent. the industry has in some measure revived under the influence of the German and Jewish colonists in Palestine, and the French in the Lebanon. Both E. and W. of Jordan the vine is now largely cultivated. The grapes of Eshcol are in high repute. W. Ewing.

A species of bindweed.

Any plant having a flexible stem supported by creeping along a surface or by climbing a natural or artificial support. While ancient Israel grew different types of plants that produced vines, such as cucumbers and melons (Numbers 11:5 ; Isaiah 1:8 ), the word vine in the Bible almost always refers to the grapevine or vineyard. The climate of Palestine was well suited for growing vineyards. Along with the olive and fig trees, the grapevine is used throughout the Old Testament to symbolize the fertility of the land ( Deuteronomy 6:11 ; Joshua 24:13 ; 1 Samuel 8:14 ; 2 Kings 5:26 ; Jeremiah 5:17 ; Jeremiah 40:10 ; Hosea 2:12 ). The origin of viticulture lies in the antiquity of the unknown past. The Bible traces the origin of caring for vineyards to the time of Noah (Genesis 9:20-21 ). Such knowledge seems to have been an indigenous undertaking known in many regions of the ancient world. References to vineyards appear from the time of Gudea (a ruler in ancient Sumer before 2100 B.C.). A wall painting found in a tomb at Thebes in Egypt, dating from before 1400 B.C., depicts the entire process of wine making from the gathering and treading of the grapes to the storing of the wine in jars. The planting and care of a vineyard required constant and intensive care. The most detailed description of the work involved is found in Isaiah 5:1-6 . Hillsides are frequently mentioned as the most desirable locations for the vines, especially since they were less suitable for other forms of agriculture (compare Psalm 80:8-10 ; Jeremiah 31:5 ; Amos 9:13 ). However, vineyards were also grown in the plains and valleys; the Hebron area was particularly noted for its grapes (Numbers 13:22-24 ). Stone walls and/or hedges were usually built around the vineyard to protect the grapes from thirsty animals and from thieves (Song of Song of Solomon 2:15 ; Jeremiah 49:9 ). Watchtowers were also built to provide further protection. The hewing out of a winepress or vat completed the vineyard installation (Isaiah 5:2 ). During the harvesting season, the owner of the vineyard might live in a booth to stay close to his valuable crop (Isaiah 1:8 ). After the grapes had set on the branches, the vines were pruned (Leviticus 25:4 ; Isaiah 18:5 ; John 15:1-2 ). This process produced stronger branches and a greater fruit yield. The pruned branches were useless except to be used as fuel (Ezekiel 15:2-8 ). The vines for the most past were allowed to run on the ground, though occasionally they might climb a nearby tree (compare Psalm 80:8-10 ; Ezekiel 15:2 ; Ezekiel 19:11 ). Perhaps it was this latter occurrence that made it possible for a man to “sit under” his vine (1 Kings 4:25 ). Only in the Roman period were artificial trellises introduced. The harvest of the grapes took place in August or September. How many grapes an average vineyard produced is unknown (compare Isaiah 5:10 ), but a vineyard was considered so important that a man who had planted one was exempt from military service (Deuteronomy 20:6 ). Some of the harvested grapes were eaten fresh (Jeremiah 31:29 ), and others dried into raisins (1 Samuel 25:18 ). Most were squeezed for their juice to make wine. Several laws governed the use of vineyards in Old Testament times. Vineyards could not be stripped totally of their grapes; the owner was to allow gleanings for the poor and the sojourner (Leviticus 19:10 ), and the fatherless and the widow (Deuteronomy 24:21 ). See Exodus 23:10-11 ; Leviticus 25:3-5 ), and other plants could not be sown in them (Deuteronomy 22:9 ). This latter law apparently was not followed by New Testament times (compare Luke 13:6 ). Vineyards were cultivated by their owners, hired laborers (Matthew 20:1-16 ), or rented out to others (Song of Song of Solomon 8:11 ; Matthew 21:33-43 ). The Bible frequently uses vine or vineyard as symbols. Vine is often used in speaking of Israel. Thus Israel is said to have been brought out of Egypt and planted as a vine on the land but was forsaken ( Psalm 80:8-13 ; compare Isaiah 5:1-7 ). Israel was planted a “choice vine” but became a “wild vine” (Jeremiah 2:21 ; compare Hosea 10:1 ). As the dead wood of a vine is good for nothing but fuel, so the inhabitants of Jerusalem would be consumed (Ezekiel 15:1-8 ; Ezekiel 19:10-14 ). On the other hand, the abundance of vines and vineyards were seen as expressions of God's favor. The fruit of the vine gladdens the heart of humankind (Psalm 104:15 ; Ecclesiastes 10:19 ) and suppresses pain and misery (Proverbs 31:6-7 ). Israel was “like grapes in the wilderness” when God found them (Hosea 9:10 ), and the remnant surviving the Exile is compared to a cluster of grapes (Isaiah 65:8 ). Finally, an abundance of the vine symbolizes the glorious age to come when the treader of the grapes will overtake the one who sows the seed (Amos 9:13-15 ; compare Genesis 49:10-12 ) In the New Testament, Jesus often used the vineyard as an analogy for the kingdom of God (Matthew 20:1-16 ). Those who hope to enter the kingdom must be like the son who at first refused to work in his father's vineyard but later repented and went (Matthew 21:28-32 and parallels). Ultimately, Jesus Himself is described as the “true vine” and His disciples (Christians) as the branches ( John 15:1-11 ). See Agriculture ; Eschatology ; Israel ; Wine, Winepress. John C. H. Laughlin

VINE, VINEYARD The holy Scriptures abound with the most lovely representations of Christ and his church under these similitude's; and it is not to be wondered at. The hill-country of Judea abounded with the richest and most luxurious vines. Therefore when the church would speak of her beloved, she called him, "a cluster of cypress in the vineyards of Engedi." (Song of Song of Solomon 1:14) And evidently on this account, because Jesus is not one blessing, but every one and all. In his person, blood, and righteousness, the church finds an Eshcol, a cluster of all divine perfections, all suited grace, all glory. Hence some read the words of the church in this lovely song, Esh col copher, that is, the man that hath atoned, and is all things of blessing. And as the church, taught by the Holy Ghost, sings her Epithalamium, or nuptial song, to the praise of Jesus, under the similitude, the Lord Jesus sings his love-song to the same figure: "I am the vine, saith Jesus, and ye are the branches." (John 15:1, etc.) But I must not enlarge on those topics, how sweet soever they are. The reader will find numberless clusters of them in the sacred word. (Genesis 49:11; Psalms 80:1 etc. Song of Song of Solomon 7:8-12, etc.)

This plant is used as a type of the nation of Israel, and of other nations. Sometimes it is spoken of as a good vine, and in other passages as a vine that was unprofitable and that brought forth evil fruit. GOD speaks of this vine as His own planting, when it refers to Israel. He expected it to bring forth good fruit that would be for His glory, and would bring joy to His heart. Instead of doing so, it brought forth evil fruit in most of the cases where it refers to Israel. Genesis 49:11 (b) This vine is Israel. Judah was tied to Israel by blood bonds, and his children also bore the same relationship. Deuteronomy 32:32 (a) The vine in this case refers to the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is in contrast with what they should be, the vine of Israel. GOD is telling us that Israel had become so corrupt that they were more like those two wicked cities than like His city, and their works were as evil as those of Sodom. Judges 9:12 (b) Jotham is telling the people of Israel that they have invited a weak, helpless person to be their king, because he considered that Abimelech was an incompetent man. Psalm 80:8 (a) The nation of Israel is compared to the vine. GOD brought them from Egypt and placed them in the land of Palestine. They replaced the heathen nations whom GOD enabled Joshua to conquer. Psalm 128:3 (a) In this case the wife is compared to a vine because she would be beautiful in her life, and fruitful in her conduct. Children would be born into the family, and they would be a blessing to the mother, to the father, and to the nation. Jeremiah 2:21 (a) Here we read the sad lament of the Lord because of the evil conduct of His people. The vine is Israel. They did not act like a good vine bearing grapes, but as an evil vine, bearing useless fruit, or poisonous fruit. Ezekiel 17:6 (b) This vine is probably the apostate Kingdom of Israel. The first great eagle, the King of Babylon, invaded Israel and took some of the people away as captives to his own land. The second eagle was the King of Egypt. Israel sent messengers to Egypt to obtain help, but Egypt failed and Israel was destroyed. It is a wonderful allegory which is described in verses Ezekiel 17:12- 18. (See also Isaiah 5:2; Jeremiah 2:21; Ezekiel 15:2). Hosea 10:1 (a) GOD expected fruit from His people Israel. He received none. Israel turned to idolatry and to wicked practices learned from the people of the land. They served themselves, and satisfied their own lusts, while GOD's Word was neglected, and His service ignored. John 15:1 (a) In this case the Lord JESUS Himself is the vine. Those who are saved by His grace are the branches. GOD sees the believer as a very part of CHRIST JESUS Himself. The branch bears the likeness of the vine, and has the same living sap flowing through it constantly. It bears the kind of fruit that characterizes the vine. All the fruit on the vine is found on the branches. Let us be bearing fruit for Him. Revelation 14:18 (a) This vine refers to the people of the earth of every kindred and nation who are enemies of GOD, enemies of Israel, and reject the authority of JESUS CHRIST.

Many suggestions have been made as to what tree this refers to. Josephus speaks of some fruits that grew near the Dead Sea, which "have a colour as if fit to be eaten, but if plucked they dissolve into smoke and ashes." Many have sought for such fruit. Some judge the vine alluded to in scripture to be the poisonous colocynth, which grows near the Dead Sea. May not the term be symbolical of that which leads to destruction, which was the doom of Sodom? Deuteronomy 32:32 .

The vine was extensively cultivated in Palestine. One sign of peace and prosperity was that every man might sit under his own vine. The grapes were large and plentiful, as was proved by the cluster found at Eshcol and borne by the spies. The illustration of a 'vineyard ' representing Israel was one that would be well understood by them. God had formed it in a very fruitful hill, planted it with the choicest vine, and had done everything possible for its fruitfulness and protection. Yet when fruit was sought, it was found to have brought forth only wild grapes. Eventually God broke down the wall thereof, and the vineyard was trodden down — a picture of the state of Israel until now. Psalm 80 ; Isa.5:1-10. The Lord when He was upon earth said He was the true Vine, and His disciples were the branches. There could not and cannot be any fruit-bearing but by abiding in Him. John 15:1-5 .

(a.) Covered with vines.

(n.) The European siskin (Carduelis spinus), a small green and yellow finch, related to the goldfinch.

(1): (n.) Any woody climbing plant which bears grapes. (2): (n.) Hence, a climbing or trailing plant; the long, slender stem of any plant that trails on the ground, or climbs by winding round a fixed object, or by seizing anything with its tendrils, or claspers; a creeper; as, the hop vine; the bean vine; the vines of melons, squashes, pumpkins, and other cucurbitaceous plants.

A herbaceous climbing vine (Boussingaultia baselloides) very popular in cultivation, having shining entire leaves and racemens of small fragrant white flowers.

1: ἄμπελος (Strong's #288 — Noun Feminine — ampelos — am'-pel-os ) is used (a) lit., e.g., Matthew 26:29 and parallel passages; James 3:12 ; (b) figuratively, (1) of Christ, John 15:1,4,5 ; (2) of His enemies, Revelation 14:18,19 , "the vine of the earth" (RV, "vintage" in ver. 19), probably figurative of the remaining mass of apostate Christendom.

גפן , Genesis 40:9 ; αμπελος , Matthew 26:29 ; Mark 14:25 ; Luke 22:18 ; John 15:4-5 ; James 3:12 ; Revelation 14:19 ; a noble plant of the creeping kind, famous for its fruit, or grapes, and the liquor they afford. The vine is a common name or genus, including several species under it; and Moses, to distinguish the true vine, or that from which wine is mode, from the rest, calls it, the wine vine, Numbers 6:4 . Some of the other sorts were of a poisonous quality, as appears from the story related among the miraculous acts of Elisha, 2 Kings 4:39 ; 2 Kings 4:41 . ( See GRAPES. ) The expression of "sitting every man under his own vine," probably alludes to the delightful eastern arbours, which were partly composed of vines. Capt. Norden, in like manner, speaks of vine arbours as common in the Egyptian gardens; and the Praenestine pavement in Dr. Shaw gives us the figure of an ancient one. Plantations of trees about houses are found very useful in hot countries, to give them an agreeable coolness. The ancient Israelites seem to have made use of the same means, and probably planted fruit trees, rather than other kinds, to produce that effect. "It is their manner in many places," says Sir Thomas Rowe's chaplain, speaking of the country of the Great Mogul, "to plant about and among their buildings, trees which grow high and broad, the shadow whereof keeps their houses by far more cool: this I observed in a special manner, when we were ready to enter Amadavar; for it appeared to us as if we had been entering a wood rather than a city." "Immediately on entering," says Turner, "I was ushered into the court yard of the aga, whom I found smoking under a vine, surrounded by horses, servants, and dogs, among which I distinguished an English pointer." There were in Palestine many excellent vineyards. Scripture celebrates the vines of Sorek, of Sebamah, of Jazer, of Abel. Profane authors mention the excellent wines of Gaza, Sarepta, Libanus, Saron, Ascalon, and Tyre. Jacob, in the blessing which he gave Judah, "Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine, he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes," Genesis 49:11 ; he showed the abundance of vines that should fall to his lot. "Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches hang over the wall," Genesis 49:22 . "To the northward and westward," says Morier, "are several villages, interspersed with extensive orchards and vineyards, the latter of which are generally enclosed by high walls. The Persian vine dressers do all in their power to make the vine run up the wall, and curl over on the other side, which they do by tying stones to the extremity of the tendril. The vine, particularly in Turkey and Greece, is frequently made to entwine on trellises around a well, where, in the heat of the day, whole families collect themselves, and sit under the shade." Noah planted the vine after the deluge, and is supposed to have been the first who cultivated it, Genesis 9:20 . Many are of opinion that wine was not unknown before the deluge; and that this patriarch only continued to cultivate the vine after that event, as he had done before it: but the fathers think that he knew not the force of wine, having never used it before, nor having ever seen any one use it. He was the first that gathered the juice of the grape, and preserved it till by fermentation it became a potable liquor. Before him men only ate the grapes like other fruit. The law of Moses did not allow the planters of vineyards to eat the fruit before the fifth year, Leviticus 19:24-25 . The Israelites were also required to indulge the poor, the orphan, and the stranger, with the use of the grapes on the seventh year. A traveller was allowed to gather and eat the grapes in a vineyard as he passed along, but he was not permitted to carry any away, Deuteronomy 23:24 . The scarcity of fuel, especially wood, in most parts of the east, is so great, that they supply it with every thing capable of burning; cow dung dried, roots, parings of fruits, withered stalks of herbs and flowers, Matthew 6:30 . Vine twigs are particularly mentioned as used for fuel in dressing their food, by D'Arvieux, La Roque, and others: Ezekiel says, in his parable of the vine, used figuratively for the people of God, "Shall wood be taken thereof to do any work? Or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon? Behold, it is cast into the fire for fuel," Ezekiel 15:3-4 . "If a man abide not in me," saith our Lord, "he is cast forth as a branch" of the vine, "and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned," John 15:6 .

Vine of Sodom. Only in Deuteronomy 32:32. Josephus describes fruits growing near the Dead Sea, "which indeed resemble edible fruit in color, but on being plucked by the hand are dissolved into smoke and ashes." These are the apples of Sodom of which the poets sing, and which are supposed to be mentioned in the above passage. If we are to interpret Deuteronomy and Josephus literally, the colocynth seems best to answer the conditions.

Vine. The first mention of the vine occurs in Genesis 9:20-21. It was cultivated in Egypt. 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. Special mention is made in the Bible of the vines of Eshcol, Numbers 13:24; Numbers 32:9, of Sibmah, Heshbon, and Elealeh, Isaiah 16:8-10; Jeremiah 48:32, and of Engedi. Song of Solomon 1:14. To dwell under the vine and fig 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 5:2; Isaiah 5:4; 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 vine trailed 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 9:27; 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." The vineyard, which was generally on a bill, 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 80:1-19; Psalms 13:1-6, 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; Isaiah 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 6:2.

Of this valuable and familiar plant there are several varieties, the natural products of warm climates, where also it has been cultivated from the earliest times. Hence the early and frequent mention of its products in Scripture, Genesis 9:20 14:18 19:22 Job 1:18 . The grape-vine grew plentifully in Palestine, Deuteronomy 8:8 , and was particularly excellent in some of the districts. The Scriptures celebrate the vines of Sibmah and Eshcol; and profane authors mention the excellent wines of Gaza, Sarepta, Lebanon, Sharon, Ascalon, and Tyre. See SOREK . The grapes of Egypt, Genesis 40:11 , being small, we may easily conceive of the surprise which was occasioned to the Israelites by witnessing the bunch of grapes brought by the spies to the camp, from the valley of Eshcol, Numbers 13:23 . The account of Moses, however, is confirmed by the testimony of several travelers; and even in England a bunch of Syrian grapes has been produced which weighed nineteen pounds, was twenty-three inches in length, and nineteen and a half in its greatest diameter. At the present day, although the Mohammedan religion does not favor the cultivation of the vine, there is no want of vineyards in Palestine. Besides the large quantities of grapes and raisins which are daily sent to the markets of Jerusalem and other neighboring places, Hebron alone in the first half of the eighteenth century, annually sent three hundred camel loads, or nearly three hundred thousand pounds weight of grape juice, or honey of raisins, to Egypt. In the East, grapes enter very largely into the provisions at an entertainment, and in various forms contribute largely to the sustenance of the people. See GRAPES . To show the abundance of vines which should fall to the lot of Judah in the partition of the promised land, Jacob, in his prophetic benediction, says of this tribe, he shall be found Binding his colt to the vine, And to the choice vine the foal of his ass; Washing his garments in wine, His clothes in the blood of the grape. Genesis 49:11 . In many places the vines spread over the ground and rocks unsupported. Often, however, they are trained upon trellis-work, over walls, trees, arbors, the porches and walls of houses, and at times within the house on the side of the central court. Thus growing, the vine became a beautiful emblem of domestic love, peace, and plenty, Psalm 128:3 Micah 4:4 . The law enjoined that he who planted a vine should not eat of the produce of it before the fifth year, Leviticus 19:23-25 . Nor did they gather their grapes on the sabbatical year; the fruit was then left for the poor, the orphan, and the stranger, Exodus 23:11 Leviticus 25:4,5,11 . See also Leviticus 19:10 Deuteronomy 24:21 . At any time a traveler was permitted to gather and eat grapes in a vineyard, as he passed along, but was not permitted to carry any away, Deuteronomy 23:24 . Another generous provision of the Mosaic code exempted from liability to serve in war a man who, after four years of labor and of patience, was about to gather the first returns from his vineyard, Deuteronomy 20:6 . Josephus describes a magnificent and costly vine of pure gold, with precious stones for grapes, which adorned the lofty eastern gate of the Holy Place. It was perhaps in view of this that our Savior said, "I am the true Vine;" and illustrated the precious truth of his oneness with his people, John 15:1-8 . In the expression, "The vine of Sodom," Deuteronomy 32:32 , there does not seem to be an allusion to any then existing degenerate species of vine. The writer means rather to say that their vine, that is figuratively their corrupt character, instead of yielding good grapes, bears only poisonous fruit, like that for which the shores of the Dead Sea have always been famed- such as "the apples of Sodom," for example, said to be beautiful without, but nothing but shreds or ashes within. For the "wild grapes" in Isaiah 5:2,4 , see under GRAPES . The Jews planted their VINEYARDS most commonly on the side of a hill or mountain, Jeremiah 31:5 , (See MOUNTAIN,) the stones being gathered out, and the space hedged round with thorns, or walled, Isaiah 5:1-6 Psalm 80:1-19 Matthew 21:33 . Vineyards were sometimes rented for a share of their produce, Matthew 28:20 ; and from other passages we may perhaps infer that a good vineyard consisted of a thousand vines, and produced a rent of a thousand silverlings, or shekels of silver, Isaiah 7:23 , and that it required two hundred more to pay the dressers, Song of Song of Solomon 8:11-12 . In these vineyards the keepers and vinedressers labored, digging, planting, propping, and pruning or purging the vines, John 15:2 , gathering the grapes, and making wine. They formed a distinct class among cultivators of the ground, and their task was sometimes laborious and regarded as menial, 2 Kings 25:12 2 Chronicles 26:10 Song of Song of Solomon 1:6 Isaiah 61:5 . Scripture alludes to the fragrance of the "vines with the tender grapes," Song of Song of Solomon 2:13 , and draws from the vineyard many illustrations and parables, Judges 9:12 Matthew 20:1 21:28 . The vineyard of Naboth, 1 Kings 21:1-29 , has become a perpetual emblem of whatever is violently taken from the poor by the rich or the powerful. The deserted hut or tower, in which a watchman kept guard during, the season of ripe grapes, Psalm 80:12-13 Song of Song of Solomon 2:15 , becomes, when all are gathered, an apt image of desolation, Isaiah 1:8 . A beautiful allegory in Psalm 80:1-19 represents the church as a vineyard, planted, defended, cultivated, and watered by God. The VINTAGE followed the wheat harvest and the threshing, Leviticus 26:5 Amos 9:13 . The "first ripe grapes" were gathered in June, or later on elevated ground, Numbers 13:20 ; and grapes continued to be gathered for four months afterwards. The general vintage, however, was in September, when the clusters of grapes were gathered with a sickle, and put into baskets, Jeremiah 6:9 , carried and thrown into the wine-vat or wine-press, where they were probably first trodden by men, and then pressed, Revelation 14:18-20 . It was a laborious task, lightened with songs, jests, and shouts of mirth, Jeremiah 25:30 48:33 . It is mentioned as a mark of the great work and power of the Messiah, that he had trodden the figurative wine-press alone, and of the people there was none with him, Isaiah 63:1-3 Revelation 19:15 . The vintage was a season of great mirth, Isaiah 16:9,10 , and often of excesses and idolatry, Judges 9:27 ; while the mourning and languishing of the vine was a symbol of general distress, Isaiah 24:7 Habakkuk 3:17 Malachi 3:11 . Of the juice of the squeezed grapes were formed wine and vinegar. See PRESS . Grapes were also dried into raisins. A part of Abigail's present to David was one hundred clusters of raisins, 1 Samuel 25:18 ; and when Zibah met David, his present contained the same quantity, 2 Samuel 16:1 1 Samuel 30:12 1 Chronicles 12:40 . Respecting other uses of the fruits of the vine, see GRAPES, HONEY, VINEGAR, and WINE .

VINE, n. L. vinca. See Wine. 1. A plant that produces grapes, of the genus Vitis, and of a great number of varieties. 2. The long slender stem of any plant, that trails on the ground, or climbs and supports itself by winding round a fixed object, or by seizing any fixed thing with its tendrils or claspers. Thus we speak of the hop vine, the bean vine, the vines of melons, squashes, pumpkins, and other encurbitaceous plants.