Topical Bible: Bottle: Made of Animal Skins

◄ Bottle: Made of Animal Skins ►

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In biblical times, bottles made of animal skins were commonly used for storing and transporting liquids, particularly wine and water. These skin bottles, often referred to as "wineskins," were crafted from the hides of goats or sheep. The process involved removing the animal's skin, treating it to prevent decay, and sewing it into a container that could hold liquid securely.

Biblical References:

The use of skin bottles is mentioned in several passages throughout the Bible, highlighting their significance in daily life and their symbolic meaning in spiritual teachings.

1. Joshua 9:4 · The Gibeonites, seeking to make a treaty with Israel, used old, patched wineskins to give the appearance of having traveled from a distant land: "they acted with deception and gathered provisions, taking worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and old wineskins, cracked and mended."

2. Job 32:19 · Elihu, one of Job's friends, uses the imagery of a wineskin to describe the pressure of holding in his words: "Behold, my belly is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like a new wineskin."

3. Matthew 9:17 · Jesus uses the metaphor of wineskins to illustrate the incompatibility of old and new covenants: "Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will spill and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

Cultural and Practical Aspects:

In the ancient Near East, skin bottles were practical due to their durability and flexibility. They could expand slightly as the wine fermented, accommodating the gases produced during the process. This made them ideal for storing new wine, which was still undergoing fermentation. However, as the wineskins aged, they became brittle and less able to stretch, which is why new wine required new wineskins.

The symbolism of wineskins in Jesus' teaching underscores the transformative nature of His message. Just as new wine requires new wineskins, the new covenant brought by Christ necessitates a transformation of the heart and mind, making way for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the new life it brings.

Spiritual Significance:

The imagery of wineskins serves as a powerful metaphor for spiritual renewal and the necessity of embracing the new life offered through faith in Christ. It challenges believers to remain open to the work of the Holy Spirit, allowing for growth and change that align with the teachings of the Gospel. The concept of new wine in new wineskins calls for a departure from old ways and an acceptance of the new covenant, which is characterized by grace, truth, and the transformative power of Christ's love.

Nave's Topical Index

Joshua 9:4,13
They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks on their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;
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Job 32:19
Behold, my belly is as wine which has no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles.
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Psalm 119:83
For I am become like a bottle in the smoke; yet do I not forget your statutes.
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Matthew 9:17
Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runs out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.
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Mark 2:22
And no man puts new wine into old bottles: else the new wine does burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
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Luke 5:37,38
And no man puts new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.
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Library

The Child Samuel.
... parents, and especially by his mother, who had made up her ... her a sack of meal and
a leather bottle of wine ... The animal was to be killed and burnt, while the meal ...
/.../anonymous/children of the old testament/the child samuel.htm

The First Theban Empire
... They led the same sort of animal life, guided by impulse ... for which they had no use,
and made a desert of ... men, distributed to each one a goatskin bottle, a crook ...
/.../chapter iiithe first theban empire.htm

Ancient Chaldaea
... owing to the activity of the others, desired to raise battalion against battalion,
and set herself to create unceasingly; but her offspring, made in her own ...
/.../chapter iancient chaldaea.htm