{
  "id": "dict_001522",
  "term": "Drink offering",
  "slug": "drink-offering",
  "letter": "D",
  "entry_type": "theological_term",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "A drink offering was a libation of wine poured out before the Lord as part of Israel’s sacrificial worship, usually accompanying another prescribed offering.",
  "simple_one_line": "A drink offering was wine poured out to the Lord alongside certain sacrifices in the Old Testament.",
  "tooltip_text": "An OT sacrificial libation of wine poured out to the Lord, often accompanying burnt or grain offerings.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "burnt offering",
    "grain offering",
    "sacrifice",
    "libation",
    "tabernacle",
    "temple",
    "Paul the Apostle"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Philippians 2:17",
    "2 Timothy 4:6",
    "Numbers 28",
    "Old Testament sacrifices"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "A drink offering was an Old Testament libation, usually wine, poured out before the Lord in connection with prescribed sacrifices. It signified devoted worship within Israel’s covenant system and was commonly offered with burnt offerings and grain offerings.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A sacrificial pouring out of wine before the Lord, usually as part of another offering in the Mosaic law.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Usually accompanied burnt offerings or grain offerings",
    "Was part of Israel’s ceremonial worship",
    "Expressed devotion, thanksgiving, and covenant obedience",
    "Paul later uses the image figuratively for his own sacrificial service"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "A drink offering was an Old Testament sacrificial libation, usually wine, poured out before the Lord in connection with prescribed offerings. It functioned as part of the ceremonial worship of Israel under the Mosaic law and frequently accompanied burnt offerings and grain offerings. The New Testament also uses the image figuratively for Paul’s life being poured out in service to Christ.",
  "description_academic_full": "A drink offering was a sacrificial libation in Israel’s worship, usually wine poured out before the Lord in connection with other prescribed offerings. Under the Mosaic law it was not ordinarily offered alone but accompanied burnt offerings, grain offerings, and other sacrifices, forming part of the regular pattern of tabernacle and temple worship. The pouring out of the wine symbolized devotion, honor, and covenant obedience before God. In the New Testament, Paul uses the same imagery figuratively when he speaks of being “poured out” like a drink offering in sacrificial service to Christ, drawing on Old Testament worship language rather than reestablishing the ceremonial practice for the church.",
  "background_biblical_context": "The law of Moses gives detailed instructions for drink offerings, especially in connection with burnt offerings and the appointed feasts of Israel. These offerings belonged to the sacrificial system centered on the tabernacle and later the temple, and they expressed worship, consecration, and thanksgiving to the Lord.",
  "background_historical_context": "Libations were common in the ancient world, but Israel’s drink offerings were regulated by divine command and were tied to the covenant sacrificial system rather than to pagan ritual. They formed a normal part of Israel’s liturgical life in the wilderness and in the land.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In ancient Israel, the drink offering was a recognized ceremonial act within temple worship. Wine was poured out before God as part of sacrifice, highlighting the seriousness and costliness of approaching the Lord on His terms. Second Temple Judaism continued to understand such offerings within the framework of sacrificial obedience, although Protestant biblical theology recognizes that these rites belonged to the old covenant system.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Exodus 29:40-41",
    "Numbers 15:1-10",
    "Numbers 28:7-10, 24, 31",
    "Numbers 29:6, 9, 11"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Genesis 35:14",
    "Isaiah 57:6",
    "Philippians 2:17",
    "2 Timothy 4:6"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "The Hebrew term refers to a libation or poured-out offering. In the Septuagint, the idea is rendered with the Greek term for a drink offering or libation, and Paul’s use of the image in the New Testament reflects that sacrificial background.",
  "theological_significance": "The drink offering illustrates worship that is wholehearted, costly, and ordered according to God’s command. In the Old Testament it belonged to the ceremonial system that pointed Israel toward reverent covenant service. In the New Testament, the imagery helps describe a believer’s life of sacrificial devotion, especially Paul’s willingness to spend himself for Christ.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "The image of something being poured out communicates total self-giving. The substance is not merely set aside; it is fully offered. In biblical theology, this fittingly pictures worship that is not partial or merely verbal but yielded entirely to God.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not confuse the drink offering with pagan libations or treat it as a Christian ordinance. It belonged to the Old Testament sacrificial system and should be interpreted within that covenant context. New Testament figurative use does not reinstate the ceremonial practice for the church.",
  "major_views_note": "Bible readers generally agree that the drink offering was a regulated sacrificial libation in the law of Moses. The main interpretive question is its theological relation to New Testament language, where it functions as a metaphor for sacrificial service rather than as a continuing ritual requirement.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "The drink offering was part of the old covenant ceremonial law and is not binding as a rite on the church. Its New Testament use is figurative and should not be read as establishing a sacramental practice. The entry should be understood within the unity of Scripture and the distinction between Israel’s sacrificial system and the church’s worship.",
  "practical_significance": "The drink offering calls believers to worship God with devotion that is poured out rather than held back. It also encourages a servant-minded life that treats sacrifice for Christ as honorable and meaningful.",
  "meta_description": "A drink offering was a sacrificial libation of wine poured out before the Lord in the Old Testament, often accompanying burnt and grain offerings.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/drink-offering/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/drink-offering.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}