# Youngest alcohol drinker in Bible



## nwink (Jun 8, 2012)

What is the approx. age of the youngest alcohol drinker in the Bible? Maybe John at the Last Supper? I'm just trying to think of some text that would infer the youngest drinker.

Also, is there any historical indication about when children would be allowed to drink alcohol in Bible times? I know in those cultures, alcohol was not seen with a negative eye as it is with some people in America,...but I'm just curious.


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## Jack K (Jun 8, 2012)

Daniel and friends were offered wine (though they begged to abstain). They may well have been teenagers at the time.

If we accept that the cup at the Last Supper was a cup of wine, that the meal was a seder, and that family members were considered adult participants at age 13, we might presume 13-year-olds were drinking wine. But that takes a mix of biblical texts and extra-biblical sources.


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## Peairtach (Jun 8, 2012)

Jesus was maybe drinking wine aged 12 at his first Passover.



> Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.(Luke 2:41-43)


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## OPC'n (Jun 8, 2012)

I know in some countries they start out drinking as young children bc to them it's just a common beverage. They don't drink to get drunk they drink it at a meal. They grow up with it not being a big deal or a "we can't drink do so let's go sneak mom and dad's wine" I haven't done the statistics on their true drinking problem compared to ours but my gut says it's lower. So it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't start young in the Bible too. Now the real question is: how available was it to them? Did only the rich have wine all the time? Was drinking water clean enough to drink and more available so they drank more water instead? ......


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## jambo (Jun 9, 2012)

I would not have thought there would have been any minimum age limit in biblical times. Presumably responsible parents knew what to allow their children to have. In terms of biblical evidence for the youngest, the bible remains silent.


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## jogri17 (Jun 9, 2012)

Just to understand, does the nature of this question imply that the asker believe the sufficiency of Scripture means that the age this should be the basis for making drinking laws?


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## Somerset (Jun 9, 2012)

Over here children drank small beer till well into the 19th centuary The small amount of alcohol made the water somewhat less dangerous. In Biblical times the water would have usually been less polluted, but alcohol would have helped preserve water taste, and safety, on long journeys across the desert. I presume the Bible is silent on the issue as it is not something we need to know.


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## arapahoepark (Jun 9, 2012)

OPC'n said:


> I know in some countries they start out drinking as young children bc to them it's just a common beverage. They don't drink to get drunk they drink it at a meal. They grow up with it not being a big deal or a "we can't drink do so let's go sneak mom and dad's wine" I haven't done the statistics on their true drinking problem compared to ours but my gut says it's lower.



Not to start an argument or anything, but I think this is why in the US it's such a problem. It's a forbidden fruit, if you will, and is seen as inherently bad, until of course, you're 21 then it seems to be inherently good.
The US has one of the highest drinking ages and most strict laws regarding alcohol. (However, then there's the Native Americans who don't have a tolerance for it, so I am basically just talking in circles now).

Anyway, I agree with what's being said here it was likely young to drinking wine in comparison to today. In some places today the drinking age is 5...not sure if that is harmful or anything at THAT young of an age however, it's not surprising in cultures and I wouldn't be surprised if it was similar in the Bible, assuming it was readily available.


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