Alcohol in the Bible - Attempting to build the true etymology of the word Alcohol here and its association with the Bible, for any who stumble upon this page:
The word "Alcohol" is Arabic; from the root word (Al-Ghawl/Ghul) "Ghawl" or "Ghul" which translates to Ghoul, Hobgoblin, Bogey(man), Ogre (man eating giant), and Alcohol.[1][2][3] The Qur’an—verse 37:47 uses the Arabic form "Al-Ghawl" referring to the intoxication associated with alcohol when in wine. The root word "Ghawla" translates as 'foolish' or 'ignorant'.[4] Referencing a Ghoul, this is known as an evil spirit and further translates 'to seize'. The term Bogey(man) is sometimes used as a personification of the Devil.[5] Along with the root word that refers to a spirit or demon, Europeans later adapted the word (likely in the 16th century) and eventually it also came to be used in science circles as a technical term for the Ethanol it also is.[6]
Given the root of the word and its description/nature as being that of a "Demon who seizes and destroys", many Christians abstain from Alcohol, noting that Jesus drove out demons. Along with citing its destructive power on individuals and society, as it is often listed as the most dangerous drug in the world,[7] they cite, among other verses, 1 Corinthians 10:21, which states, "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons." [8]
- ^ "Ghawl Translation, Google Translate".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)|title=Ghawl translation, Google translate - ^ The firewater trail, Manuel Regueiro y González-Barros, European Geologist, Dec 2016
- ^ Message from the head of the Chemistry Department, Umm Al-Qura University, Dr. Muataz bin Hashim bin Sulaiman Murad, 2020
- ^ "Ghawla translation, Google Translate".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ “Bogeyman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bogeyman. Accessed 20 Sep. 2020.
- ^ The Arab roots of European Medicine, David W. Tschanz, 1997
- ^ "What is the most dangerous drug?". The Economist. June 25, 2019.
- ^ The Wesleyan Methodist Magazine Vol. 36, 1813. Pgs. 93-94