Bible Dictionaries
Wine-Press

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Consisted of two vats or receptacles, (1) a trough (Heb. gath, Gr. lenos) into which the grapes were thrown and where they were trodden upon and bruised (Isaiah 16:10; Lamentations 1:15; Joel 3:13 ); and (2) a trough or vat (Heb. yekebh, Gr. hypolenion) into which the juice ran from the trough above, the gath (Nehemiah 13:15; Job 24:11; Isaiah 63:2,3; Haggai 2:16; Joel 2:24 ). Wine-presses are found in almost every part of Palestine. They are "the only sure relics we have of the old days of Israel before the Captivity. Between Hebron and Beersheba they are found on all the hill slopes; they abound in southern Judea; they are no less common in the many valleys of Carmel; and they are numerous in Galilee." The "treading of the wine-press" is emblematic of divine judgment (Isaiah 63:2; Lamentations 1:15; Revelation 14:19,20 ).