G1098 — γλεῦκος (gleukos)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G1098
Original: γλεῦκος
Transliteration: gleukos
Pronunciation: glyoo'-kos
Part of Speech: Neuter noun
Root: Akin to γλυκύς (glykys, G1099) — "sweet"
Occurrences: 1 in NT (1 book, 1 verse)
First Occurrence: Acts 2:13 — "Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine."
Hapax Legomenon: YES — appears only once in the entire Bible

Lexicon Definition¶

From Strong's: "akin to γλυκύς (sweet); sweet wine, i.e. (properly) must (fresh juice), but used of the more saccharine (and therefore highly inebriating) fermented wine."

The term denotes grape juice at the sweet end of the fermentation spectrum — either freshly pressed "must" or wine retaining high residual sugar. In classical and Hellenistic Greek usage it is distinguished from ordinary οἶνος (oinos) by its sweetness rather than by absence of alcohol.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - 6.199 — Plant Products (beverages)

Other words in 6.199: ἔλαιον (G1637), οἶνος (G3631), ὄξος (G3690), σίκερα (G4608)

UBS Semantic Domains: - [006] Artifacts

Domain Neighbors¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total vv	Primary KJV Translation
G1637	ἔλαιον (elaion)	10	oil
G3631	οἶνος (oinos)	25	wine
G3690	ὄξος (oxos)	7	vinegar
G4608	σίκερα (sikera)	1	strong drink

Key differences: - oinos (G3631) — the generic NT word for wine (fermented by default in biblical usage) - oxos (G3690) — soured/vinegared wine, the cheap ration drunk by laborers and soldiers - sikera (G4608) — transliteration of Hebrew shekar, intoxicating beverage brewed from grain/fruit other than the vine - gleukos (G1098) — specifically the sweet, young, minimally-aged wine; emphasizes taste/stage rather than category

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
new wine	1	100%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Acts	1	0.1

A true hapax — the word appears nowhere else in the New Testament. Luke, writing a historically careful account, chose this specific rare term to report the exact mocking charge made at Pentecost, rather than substituting the generic oinos.

Semantic Categories¶

Because gleukos appears only once in Scripture, semantic range is reconstructed from the single biblical occurrence, the word's Louw-Nida neighborhood, and its cognate γλυκύς.

1. Sweet / Fresh-Pressed Wine (Must)¶

Acts 2:13 — "Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine (gleukos)."

The single biblical usage. The mockers attribute the apostles' ecstatic speech to intoxication from gleukos. The force of the accusation requires that gleukos in first-century Jerusalem usage be understood as capable of producing drunkenness — otherwise the mockery is nonsensical and Peter's counter-defense in Acts 2:15 ("these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day") would not need to address drunkenness at all. Peter refutes the timing of the charge, not its premise.

2. Extra-Biblical Usage — Sweet Fermented Wine¶

In Greek agricultural and medical writers (Aristotle, Nicander, Dioscorides, Plutarch), gleukos consistently denotes wine retaining natural grape sweetness — either recently fermented (weeks to months old) or preserved sweet by methods such as cold storage, boiling down, or sealing in a submerged jar. It is not unfermented juice in ordinary Greek usage; it is young or sweet wine, still capable of intoxication (Aristotle, Meteorologica 388a; Plutarch, Quaestiones Convivales 3.7.1).

3. Pentecost Festal Context¶

Pentecost (Shavuot) fell in late spring / early summer (May–June), well before the autumn grape harvest (Tishri, Sept–Oct). Truly fresh "must" of that year's vintage was not available in Jerusalem at Pentecost. What was available under the name gleukos was therefore either the previous year's wine still retaining its sweetness, or sweet wine specially preserved — in both cases fermented.

Common Collocations¶

No in-Bible collocations available (single occurrence). Contextual collocates within Acts 2:13–15:

Surrounding Term	Strong's	Role in Context
μεστόω (mestoo, "filled")	G3325	predicate — "full of gleukos"
διαχλευάζω (diachleuazo, "mocking")	G1315	speech-act framing the charge
μεθύω (methuo, "be drunk")	G3184	Peter's counter-term in 2:15 — equates gleukos-filling with drunkenness

The critical collocation is gleukos + methuo in the flow of 2:13 → 2:15: the mockers' accusation presupposes that being "full of gleukos" and being "drunken" are the same condition. Peter does not correct the equation; he denies the timing.

Word Family / Cognates¶

γλυκύς (glykys, G1099) — "sweet" (adjective); used 4× in NT of fresh water (Jas 3:11–12) and of the scroll sweet in the mouth (Rev 10:9–10). Shares the sweetness root.
γλυκύτης (glykytes) — sweetness (classical, not in NT).

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G1098.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G1098.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation Domain	Key Difference
οἶνος (oinos)	G3631	"wine" — generic	Oinos is the default NT word for wine (fermented); gleukos narrows to the sweet/young subtype
σίκερα (sikera)	G4608	"strong drink"	Non-grape intoxicant (grain, date, honey); paired with oinos in Luke 1:15 for John the Baptist's abstinence
ὄξος (oxos)	G3690	"vinegar" / sour wine	Oxos is wine gone acidic (opposite end of the fermentation-age spectrum from gleukos)
νέος οἶνος (neos oinos)	G3501 + G3631	"new wine" — synoptic parables	Jesus' "new wine" in Matt 9:17 / Mark 2:22 / Luke 5:37–38 is neos oinos, not gleukos; neos oinos is still fermenting actively (generates CO₂ pressure, bursts old skins), whereas gleukos emphasizes sweetness rather than active fermentation

Hebrew Source¶

No direct LXX source: gleukos does not occur in the LXX of the canonical Hebrew Bible. Related Hebrew terms in the same semantic neighborhood:

Hebrew	Strong's	LXX Default	Relation to gleukos
יַיִן (yayin)	H3196	οἶνος (oinos)	Generic wine
תִּירוֹשׁ (tirosh)	H8492	οἶνος usually; occasionally γλεῦκος-adjacent senses	"New wine" of the vintage — conceptually closest Hebrew parallel to gleukos
עָסִיס (asis)	H6071	γλεῦκος in Job 32:19 LXX (one manuscript tradition)	"Sweet wine" / juice of fresh fruit
שֵׁכָר (shekar)	H7941	σίκερα	Strong drink (non-grape)

The LXX of Job 32:19 ("my belly is as wine which hath no vent") uses gleukos-language for Hebrew asis, and the image there is of fermenting pressure needing release — again confirming fermentation, not mere juice.