G4608 — σίκερα (síkera)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G4608
Original: σίκερα
Transliteration: síkera
Pronunciation: sik'-er-ah
Part of Speech: Neuter noun (indeclinable in NT)
Root: Of Hebrew origin — direct transliteration of שֵׁכָר (shêkâr, H7941), itself from שָׁכַר (shakar, H7937) "to be intoxicated"
Occurrences: 1 in NT (1 book, 1 verse); ~13 in LXX
First Occurrence (NT): Luke 1:15 — "For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink"
Hapax Legomenon: YES in NT — appears only once in the entire New Testament

Lexicon Definition¶

From Strong's: "of Hebrew origin [H7941]; an intoxicant, i.e. intensely fermented liquor." A loan-word taken directly into Greek from Hebrew shekar without translation — the LXX's standard technical rendering of shekar, inherited by the NT at Luke 1:15.

BDAG: "a strong alcoholic drink, 'strong drink' — a generic term for intoxicating beverages other than wine." Thayer: "strong drink; an intoxicating beverage, different from wine; made from various fruits, or of grain, honey, dates, etc." The Greek transliteration preserves the Hebrew semantic category rather than forcing the word into the oinos (grape-wine) lexicon.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 6 — Artifacts
Subdomain: 6.199 — Plant Products (beverages)
Other words in subdomain:
ἔλαιον (elaion, G1637) — oil
οἶνος (oinos, G3631) — wine (general term)
ὄξος (oxos, G3690) — sour wine / vinegar
γλεῦκος (gleukos, G1098) — sweet / new wine

Sikera is classed with the beverage artifacts rather than with the drunkenness-state terms (μέθη methē G3178, μεθύω methyō G3184, which belong to domain 88.37 — Moral and Ethical Qualities → Drunkenness). Sikera names the substance, not the state.

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
006	Artifacts	`search_relationships.py` places sikera in the artifacts domain, treating it as a concrete beverage commodity rather than a drunkenness-state term.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
strong drink	1	100%

Monolithic rendering. The KJV translators reproduce the same phrasing they use for Hebrew shekar throughout the OT, recognizing the loan-word identity.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Luke	1	0.1

A single NT occurrence, placed deliberately by Luke in the angelic announcement of John the Baptist. Luke is the only NT writer who uses the term; its absence elsewhere (including Paul, Peter, and the Gospels of Matthew/Mark/John) reflects the fact that no other NT author is describing a Nazirite-style vow.

Semantic Categories¶

Because sikera occurs only once in the NT, semantic range is reconstructed from (1) the single NT usage, (2) the 13 LXX occurrences where sikera translates Hebrew shekar, and (3) the Louw-Nida beverage neighborhood.

1. Abstention Vow / Nazirite-Pattern Separation (NT usage)¶

Luke 1:15 — "he shall drink neither wine (οἶνον, oinos) nor strong drink (σίκερα, sikera); and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb."

Luke places the oinos + sikera pair in Gabriel's mouth, reproducing the exact Hebrew formula yayin + shekar used in Num 6:3 (Nazirite law) and Jdg 13:4, 7, 14 (Samson's pre-birth instruction) and 1 Sam 1:15 (Hannah's denial). The pairing deliberately frames John as a Samson-/Samuel-type figure consecrated from the womb.

2. LXX — Cultic Prohibition to Priests¶

Lev 10:9 LXX — "Wine and strong drink (σίκερα) ye shall not drink" — the post-Nadab/Abihu restriction on officiating priests.

3. LXX — Nazirite Vow¶

Num 6:3 LXX — "he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink (σίκερα)."
Jdg 13:4, 7, 14 LXX — angelic instruction to Samson's mother.

4. LXX — Permitted Festal Use¶

Deut 14:26 LXX — tithe-feast before the LORD, where sikera may be purchased and consumed in worship.

5. LXX — Prophetic Rebuke of Intoxication¶

Isa 28:7 LXX — "priest and prophet have erred through sikera... they stumble in judgment."
Mic 2:11 LXX — the false-prophet caricature: prophesying "of wine and strong drink."

Common Collocations¶

Sole NT verse collocates (Luke 1:15):

Surrounding Term	Strong's	Role in Context
οἶνος (oinos, wine)	G3631	paired with sikera — reproduces yayin-shekar Hebrew formula
πίνω (pinō, drink)	G4095	"shall drink neither... nor..." — prohibition verb
οὐ μή (absolute negation)	G3756 / G3361	double negation reinforces lifelong abstention
πίμπλημι (pimplēmi, be filled)	G4130	contrast: not filled with drink, but filled with Holy Spirit
πνεῦμα ἅγιον (pneuma hagion)	G4151 / G40	antithesis of alcoholic "filling"

LXX collocation profile (from shekar/sikera verses): sikera co-occurs with oinos (G3631) ~17×, with pinō (G4095) ~11×, and with methē (G3178) 3×. The pairing with oinos is formulaic — the two words function together to cover the full inebriant spectrum.

Word Family / Cognates¶

H7941 שֵׁכָר (shekar) — the direct Hebrew source (OT, 23×)
H7937 שָׁכַר (shakar) — the Hebrew root verb: "to become drunk"
H7910 שִׁכּוֹר (shikkor) — Hebrew adjective: "drunken, a drunkard"

Sikera itself has no Greek-internal etymology — it entered Greek only as a Semitic loan — so it has no Greek cognate family.

Synonyms¶

search_relationships.py surfaces broad beverage/food-field neighbors here rather than strict lexical equivalents:

G1051 γάλα (gala)
G4621 σιτίον (sition)
G2907 κρέας (kreas)
G5131 τράγος (tragos)
G4718 σταφυλή (staphylē)
G2915 κριθή (krithē)
G2053 ἔριον (erion)
G2330 θέρος (theros)
G1637 ἔλαιον (elaion)
G740 ἄρτος (artos)
G1035 βρῶσις (brōsis)
G224 ἄλευρον (aleuron)

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G4608.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation Domain	Key Difference
οἶνος (oinos)	G3631	"wine" — paired with sikera in Luke 1:15	Grape wine specifically; sikera = non-grape intoxicant (grain, date, honey, pomegranate)
γλεῦκος (gleukos)	G1098	sweet/young wine, Acts 2:13	Grape-origin and sweet; sikera is non-grape and not characterized by sweetness
ὄξος (oxos)	G3690	"vinegar" / soured wine	Oxos = grape-wine gone acidic; sikera = robustly fermented, not soured
μέθη (methē)	G3178	LN domain 88.37 "Drunkenness"	Methē names the state of intoxication; sikera names the substance
μεθύω (methyō)	G3184	"be drunk" (Peter, Acts 2:15)	State, not substance; Peter's refutation of gleukos charge

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew	Strong's	Co-occ in LXX	PMI	Notes
שֵׁכָר (shekar)	H7941	13	10.30	Direct source — sikera is a transliteration, not a translation
יַיִן (yayin)	H3196	12	7.41	Appears in the same verses because yayin and shekar are a formulaic pair
שָׁתָה (shathah, drink)	H8354	8	6.19	Co-occurring verb in the prohibition and festival formulas

Primary bridge: Sikera is not a Greek word in origin — it is a direct calque of Hebrew shekar. Whenever the LXX encounters shekar it either (a) transliterates as sikera (dedicated category preservation), (b) collapses the yayin+shekar pair into oinos (summary rendering), or (c) renders the state rather than the substance with methē. The NT's single use at Luke 1:15 preserves the dedicated transliteration, signaling that Luke wants the Hebrew Nazirite category intact — not a generic "wine" statement.

Key Observations¶

Luke's single use is deliberately Septuagintal. The exact phrase "οἶνον καὶ σίκερα οὐ μὴ πίῃ" in Luke 1:15 matches LXX formula from Num 6:3 and Jdg 13:4 almost verbatim. Luke is invoking the Nazirite legal category by vocabulary.
Sikera is never used of a non-intoxicant. Across all ~13 LXX occurrences and the one NT occurrence, sikera always refers to a drink capable of producing drunkenness — there is no biblical instance of sikera meaning "grape juice" or any unfermented beverage.
Sikera is paired, not alternative, to oinos. The Luke 1:15 structure ("neither oinos nor sikera") covers the two complementary categories — grape wine and non-grape intoxicant — so that nothing alcoholic is excluded from John's abstention.
The word carries a technical/legal register. Its Hebrew-transliterated form marks it as specialized cultic-legal vocabulary rather than everyday Greek speech; Luke uses it once, exactly where the legal register is required.