"(Stop drinking just water, but use a little wine for your digestion and your frequent illnesses.)"
Introduction
This single verse—1 Timothy 5:23—records a personal, practical exhortation: "Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine for your stomach's sake and your frequent infirmities." It sits inside a pastoral letter addressed to Timothy and stands out for its plain, earthly concern for physical health amid instructions about church order and care for leaders.
Historical-Cultural Context and Authorship
Traditionally this letter is attributed to the Apostle Paul, and the church has long received it as pastoral instruction from Paul to his younger coworker. Modern scholarship, while divided, often treats the Pastoral Epistles (1–2 Timothy, Titus) as products of the Pauline tradition; some scholars argue for genuine Pauline authorship, others suggest a later follower wrote in Paul’s name to address emergent church structures (late first to early second century). Whether Pauline or pseudonymous, the letter reflects early Christian pastoral concerns about leadership, doctrine, and practical life in house churches—most likely in the context of Ephesus, where Timothy is pictured as leading the church.
The brief medical advice in v. 23 is consistent with Greco-Roman medical practice. Classical physicians—Hippocrates and, later, Galen—routinely prescribed wine as a medicinal agent for digestion, as a solvent for medicines, and to fortify the body. Romans commonly diluted wine with water at meals, since untreated water could be unsafe; wine’s antimicrobial properties and its routine presence in diet made it a common remedy. Textually, Greek manuscripts reflect slight variations: some include the sense "no longer drink only water" (μὴκέτι ὑδροπίνε) while others are less emphatic; the phrase for "a little wine" (ὀλίγον οἶνον, oligon oinon) underlines moderation.
Characters and Places
Timothy is the character named by association with this verse. He was a close companion of Paul, first introduced in Acts from Lystra and described as of mixed Jewish and Gentile background. In the Pastorals he is a young pastor entrusted with leading a church community—traditionally identified with Ephesus—so the advice is personal and vocational: it is pastoral counsel from an older mentor to a younger leader.
Explanation and Meaning of the Text
At the linguistic level the Greek highlights several points: μὴκέτι (mēketi) means "no longer" or "no more"; ὑδροπίνε (hydropíne) is drinking water; ὀλίγον οἶνον (oligon oinon) means "a little wine;" στόμαχόν (stomakhon) is stomach; and ἀσθενείας (astheneias) means "weaknesses" or "infirmities." The verse thus reads as straightforward, practical direction: cease the exclusive use of water and take some wine for digestive reasons and recurrent ailments.
Several interpretive lines converge here. First, the verse is most naturally read as sober medical advice: wine as a mild medicine or tonic for Timothy’s stomach and recurring health problems. Second, it may be aimed against a contemporary ascetic tendency that promoted rigid abstinence from wine and perhaps other common practices; the instruction shows that Christian discipleship does not require unnecessary bodily austerity. Third, it signals pastoral concern for the health of church leaders: theological authority and physical well-being are not disconnected—the community’s care for its shepherds matters.
This is not a sacramental instruction about the Eucharist; elsewhere the New Testament treats wine symbolically, but here the motive is plainly bodily care. The command to use "a little" preserves a principle of moderation. The verse thus balances two biblical themes: the goodness of God’s creation as a means of care (wine used rightly) and the call to avoid excess and legalism.
Devotional
God’s care reaches into the ordinary details of our lives—what we eat, how we tend our bodies, and how we care for one another. When a seasoned mentor tells a young pastor to take care of his stomach, we hear a gentle picture of pastoral love: faithfulness includes looking after the physical means God gives to sustain ministry. Trusting God does not mean neglecting sensible remedies; rather, stewardship of the body is part of faithful discipleship.
If you are tempted toward either harsh asceticism or careless indulgence, let this verse call you to balance. Pray for wisdom about health, listen to trustworthy medical counsel, and practice moderation. Care for leaders and for one another in practical ways; sometimes the small, ordinary acts of attention—sharing a word of caution, offering a remedy, bringing food—are ways Christ’s mercy is made visible.