John 2:10 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

Bible Comments

OLBGrk;

The governor calls the bridegroom, (at whose cost the provision for the feast was to be provided), and minds him, that he seemed to have done contrary to the common practice of such as made feasts; for they used to bring forth their best wine first, when men's palates were quickest, and least adulterated; and worse after that they had drank well; so the word meyusywsi signifies, as appears by the Septuagint's translation of the Hebrew word so signifying, Genesis 43:34 Haggai 1:6; not only men's distempering themselves with wine, which it also sometimes signifieth; and this speaketh our translation of it, 1 Corinthians 11:21, are drunken, something hard, the word not necessarily nor always so signifying; and they must be very uncharitable to the primitive church of Corinth, who can think that it would permit persons actually drunken to come to the Lord's table. But the custom, it seems, was, if they had any wine worse than another, to bring it out to their guests after that the edge of their palates was a little blunted with the taste of better. Now this bridegroom, as the governor of the feast (who knew nothing of the miracle) thought, had kept his briskest and most generous wine to the last; thereby giving a great approbation of the miracle, not only owning it to be true wine, but much better than they had before at the feast.

John 2:10

10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.