Cup

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

CUP ( ποτήριον, in general significance corresponding to the Heb. כּוֹם and so used in the LXX Septuagint; Vulgate equivalent is calix ).

1. Literal .—A few references to the cup as a vessel in common use occur in the Gospels:  Mark 7:3-4,  Matthew 10:42 (=  Mark 9:41)  Matthew 23:25-26 (=  Luke 11:39). The first of these passages is plainly an explanatory parenthesis furnished by the Evangelist for the information of readers unacquainted with Jewish customs. ποτήρια, he says, are amongst the things subject to ‘washings’ (βαπτισμοί)—which washings I were not such as simple cleanliness required, but were prescribed by the decrees ‘intended to separate the Jew from all contact with the Gentiles.’ The Talmudic tractate Kelim names seven kinds of things requiring such ceremonial purification, and amongst them are earthenware vessels and vessels of bone, metal, and wood. Resting on such Levitical prescriptions as are to be found in Leviticus 11 and Numbers 31, the purification of vessels was carried to the furthest extreme of stringent requirement by ‘the tradition of the elders.’ Vessels that had in any way come into contact with the common people ( ’am hâ’ârez ) were on that account to be cleansed. (Maimonides, Yad. Mishkab and Moshab , 11. 11, 12, 18).

The words of Jesus in  Matthew 23:25-26 are simply an instance of the use of a homely figure to express hypocrisy.

2. Figurative .—Our Lord uses the familiar Heb. figure of a ‘cup’ to denote the experience of sorrow and anguish in two instances: (1) in His challenge to James and John, checking their ambition ( Mark 10:36;  Mark 10:39 =  Matthew 20:22-23, ‘Are ye able to drink the cup which I drink?’); and (2) in connexion with His Passion, both in His cry of agony ( Mark 14:36 || in Mt. and Lk. ‘this cup’), and in His calm rebuke of Peter’s hasty attempt to defend Him against His captors ( John 18:11 ‘The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?’). In each case there is the same reference to His singular experience of bitter sorrow which was no mere ‘bitterness of death.’

It is noticeable that in the Gospels the use of this figure occurs only in connexion with trouble and suffering. In the OT the use is much wider. Experiences of joy, blessing, and comfort are thus expressed ( e.g.  Psalms 16:5;  Psalms 23:5;  Psalms 116:13,  Jeremiah 16:7), as well as those of trembling, desolation, and the wrath of God ( Isaiah 51:17 ff.,  Jeremiah 25:15 ff.,  Ezekiel 23:32 ff.,  Zechariah 12:2). Rabbinic writers exhibit the figurative use of ‘cup’ for trouble and anguish (Gesen. Thes. s.v. כום). The kindred expression, ‘taste the taste of death,’ is also to be met with (Buxtorf, . s.v. טעם). The conception of death as a hitter cup for men to drink underlies it. (Note the Magnum gives ποτὴριον … σημαίνει καὶ τὸν θανατον). Instances of this phraseology in the Gospels are (in the words of Jesus)  Mark 9:1 (=  Matthew 16:28) and (in the words of the Jews)  John 8:52. Cf. also  Hebrews 2:9.

3. In the institution of the Lord’s Supper .—There are strong inducements to see in the cup in the Last Supper one of the cups which had a place in the later ceremonial of the Paschal feast. But was the supper the usual Passover? This is a much-debated question; but on the whole the weightier considerations seem to support the view presented in the Fourth Gospel, the account in which may be intended, as some suggest, to correct the impression given by the Synoptics. That is to say, the supper was not the Passover proper, and it took place on the day previous to that on which the Passover was eaten. It might still be held that it was an anticipatory Passover. St. Paul, it is true, speaks of the Eucharistic cup as ‘the cup of blessing’ ( 1 Corinthians 10:16), and one is inclined to make a direct connexion with the third cup at the Paschal celebration, which was known as the Cup of Benediction (כּוֹסהַבְּרָבָה), and is often referred to in the Talmudic tractates (.g. , 51). If St. Luke’s account of the Last Supper were to be received without question, it would be tempting to trace three out of the four Paschal cups, viz. the one mentioned in  Luke 22:17, the one common to the Synoptics—the cup of blessing, and the fourth, or Hallel cup, suggested by ὑμνήσαντες ( Mark 14:26 =  Matthew 26:30), taking the hymn referred to as none other than the second part of the Hallel (Psalms 115-118), with which the Passover was usually closed.  Luke 22:19 b,  Luke 22:20, however, is not above suspicion: and on other grounds we cannot definitely connect the cup of the institution with the ceremonial of the Paschal feast.

But the cup was an important feature in other Jewish festivals and solemn seasons besides the Passover. And even though the institution took place at the close of an ordinary meal, the bread and the cup were accompanied with the due Jewish graces ( Matthew 26:26 f.,  Mark 14:22 f.,  Luke 22:17;  Luke 22:19), and in the after-view the cup thus used, and with such significance, might well stand out as par excellence the Cup of Blessing.

The words of Jesus regarding the cup are given with some noticeable variation. Mk. gives τοῦτο ἐστιν το αἷμά μον τῆς διαθήκης τὸ ἐκχυννόμενον ὑπὲρ τολλῶν ( Mark 14:24); and Mt. reproduces this with but slight changes, possibly of a liturgical character ( Matthew 26:28). The wording in  Luke 22:17 makes no reference to the ‘blood,’ whilst  Luke 22:20 (referred to above) appears to be but an interpolation, clumsily (ἐν τῷ αἵματι … το … ἐκχυννομενον) combining the form in St. Paul with that in St. Mark. The solemn expression, ‘my blood of the covenant,’ or ‘my covenantblood,’ can be explained only by reference to  Exodus 24:6-8. St. Paul’s phrase, ἡ καινὴ διαθήκη … ἐν τῶ ἐμῶ αἴματι ( 1 Corinthians 11:25), introduces an important difference of meaning as compared with the Markan formula. To lay stress on the idea of a ‘ new covenant’ is all in keeping with the Pauline standpoint. One other point as regards the words of the institution alone remains to be mentioned. As with the bread eo with the cup, St. Paul alone represents our Lord as saying τοῦτο τοιεῖτε εἰς την ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν ( 1 Corinthians 11:24-25). Is it possible, then, that no permanent sacramental rite was contemplated by Jesus in doing what He did at the Last Supper? Is the conception of a memorial celebration due rather to St. Paul as a prime factor in the development of Christianity? Obviously this is not the place to deal with this important question, and the attitude of historical criticism respecting it. We have assumed that what took place at the Last Supper was an ‘institution.’ See artt. Covenant, Lord’s Supper.

4 . In the Eucharist .—(1) From the first the common usage in administration no doubt gave the cup after the bread, in accordance with the order observed in Mark, Matthew, and Paul. St. Luke in his shorter (and better supported) account ( Luke 22:17-19) exhibits a noticeable divergence in placing the cup first in order. This may be due, as Wright suggests ( Synopsis of the Gospels , p. 140), to some ‘local Eucharistic use.’ The Didache (ch. 9) also puts the cup first; but the fact as to the general established usage remains unaffected.

(2) As to the cup used in the communion there would at first be no difference between it and such vessels as were in ordinary use, and the materials of which the Eucharistic vessels were made were by no means of one kind. Zephyrinus of Rome, a contemporary of Tertullian, speaks of ‘patens of glass,’ and Jerome ( circa (about) 398 a.d.) speaks of ‘a wicker basket’ and ‘a glass’ as in use for communion purposes. Cups of wood and of horn also appear to have been used in some cases. We find certain provincial councils in the 8th and 9th cents, prohibiting the use of such, and also of leaden vessels. Cups were sometimes made of pewter; and bronze, again, was commonly used by the Irish monks, St. Gall preferring vessels of this material to those of silver. At the same time the natural tendency to differentiate in regard to vessels devoted to such a special service must have begun soon to manifest itself. Where it was possible, at an early period the cup was made of rich materials, such as gold and silver. Similarly as regards form and ornamentation. Tertullian ( de Pudicitia , 10) speaks of the cup as being adorned with the figure of the Good Shepherd. In the course of time we get chalices of great price and wonderful workmanship, corresponding to the rare and costly Passover and other festal cups which Jews similarly cherish as art treasures.

It is needless to mention particularly the several kinds of chalices which came to be distinguished as the Eucharistic rites were made more elaborate. Our own times, again, it may just be noticed, have given us the ‘individual communion cup,’ which, on hygienic grounds, finds favour in some quarters. Though in some respects a modern institution, perhaps it may claim a precedent in the most primitive usage. The use of separate cups might be inferred from  1 Corinthians 11:17-34. Nor is the hygienic objection to the common chalice wholly new. The difficulty was felt in mediaeval times when the plague was so rife. In the 14th cent, special ‘pest-chalices’ were in use for sick cases.

(3) The custom of mixing water with the wine in the chalice, to which Justin Martyr makes a well-known reference ( Apol. i. 67), accords with Jewish precedent. Speaking of the Jewish use, Lightfoot ( Hor. Heb . on  Matthew 26:27) says, ‘Hence in the rubric of the feasts, when mention is made of the wine they always use the word mizgu , they mix for him the cup.’ Maimonides ( Hamez umaz. 7, 8) assumes the use of water. If the cup our Lord gave to His disciples were one of the ceremonial Paschal cups, we may take it that it contained a mixture of water and wine. And if it were not, nothing is more likely than that the Apostles, in observing the rite, would follow the Jewish custom of mixture. A passage in the Talmud (Bab. [Note: Babylonian.] Berakhoth , 50, 2) suggests that water was thus added to the wine for the sake of wholesomeness and in the interests of sobriety.

In the course of time various fanciful suggestions came to be made as to a symbolic purpose in connexion with the mixed chalice in the Eucharist, ignoring its simple origin in an earlier Jewish custom. Thus it was variously held that in this way the union of Christ and the faithful was signified; that the water from the rock was represented; that the water and the blood from the pierced side of the Crucified were commemorated. At last it was affirmed that the water was added to the cup ‘solely for significance’: and so the addition of a very small quantity of water (a small spoonful) came to be considered sufficient. ‘One drop is as significant as a thousand’ (Bona, Rer. Liturg . ii. ix. note 3—‘Cum vero aqua mysterii causa apponatur vel minima gutta sufficiens est’).

(4) Was wine from the first invariably used and regarded as obligatory in the Eucharist? Harnack (‘Brod u. Wasser,’ T U [Note: U Texte und Untersuehungen.] vii. [1892]) holds that it was not so up to the 3rd cent., and traces the use of bread and water (but see, in reply, Zahn, ‘Brod u. Wein,’ ib .; Jülicher’s essay in Theol. Abhandlungen  ; and Grafe, ZTh K [Note: ThK Zeitschrift f. Theologie u. Kirche.] v. 2). It would be difficult to maintain that the genius of the sacrament vitally depended on the use of wine; but in its favour we have the great preponderance of custom and sentiment. In modern times there are those who, for one reason and another, feel a difficulty regarding communion wine, and are disposed to use substitutes of some kind. Such might be disposed to welcome a sort of precedent in the use permitted by Jewish regulations in certain cases as regards their festival cups. In northern countries, e.g. , where wine was not accessible as a daily beverage for the mass of the Jews, syrup, juice of fruits, beer or mead, etc., are named as instances of allowable substitutes. Such substitutes are curiously included under the common appellation ‘the wine of the country.’ (See Shulhan’Arukh, Orah Hag . 182. 1, 2).

(5) The withholding of the cup from the laity in the Communion, which came into vogue in the Western Church, and is still a Roman Catholic usage, may be briefly referred to. It is admitted by Romish authorities that communion in both kinds was the primitive custom for all communicants. Cardinal Bona, e.g. , says: ‘It is certain, indeed, that in ancient times all without distinction, clergy and laity, men and women, received the sacred mysteries in both kinds’ ( Rer. Liturg . ii. xviii. 1). The practice of withholding the cup does not come into view before the 12th century. The danger of effusion was offered as a reason for it. Short of this, as an expedient against effusion, we find slender tubes ( fistulae ) or quills brought into use, the communicants drawing the wine from the chalice by suction. Another intermediate stage towards communion in one kind was the practice of intinction, i.e. administering to the people the bread dipped in the wine. This practice, however, was condemned in the West, but it remains as the custom of the Eastern Church still, the sacred elements in this form being administered to the laity with a spoon (λαβἰς). Ultimately the rule of communion in one kind was ordained in the West by a decree of the Council of Constance in 1415; and the reason assigned for the decree was that it was ‘to avoid certain perils, inconveniences, and scandals.’ This momentous change, however, was not brought about without much demur and opposition. The decree of Constance itself did not immediately and universally take effect; for after this time there were even in Rome cases where the cup was administered. The great Hussite movement in Bohemia, contemporaneous with the Council of Constance itself, offered determined opposition to the withdrawal of the cup; and the kindred Utraquist Communion in that country continued for two centuries their protest as Catholics who claimed the celebration of the Lord’s Supper in both kinds, after the primitive usage. The badge of the Utraquists, a large chalice together with a sword—significant conjunction!—bespoke the sternness of the conflict.

What really lay at the root of this prohibition of the cup was the tremendous dogma of transubstantiation, with all its implicates, together with a hardening of the distinction between the clergy and the people. The growth of this Eucharistic custom proceeded pari passu with the development of the dogma. Naturally, therefore, the restoration of the cup to the people was a necessary part of the Reformation claim. It is also worthy of remembrance that even in the Tridentine Council there were not wanting Romanist advocates of this as well as other reforms; but ‘no compromise’ counsels prevailed, and the rule in its fullest rigidity was reaffirmed.

How strange to look back over the welter of controversy and the many saddening developments connected with but this one point of Eucharistic observance, away to that simple evening—meal which took place ‘in the same night that he was betrayed’!

J. S. Clemens.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

CUP . 1. In OT the rendering of various words, the precise distinction between which, either as to form or use, is unknown to us. The usual word is kôs , the ordinary drinking-vessel of rich (  Genesis 40:11;   Genesis 40:13;   Genesis 40:21 ) and poor (  2 Samuel 12:3 ) alike, the material of which varied, no doubt, with the rank and wealth of the owner. Joseph’s divining cup ( gâbhîa’ ,   Genesis 44:2 ff.) was of silver, and, we may infer, of elaborate workmanship, since the same word is used for the bowls (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ) or cups (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ), i.e. the flower-shaped ornamentation, on the candlestick of the Tabernacle. That the gâbhîa’ was larger than the kôs is clear from   Jeremiah 35:5 . The kÄ•sâvôth of   1 Chronicles 28:17 were more probably flagons , as RV [Note: Revised Version.] in   Exodus 25:29;   Exodus 37:16 (but   Numbers 4:7 RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘cups’). The ’aggân (  Isaiah 22:24 ) was rather a basin , as   Exodus 24:6 , than a cup (EV [Note: English Version.] ).

In NT potçrion is the corresponding name of the ordinary drinking-cup (water   Matthew 10:42 etc., wine   Matthew 23:25 etc.). The ‘cup of blessing’ (  1 Corinthians 10:16 ) is so named from the kôs habberâkhah of the Jewish Passover (wh. see, also Eucharist).

2. The word ‘cup’ has received an extended figurative application in both OT and NT. ( a ) As in various other literatures, ‘cup’ stands, esp. in Psalms, for the happy fortune or experience of one’s earthly lot, mankind being thought of as receiving this lot from the hand of God, as the guest receives the wine-cup from the hand of his host (  Psalms 16:5;   Psalms 23:5;   Psalms 73:10 etc.). But also, conversely, for the bitter lot of the wicked,   Psalms 11:6 (cf ( c ) below), and in particular for the sufferings of Jesus Christ,   Matthew 20:22-23 ,   Mark 10:38-39;   Mark 14:36 ,   Luke 22:42 ,   John 18:11 . ( b ) Another figure is the ‘cup of salvation’ (lit. ‘of deliverances’),   Psalms 116:13 . The reference is to the wine of the thank-offerings, part of the ritual of which was the festal meal before J″ [Note: Jahweh.] (cf. vv.   Psalms 116:14 a,   Psalms 116:17 ff.). ( c ) By a still bolder figure the punitive wrath of the offended Deity is spoken of as a cup which the guilty, Israelites and heathen alike, must drain to the dregs. So   Jeremiah 25:15 ff. (the wine-cup [of] fury),   Ezekiel 23:32-34 ,   Isaiah 51:17 ff. (‘the cup of trembling,’ RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘staggering’),   Zechariah 12:2 (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘cup of reeling’),   Psalms 75:8 ,   Revelation 14:10;   Revelation 16:19;   Revelation 18:6 , for all which see the commentaries. ( d ) Lastly, we have ‘the cup of consolation’ offered to the mourners after the funeral-rites,   Jeremiah 16:7 (cf.   Proverbs 31:6 ).

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 40:11, for drinking;  Genesis 44:5, for divination, practiced by dropping gold, silver, or jewels into the water, and examining their appearance; or looking into the water as a mirror. The sacred cup symbolized the Nile (which was "the cup of Egypt," Pliny H. N., 8:71) into which a golden and silver goblet was yearly thrown. Joseph's cup was of silver; the Egyptians ordinarily drank from vessels of brass. Joseph's preserving his disguise by language adapted to his supposed character before his brethren, "Wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine?" is inconsistent with his disclaiming all knowledge except what God revealed ( Genesis 41:16), but was the act of a good but erring man.

Scripture does not sanction it. One alone there was in whose mouth was found no guile ( 1 Peter 2:22). Solomon and the Assyrians probably derived their art mainly from Phoenicia. Assyrian cups from Khorsabad resemble the heads of animals, some terminating in the head of a lion. In  Matthew 26:7 an "alabaster vase" for ointment is meant, broad at the base, tapering to the neck, with little projections at the sides; such as are in the British Museum. Glass was a material for cups, and a glass bead bearing a Pharaoh's name of the 18th dynasty has been found, i.e. 3,200 years ago. Alabastron, a town in Upper Egypt, had quarries of alabaster near, from whence the name is derived. Figuratively, one's portion ( Psalms 11:6;  Psalms 16:5;  Psalms 23:5). Babylon was called a golden cup ( Jeremiah 51:7), because of her sensuality, luxury, and idolatries which she gave draughts of to the subject nations; so mystical Babylon, the apostate church ( Revelation 17:4).

So "the cup of devils" is opposed to "the cup of the Lord" ( 1 Corinthians 10:21). To partake of a wine feast where a libation was first poured to an idol made one to have fellowship with the idol, just as believing participation of the Lord's supper gives fellowship with the Lord. This is called "the cup of blessing which WE bless," the celebrants being the whole church, whose leader and representative the minister is; answering to the passover "cup of blessing," over which "blessing" was offered to God. It was at this part of the feast Jesus instituted His supper ( 1 Corinthians 10:15;  Luke 22:17;  Luke 22:20; compare  1 Chronicles 16:2-3). Figurative also is the cup of affliction ( Psalms 75:8;  Isaiah 51:17;  Isaiah 51:22). Christ's sufferings ( Matthew 20:22). The cup of salvation ( Psalms 116:13).

Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology

Throughout Scripture, as in the ancient Near East, the cup functions as a metaphor for an individual's fate. In  Psalm 16 , the psalmist credits the Lord with assigning his "portion and cup" in life.  Psalm 23 equates an abundant life with an overflowing cup, a potent image in a semiarid world. The culmination of the positive image of the cup is in   Psalm 116 . Here the psalmist raises the cup of salvation as a thank offering to God, in effect offering the sum of his life to his lord.

The metaphor of the cup, like life itself, can also be negative. In numerous prophetic works, the cup retains its role as a representative of fate, but on a national level. The cup can function as a cup of wrath, a vessel pouring out God's judgment on the nations. The nations drinking from the "cup of his wrath" are often depicted as lost in drunkenness.  Isaiah 51:17 personifies Jerusalem as a woman who drained the cup of wrath to its dregs. God takes pity on his city and intervenes. "See, I have taken out of your hand the cup that made you stagger the goblet of my wrath" (v. 22). This cup is then given to the tormentors, indicating that they will suffer in their turn.

In a vision of destruction recorded by Jeremiah (25:15), God will force all the nations to drink from his cup and stagger to destruction. None are able to refuse it; all humanity will be judged and the wicked put to the sword. Ezekiel returns to the image of the cup of Jerusalem in a brutally explicit passage depicting Samaria and Jerusalem, representing the people of God, as two sisters who are prostitutes (chap. 23). The prophet calls the cup that Jerusalem drinks from the "cup of ruin and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria" (v. 33). For Ezekiel, the cup stands for the destruction of the two kingdoms.

Zechariah uses the image of the cup of wrath to depict the fate of the enemies of Jerusalem. He adds a twist to the metaphor by making Jerusalem itself the cup (12:2). The author of revelation returns to the dark image of the cup of wrath, threatening all who follow the beast with the wine of God's judgment (14:10).

For the church, the cup has come to represent the central events of Christianity, the death and resurrection of Christ. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ returns to the fundamental meaning of the cup as a representative of fate. In his prayer, the cup symbolizes the pain, degradation, and death that will be required of him. He prays that the cup might pass undrunk, but it is Jesus' fate to drain it to its dregs. Christ becomes all the nations of the world, taking on their fate, and drains the cup of wrath. By drinking of the cup God placed before him, Christ transforms the cup of wrath into the cup of life. This transformation is foreshadowed at the last supper, where the cup of the new covenant, like the cup of wrath, is for all to partake of.

Thomas W. Davis

Bibliography . A. A. Anderson, Psalms  ; W. S. LaSor, D. A. Hubbard, and F. W. Bush, Old Testament Survey  ; C. S. Mann, Mark .

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 44:5 Exodus 25:31-35

In the Bible the word “cup” frequently is used in a figurative sense. The contents of the cup are accentuated, since symbolically God serves the drink. Thus the cup might represent blessings or prosperity for a righteous person ( Psalm 16:5;  Psalm 23:5;  Psalm 116:13 ). Likewise, it portrayed the totality of divine judgment on the wicked ( Psalm 11:6;  Psalm 75:8;  Isaiah 51:17 ,Isaiah 51:17, 51:22;  Jeremiah 25:15;  Jeremiah 49:12;  Jeremiah 51:7;  Ezekiel 23:31-34;  Revelation 14:10;  Revelation 16:19;  Revelation 17:4;  Revelation 18:6 ). Jesus voluntarily drank the cup of suffering ( Matthew 20:22;  Matthew 26:39 ,Matthew 26:39, 26:42;  Mark 10:38;  Mark 14:36;  Luke 22:42;  John 18:11 ). For Jesus that cup was His death and everything that it involved.

The cup had a prominent place in the liturgy of the Jewish Passover meal, and so, subsequently, in the Lord's Supper. In the Christian ordinance the cup is a symbolic reminder of the atoning death of Jesus ( Matthew 26:27-28;  Mark 14:23-24;  Luke 22:20;  1 Corinthians 11:25-26 ). See Divination; Lampstand; Lord'S Supper; Passover; Pottery.

LeBron Matthews

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

This word is taken in a twofold sense; proper, and figurative. In a proper sense, it signifies a vessel, such as people drink out of at meals,  Genesis 40:13 . It was anciently the custom, at great entertainments, for the governor of the feast to appoint to each of his guests the kind and proportion of wine which they were to drink, and what he had thus appointed them it was deemed a breach of good manners either to refuse or not to drink up; hence a man's cup, both in sacred and profane authors, came to signify the portion, whether of good or evil, which happens to him in this world. Thus, to drink "the cup of trembling," or of "the fury of the Lord," is to be afflicted with sore and terrible judgments,  Isaiah 51:17;  Jeremiah 25:15-29;  Psalms 75:8 . What Christ means by the expression, we cannot be at a loss to understand, since in two remarkable passages,  Luke 22:42 , and  John 18:11 , he has been his own interpreter. Lethale poculum bibere, "to drink the deadly cup," or cup of death, was a common phrase among the Jews; and from them, we have reason to believe, our Lord borrowed it.

CUP OF Blessing  1 Corinthians 10:16 , is that which was blessed in entertainments of ceremony, or solemn services; or, rather, a cup over which God was blessed for having furnished its contents; that is, for giving to men the fruit of the vine. Our Saviour, in the Last Supper, blessed the cup, and gave it to each of his Apostles to drink,  Luke 22:20 .

CUP OF Salvation  Psalms 116:13 , a phrase of nearly the same import as the former, a cup of thanksgiving, of blessing the Lord for his saving mercies. We see, in 2Ma_6:27 , that the Jews of Egypt, in their festivals for deliverance, offered cups of salvation. The Jews have at this day cups of thanksgiving, which are blessed, in their marriage ceremonies, and in entertainments made at the circumcision of their children. Some commentators think that "the cup of salvation" was a libation of wine poured on the victim sacrificed on thanksgiving occasions, according to the law of Moses,  Exodus 29:40 .

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Ποτήριον (Strong'S #4221 — Noun Neuter — poterion — pot-ay'-ree-on )

a diminutive of poter, denotes, primarily, a "drinking vessel;" hence, "a cup" (a) literal, as, e.g., in  Matthew 10:42 . The "cup" of blessing,  1—Corinthians 10:16 , is so named from the third (the fourth according to Edersheim) "cup" in the Jewish Passover feast, over which thanks and praise were given to God. This connection is not to be rejected on the ground that the church at Corinth was unfamiliar with Jewish customs. That the contrary was the case, see  1—Corinthians 5:7; (b) figurative, of one's lot or experience, joyous or sorrowful (frequent in the Psalms; cp.  Psalm 116:18 , "cup of salvation"); in the NT it is used most frequently of the sufferings of Christ,  Matthew 20:22,23;  26:39;  Mark 10:38,39;  14:36;  Luke 22:42;  John 18:11; also of the evil deeds of Babylon,  Revelation 17:4;  18:6; of Divine punishments to be inflicted,  Revelation 14:10;  16:19 . Cp.  Psalm 11:6;  75:8;  Isaiah 51:17;  Jeremiah 25:15;  Ezekiel 23:32-34;  Zechariah 12:2 .

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 40:11,21 1 Kings 10 21 Revelation 17:4

The art of divining by means of a cup was practiced in Egypt ( Genesis 44:2-17 ), and in the East generally.

The "cup of salvation" ( Psalm 116:13 ) is the cup of thanksgiving for the great salvation. The "cup of consolation" ( Jeremiah 16:7 ) refers to the custom of friends sending viands and wine to console relatives in mourning ( Proverbs 31:6 ). In  1 Corinthians 10:16 , the "cup of blessing" is contrasted with the "cup of devils" ( 1 Corinthians 10:21 ). The sacramental cup is the "cup of blessing," because of blessing pronounced over it ( Matthew 26:27;  Luke 22:17 ). The "portion of the cup" ( Psalm 11:6;  16:5 ) denotes one's condition of life, prosperous or adverse. A "cup" is also a type of sensual allurement ( Jeremiah 51:7;  Proverbs 23:31;  Revelation 17:4 ). We read also of the "cup of astonishment," the "cup of trembling," and the "cup of God's wrath" ( Psalm 75:8;  Isaiah 51:17;  Jeremiah 25:15;  Lamentations 4:21;  Ezekiel 23:32;  Revelation 16:19; Compare  Matthew 26:39,42;  John 18:11 ). The cup is also the symbol of death ( Matthew 16:28;  Mark 9:1;  Hebrews 2:9 ).

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

This word is taken in Scripture both in a proper and in a figurative sense. In a proper sense, it signifies a common cup, of horn, or some precious metal,  Genesis 40:13   44:2   1 Kings 7:26 , such as is used for drinking out of at meals; or a cup of ceremony, used at solemn and religious meals-as at the Passover, when the father of the family pronounced certain blessings over the cup, and having tasted it, passed it round to the company and his whole family, who partook of it,  1 Corinthians 10:16 . In a figurative sense, a cup is spoken of as filled with the portion given to one by divine providence,  Psalm 11:6   16:5; with the blessings of life and of grace,  Psalm 23:5; with a thank-offering to God,  Exodus 29:40   Psalm 116:13; with liquor used at idolatrous feasts,  1 Corinthians 10:21; with love-potions,  Revelation 17:4; with sore afflictions,  Psalm 65:8   Isaiah 51:17; and with the bitter draught of death, which was often caused by a cup of hemlock or some other poison,  Psalm 75:8 . See  Matthew 16:28   Luke 22:42   John 18:11 . See Cruse .

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

I need not make any observation, by way of explaining what is so very plain and well understood in common life, as that of a cup. Neither, indeed should I have thought it necessary to have detained the reader over the word, had that been all that I proposed from it. But as the word cup is sometimes, and indeed, not unfrequently in Scripture, used figuratively, I thought it proper to attend to what is implied in the term. Sometimes the cup is placed for sorrow, and sometimes for joy, and the lot or portion of a man is called his cup. Hence, the Psalmist speaking of the blessings of grace in the Lord Jesus, calls them, the cup of salvation. ( Psalms 116:13) And Paul, when describing the blessedness of union with Christ, and communion in consequence thereof with God, calls the ordinance which resembles it, a cup. "The cup which we bless (saith he,) is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?" ( 1 Corinthians 10:16) Sometimes it is made use of to intimate a participation in suffering. "Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem! which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out." ( Isaiah 51:17) And as this, no doubt, under the language of prophecy, referred to Christ, so in open language the Lord Jesus himself, speaking of his soul-exercises, calls it a cup. ( Matthew 26:39-42;  John 18:11)

King James Dictionary

CUP, n. L., a little cup.

1. A small vessel of capacity, used commonly to drink out of. It is usually made of metal as a silver cup a tin cup. But the name is also given to vessels of like shape used for other purposes. It is usually more deep than wide but tea-cups and coffee-cups are often exceptions. 2. The contents of a cup the liquor contained in a cup, or that it may contain as a cup of beer. See  1 Corinthians 11 . 3. In a scriptural sense, sufferings and afflictions that which is to be received or endured.

O my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.  Matthew 26 .

4. Good received blessings and favors.

My cup runneth over.  Psalms 23 .

Take the cup of salvation, that is, receive the blessings of deliverance and redemption with joy and thanksgiving.

5. Any thing hollow like a cup as the cup of an acorn. The bell of a flower, and a calyx is called a flower-cup. 6. A glass cup or vessel used for drawing blood in scarification.

Cup and can, familiar companions the can being the large vessel out of which the cup is filled, and thus the two being constantly associated.

Cups, in the plural, social entertainment in drinking merry bout.

Thence from cups to broils.

CUP,

1. In surgery, to apply a cupping-glass to procure a discharge of blood from a scarified part of the body. 2. To supply with cups.

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Psalm 16:5 (b) This figure describes the blessings which satisfied David's heart and soul.

 Psalm 23:5 (b) By this figure David described the fullness of joy and peace which was his portion because of the Lord's goodness to him.

 Isaiah 51:17 (b) This type is used to describe the action of our Lord in pouring out His wrath and indignation upon the peoples of Jerusalem who were forced to submit to His punishment. (See  Habakkuk 2:16).

 Matthew 26:42 (b) This probably represents GOD's wrath, judgment and punishment handed to the Lord Jesus for Him to drink when He was nailed to Calvary for us. Probably the cup was the agony endured by Christ when He was made sin for us. (See2Co  5:21).

 1 Corinthians 10:16 (b) This indicates that the Lord expects His own people to drink and to make a part of themselves the forgiveness, redemption and cleansing that comes through the precious Blood of CHRIST. It also represents the cumulative blessings that come through fellowship and association with GOD's people as they meet together.

Webster's Dictionary

(1): A cock or cup containing grease, to serve as a lubricator.

(2): (n.) A cupping glass or other vessel or instrument used to produce the vacuum in cupping.

(3): (v. t.) To make concave or in the form of a cup; as, to cup the end of a screw.

(4): (v. t.) To apply a cupping apparatus to; to subject to the operation of cupping. See Cupping.

(5): (n.) A small vessel, used commonly to drink from; as, a tin cup, a silver cup, a wine cup; especially, in modern times, the pottery or porcelain vessel, commonly with a handle, used with a saucer in drinking tea, coffee, and the like.

(6): (n.) The contents of such a vessel; a cupful.

(7): (n.) Repeated potations; social or excessive indulgence in intoxicating drinks; revelry.

(8): (n.) That which is to be received or indured; that which is allotted to one; a portion.

(9): (n.) Anything shaped like a cup; as, the cup of an acorn, or of a flower.

(10): (v. t.) To supply with cups of wine.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

Various Hebrew words are so translated, having regard to the different uses to which the cup was put. It is frequently used for that which the cup contains, causing either joy or sorrow, as "I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord."  Psalm 116:13 . "In the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red . . . . the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out and drink them."  Psalm 75:8 : cf.  Revelation 14:10;  Revelation 16:19 , etc. And so in many other instances; and especially in that of the cup of which the Lord Jesus drank when bearing sin.  Matthew 26:27,39,42;  John 18:11 . In the Lord's Supper the 'cup' is put for the wine which was an emblem of the blood of Christ.  1 Corinthians 10:16,21;  1 Corinthians 11:25-28 .

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Cup. The cups of the Jews, whether of metal or earthenware, were possibly borrowed, in point of shape and design, from Egypt and from the Phoenicians, who were celebrated in that branch of workmanship. Egyptian cups were of various shapes, either with handles or without them.

In Solomon's time, all his drinking vessels were of gold, none of silver.  1 Kings 10:21. Babylon is compared to a golden cup.  Jeremiah 51:7. The great laver, or "sea," was made with a rim like the rim of a cup, ( cos ), with flowers of lilies,"  1 Kings 7:26, a form which the Persepolitan cups resemble. The cups of the New Testament were often, no doubt, formed on Greek and Roman models. They were sometimes of gold.  Revelation 17:4.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

(Most frequently, כּוס , kōṣ  ; four other words in one passage each; ποτήριον , potḗrion ): A vessel for drinking from, of a variety of material (gold, silver, earthenware), patterns ( Esther 1:7 ) and elaboration.

Figurative: By ordinary figure of speech, put sometimes for the contents of the cup, namely, for that which is drunk (  Matthew 26:39 ). In both Old Testament and New Testament applied figuratively to that which is portioned out, and of which one is to partake; most frequently used of what is sorrowful, as God's judgments, His wrath, afflictions, etc. ( Psalm 11:6;  Psalm 75:8;  Isaiah 51:17;  Revelation 14:10 ). In a similar sense, used by Christ concerning the sufferings endured by Him ( Matthew 26:39 ), and the calamities attending the confession of His name ( Matthew 20:23 ). In the Old Testament applied also to the blessedness and joy of the children of God, and the full provision made for their wants ( Psalm 16:5;  Psalm 23:5;  Psalm 116:13; compare  Jeremiah 16:7;  Proverbs 31:6 ). All these passages refer not only to the experience of an allotted joy and sorrow, but to the fact that all others share in this experience. Within a community of those having the same interests or lot, each received his apportioned measure, just as at a feast, each cup is filled for the individual to drain at the same time that his fellow-guests are occupied in the same way.

The Holy Supper is called "the cup of the Lord" ( 1 Corinthians 10:21 ), since it is the Lord who makes the feast, and tenders the cup, just as "the cup of demons" with which it is contrasted, refers to what they offer and communicate. In  1 Corinthians 11:25 , the cup is called "the new covenant in my blood," i.e. it is a pledge and seal and means of imparting the blessings of the new covenant ( Hebrews 10:16 f) - a covenant established by the shedding of the blood of Christ. The use of the word "cup" for the sacrament shows how prominent was the part which the cup had in the Lord's Supper in apostolic times. Not only were all commanded to drink of the wine (  Matthew 26:27 ), but the very irregularities in the Corinthian church point to its universal use ( 1 Corinthians 11:27 ). Nor does the Roman church attempt to justify its withholding the cup from the laity (the communion in one form) upon conformity with apostolic practice, or upon direct Scriptural authority. This variation from the original institution is an outgrowth of the doctrines of transubstantiation and sacramental concomitance, of the attempt to transform the sacrament of the Eucharist into the sacrifice of the Mass, and of the wide separation between clergy and laity resulting from raising the ministry to the rank of a sacerdotal order. The practice was condemned by Popes Leo I (died 461) and Gelasius (died 496); but gained a firm hold in the 12th century, and was enacted into a church regulation by the Council of Constance in 1415. See also Blessing , Cup Of .

As to the use of cups for divination ( Genesis 44:5 ), the reference is to superstitious practice derived from the Gentiles. For various modes of divining what is unknown by the pouring of water into bowls, and making observations accordingly, see Geikie, Hours with the Bible , I, 492 f, and article Divination .

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

Bibliography Information McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Cup'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/c/cup.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.