A drinking vessel, usually made of pottery but sometimes, in wealthy households especially, of gold or silver. Cups might take the form of goblets or of shallow bowls large enough for several people to share, as a sign of fellowship. The word is also used figuratively to refer to the portion of blessing or judgment divinely allotted to individuals or nations.
General references to drinking vessels
Jeremiah 35:5 See also Genesis 40:11, Genesis 44:2–5; Proverbs 23:31; Song of Solomon 7:2; Daniel 5:2–3; Matthew 10:42 parallel Mark 9:41
Then I set pitchers full of wine and some cups before the men of the house of the Rechabites, and I said to them, “Drink some wine.”
Golden goblets as a sign of wealth
1 Kings 10:21 parallel 2 Chronicles 9:20 See also Esther 1:7
All King Solomon’s drinking cups were gold, and all the utensils of the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver, because it was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon.
Sharing a cup as a sign of fellowship
but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms and was like a daughter to him.
The shared cup at the Lord's Supper
Matthew 26:27 parallels Mark 14:23, Luke 22:17 See also 1 Corinthians 11:251 Corinthians 10:16 See also 1 Corinthians 10:21
Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
Cups symbolising corrupt lives
Matthew 23:25–26 The Pharisees observed ceremonial washings but neglected the need for inward cleansing. See also Luke 11:39; Revelation 17:4
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.
The cup of God's wrath
The cup drunk by the nations
Jeremiah 25:15–17 See also Psalm 75:8; Jeremiah 51:7; Zechariah 12:2–3; Revelation 14:10JER Revelation 49:12; Lamentations 4:21HAB Lamentations 2:16; Revelation 16:19, Revelation 18:6
This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from My hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. And they will drink and stagger and go out of their minds, because of the sword that I will send among them.” So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the nations drink from it, each one to whom the LORD had sent me,
The cup drunk by God's people
Ezekiel 23:32–34; Isaiah 51:17 Following judgment, God promises to restore his people. See also Isaiah 51:22
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You will drink your sister’s cup, a cup deep and wide. It will bring scorn and derision, for it holds so much. You will be filled with drunkenness and grief, with a cup of devastation and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria. You will drink it and drain it; you will dash it to pieces, and tear your breasts. For I have spoken,’ declares the Lord GOD.
Awake, awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; you who have drained the goblet to the dregs — the cup that makes men stagger.
The cup drunk by Jesus Christ
John 18:11 See also Matthew 20:22–23 parallel Mark 10:38–39Matthew 26:42 The cup of God's wrath may pass from guilty humanity only if Jesus Christ drinks it.Matthew 26:39 parallels Mark 14:36, Luke 22:42
“Put your sword back in its sheath!” Jesus said to Peter. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?”
A second time He went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, may Your will be done.”
The cup of God's blessing
Psalm 16:5 See also Psalm 23:5, Psalm 36:8, Psalm 116:12–13
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.