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Skins, jars, and flasks in the Bible
31 passages of the Berean Standard Bible, line by line, from Nave’s Topical Bible.
Skins for water, wine, and milk
- Abraham gave Hagar bread and a skin of waterGen 21:14
The verses
Gen 21:14Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.
- When the skin was empty, she found a well and filled itGen 21:15, Gen 21:19
- Jael gave Sisera a drink from a container of milkJudg 4:19
The verses
Judg 4:19Sisera said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again.
- The Gibeonites showed old wineskins, cracked and mendedJosh 9:4, Josh 9:13
- Hannah brought Samuel to Shiloh with a bull, flour, and a skin of wine1 Sam 1:24
The verses
1 Sam 1:24Once she had weaned him, Hannah took the boy with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. Though the boy was still young, she brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh.
- Three men going to Bethel: goats, three loaves, and a skin of wine1 Sam 10:3
The verses
1 Sam 10:3Then you will go on from there until you come to the Oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.
- Jesse sent David to Saul with bread, a skin of wine, and a goat1 Sam 16:20
The verses
1 Sam 16:20And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and one young goat, and sent them to Saul with his son David.
- Abigail brought David two skins of wine and much food1 Sam 25:18
The verses
1 Sam 25:18Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys
- Ziba met David with loaded donkeys and a skin of wine2 Sam 16:1
The verses
2 Sam 16:1When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine.
- Jesus: no one pours new wine into old wineskinsMatt 9:17, Mark 2:22, Luke 5:37–38
The verses
Matt 9:17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Mark 2:22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.”
Luke 5:37–38And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.
- Elihu: my belly is about to burst like a new wineskinJob 32:19
The verses
Job 32:19Behold, my belly is like unvented wine; it is about to burst like a new wineskin.
- A psalmist: like a wineskin dried up by smokePs 119:83
The verses
Ps 119:83Though I am like a wineskin dried up by smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.
- A psalmist: 'Put my tears in Your bottle'Ps 56:8
The verses
Ps 56:8You have taken account of my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle— are they not in Your book?
Jars and flasks
- Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulderGen 24:15
The verses
Gen 24:15Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor.
- Gideon's men carried torches inside jars and broke themJudg 7:16, Judg 7:19–20
The verses
Judg 7:16And he divided the three hundred men into three companies and gave each man a ram’s horn in one hand and a large jar in the other, containing a torch.
Judg 7:19–20Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after the changing of the guard. They blew their horns and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew their horns and shattered their jars. Holding the torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands, they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!”
- Samuel poured a flask of oil on Saul's head1 Sam 10:1
The verses
1 Sam 10:1Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?
- David took the spear and water jug by the sleeping Saul's head1 Sam 26:12
The verses
1 Sam 26:12So David took the spear and water jug by Saul’s head, and they departed. No one saw them or knew about it, nor did anyone wake up; they all remained asleep, because a deep sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.
- The widow of Zarephath had a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil1 Kgs 17:12
The verses
1 Kgs 17:12But she replied, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I have no bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. Look, I am gathering a couple of sticks to take home and prepare a meal for myself and my son, so that we may eat it and die.”
- A widow poured oil until there were no more jars2 Kgs 4:2–6
The verses
2 Kgs 4:2–6“How can I help you?” asked Elisha. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” “Go,” said Elisha, “borrow jars, even empty ones, from all your neighbors. Do not gather just a few. Then go inside, shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour oil into all these jars, setting the full ones aside.” So she left him, and after she had shut the door behind her and her sons, they kept bringing jars to her, and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another.” But he replied, “There are no more jars.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
- Elisha sent a young prophet with a flask of oil to Ramoth-gilead2 Kgs 9:1
The verses
2 Kgs 9:1Now Elisha the prophet summoned one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak under your belt, take this flask of oil, and go to Ramoth-gilead.
- Jeremiah bought a potter's clay jar and shattered it before the eldersJer 19:1, Jer 19:10
- At Cana six stone jars, twenty to thirty gallons each, filled to the brimJohn 2:6–7
The verses
John 2:6–7Now six stone water jars had been set there for the Jewish rites of purification. Each could hold from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim.
- A man carrying a jug of water would lead the disciplesMark 14:13
The verses
Mark 14:13So He sent two of His disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jug of water will meet you. Follow him,
- The Samaritan woman left her water jar and went into townJohn 4:28
The verses
John 4:28Then the woman left her water jar, went back into the town, and said to the people,
- A woman broke an alabaster jar of nard and poured it on Jesus' headMark 14:3
The verses
Mark 14:3While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.
Sources
From Nave’s Topical Bible (Orville J. Nave, 1896; public domain): subjects chosen, lines shortened and put into modern words, lines of interpretation left out; each verse checked.
Berean Standard Bible · Public domain