Food & daily life
Wineskin
An animal-skin container for storing and carrying liquids such as wine.
Also called · skin bottle · leather wine bag
What it means
Fermenting wine releases gas that raises pressure inside its container. An old wineskin may burst if it cannot stretch further.
When asked why his disciples do not fast, Jesus uses the illustration of putting new wine into fresh wineskins.
How it appears in the Bible
In Joshua 9, the Gibeonites use old, torn, patched wineskins to support their false claim of a long journey. In Job 32, Elihu compares himself, full of words, to a wineskin ready to burst.
Translation note
The container is made of skin. Luke 5:39 also describes someone preferring old wine, so each comparison between old and new should be read in its own context.