Wild Grapes

WILD GRAPES, the fruit of a wild Plin. l. 23. c. 1.bastard-Vine, in Latin called Labrusca, and in Greek, Ampelos agna. Virgil,

Virgil. Eclog. 5.——Aspice ut antrum Sylvestris raris sparsit labrusca racemis. The fruit of the wild Vine is called Oenanthes, or the Flower of Wine. These Grapes never ripen, and are good for nothing but to make verjuice. In Isaiah¹, God complains of his people, whom he had planted as a choice vine, and an excellent plant. He says, that he expected it should bear good fruit, but it had brought forth only wild Grapes; in the Hebrew, fruit of a bad smell and a bad taste; like the Grapes of Sodom mentioned by Moses, Deut. xxxii. 32. For their wine is the wine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their Grapes are Grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter.

The Scripture in some places speaks of the Grapes of Sorek, so called either because Judg. xvi. 4.they grew in the Valley of Sorek, or because they had no stones, say the Jews. I believe it was a white or yellow Grape. See the Hebrew, Isa. xix. 9. and Zech. i. 8.

Read this article in its place on the printed pages