Arba’ah Kosot
אַרְבַּע כּוֹסוֹת
Four Cups of Wine
at their
Pesach (Passover) Seder.
סדר פסח
Arba’ah (Arba) Kosot —
Hebrew for ‘four cups.’
In this case, it refers to the four cups of wine drunk at the Passover/Pesach Seder.
Passover is the name of the celebration of the release of the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage.
It is celebrated with a feast called Seder, the evening meal that teaches of God’s miraculous deliverance described in Exodus.
Jesus/Yeshua and His 12 Disciples and every author of the New Testament celebrated Passover/Pesach.
In the year 196 A.D. the celebration of Passover was replaced with the worship of Ishtar, the Babylonian fertility goddess. The name Ishtar was written in Greek as Istar, due to the fact that there is no ‘sh’, sound in the Greek language. Because the Greek and Latin letters for I, are pronounced EE, Istar became Easter, when spelled with English letters. The celebration of Ishtar brought with it eggs and rabbits– symbols of fertility and reproduction. This was done by the then church leaders, to separate ‘christianity’ from the Hebrew/Jewish roots of our faith and belief in Messiah, to make it easier for heathens to become Christians by letting them retain some of the pagan customs.
Seder is the name of the Passover/Pesach meal.
This meal may be called a feast but it really is a modest meal.
In modern times frequently featuring lamb/roast chicken and although ample, never the over eating many associate with celebration dinners.
The Seder meal, which included ‘the communion’ even prior to Jesus/Yeshua’s death, was observed in every home and in extended families since the Exodus.
The four cups of wine, known in Hebrew as, arba kosot, are drunk by each participant at the Passover Seder meal.
(סדר פסח – Pesach Seder)
Seder means, order, and is a reminder of the Passover meal eaten by the Hebrew people before they were delivered from bondage as Egyptian slaves.
The Passover was the reference to the final plague of the angel of death who had to PASS OVER the homes of the Israelites that had applied the Blood of the sacrificial lamb on their doorposts.
The word SEDER is the same root from which we derive the word ‘siddur’, (prayer book).
The text of the Passover Seder is written in a book called the Haggadah, which means, telling – הַגָּדָה.
A retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt and the first Passover.
This begins with the youngest person in the gathering, asking The Four Questions, a set of questions about the proceedings designed to encourage participation in the Seder.
The Four Questions are also known as
Mah Nishtanah נשתנה מה
(Pronounced MAHN-isht-ahn-ah.)
This Hebrew saying originated in a religious context: it’s the beginning of first of the four questions asked during Passover, which asks “How is this night different from all other nights?”
The questions are included in the haggadah as part of the maggid which is designed to satisfy the needs of four different types of people:
the wise son, who wants to know the technical details;
the wicked son, who excludes himself (and learns the penalty for doing so);
the simple son, who needs to know the basics;
and the son who is unable to ask, the one who doesn’t even know enough to know what he needs to know.
At the end of the maggid, a blessing is recited over the second cup of wine and it is drunk.
Maggid: מגיד (a term used to describe two distinct concepts); The Story.
The Passover became communion when Jesus/Yeshua, instituted it at His last Pesach Seder, His ‘last supper.’ Making it the remembrance of Him being THE Pesach Lamb (of God) and fulfilling perfectly the meaning of the Passover sacrifice. So communion came out of the SEDER and is still part of every Sabbath meal for an orthodox Jewish home as well as service in the synagogue. In ‘taking communion,’ we are reaffirming our covenant with God, each saying ‘everything I have is yours.’
The Seder that the disciples were to prepare for was to begin after sundown on Nissan 14 which was the Thursday night, ie at sundown at the start of the 6th day of the week, and eaten that same night. Ex. 12:6.
Remember the Hebrew day follows God’s original order in Genesis 1:5..
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Each day begins at sundown.
John’s text referred to the Seder in 18:28 and 19:14; this was not just any supper it was the Passover Seder Pesach meal פֶּסַח (Pesah, Pesakh pronounced pay-sak).
Every year it served as a reminder to the Israelites that they ate Passover with the blood of the lamb on the door posts then eaten in Egypt at the deliverance of the chosen people from their bondage as slaves and also as a rehearsal of their future coming Messiah.
This is what Jesus/Yeshua was literally about to do, in fulfilling the prophecies concerning Messiah, Son of Joseph, (משיח בן־יוסף, Mashiach ben Yoseph), being, the suffering servant.
He was about to break the bondage of the god of this world and set the people free by the sacrificial shedding of His own Blood.
It may or may not be clear to all that read, that the meal was and is very significant. Within the ‘order’ of how it was eaten, was hidden the secrets of our freedom.
https://www.minimannamoments.com/midweek-mannabite-secrets-of-the-seder-plate/
CUP 1
To start the Seder, a cup of wine was raised and a blessing recited to sanctify the table. This was so it can serve as an altar for the evening’s service, (of remembrance.)
This is the first cup and is called the Kiddush.
A silver Kiddush cup.
The Kiddush – from Kadesh, קדש, means the sanctification and is recorded in Luke 22:17.
The first cup is mixed with water and wine. After the mixing occurred, (in a family setting,) the father begins with the formal blessing over the cup. The blessing over the meal is referred to in Luke 22:19 when Jesus/Yeshua raised the bread.
Each blessing He said started with ‘Blessed are you Lord our God King of the universe.”
The blessing over the bread continued with “who brings forth bread from the earth.” Bread in this context means everything we need.
After the blessing, the food is then brought out, which includes unleavened bread, bitter herbs, a bowl of sauce, and the roasted lamb.
This is known as the body in traditional Jewish sources the actual meal had not yet started. Before eating the exodus story is told.
These four cups are named using an excerpt from Exodus 6:
Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
Exodus 6:6-7
The main theme of Cup 1 is
I will bring you out
from under the burdens of the Egyptians. This is the promise to remove the children of Israel from their bondage of heavy labor.
Luke 22:17 refers to the cup Jesus/Yeshua drank and He said the blessing in Hebrew /Aramaic as He gave thanks.
A second cup of wine is also drunk during the meal.
Already there is a difference to our traditional communion service, for we only ever have one cup or drink one sip from a communal chalice.
CUP 2
The Cup of Proclamation – the Haggadah cup – also called the cup of Deliverance or Judgment, (from the plagues.)
The second cup would be mixed, but not drunk. The father would “proclaim” what the Lord did for Israel in Egypt. It is at this point the son asks the question – why is this night different from other nights? The son’s question is connected to the drinking of the second cup.
The father would then answer by quoting a specific section from the Scriptures Deuteronomy 26:5-11.
5 “And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A wandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. 7 Then we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors and the Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, toil and oppression. 8 So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. 9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; 10 and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. 11 Then you and the Levites and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.
26:5. A Syrian was my father…That is, Jacob; for though born in Canaan, he was a Syrian by descent, his mother Rebecca, and his grandfather Abraham, being both of Chaldea or Mesopotamia, which in Scripture is comprehended under the name of Syria.
This exchange between the father and the son displays how the Passover meal looks back to the exodus and redemption the Israelites received by God in Egypt.
The father then explains the parts of the meal – unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and the lamb. Explaining the significance of the meal was essentially the center of this part of the meal.
https://www.minimannamoments.com/midweek-mannabite-secrets-of-the-seder-plate/
To express their thanksgiving to God, the family would then sing the Hallel, ‘praise’; Psalms 113 and 114.
The Hallel is where our word ‘hallelujah’ comes from.
The main theme of Cup 2 is .. and I will rescue/deliver you from their bondage; as it tells of the exit from Egypt and from the slavery.
Some translations say ‘I shall save’, but deliverance is the primary meaning of the Hebrew.
For believers, this is an interesting parallel that should be in the walk of each disciple. As each receives the promise to be taken out of bondage and receives salvation by faith, the next step should be deliverance from all bondage.
Very few churches come through with deliverance and it has resulted with many churches full of ‘walking wounded’. In Jesus/Yeshua’s ministry it was recorded that at least one third of His time was spent in ministering deliverance, it goes hand in hand with healing and wholeness. This cup is a much needed one and little employed or ‘drunk’ today.
This cup is drunk during the meal and represents our walk with Him while proclaiming the freedom He bought for us. The blessing over the meal is what Jesus/Yeshua would have said in Luke. 22:19. Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the universe Who is bringing forth bread from the earth.
However this is not the end because there is a third cup which is taken after the meal and this is the one that Jesus/Yeshua lifted up as recorded in Luke 22:20.
CUP 3
The Cup of Blessing (for the food, i.e. the Passover sacrifice)
Called the Berakah cup – Cup of Redemption
The third cup would be mixed and this is where the supper officially begins. The family would finally eat the lamb and the unleavened bread. As customs change over time, it’s hard to be certain exactly how this actually was staged, however there was a blessing over the bread, and a serving of a small morsel of bread, and at the end the main course was eaten. Once the meal was completed, the father recited another blessing over the third cup and it was consumed.
The main theme of CUP 3 is I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Yeshua is the prophetic arm of the Lord the זרוע – Z’roah – strong arm – a roasted shank bone.
https://www.minimannamoments.com/midweek-mannabite-secrets-of-the-seder-plate/
Redemption came to Israel when they passed through the ‘Reed sea’.
The only redeemer in Hebrew is the kinsman redeemer (more on Ruth & Boaz link below) the one who pays the price to redeem his kin.
https://www.minimannamoments.com/50-days-later-an-earthly-and-spiritual-harvest-pentecost-shavuot/
The children of Israel and their descendants are His kin, His family and we are grafted into spiritual Israel.
This is the cup Jesus/Yeshua drank in verse 20 when He said that this was the renewed covenant in His Blood – this is the Cup of Redemption and He made it very personal and real as He was literally about to fulfill the prophetic type.
Each time we are ‘taking communion,’ we are renewing our covenant with the King of the universe.
The third cup of wine is poured, and grace after meals is recited. This is similar to the grace that would be said on any Sabbath. At the end, a blessing is said over the third cup and it is drunk.
The fourth cup is poured, including a cup set aside for the prophet Elijah, who is supposed to herald the Messiah, and is supposed to come on Passover to do this. The door is opened for a while at this point (supposedly for Elijah.)
The Seder closes with the fourth cup which is called the cup of Elijah, coming to announce the arrival of Messiah. This cup is not drunk.
A mini Seder is held every Sabbath in Jewish homes.
CUP 4
The Cup of Praise (the hallel cup) –
The remainder of the Hallel Psalms (115-118) would be sung. Psalms 115-118 are known as the Great Hallel. These psalms may not mean much to us today, however it is important to learn their significance, they were well known to Jesus/Yeshua and His Apostles/Disciples for the simple reason they would sing them every year for the Pesach/Passover.
The Hallel Psalms were like a script for the one offering the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Psalm 116). After Psalm 118 was sung, the meal was finished.
It is very pertinent to note that Jesus/Yeshua would have seen His own imminent fate prophetically declared in the Psalms. When He said, He had desired to eat this Passover with them He was saying in effect “My whole life I have eaten the annual Pesach Seder waiting for this specific year and now My life will fulfill the prophetic events in real time.”
The main theme of Cup 4 is: and I will take you to myself for a people and I will bring to you and you will know that I AM the lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
This represents the crossing of the Jordan into the promised land. (Here where God said He would go before them His angel… was it the pre-incarnate Messiah who went before them? In the same Way as He does for us today, as we cross our Jordan and enter into the Promised Land, where He leads and guides us until we complete our walk through this life.)
Spiritually, the fourth cup represents crossing into eternal life. As it is called the cup of Elijah which is poured but not drunk. It can only be drunk after Elijah comes heralding the return of Messiah and the beginning of the Messianic reign. (Some rabbis have taught that there are 5 cups by inserting one after the 3rd cup but before the cup of Elijah.) Traditionally the cup of Elijah announces the Messianic reign but we have not yet had the Messianic reign bringing peace-shalom, to all mankind. So we cannot yet drink the cup of Elijah.
Other pertinent facts about the 4 or is it 5 cups?
The four cups symbolize the Israelites freedom from the four exiles: The Egyptian, Babylonian, and Greek exiles, and the current exile which they hope to be rid of very soon with the coming of Moshiach. The words “cup of wine” are mentioned four times in Pharaoh’s butler ‘s dream (Genesis 40:11 -13).
Other Possible Reasons: There are 4 Cups of Wine at Passover. One view suggests that each cup of wine represents one of the matriarchs: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah. Therefore the Cup of Elijah is the fifth cup that appears at the seder?
Other examples of the special symbolic significance of the number four in the Haggadah are the Four Questions (“Mah Nishtannah”.) Four Sons, and the four types of food at the seder meal: unleavened bread (matzah), lamb, bitter herbs, and ḥaroset.
The four cups of wine should be drunk in a reclined position, as in Roman times reclining was a sign of freedom. They did not sit up to a table on chairs as many artists have portrayed the setting.
In examining the Passover Seder, here’s some questions to ponder as we dig a little deeper– Did Yeshua/Jesus, finish the meal and how many cups did they drink?
Some possible answers…Firstly, Yeshua /Jesus vowed not to drink of ‘fruit of the vine’ until the coming of the kingdom of God, so was He speaking of the fourth cup?
(Luke 22:18). This announced the fourth cup, the cup of praise for the coming of God’s Kingdom and His return as Messiah the King (בן־דוד משיח, Mashiach ben David).
Second, after the third cup, Yeshua /Jesus and Apostles/Disciples ‘sing a hymn” (Hallel, Psalms sung glorifying God and blessing Israel. Included in these songs are The Hallel Psalms (113-118) which were usually sung both at the end of the meal (Mat. 26:30, Mark 14:26) and during the offering of the Pesach sacrifice) and then they ‘went out,’ however nothing else was drank…. In both Matthew and Marks Gospels they speak of where Yeshua/Jesus makes reference to the fourth cup, but refuses to drink it. Did they leave before the meal was finished?
In Matthew 26:36-46 we are told Yeshua/Jesus and His Apostles/Disciples make their way to the Garden of Gethsemane. Here we read that Yeshua/Jesus prays three times for the cup that He must drink.
He said: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Luke 22:42
Consider this scripture Luke’s narrative of Jesus/Yeshua’s celebration of Pesach right before His death, it becomes apparent that he understood this tradition:
And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Luke 22:7,14-20
Jesus/Yeshua begins the celebration with the cup of blessing (Luke 22:17). The next cup in this text is the third cup, the cup of redemption or blessing after the meal.
So where is the second cup, the cup of plagues? And where is the fourth cup, the cup of praise?
With His first cup, Jesus/Yeshua started the meal (Luke 22:17).
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 1 Cor. 10:16
Jesus/Yeshua spoke of the second cup, the cup of judgment, shortly after the celebration with His disciples. This is the cup He drank on the cross.
The Scriptures mention three “cups” that Jesus faced in connection with His death on the cross. He confronted the cup of God’s wrath in stark reality in the Garden of Gethsemane.
As He looked closely at its contents, He prayed: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Luke 22:42
When Jesus arose from His final period of prayer in this garden, He was committed to drinking this cup completely. This is the judgment that we deserved, the plague He took by dying for us:
The second cup that Jesus confronted was the cup of sedation, a cup that would have a numbing effect upon Him, depriving Him of clarity of mind.
Jewish tradition says that kindhearted women in Jerusalem customarily provided wine mixed with myrrh or another deadening property for condemned prisoners to drink just before they were executed.
Matthew records that as Jesus went to the cross, “They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink” (Matthew 27:34). Mark described the drink as wine mingled with myrrh (Mark 15:23). The drink offered to Jesus was a cheap Roman vinegar wine, which had a drug mixed in to dull the senses.
Is this cup, (or chalice in some translations), the fourth cup, the final cup of the Passover meal?
Between the giving of His body at the Passover/Pesach Seder as the sacrifice and declaring one of the cups as His own Blood, Yeshua/Jesus classifies His body as the New Passover, (Re-newed Covenant).
Once the meal is over, His blood will be literally poured out, and Yeshua/Jesus will be dead within the day as the sacrificial Lamb.
Did He finish the meal in the Upper Room or finish it with His death on the cross? Is this another reason for Him saying, ‘It is finished’?
The other cup in relation to Yeshua/Jesus’ death on the cross is also known as the Cup of Consummation.
However when we look at the final moments of His life on the cross, we notice the reference to “the fruit of the vine.”
Toward the end of His torturous six hours on the cross, Yeshua/Jesus called for another cup, a cup of refreshment. According to John, He said, “I am thirsty” (John 19:28).
The soldiers had a jar of sour wine available for their use. A kind hand took some of the wine, put it on a sponge, and lifted it to His lips.
Jesus “received the sour wine” (John 19:30).
This was the only personal request that Jesus made from the cross, and it was granted by some nameless person beneath the cross who heard His appeal for a sip of something to quench His thirst.
Of the second of these three cups, the one Jesus rejected, Matthew said, “They gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink” (Matthew 27:34). Mark wrote, “They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it” (Mark 15:23). The “gall” mentioned by Matthew must be a figurative term for “bitterness,” while the “myrrh” mentioned by Mark names the specific substance that produced the bitter taste. The myrrh could act as a narcotic, providing some numbness to His mind and body. When Jesus realized what He was being offered, He refused to drink it.
However, in Mark 15:23, does He drink, since the wine is filled myrrh, which would have dulled his sufferings?
Matthew 27:48 states, “a sponge…filled it with vinegar” is lifted up for Him to drink. The most interesting reference comes from John 19:28, which states that Jesus/Yeshua requests a drink and says, “I thirst.” Did He drink of the vinegar given to Him?
It would seem to indicate that He literally drank this cup while hanging on the cross:
During His last hour on the cross, Jesus asked for a drink with the words “I am thirsty.” John said that He made such a request in order to fulfill an Old Testament prophecy (John 19:28). He was no doubt referring to Psalm 69:21b ‘And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.’ The writer of this psalm was describing an awful trial that he was going through, but the Holy Spirit guided his words for a much higher purpose, using them to picture one aspect of Jesus sufferings on the cross.
For then in John 19:30, Yeshua/Jesus says, “It is finished.” When Messiah speaks these words, is He referencing the meal started at the Passover/Pesach Seder and not referring to His life or ministry? Was it there on the cross that Messiah finishes the Pesach/Passover meal, and drank the fourth cup?
Ex 6:6,7; set the pattern for the Seder, each cup representing a promise in those verses. These are referred to as the four expressions of Redemption.
1 Cup of Sanctification (Kiddush: Thanksgiving to the Lord for ‘the fruit of the vine’)
2 Cup of Wrath (Maggid: After reciting the ten plagues; wine is also sprinkled on the table)
3 Cup of Blessing (Birkat Hamazon: After The main meal is consumed; the cup that over-flows)
4 Cup of Praise (Hillel: After the reciting of the last Hallel hymns, the end of the Passover)
The Scriptures likens the cup to our life, with all the sorrows and joys we experience and guides us to “drink to the bottom,” fulfilling the mission God has called us to. The cup of rejection and opposition, betrayal and regret. Like vinegar and gall, pungent and tart, making you wince and recoil. But not only that – for the cup is deceptively deep – there are hopes and joys in there, too.
Matt 20:22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” Berean Study Bible “You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” the brothers answered. Berean Literal Bible And Jesus answering, said, “You do not know what you ask for.
‘You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?’
If He were to ask us ‘Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?’ what would be our answer?
One final mysterious question for thought…. Luke 22:17-19 states And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you verse 20.
17 And having taken a cup, having given thanks, he said, `Take this and divide to yourselves, 18 for I say to you that I may not drink of the produce of the vine till the reign of God may come.’ 19 And having taken bread, having given thanks, he brake and gave to them, saying, `This is my body, that for you is being given, this do ye — to remembrance of me.’
Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)
17 And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He said, Take this and divide and distribute it among yourselves; 18 For I say to you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine at all until the kingdom of God comes. Amp.
Does this indicate that He took just one of the 4 cups (which one of the cups?) and then told them to divide His portion from His cup!
Very significant… and how did one small cup divide between 12 other men’s cups? Unless, like the loaves and fishes, as they began to divide and distribute it, the wine (symbolic of His poured out Blood,) multiplied, as He had already ‘given thanks‘, just as He had for the feeding of the multitude.
Was there a miracle implied by this verse? That His cup would yield a miraculously never ending supply in His atoning blood, for all that would celebrate Passover with Him?… Just a thought!
My cup is poured out for you is My blood. Jesus/Yeshua’s blood/wine/water mix, was poured out into 12 cups, v.17; if there had been no cups it could not have been poured out. The water and the blood, it is also significant of that which was released from His body, by the soldiers spear piercing His side.
The Lamb died wearing a crown…
it ended in VICTORY and a perfect place to sing the Hallel-ujah!
