“When we read in the book of Genesis about Pharoah’s sar ha-mashkim…we are not reading about a maître d’ who brought him fruit juice”

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When we read in the book of Genesis about Pharoah’s sar ha-mashkim, his cupbearer or “chief butler,” as the King James Version calls him, we are not reading about a maître d’ who brought him fruit juice. The word “butler” is an old English form of French boutellier, from bouteille, which nowadays means a bottle but once meant a wine cask, and the King James had it figured out right.

Philologos, “‘Brandy’ Comes from ‘Burned Wine,’ and Other (Judeo-)Linguistic Notes about Liquor”, Mosaic (13 April 2021) [https://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/history-ideas/2021/04/brandy-comes-from-burned-wine-and-other-judeo-linguistic-notes-about-liquor/]

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