{
  "id": "dict_002214",
  "term": "Goblet",
  "slug": "goblet",
  "letter": "G",
  "entry_type": "biblical_object",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "A goblet is a drinking vessel—a cup or bowl used for serving liquids. In Scripture it appears in ordinary, royal, and sometimes sacred settings, and it may overlap with biblical cup imagery.",
  "simple_one_line": "A goblet is a drinking vessel mentioned in Scripture, sometimes with symbolic associations through cup imagery.",
  "tooltip_text": "A goblet is a cup or drinking vessel; in biblical passages it can be literal or, by extension, tied to symbolic cup imagery.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Cup",
    "Vessel",
    "Temple furnishings",
    "Feast",
    "Wine"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Cup",
    "Chalice",
    "Bowl",
    "Drinking vessel",
    "Silver cup"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "In biblical usage, a goblet is a drinking vessel, often a cup or bowl used at meals, in royal settings, or among valuable household or temple items.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "A goblet is a literal drinking vessel. In Scripture, it is usually an everyday object, though related cup language can carry symbolic meaning.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Usually a common drinking vessel",
    "May appear in household, royal, or ceremonial contexts",
    "Related cup imagery can symbolize blessing, suffering, or judgment",
    "The symbolism belongs to the biblical use of the cup, not to the object itself"
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "In Scripture, a goblet is a drinking vessel, sometimes associated with wealth, ceremony, or special use. It is primarily a material object, though biblical cup imagery may carry theological symbolism in nearby contexts.",
  "description_academic_full": "A goblet in biblical usage is a drinking vessel, sometimes plain and sometimes associated with wealth, ceremony, or special use. Depending on translation and context, similar vessels may appear in domestic life, royal courts, or settings connected with sacred furnishings. Scripture also uses cup imagery in figurative ways, including blessing, fellowship, suffering, and judgment; however, those theological meanings belong more directly to the broader symbol of the cup than to the object of a goblet itself. Because the term ordinarily names a material object, its significance is usually contextual rather than doctrinal.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Biblical narratives include drinking vessels among household goods, royal possessions, and items used in feasts or formal settings. In some passages a goblet may be part of a story about honor, hospitality, testing, or wealth. Related cup language also appears in poetic and prophetic symbolism.",
  "background_historical_context": "In the ancient world, goblets and cups ranged from simple clay vessels to finely made metal or stone vessels. Such items could indicate ordinary daily life, social status, or ceremonial use.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "In the world of the Old Testament, drinking vessels were common household items and could also be associated with festive meals, courts, and sanctuary-related furnishings. Translation choices may render related Hebrew words as cup, bowl, or goblet depending on shape and context.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "Gen. 44:2, 5, 12, 16–17",
    "Ps. 23:5",
    "Isa. 51:17",
    "Matt. 26:27–39"
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Prov. 23:31",
    "Jer. 25:15–17",
    "Mark 14:23–24",
    "Luke 22:20",
    "1 Cor. 10:16"
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Biblical translations may render different Hebrew or Greek terms as cup, bowl, or goblet depending on context. The exact term is less important than the vessel’s function in the passage.",
  "theological_significance": "A goblet itself is not a major theological category, but related cup imagery can point to God’s blessing, judgment, the Lord’s Supper, or Christ’s suffering. The theological force comes from the passage, not from the vessel as an object.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "The word names a concrete artifact rather than an abstract doctrine. Its biblical meaning is therefore primarily referential and contextual: the same object can function as a household item, a sign of status, or part of symbolic speech depending on the text.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not flatten all cup language into one meaning. A literal goblet in a narrative should not automatically be treated as a symbol, and symbolic cup language should not be reduced to the physical object alone.",
  "major_views_note": "Most interpreters treat goblet references as straightforward material culture. When related passages use cup imagery symbolically, the symbol is interpreted from context rather than from the object itself.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "No distinct doctrine is attached to the term goblet. Do not build theology on the vessel itself apart from the passage in which it appears.",
  "practical_significance": "Biblical references to goblets can help readers understand the settings of meals, hospitality, wealth, testing, and symbolic language in Scripture.",
  "meta_description": "Goblet in the Bible: a drinking vessel used in ordinary, royal, and sometimes symbolic settings.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/goblet/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/goblet.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}