Greek word · G5202

ὑδροποτέω

hydropoteō

to drink water

To drink water, specifically as a person who does not drink wine: 'to be a water-drinker'. The related noun ὑδροπότης ('water-drinker') was a recognised label in Greek for a total abstainer, whether from poverty, ascetic discipline, national custom or medical advice.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

ὑδροποτίω, -ῶ

(ὕδωρ, πίνω), [in LXX: Dan LXX 1:12 שָׁתָה מַיִם) * ;]

to drink water, opposite to οἴνῳ χρῆσθαι: 1 Timothy 5:23 (Hdt., i, 71; Plat., Rep., 561 with, al.).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Timothy 5:23

Range of meaning: To drink water, specifically as a person who does not drink wine: 'to be a water-drinker'. The related noun ὑδροπότης ('water-drinker') was a recognised label in Greek for a total abstainer, whether from poverty, ascetic discipline, national custom or medical advice.
Against the English: The KJV's 'Drink no longer water' can sound like 'stop drinking water'. Modern versions add 'only' or 'exclusively' (BSB, ESV, NIV, NASB, WEB) to bring out what the single Greek verb already contains.
How it drifted: Greek packs 'drink-water-instead-of-wine' into one verb. English has no matching verb, so a word-for-word rendering loses the 'instead of wine' part.
Used elsewhere in the period: This is the only time the verb appears in the New Testament. Herodotus (1.71) has a Lydian adviser describe the Persians as people who 'do not use wine but are water-drinkers'. That sentence puts the same pair together as this verse: χράομαι with wine against ὑδροποτέω. Epictetus (Enchiridion 47) tells the philosopher in training not to boast, 'I drink water', which shows water-drinking as a known form of self-discipline. Among Jews, Daniel and his friends asked for water and vegetables instead of the king's wine (Dan 1:12), and Philo says the ascetic Therapeutae drank only water (On the Contemplative Life 73).

Where it appears

1 Timothy · 1

1 Timothy 5:23 ὑδροπότει, do drink [only] water,

Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead, because of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

Here: A single verb meaning 'be a water-drinker', a person who drinks water instead of wine as a habit or principle. The present-tense command with 'no longer' means 'stop living as a water-only drinker', not 'stop drinking water'.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.