Reference: Gall
American
A general name for anything very bitter. In Job 16:13; 20:14,25, it means the animal secretion usually called the bile. In many other places, where a different word is used in the original, it refers to some better and noxious plant, according to some, the poppy. See De 29:18; Jer 9:15; 23:15. In Ho 10:4; Am 6:12, the Hebrew word is translated "hemlock". In Mt 27:34, it is said they gave Jesus to drink, vinegar mixed with gall, which in Mr 15:23, is called wine mingled with myrrh. It was probably the sour wine which the Roman soldiers used to drink, mingled with myrrh and other bitter substances, very much like the "bitters" of modern times, Ps 69:21. The word gall is often used figuratively for great troubles, wickedness, depravity, etc., Jer 8:14; Am 6:12; Ac 8:23.
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Beware lest there should be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose [mind and] heart turns away this day from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a [poisonous] root that bears gall and wormwood,
[Satan's] arrows whiz around me. He slashes open my vitals and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground.
Yet his food turns [to poison] in his stomach; it is the venom of asps within him.
[The arrow] is drawn forth and it comes out after passing through his body; yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall. Terrors march in upon him;
They gave me also gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar (a soured wine) to drink.
[Then say the people to each other] Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities and be silent or perish there! For the Lord our God has decreed our ruin and given us bitter and poisonous water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood and give them bitter and poisonous water to drink.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with [the bitterness of] wormwood and make them drink the [poisonous] water of gall, for from the [false] prophets of Jerusalem profaneness and ungodliness have gone forth into all the land.
They have spoken mere words of the lips, swearing falsely in making covenants; therefore judgment springs up like hemlock [or other poisonous plants] in the furrows of the field.
Do horses run upon rocks? Do men plow the ocean with oxen? But you have turned justice into [the poison of] gall and the fruit of righteousness into [the bitterness of] wormwood -- "
Do horses run upon rocks? Do men plow the ocean with oxen? But you have turned justice into [the poison of] gall and the fruit of righteousness into [the bitterness of] wormwood -- "
They offered Him wine mingled with gall to drink; but when He tasted it, He refused to drink it.
And they [attempted to] give Him wine mingled with myrrh, but He would not take it.
For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in a bond forged by iniquity [to fetter souls].
Easton
(1) Heb mererah, meaning "bitterness" (Job 16:13); i.e., the bile secreted in the liver. This word is also used of the poison of asps (Job 20:14), and of the vitals, the seat of life (25).
(2.) Heb rosh. In De 32:33; Job 20:16 it denotes the poison of serpents. In Ho 10:4 the Hebrew word is rendered "hemlock." The original probably denotes some bitter, poisonous plant, most probably the poppy, which grows up quickly, and is therefore coupled with wormwood (De 29:18; Jer 9:15; La 3:19). Comp. Jer 8:14; 23:15, "water of gall," Gesenius, "poppy juice;" others, "water of hemlock," "bitter water."
(3.) Gr. chole (Mt 27:34), the LXX. translation of the Hebrew rosh in Ps 69:21, which foretells our Lord's sufferings. The drink offered to our Lord was vinegar (made of light wine rendered acid, the common drink of Roman soldiers) "mingled with gall," or, according to Mark (Mr 15:23), "mingled with myrrh;" both expressions meaning the same thing, namely, that the vinegar was made bitter by the infusion of wormwood or some other bitter substance, usually given, according to a merciful custom, as an anodyne to those who were crucified, to render them insensible to pain. Our Lord, knowing this, refuses to drink it. He would take nothing to cloud his faculties or blunt the pain of dying. He chooses to suffer every element of woe in the bitter cup of agony given him by the Father (Joh 18:11).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Beware lest there should be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose [mind and] heart turns away this day from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a [poisonous] root that bears gall and wormwood,
Their wine is the [furious] venom of serpents, and the pitiless poison of vipers.
[Satan's] arrows whiz around me. He slashes open my vitals and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground.
Yet his food turns [to poison] in his stomach; it is the venom of asps within him.
He shall suck the poison of asps [which ill-gotten wealth contains]; the viper's tongue shall slay him.
They gave me also gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar (a soured wine) to drink.
[Then say the people to each other] Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities and be silent or perish there! For the Lord our God has decreed our ruin and given us bitter and poisonous water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood and give them bitter and poisonous water to drink.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with [the bitterness of] wormwood and make them drink the [poisonous] water of gall, for from the [false] prophets of Jerusalem profaneness and ungodliness have gone forth into all the land.
[O Lord] remember [earnestly] my affliction and my misery, my wandering and my outcast state, the wormwood and the gall.
They have spoken mere words of the lips, swearing falsely in making covenants; therefore judgment springs up like hemlock [or other poisonous plants] in the furrows of the field.
They offered Him wine mingled with gall to drink; but when He tasted it, He refused to drink it.
And they [attempted to] give Him wine mingled with myrrh, but He would not take it.
Therefore, Jesus said to Peter, Put the sword [back] into the sheath! The cup which My Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?
Fausets
1. Mereerah ("bitterness".) Secreted in an animal's gall bladder. Poetically used for a vital part, Job 16:13; 20:25. Job 20:14, "the gall of asps," i.e. their poison, contained in a sac in the mouth; Scripture uses popular language when no moral truth is thereby endangered.
2. Rosh; a bitter and poisonous herb; the poppy (Gesenius). Rosh means "head", so we speak of poppy heads. Jer 8:14, "water of gall," i.e. opium, Jer 9:15; 23:15. Others suggest one of the Euphorbiaceae, distasteful and deadly; the "grapes of gall" answering to the rounded three berried fruit (Imperial Bible Dictionary). De 29:18 (to which Heb 12:15, "root of bitterness," refers; a root whose essence is bitterness), De 32:32. Opium water would suit well for stupefying criminals in the agony of execution (Ps 69:21; Mt 27:34; Ac 8:23).
The vinegar offered to our Lord was mingled with "gall" according to Matthew, with "myrrh" according to Mark (Mr 15:23). The myrrh was the usual seasoning of Roman wine; the gall was added to stupefy, but our Lord would meet His agony in full consciousness. Bengel supposes the gall was added in wantonness. Matthew designated the drink according to the prophetic aspect, Ps 69:21; Mark according to its outward appearance.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Beware lest there should be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose [mind and] heart turns away this day from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a [poisonous] root that bears gall and wormwood,
For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of [poisonous] gall, their clusters are bitter.
[Satan's] arrows whiz around me. He slashes open my vitals and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground.
Yet his food turns [to poison] in his stomach; it is the venom of asps within him.
[The arrow] is drawn forth and it comes out after passing through his body; yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall. Terrors march in upon him;
They gave me also gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar (a soured wine) to drink.
They gave me also gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar (a soured wine) to drink.
[Then say the people to each other] Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities and be silent or perish there! For the Lord our God has decreed our ruin and given us bitter and poisonous water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood and give them bitter and poisonous water to drink.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with [the bitterness of] wormwood and make them drink the [poisonous] water of gall, for from the [false] prophets of Jerusalem profaneness and ungodliness have gone forth into all the land.
They offered Him wine mingled with gall to drink; but when He tasted it, He refused to drink it.
And they [attempted to] give Him wine mingled with myrrh, but He would not take it.
For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in a bond forged by iniquity [to fetter souls].
Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look [after one another], to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God's grace (His unmerited favor and spiritual blessing), in order that no root of resentment (rancor, bitterness, or hatred) shoots forth and causes trouble and bitter torment, and the many become contaminated and defiled by it -- "
Hastings
(1) r
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Beware lest there should be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose [mind and] heart turns away this day from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a [poisonous] root that bears gall and wormwood,
My face is red and swollen with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death [my eyes are dimmed],
Yet his food turns [to poison] in his stomach; it is the venom of asps within him.
He shall suck the poison of asps [which ill-gotten wealth contains]; the viper's tongue shall slay him.
[The arrow] is drawn forth and it comes out after passing through his body; yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall. Terrors march in upon him;
They gave me also gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar (a soured wine) to drink.
[Then say the people to each other] Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities and be silent or perish there! For the Lord our God has decreed our ruin and given us bitter and poisonous water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord.
I will scatter them also among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword among them and after them until I have consumed them.
[O Lord] remember [earnestly] my affliction and my misery, my wandering and my outcast state, the wormwood and the gall.
They have spoken mere words of the lips, swearing falsely in making covenants; therefore judgment springs up like hemlock [or other poisonous plants] in the furrows of the field.
They offered Him wine mingled with gall to drink; but when He tasted it, He refused to drink it.
Morish
1. merorah, the gall or bile of animals. It is symbolical of 'bitterness:' "he poureth out my gall upon the ground." Job 16:13. It is also used for the 'poison' of asps. Job 20:14,25.
2. rosh, ????, some exceedingly bitter or poisonous plant not definitely identified. This word is used as symbolical of 'bitterness.' To turn to idolatry was like "a root that beareth gall and wormwood." De 29:18. God's judgements were given them as water of gall to drink. Jer 8:14; 9:15; 23:15: cf. De 32:32; La 3:5,19; Am 6:12. Gall, mixed with the sour wine or vinegar drunk by the Roman soldiers, was given to those about to be crucified, for the purpose, as is now supposed, of making them the less sensitive to the torture. It was offered to the Lord, but refused. Ps 69:21; Mt 27:34. In Mr 15:23 myrrh is read instead of gall; the meaning would be the same.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Beware lest there should be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose [mind and] heart turns away this day from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a [poisonous] root that bears gall and wormwood,
For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of [poisonous] gall, their clusters are bitter.
[Satan's] arrows whiz around me. He slashes open my vitals and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground.
Yet his food turns [to poison] in his stomach; it is the venom of asps within him.
[The arrow] is drawn forth and it comes out after passing through his body; yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall. Terrors march in upon him;
They gave me also gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar (a soured wine) to drink.
[Then say the people to each other] Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities and be silent or perish there! For the Lord our God has decreed our ruin and given us bitter and poisonous water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood and give them bitter and poisonous water to drink.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with [the bitterness of] wormwood and make them drink the [poisonous] water of gall, for from the [false] prophets of Jerusalem profaneness and ungodliness have gone forth into all the land.
He has built up [siege mounds] against me and surrounded me with bitterness, tribulation, and anguish.
[O Lord] remember [earnestly] my affliction and my misery, my wandering and my outcast state, the wormwood and the gall.
Do horses run upon rocks? Do men plow the ocean with oxen? But you have turned justice into [the poison of] gall and the fruit of righteousness into [the bitterness of] wormwood -- "
They offered Him wine mingled with gall to drink; but when He tasted it, He refused to drink it.
And they [attempted to] give Him wine mingled with myrrh, but He would not take it.
Smith
Gall.
1. Mereerah, denoting "that which is bitter;" hence the term is applied to the "bile" or "gall" (the fluid secreted by the liver), from its intense bitterness,
it is also used of the "poison" of serpents,
which the ancients erroneously believed was their gall.
2. Rosh, generally translated "gall" in the English Bible, is in
rendered "hemlock:" in
De 32:33
and Job 20:16 rosh denotes the "poison" or "venom" of serpents. From
De 29:18
and Lame 3:19 compared with Hose 10:4 it is evident that the Hebrew term denotes some bitter and perhaps poisonous plant. Other writers have supposed, and with some reason, from
De 32:32
that some berry-bearing plant must be intended. Gesenius understands poppies; in which case the gall mingled with the wine offered to our Lord at his crucifixion, and refused by him, would be an anaesthetic, and tend to diminish the sense of suffering. Dr. Richardson, "Ten Lectures on Alcohol," p. 23, thinks these drinks were given to the crucified to diminish the suffering through their intoxicating effects.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Their wine is the [furious] venom of serpents, and the pitiless poison of vipers.
[Satan's] arrows whiz around me. He slashes open my vitals and does not spare; he pours out my gall on the ground.
Yet his food turns [to poison] in his stomach; it is the venom of asps within him.
He shall suck the poison of asps [which ill-gotten wealth contains]; the viper's tongue shall slay him.
[The arrow] is drawn forth and it comes out after passing through his body; yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall. Terrors march in upon him;
They have spoken mere words of the lips, swearing falsely in making covenants; therefore judgment springs up like hemlock [or other poisonous plants] in the furrows of the field.
Watsons
GALL, ???, something excessively bitter, and supposed to be poisonous, De 29:18; 32:32; Ps 69:21; Jer 8:14; 9:15; 23:15; La 3:19; Ho 10:4; Am 6:12. It is evident from the first-mentioned place, that some herb or plant is meant of a malignant or nauseous kind. It is joined with wormwood, and, in the margin of our Bibles, explained to be "a very poisonful herb." In Ps 69:21, which is justly considered as a prophecy of our Saviour's sufferings, it is said, "They gave me ??? to eat; which the LXX have rendered ?????, gall. And, accordingly, it is recorded in the history, "They gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall," ???? ???? ?????, Mt 27:34. But, in the parallel passage, it is said to be, ???????????? ?????, "wine mingled with myrrh," Mr 15:23, a very bitter ingredient. From whence it is probable that ????, and perhaps ???, may be used as a general name for whatever is exceedingly bitter; and, consequently, where the sense requires it, may be put specially for any bitter herb or plant, the infusion of which may be called ???????.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Beware lest there should be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose [mind and] heart turns away this day from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a [poisonous] root that bears gall and wormwood,
For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of [poisonous] gall, their clusters are bitter.
They gave me also gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar (a soured wine) to drink.
They gave me also gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar (a soured wine) to drink.
[Then say the people to each other] Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities and be silent or perish there! For the Lord our God has decreed our ruin and given us bitter and poisonous water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood and give them bitter and poisonous water to drink.
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with [the bitterness of] wormwood and make them drink the [poisonous] water of gall, for from the [false] prophets of Jerusalem profaneness and ungodliness have gone forth into all the land.
[O Lord] remember [earnestly] my affliction and my misery, my wandering and my outcast state, the wormwood and the gall.
They have spoken mere words of the lips, swearing falsely in making covenants; therefore judgment springs up like hemlock [or other poisonous plants] in the furrows of the field.
Do horses run upon rocks? Do men plow the ocean with oxen? But you have turned justice into [the poison of] gall and the fruit of righteousness into [the bitterness of] wormwood -- "
They offered Him wine mingled with gall to drink; but when He tasted it, He refused to drink it.
And they [attempted to] give Him wine mingled with myrrh, but He would not take it.