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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So that there may not be among you any man or woman or family or tribe whose heart is turned away from the Lord our God today, to go after other gods and give them worship; or any root among you whose fruit is poison and bitter sorrow;
His bowmen come round about me; their arrows go through my body without mercy; my life is drained out on the earth.
He is pulling it out, and it comes out of his back; and its shining point comes out of his side; he is overcome by fears.
They gave me poison for my food; and bitter wine for my drink.
Why are we seated doing nothing? come together, and let us go to the walled towns, and let destruction overtake us there, for the Lord our God has sent destruction on us, and given us bitter water for our drink, because we have done evil against the Lord.
So the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, I will give them, even this people, bitter plants for food and bitter water for drink.
So this is what the Lord of armies has said about the prophets: See, I will give them a bitter plant for their food, and bitter water for their drink: for from the prophets of Jerusalem unclean behaviour has gone out into all the land.
Their words are foolish; they make agreements with false oaths, so punishment will come up like a poison-plant in a ploughed field.
Is it possible for horses to go running on the rock? may the sea be ploughed with oxen? for the right to be turned by you into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into a bitter plant?
Is it possible for horses to go running on the rock? may the sea be ploughed with oxen? for the right to be turned by you into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into a bitter plant?
They gave him wine mixed with bitter drink: and after tasting it, he took no more.
And they gave him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it.
For I see that you are prisoned in bitter envy and the chains of sin.
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).
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So that there may not be among you any man or woman or family or tribe whose heart is turned away from the Lord our God today, to go after other gods and give them worship; or any root among you whose fruit is poison and bitter sorrow;
His bowmen come round about me; their arrows go through my body without mercy; my life is drained out on the earth.
He takes the poison of snakes into his mouth, the tongue of the snake is the cause of his death.
They gave me poison for my food; and bitter wine for my drink.
Why are we seated doing nothing? come together, and let us go to the walled towns, and let destruction overtake us there, for the Lord our God has sent destruction on us, and given us bitter water for our drink, because we have done evil against the Lord.
So the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, I will give them, even this people, bitter plants for food and bitter water for drink.
So this is what the Lord of armies has said about the prophets: See, I will give them a bitter plant for their food, and bitter water for their drink: for from the prophets of Jerusalem unclean behaviour has gone out into all the land.
Their words are foolish; they make agreements with false oaths, so punishment will come up like a poison-plant in a ploughed field.
They gave him wine mixed with bitter drink: and after tasting it, he took no more.
And they gave him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it.
Then Jesus said to Peter, Put back your sword: am I not to take the cup which my Father has given to me?
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.
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So that there may not be among you any man or woman or family or tribe whose heart is turned away from the Lord our God today, to go after other gods and give them worship; or any root among you whose fruit is poison and bitter sorrow;
For their vine is the vine of Sodom, from the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are the grapes of evil, and the berries are bitter:
His bowmen come round about me; their arrows go through my body without mercy; my life is drained out on the earth.
He is pulling it out, and it comes out of his back; and its shining point comes out of his side; he is overcome by fears.
They gave me poison for my food; and bitter wine for my drink.
They gave me poison for my food; and bitter wine for my drink.
Why are we seated doing nothing? come together, and let us go to the walled towns, and let destruction overtake us there, for the Lord our God has sent destruction on us, and given us bitter water for our drink, because we have done evil against the Lord.
So the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, I will give them, even this people, bitter plants for food and bitter water for drink.
So this is what the Lord of armies has said about the prophets: See, I will give them a bitter plant for their food, and bitter water for their drink: for from the prophets of Jerusalem unclean behaviour has gone out into all the land.
They gave him wine mixed with bitter drink: and after tasting it, he took no more.
And they gave him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it.
For I see that you are prisoned in bitter envy and the chains of sin.
Looking with care to see that no man among you in his behaviour comes short of the grace of God; for fear that some bitter root may come up to be a trouble to you, and that some of you may be made unclean by it;
Hastings
(1) r
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So that there may not be among you any man or woman or family or tribe whose heart is turned away from the Lord our God today, to go after other gods and give them worship; or any root among you whose fruit is poison and bitter sorrow;
He takes the poison of snakes into his mouth, the tongue of the snake is the cause of his death.
He is pulling it out, and it comes out of his back; and its shining point comes out of his side; he is overcome by fears.
They gave me poison for my food; and bitter wine for my drink.
Why are we seated doing nothing? come together, and let us go to the walled towns, and let destruction overtake us there, for the Lord our God has sent destruction on us, and given us bitter water for our drink, because we have done evil against the Lord.
And I will send them wandering among the nations, among people strange to them and to their fathers: and I will send the sword after them till I have put an end to them.
Their words are foolish; they make agreements with false oaths, so punishment will come up like a poison-plant in a ploughed field.
They gave him wine mixed with bitter drink: and after tasting it, he took no more.
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
So that there may not be among you any man or woman or family or tribe whose heart is turned away from the Lord our God today, to go after other gods and give them worship; or any root among you whose fruit is poison and bitter sorrow;
For their vine is the vine of Sodom, from the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are the grapes of evil, and the berries are bitter:
His bowmen come round about me; their arrows go through my body without mercy; my life is drained out on the earth.
He is pulling it out, and it comes out of his back; and its shining point comes out of his side; he is overcome by fears.
They gave me poison for my food; and bitter wine for my drink.
Why are we seated doing nothing? come together, and let us go to the walled towns, and let destruction overtake us there, for the Lord our God has sent destruction on us, and given us bitter water for our drink, because we have done evil against the Lord.
So the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, I will give them, even this people, bitter plants for food and bitter water for drink.
So this is what the Lord of armies has said about the prophets: See, I will give them a bitter plant for their food, and bitter water for their drink: for from the prophets of Jerusalem unclean behaviour has gone out into all the land.
Is it possible for horses to go running on the rock? may the sea be ploughed with oxen? for the right to be turned by you into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into a bitter plant?
They gave him wine mixed with bitter drink: and after tasting it, he took no more.
And they gave him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did 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.
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His bowmen come round about me; their arrows go through my body without mercy; my life is drained out on the earth.
He takes the poison of snakes into his mouth, the tongue of the snake is the cause of his death.
He is pulling it out, and it comes out of his back; and its shining point comes out of his side; he is overcome by fears.
Their words are foolish; they make agreements with false oaths, so punishment will come up like a poison-plant in a ploughed 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 ???????.
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So that there may not be among you any man or woman or family or tribe whose heart is turned away from the Lord our God today, to go after other gods and give them worship; or any root among you whose fruit is poison and bitter sorrow;
For their vine is the vine of Sodom, from the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are the grapes of evil, and the berries are bitter:
They gave me poison for my food; and bitter wine for my drink.
They gave me poison for my food; and bitter wine for my drink.
Why are we seated doing nothing? come together, and let us go to the walled towns, and let destruction overtake us there, for the Lord our God has sent destruction on us, and given us bitter water for our drink, because we have done evil against the Lord.
So the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, I will give them, even this people, bitter plants for food and bitter water for drink.
So this is what the Lord of armies has said about the prophets: See, I will give them a bitter plant for their food, and bitter water for their drink: for from the prophets of Jerusalem unclean behaviour has gone out into all the land.
Their words are foolish; they make agreements with false oaths, so punishment will come up like a poison-plant in a ploughed field.
Is it possible for horses to go running on the rock? may the sea be ploughed with oxen? for the right to be turned by you into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into a bitter plant?
They gave him wine mixed with bitter drink: and after tasting it, he took no more.
And they gave him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it.