Dictionaries :: Gall

Gall:

(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 (20:14), and of the vitals, the seat of life (25).

(2.) Heb. rosh. In Deu 32:33 and Job 20:16 it denotes the poison of serpents. In Hsa 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 (Deu 29:18; Jer 9:15; Lam 3:19). Comp. Jer 8:14; 23:15, "water of gall," Gesenius, "poppy juice;" others, "water of hemlock," "bitter water."

(3.) Gr. chole (Mat 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 (Mar 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 (Jhn 18:11).

Gall:

gol:

(1) ro'sh, or rosh (De 32:32 only, "grapes of gall"): Some very bitter plant, the bitterness as in (2) being associated with the idea of poison. De 29:18 margin "rosh, a poisonpus herb"; La 3:5,19; Jer 8:14; 9:15; 23:15, "water of gall," margin "poison"; Ho 10:4, translated "hemlock"; Am 6:12, "Ye have turned justice into gall"; Job 20:16, the "poison of asps": here rosh clearly refers to a different substance from the other references, the points in common being bitterness and poisonous properties. Hemlock (Conium maculatum), colocynth (Citrullus colocynthus) and the poppy (Papaver somniferum) have all been suggested as the original rosh, the last having most support, but in most references the word may represent any bitter poisonous substance. Rosh is associated with la‘anah, "wormwood" (De 29:18; La 3:19; Am 6:12).

(2) mererah (Job 16:13), and merorah (Job 20:14,25), both derived from a root meaning "to be bitter," are applied to the human gall or "bile," but like (1), merorah is once applied to the venom of serpents (Job 20:14). The poison of these animals was supposed to reside in their bile.

(3) chole (Mt 27:34), "They gave him wine to drink mingled with gall"; this is clearly a reference to the Septuagint version of Ps 69:21: "They gave me also gall (chole, Hebrew rosh) for my food; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." In Mr 15:23, it says, "wine mingled with myrrh." It is well known that the Romans gave wine with frankincense to criminals before their execution to alleviate their sufferings; here the chole or bitter substance used was myrrh (Pliny Ep. xx.18; Sen. Ep. 83).

Written by E. W. G. Masterman

Gall: Any Bitter or Poisonous Substance

As the bile,

Job 16:13;

venom of serpents,

Job 20:14.

Gall: A Bitter Herb

Deu 29:18

Gall: Given to Jesus

Psa 69:21; Mat 27:34

Gall: Figurative

Gall of bitterness,

Act 8:23.

Gall:

a word probably connected with chloe, "yellow," denotes "gall,"

(a) literal, Mat 27:34 (cp. Psa 69:21); some regard the word here as referring to myrrh, on account of Mar 15:23;

(b) metaphorical, Act 8:23, where "gall of bitterness" stands for extreme wickedness, productive of evil fruit. In the OT it is used (a) of a plant characterized by bitterness (probably wormwood), Deu 29:18; Hsa 10:4; Amo 6:12; (b) as the translation of the word mererah, "bitterness," Job 13:26, e.g.;

(c) as the translation of rosh, "venom;" in Deu 32:32 "(grapes) of gall." In Job 20:25, the gall bladder is referred to (the receptacle of bile). The ancients supposed that the poison of serpents lay in the gall (see Job 20:14).

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 (Job 16:13; 20:25) it is also used of the "poison" of serpents (Job 20:14) which the ancients erroneously believed was their gall.

(2.) Rosh, generally translated "gall" in the English Bible, is in Hosea 10:4 rendered "hemlock:" in Deuteronomy 32:33 and Job 20:16, rosh denotes the "poison" or "venom" of serpents; from Deuteronomy 29:18 and Lamentations 3:19 compared with Hosea 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 Deuteronomy 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.