Gall

Gall in the Bible translates two distinct Hebrew terms: merêrâ (the bile or gall of an animal, Job 16:13) and rôsh (a bitter, poisonous plant or substance, often associated with wormwood). The gall of a fish is mentioned in the book of Tobit; the gall of an animal refers to the bile sac. As a plant, rôsh appears to be a bitter, narcotic herb — possibly the poppy or hemlock — used to describe something poisonous or bitterly unpleasant (Deuteronomy 32:33; Job 20:16; Jeremiah 8:14).

The most theologically significant use appears in the passion narrative, where Jesus was offered wine mixed with gall before his crucifixion (Matthew 27:34), fulfilling the Psalmic lament they gave me gall for my food and vinegar for my thirst (Psalm 69:21). Jesus tasted but refused it — rejecting the narcotic relief it offered. The compound wine with myrrh in Mark's parallel account suggests a mixture intended to dull pain. Peter's rebuke of Simon Magus — you are in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity (Acts 8:23) — uses the image metaphorically for a state of spiritual corruption.