gall, hemlock, poison, venom
“Gall” From Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:
(yellow, bitter). The fluid secreted by the liver. Bitter (Job 16:13); poison (Job 20:14,25; Deut. 32:33); “hemlock” (Hos. 10:4); probably myrrh (Matt. 27:34); as in Mark 15:23; great troubles (Jer. 8:14; Acts 8:23).
“Hemlock” From Boyd’s Bible Dictionary:
Not the bitter, poisonous hemlock as in Hosea 10:4; Amos 6:12, but “gall,” as elsewhere
“Gall” From Concise Bible Dictionary:
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, χολή, 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” (Deut. 29:18). God’s judgments were given them as water of gall to drink (Jer. 8:14; Jer. 9:15; Jer. 23:15; compare Deut. 32:32; Lam. 3:5,19; Amos 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 (Psa. 69:21; Matt. 27:34). In Mark 15:23 myrrh is read instead of gall; the meaning would be the same.
“Hemlock” From Concise Bible Dictionary:
1. laanah, “wormwood:” used only in a figurative sense for bitterness or poison (Amos 6:12). It is translated WORMWOOD (Deut. 29:18; Prov. 5:4; Jer. 9:15; Jer. 23:15; Lam. 3:15,19; Amos 5:7). It corresponds with ἄψινθος in Revelation 8:11.
2. rosh, some poisonous plant expressive of bitterness or poison (Hos. 10:4). The word is elsewhere translated “gall,” “poison,” and “venom.” The common hemlock is the conium maculatum; the water hemlock the cicuta virosa.
Cicuta Virosa
“Poison” From Concise Bible Dictionary:
The poison of serpents and of asps is used in scripture symbolically for the judgment of God and for the malignity inherent in the wicked (Deut. 32:24,33; Job 6:4; Job 20:16; Psa. 58:4; Psa. 140:3; Rom. 3:13). The tongue is “an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8). Job 6:4 apparently alludes to arrows being poisoned.
Asp
King Cobra
Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew Words:
Meaning:
or rowsh (Deut. 32:32) {roshe}; apparently the same as 7218; a poisonous plant, probably the poppy (from its conspicuous head); generally poison (even of serpents)
KJV Usage:
gall, hemlock, poison, venom