📖 Biblical Definition
Gall is a bitter and poisonous substance — and in Scripture it becomes the figure of three things. First, the bitter potion offered to Christ on the cross: "They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink" (Matthew 27:34; fulfilling Psalm 69:21). Second, the bitter fruit of injustice: "Ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock" (Amos 6:12; cf. Hosea 10:4). Third, the description of a soul in bondage to sin: Peter said of Simon Magus, "For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity" (Acts 8:23). Christ tasted gall to remove its sting from us.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
GALL, n.
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1. The bile of an animal, a yellowish-greenish viscid bitter fluid, secreted by the liver. 2. Any thing extremely bitter. 3. Rancor; malignity. 4. In scripture, a bitter root, or a bitter herb; also extreme affliction.
📖 Key Scripture
Matthew 27:34 — "They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink."
Acts 8:23 — "I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity."
Lamentations 3:19 — "Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall."
Amos 6:12 — "Ye have turned judgment into gall."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern hearts swallow gall daily and call it edge.
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Peter's diagnosis of Simon the magician is sharp: the gall of bitterness. A heart can pickle in its own resentment until grace itself tastes bitter to it. Many men live there. The internet is largely the marketplace of gall — outrage on tap, contempt as a brand, cynicism mistaken for discernment.
The cross answers gall on a cup. They offered Christ vinegar mingled with gall, and He tasted it. The Savior who knows the taste of bitterness is the only one who can detoxify it in a soul. Bring Him your gall — the long-cherished offense, the unforgiven father, the bitter ex, the wounded years — and let the cross do what self-talk cannot.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew rosh (H7219); Greek chole (G5521).
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H7219 — rosh — poisonous herb, gall, venom
G5521 — chole — gall, bitter draught
H3939 — laanah — wormwood, bitterness
Usage
"A heart in the gall of bitterness will misjudge every gift God sends."
"Christ tasted gall on a cross so we would not have to drink it forever."
"The bitter believer is more dangerous to his church than the unbeliever down the street."