The Hebrew noun kos means a cup or goblet used for drinking. In Scripture it frequently serves as a powerful metaphor — the cup of salvation, the cup of God's wrath, the cup of suffering — making it one of the richest symbolic terms in the Old Testament.
The cup (kos) in Scripture is a vessel of destiny. God holds 'a cup full of foaming wine mixed with spices; he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down' (Psalm 75:8). Yet Psalm 116:13 speaks of the 'cup of salvation.' The same word spans the full range of divine dealing — judgment and grace. This dual image reaches its climax in Jesus, who in Gethsemane prays for the 'cup' to pass, yet drinks it fully for our redemption.