ὄξος G3690
Sour wine, vinegar; a cheap acidic wine drink commonly used by Roman soldiers
A sharp, acidic wine—not distilled vinegar but the cheap 'vin ordinaire' (posca) that Roman soldiers carried as a daily beverage. All six NT uses occur in the Passion narratives, where it is offered to Jesus on the cross. The gesture's meaning is debated: in some accounts it appears mocking (Luke 23:36), while in John 19:29 it may be an act of rough mercy to moisten dying lips. The detail is attested in all four Gospels, making it one of the most widely corroborated elements of the crucifixion. German 'Essig' and French 'vinaigre' both derive from words for acidic wine.
Senses
1. sour wine, vinegar — A cheap, sour wine (Latin posca) offered to Jesus during the crucifixion, attested across all four Gospel accounts. Roman soldiers routinely drank this acidic beverage, and its offer to the dying Jesus carries ambiguous overtones—sometimes mockery (Luke 23:36), sometimes a minimal act of relief (John 19:29-30, where Jesus receives it and says 'It is finished'). The soaking of a sponge and lifting it on a reed or hyssop branch is a consistent detail (Matt 27:48; Mark 15:36). English 'vinegar,' Spanish 'vinagre,' French 'vinaigre,' and German 'Essig' all render the term uniformly. 6×
AR["خَلًّا", "خَلٍّ", "خَلَّ", "خَلِّ"]·ben["সিরকা", "সিরকার", "সিরকারে,", "ὄξος-সিরকা"]·DE["Essig", "ὄξος", "ὄξους"]·EN["of-vinegar", "vinegar", "with-sour-wine"]·FR["vinaigre"]·heb["חֹמֶץ"]·HI["सिरका", "सिरके", "सिरके-से"]·ID["anggur-asam", "cuka"]·IT["aceto"]·jav["anggur-kecut", "cuka"]·KO["식초", "식초-를", "식초를", "식초의", "초-를"]·PT["de-vinagre", "vinagre"]·RU["Уксусом", "уксус", "уксуса,", "уксусом"]·ES["de-vinagre", "vinagre"]·SW["chumvi", "siki", "ya-siki"]·TR["sirke", "sirkeyi", "sirkeyle"]·urd["سرکا", "سرکہ", "سرکہ-سے", "سرکے", "سرکے سے", "سرکے-سے"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ὄξος, εος, τό, (ὀξύς) poor wine, 'vin ordinaire', Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 vinegar made therefrom, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐς τὰς ῥῖνας ὄ. ἐγχέων, as a mode of torture, Refs 5th c.BC+ __3 metaphorically, of a sour fellow, χὡνὴρ ὄ. ἅπαν Refs 3rd c.BC+