H7219 H7219
A bitter, poisonous plant; by extension poison, venom, or gall -- always used figuratively for bitterness or judgment
Refers to a toxic plant or its extracted poison, consistently deployed in Scripture as a metaphor for bitter judgment, corrupted justice, or divine wrath. Deuteronomy 29:18 warns against a root bearing 'poison and wormwood,' while Amos 6:12 accuses Israel of turning justice 'into poison.' The pairing with wormwood (la'anah) in Lamentations 3:19 and Jeremiah 9:15 creates one of the Bible's most vivid images of anguish. Spanish 'veneno' (poison) and 'hiel' (gall/bile) together capture the spectrum from lethal toxin to bitter taste. One occurrence (Job 20:16) may reflect confusion with the homonym rosh meaning 'head.'
Senses
1. poison, venom, gall — Poison, venom, or gall -- a toxic or bitter substance used figuratively for divine judgment, corrupted justice, or intense suffering. Deuteronomy 32:33 speaks of 'the venom of serpents,' Psalm 69:21 of being given 'poison' for food, and Amos 6:12 of justice turned 'into poison.' The frequent pairing with wormwood (Deut 29:18; Lam 3:19; Jer 9:15; 23:15) establishes a stock image of bitterness. Spanish 'veneno/hiel/ponzona' and French 'poison' consistently render the toxicity, while German 'Gift' (poison) confirms the primary sense across traditions. 10×
AR["إلى-سُمِّ","العَلْقَمِ","رَأْسَ","سُمًّا","سُمٍّ","عَلْقَماً","عَلْقَمٍ","وَالعَلْقَمَ","وَسُمُّ"]·ben["-বিষে","এবং-বিষ","এবং-মাথা","বিষ","বিষের","মাথায়"]·DE["Gift","Haupt","poison","und-Haupt","und-poison-von","zu-Haupt"]·EN["and-gall","and-poison-of","into-poison","my-head","poison"]·FR["et-poison-de","et-tête","poison","tête"]·heb["ו-ראש","ל-ראש","ראש"]·HI["और-ज़हर","और-विष","ज़हर-के","में-ज़हर","विष","विष-का","शीर्ष-पर"]·ID["beracun","dan-empedu","dan-racun","empedu","menjadi-racun","racun"]·IT["[לראש]","capo","e-poison-di","e-veleno","poison","veleno"]·jav["lan-pait","lan-wisa","pangadilan","racun","sirah"]·KO["그리고-독-을","그리고-머리(접)","독의","독초와","머리-와","쓴-것-을","으로-독"]·PT["e-peçonha-de","e-veneno","em-veneno","fel","veneno"]·RU["в-яд","голову","и-горечь","и-яд","яд","ядовитой","ядовитые"]·ES["de-veneno","en-veneno","hiel","veneno","y-hiel","y-ponzoña-de"]·SW["kuwa-sumu","na-sumu","sumu","uchungu"]·TR["baş","ve-zehir","ve-zehiri","zehir","zehire","zehirin","zehirli"]·urd["اور-زہر","زہر","زہر-میں","زہر-کے","زہریلا","سر"]
2. head, chief (homonym confusion) — An apparent conflation with the homonym rosh I ('head, chief') at Job 20:16. English 'the head of,' Arabic 'ra'sa' (head), and Korean 'meori-reul' (head) all translate as though the word means 'head' rather than 'poison,' though the context -- sucking the venom of cobras -- strongly favors the poisonous sense. This cluster likely reflects disambiguation difficulty rather than a genuine distinct meaning of rosh II. 1×
AR["رَأْسَ-"]·ben["মাথা-"]·DE["Haupt"]·EN["the-head-of"]·FR["ראש"]·heb["ראש"]·HI["सिर"]·ID["kepala"]·IT["il-capo-di"]·jav["sirah-"]·KO["머리를-"]·PT["Cabeça-de"]·RU["яд-"]·ES["Cabeza-de-"]·SW["sumu-ya"]·TR["başını-"]·urd["زہر-"]
3. poisonous plant, venomous herb — A poisonous plant or venomous herb as a botanical entity, focusing on the growing plant rather than the extracted substance. Hosea 10:4 describes judgment sprouting 'like a poisonous plant in the furrows of the field.' Spanish 'como hierba venenosa' (like a poisonous herb) and English 'like poisonous plant' capture the image of toxic vegetation growing wild where justice should flourish -- a vivid agrarian metaphor for moral corruption. 1×
AR["كَالسُّمِّ"]·ben["বিষের-মতো-"]·DE["[כראש]"]·EN["like-poisonous-plant"]·FR["poison"]·heb["כ-ראש"]·HI["जहरीले-पौधे-जैसा"]·IT["[כראש]"]·jav["kados-racun"]·KO["같으니라-독초에"]·PT["como-erva-venenosa"]·RU["как-яд"]·ES["como-hierba-venenosa"]·SW["kama-sumu"]·TR["zehirli-ot-gibi"]·urd["زہریلی-بوٹی-کی-طرح"]
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
† II. רֹאשׁ and (†Dt 32:32) רוֹשׁ n.m. Dt 32:33 a bitter and poisonous herb, then venom, always fig.;— 1. a bitter and poisonous herb, + (or ‖) לַעֲנָה Dt 29:17; La 3:19, so (מֵי רֹאשׁ) Je 9:14; 23:15; מֵי ר׳ (without ל׳) 8:14; עִנְּבֵי־רוֹשׁ Dt 32:32 (‖ מְרֹרֹת); רֹאשׁ וּתְלָאָה La 3:5; ר׳ alone ψ 69:22; וּפָרַח כָּרֹאשׁ מִשְׁפָּט Ho 10:4, הֲפַכְתֶּם לְר׳ מִשְׁפָּט Am 6:12. 2. venom, of serpents, ר׳ פְּתָנִים Dt 32:33; Jb 20:16.