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.