Galitzin. See Galhtzin.
Gall, the representative in the A.V. of two Hebrew words and one Greek.
1. Mei-erah' or merorah' (iTTn'2 or riTTO ; Sept. XoX)'/, KUKu, ciaira ; YnX^.fel, amantudo, viscera mea) denotes etj'mologically bitterness: see Job xiii, 26, " Thou writest bitter things against me." Hence the term is applied to the "bile" or "gall" from its in- tense bitterness (Job xvi, 13). The metaphors in this verse are taken from the practice of huntsmen, who first surround the beast, then shoot it, and next take out the entrails. The term also stands for the gall- bladder or vitals (Job xx, 25). It is also used of the " poison" of serpents (Job xx, 14), which the ancients erroneously believed was their gall : see Pliny, //. N. xi, 37, "No one should l)e astonished that it is the gall which constitutes the poison of serpents" (comp. Heb. xii, 15, " root of bitterness"). See Liveu.
2. Rosh (w"X"l or nil ; Sept. xoX/;, Triicpia, ch/ptoa- Tig; Vnlg. fel, amarJtudo, caput), generallj' translated "gall" by tlie A.V., but in llos. x, 4 rendered " hem- lock:" in Dtuit. xxxii, .33, and Job xx, 16, it denotes the "poison" or "venom" of serpents. From Deut. xxix, 18, " a root that beareth rosh" (margin " a poison- ful herb"), and Lam. iii, 19, "the wormwood and the rosh," compared with Hos. x, 4, "judgment springeth up as rosh," it is evident that the Ileb. term denotes some bitter, and perhaps poisonous plant, tliough it maj' also be used, as in Psa. Ixix, 21, in the general sense of " something verj' bitter." Celsius (Ilierob. ii, 46-52) thinks '■'■ hemlnck" (Coniuin macvlatum) is in- tended, and (juotes Jerome on Hosea in su|iport of his opinion, thougli it seems that this commentator had in view the couch-grass (Triticum rejjens') rather than
III.— Z z
"hemlock." Eosenmiiller (^Blh. Bot. p. 118) is in- clined to think that the Loliuin temulentum best agrees with the passage in Hosea where the rosh is said to grow "in the furrows of the field." Other writers have supposed, and with some reason (from Deut. xxxii, 32, "tlieir grapes are grapes of ro.?/*"), that some berry-bearing plant must be intended. Gesenius (Thes. p. 1251) understands "poppies;" Michaelis (^Suppl. Lex. Ileb. p. 2220) is of opinion that rosh maj' l)e either the Lolium temulentum or the Solanum (" nightshade"). Oedmann {\'erm. Samml. pt. iv, c. 10) argues in favor of the Colocynth. The most probable conjecture, for proof there is none, is that of Gesenius : the capsules of the Papaveracece may well give the name oirosh (" head") to the plant in question, just as we speak of poppj' heads. The various species of this family spring up quickly in cornfields, and the juice is extremely bitter. A steeped solution of poppy heads may be "the water of gall" of Jer. viii, 14, unless, as Gesenius thinks, the "dX"i i?2 maj' be the poisonous extract, opium. This word is always used figuratively to represent sin, and never designates the animal secretion called gall. See Hemlock.
3. Gr. x^^'h prop, the bitter secretion gall. In the story of Tobit the (jail of a fish is said to have been used to cure his father's blindness (Tobit vi, 8 ; xi, 10, 13). Pliny refers to the use of the same substance for diseases of the eye {IJist. Nat. xxviii, 10) ; also speak- ing of the fish callionynms, he says it has a similar cu- rative virtue (xxxii, 4, 7). Galen and other writers praise the use of the liver of the silurus in cases of dim- ness of sight. See Blindness.
The passages in the Gospels which relate the cir- cumstance of the Roman soldiers offering our Lord, just before his crucifixion, "vinegar mingled with gall," according to Matthew (xxvii, 34), and "wine mingled with m3'rrh," according to Mark's account (xv, 23), require some consideration. The first-named evangelist uses xo\i}, which is the Sept. rendering of the Ileb. rosh in the Psalm (Ixix, 21) that foretels the Lord's sufferings. Mark explains the bitter ingredi- ent in the sour vinous drink to be " mj'rrh" (olvoQ ia- ^ivpvinj.i.ivo<S), for we cannot regard the transactions as different. " JIatthew, in his usual way," as Hengsten- berg (Comment, in Psa. Ixix, 21) remarks, "designates the drink theologically : always keeping his eye on the prophecies of the 0. T., he speaks of gall and vinegar for the purpose of rendering the fulfilment of the Psalms more manifest. Mark again (xv, 23), accord- ing to his way, looks rather at the outward quality of the drink." Bengel tikes quite a different view; he thinks both myrrh and gall were added to the sour wine (Gnom. Nov. Test. Matt. 1. c). Hengstenberg's view is far preferable ; nor is "gall" (\;o/\j/) to be un- derstood in any other sense than as expressing the bit- ter nature of the draught. As to the intent of the proff"cred drink, it is generally supposed that it was for the purpose of deadening pain. It was customary to give criminals just before their execution a cup of wine with frankincense in it, to which reference is made, it is believed, by the oii'Of KaTavvi,tw^ of Psa. Ix, 3 ; see also Prov. xxxi, 6. This the Talmud states was given in order to alleviate the pain. See Buxtorf {Lex. Talm. col. 2131), who quotes from the Talmud (Sanhed. fol. 43, 1) to that effect. RosenmUller (Bib. Bot. p. 168) is of opinion tluit the myrrh was given to our Lord, not for the purpose of alleviating his suffer- ings, but in order that he might be sustained until the punishment was completed. He quotes from Apulcius (Metamor. viiil, who relates that a certain priest "dis- figured himself with a multitude of blows, having pre- viously strengthened Iiimself b}' takingmyrrh." How far the frankincense in the cup, as mentioned in tho Talmud, was supposed to possess soporific properties, or in any way to induce an alleviation of pain, it is difficult to determine. The same must be said of the olvoQ iff/aijOi'tcr/uVof: of Mark, for it is quite certain