Poison
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Easton's Bible Dictionary

(1.) Hebrews hemah, "heat," the poison of certain venomous reptiles (Deuteronomy 32:24, 33; Job 6:4; Psalm 58:4), causing inflammation.

(2.) Hebrews rosh, "a head," a poisonous plant (Deuteronomy 29:18), growing luxuriantly (Hosea 10:4), of a bitter taste (Psalm 69:21; Lamentations 3:5), and coupled with wormwood; probably the poppy. This word is rendered "gall", q.v., (Deuteronomy 29:18; 32:33; Psalm 69:21; Jeremiah 8:14, etc.), "hemlock" (Hosea 10:4; Amos 6:12), and "poison" (Job 20:16), "the poison of asps," showing that the rosh was not exclusively a vegetable poison.

(3.) In Romans 3:13 (Comp. Job 20:16; Psalm 140:3), James 3:8, as the rendering of the Greek ios.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (n.) Any agent which, when introduced into the animal organism, is capable of producing a morbid, noxious, or deadly effect upon it; as, morphine is a deadly poison; the poison of pestilential diseases.

2. (n.) That which taints or destroys moral purity or health; as, the poison of evil example; the poison of sin.

3. (n.) To put poison upon or into; to infect with poison; as, to poison an arrow; to poison food or drink.

4. (n.) To injure or kill by poison; to administer poison to.

5. (n.) To taint; to corrupt; to vitiate; as, vice poisons happiness; slander poisoned his mind.

6. (v. i.) To act as, or convey, a poison.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
POISON

poi'-z'-n (chemah, ro'-sh; thumos, ios): Residents in Palestine must, from the first, have been acquainted with venomous serpents. Six species of these are widely diffused in the land, and at least three of them are fairly common in places. Besides, there are scorpions, centipedes and the large spider, which are as much dreaded by the fellahin as are the serpents, not to speak of the minor but very serious discomforts of mosquitoes, sandflies and ticks, some of which were credited with lethal powers. In The Wisdom of Solomon 16:9 the Revised Version (British and American) we read that "the bites of locusts and flies did slay, and there was not found a healing for their life." There are also many poisonous plants, such as belladonna, henbane, thorn apple, and the opium poppy. None of these is mentioned in the Bible; the only names found there are the hemlock (Conium maculatum) of Hosea 10:4, the poisonous gourd (Citrullus colocynthis) of 2 Kings 4:39, and the grapes of gall, probably the fruit of Calotropis procera, the apples of Sodom of Josephus (BJ, IV, viii, 4). Some, however, believe that these are poppyheads. Poisonous waters are referred to at Marah (Exodus 15:23) and Jericho (2 Kings 2:19). There are no direct records of any person dying of poison except in 2 Maccabees 10:13, where the suicide of Ptolemy Macron is related. our Lord's promise in the appendix to Mark 16:18 shows, however, that poisons were known and might be administered by way of ordeal, as was the unknown "water of jealousy" (Numbers 5:17). In this connection the story in Eusebius (Historia Ecclesiastica, III, 39) is interesting, that "Justus surnamed Barsabbas, though he drank a deadly poison, suffered no injury, through the grace of the Lord." The passages in which poisonous serpents are mentioned are Deuteronomy 32:24, where serpents (the Revised Version (British and American) "crawling things") of the dust, probably Cerastes hasselquistii, the little horned vipers, are mentioned, and in Deuteronomy 32:33: "poison of serpents, and the cruel venom of asps." The asp may be the cobra Naia haje, not uncommon on the borders of the wilderness to the South. Psalm 58:4 mentions the poison of serpents. Psalm 140:3, "They have sharpened their tongue like a serpent; adders' poison is under their lips," indicates, what is still a common belief, that the forked tongue of the snake is the poison-bearer. This is referred to in James 3:8. That it was the fang and not the tongue which carried the poison was known to Pliny (xi.62). This verse of Psalm 140 is given in Paul's composite quotation in Romans 3:13. There may be a reference to the giving of an intoxicant poison in Habakkuk 2:15, where the Revised Version (British and American) reads "that addest thy venom." The prophets speak in several places of God's wrath as a cup of trembling (the Revised Version (British and American) "staggering"), e.g. Isaiah 51:17, 22, probably suggested by the fact that chemah primarily means "fury" and is used in that sense in more than a hundred passages. In Zechariah 12:2 Jerusalem is to be such a "cup of reeling unto all the peoples round about."

The semamith, "lizard" (the King James Version "spider"), mentioned in Proverbs 30:28 Septuagint kalabotes) was formerly regarded as poisonous and it is still much disliked by the fellahin, as they believe that it makes mocking gestures mimicking them at their prayers. They are really not poisonous. It is doubtful whether the lizard mentioned by Agur is really this stellion; the description better fits the gecko.

Alexander Macalister

Greek
2447. ios -- rust, poison
... rust, poison. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: ios Phonetic Spelling:
(ee-os') Short Definition: poison, rust Definition: poison, rust; an arrow ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2447.htm - 6k

5521. chole -- gall (a bitter herb)
... Feminine of an equivalent perhaps akin to the same as Chloe (from the greenish hue);
"gall" or bile, ie (by analogy) poison or an anodyne (wormwood, poppy, etc ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5521.htm - 6k

4088. pikria -- bitterness
... bitterness. From pikros; acridity (especially poison), literally or figuratively --
bitterness. see GREEK pikros. (pikria) -- 1 Occurrence. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4088.htm - 6k

2759. kentron -- a sharp point
... prick, sting. From kenteo (to prick); a point ("centre"), ie A sting (figuratively,
poison) or goad (figuratively, divine impulse) -- prick, sting. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2759.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew
4846. merorah -- a bitter thing, gall, poison
... merorah or merorah. 4847 . a bitter thing, gall, poison. Transliteration: merorah
or merorah Phonetic Spelling: (mer-o-raw') Short Definition: bitter. ...
/hebrew/4846.htm - 6k

7219. rosh -- (bitter and poisonous herb) venom
... (bitter and poisonous herb) venom. Transliteration: rosh or rosh Phonetic Spelling:
(roshe) Short Definition: poison. ... gall, hemlock, poison, venom. ...
/hebrew/7219.htm - 6k

2534. chemah -- heat, rage
... heat, rage NASB Word Usage anger (7), angry (1), burning anger (1), enrages (1),
fury (9), heat (2), hot displeasure (1), hot-tempered (3), poison (2), rage (3 ...
/hebrew/2534.htm - 6k

891. beushim -- stinking or worthless (things), wild grapes
... ones (2). wild grapes. Plural of b'osh; poison-berries -- wild grapes. see
HEBREW b'osh. 890, 891. beushim. 892 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/891.htm - 6k

Library

Poison-Labels
... POISON-LABELS. You have all seen bottles of poison, and you know when your
father or mother buys poison from the druggist there is ...
/.../chidley/fifty-two story talks to boys and girls/poison-labels.htm

The Poison and the Antidote
... THE BOOK OF NUMBERS THE POISON AND THE ANTIDOTE. ... Serpents had bitten the wounded.
Here was one like them, but without poison, hanging harmless on the pole. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/the poison and the antidote.htm

July the Thirtieth Sin as Poison
... JULY The Thirtieth SIN AS POISON. NUMBERS xxi.4-9. And this is the familiar
teaching, that sin is a serpent. It possesses a deadly poison. ...
/.../jowett/my daily meditation for the circling year/july the thirtieth sin as.htm

Abstain from the Poison of Heretics.
... Chapter VI."Abstain from the poison of heretics. I therefore, yet not
I, but the love of Jesus Christ, entreat you that ye use ...
/.../the epistle of ignatius to the trallians/chapter vi abstain from the poison.htm

Pheroras's Wife is Accused by his Freedmen, as Guilty of Poisoning ...
... 4. Pheroras's Wife Is Accused By His Freedmen, As Guilty Of Poisoning Him; And How
Herod, Upon Examining; Of The Matter By Torture Found The Poison; But So ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 4 pherorass wife is.htm

Herod is Made Procurator of all Syria; Malichus is Afraid of Him ...
... Herod Is Made Procurator Of All Syria; Malichus Is Afraid Of Him, And Takes Antipater
Off By Poison; Whereupon The Tribunes Of The Soldiers Are Prevailed With ...
/.../chapter 11 herod is made.htm

Tobacco.
... "Poison" is commonly defined as "any ... But the fact is that poison does not act at
all upon the human system, but the human system acts upon the poison. ...
/.../judy/questionable amusements and worthy substitutes/i tobacco.htm

The Anti-Missionary Agitation.
... last inflammatory placards were extensively posted throughout the region about Canton,
stating that foreigners had imported a large quantity of poison and had ...
/.../fagg/forty years in south china/x the anti-missionary agitation.htm

To Gregory xi
... craftily wrought, purporting to come from a man of God, working on his well-known
love for his family and timidity of nature, warning him of poison should he ...
/.../benincasa/letters of catherine benincasa/to gregory xi 5.htm

God's Cup of Myrrh
... fear nothing from such as I am, but my comrade, he is a wise man with all his wits
about him, and the Order have given him a little bag of poison, with which ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/bevan/three friends of god/chapter liii gods cup of.htm

Thesaurus
Poison (17 Occurrences)
... (1.) Hebrews hemah, "heat," the poison of certain venomous reptiles (Deuteronomy
32:24, 33; Job 6:4; Psalm 58:4), causing inflammation. ...
/p/poison.htm - 17k

Poison-snake (4 Occurrences)
Poison-snake. Poisons, Poison-snake. Poison-snakes . Multi-Version
Concordance Poison-snake (4 Occurrences). Proverbs ...
/p/poison-snake.htm - 7k

Poison-snakes (3 Occurrences)
Poison-snakes. Poison-snake, Poison-snakes. Pokereth-hazzebaim .
Multi-Version Concordance Poison-snakes (3 Occurrences). ...
/p/poison-snakes.htm - 7k

Poison-plant (1 Occurrence)
Poison-plant. Poisonous, Poison-plant. Poisons . Multi-Version
Concordance Poison-plant (1 Occurrence). Hosea 10:4 Their ...
/p/poison-plant.htm - 6k

Snakes (25 Occurrences)
... (BBE NIV). Mark 16:18 They shall take up venomous snakes, and if they drink
any deadly poison it shall do them no harm whatever. ...
/s/snakes.htm - 13k

Venom (8 Occurrences)
... Chaucer. 3. (n.) To infect with venom; to envenom; to poison. ... Deuteronomy 32:33
Their wine is the poison of serpents, The cruel venom of asps. ...
/v/venom.htm - 8k

Gall (17 Occurrences)
... the liver. This word is also used of the poison of asps (20:14), and of
the vitals, the seat of life (25). (2.) Hebrews rosh. In ...
/g/gall.htm - 17k

Deadly (31 Occurrences)
... wound" (Greek thanatos), better "death-stroke," as in the Revised Version (British
and American), and the phrases "deadly thing," ie poison (thanasimon ti ...
/d/deadly.htm - 17k

Snake (43 Occurrences)
... (BBE NIV). Job 20:16 He takes the poison of snakes into his mouth, the tongue
of the snake is the cause of his death. (Root in BBE). ...
/s/snake.htm - 19k

Venomous (4 Occurrences)
... be venomous. 2. (a.) Having a poison gland or glands for the secretion
of venom, as certain serpents and insects. 3. (a.) Noxious ...
/v/venomous.htm - 8k

Bible Concordance
Poison (17 Occurrences)

Mark 16:18 They shall take up venomous snakes, and if they drink any deadly poison it shall do them no harm whatever. They shall lay their hands on the sick, and the sick shall recover."
(WEY BBE NAS NIV)

Romans 3:13 "Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit." "The poison of vipers is under their lips;"
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

James 3:8 But nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 29:18 So that there may not be among you any man or woman or family or tribe whose heart is turned away from the Lord our God today, to go after other gods and give them worship; or any root among you whose fruit is poison and bitter sorrow;
(BBE NAS RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 32:24 They shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat and bitter destruction. I will send the teeth of animals on them, With the poison of crawling things of the dust.
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT RSV)

Deuteronomy 32:32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah: Their grapes are grapes of poison, Bitter are their clusters;
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 32:33 Their wine is the poison of serpents, The cruel venom of asps.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Job 6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me. My spirit drinks up their poison. The terrors of God set themselves in array against me.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Job 20:14 His food becomes bitter in his stomach; the poison of snakes is inside him.
(BBE)

Job 20:16 He shall suck the poison of asps: the viper's tongue shall slay him.
(KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 58:4 Their poison is like the poison of a snake; like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT)

Psalms 69:21 They gave me also gall for my food; And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
(See JPS BBE RSV)

Psalms 140:3 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent. Viper's poison is under their lips. Selah.
(WEB KJV ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 51:39 When they are heated, I will make their feast, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.
(See JPS)

Lamentations 3:19 Keep in mind my trouble and my wandering, the bitter root and the poison.
(BBE)

Hosea 7:5 A day of our king! Princes have polluted themselves 'with' the poison of wine, He hath drawn out his hand with scorners.
(YLT)

Amos 6:12 Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison, and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness;
(WEB BBE NAS RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Poison

Related Terms

Poison-snake (4 Occurrences)

Poison-snakes (3 Occurrences)

Poison-plant (1 Occurrence)

Snakes (25 Occurrences)

Venom (8 Occurrences)

Gall (17 Occurrences)

Deadly (31 Occurrences)

Snake (43 Occurrences)

Venomous (4 Occurrences)

Vipers (10 Occurrences)

Poisonous (8 Occurrences)

Asps (4 Occurrences)

Adder (9 Occurrences)

Snake's (3 Occurrences)

Serpent (40 Occurrences)

Darting (4 Occurrences)

Ploughed (16 Occurrences)

Poisoned (7 Occurrences)

Cobra (5 Occurrences)

Asp (3 Occurrences)

Stops (10 Occurrences)

Serpents (18 Occurrences)

Stoppeth (6 Occurrences)

Lizard (3 Occurrences)

Deaf (22 Occurrences)

Shutting (43 Occurrences)

Nero

Winged (69 Occurrences)

Bitterness (37 Occurrences)

Bitter (203 Occurrences)

Viper's (3 Occurrences)

Viper (8 Occurrences)

Nobody (21 Occurrences)

Nettle (2 Occurrences)

Unruly (8 Occurrences)

Unsettled (5 Occurrences)

Unresting (2 Occurrences)

Glide (2 Occurrences)

Wormwood (10 Occurrences)

Worms (14 Occurrences)

Wonder-worker (9 Occurrences)

Wasting (57 Occurrences)

Fears (40 Occurrences)

Fangs (5 Occurrences)

Tares (9 Occurrences)

Terrors (21 Occurrences)

Tame (3 Occurrences)

Throat (13 Occurrences)

Threads (13 Occurrences)

Taint (1 Occurrence)

Rocky (14 Occurrences)

Restless (6 Occurrences)

Exhausted (26 Occurrences)

Eliminate (3 Occurrences)

Ever-busy (1 Occurrence)

Dram

Destroyer (23 Occurrences)

Deceiving (18 Occurrences)

Dragons (17 Occurrences)

Deceit (160 Occurrences)

Deceive (48 Occurrences)

Drinks (28 Occurrences)

Death-bringing (1 Occurrence)

Devouring (20 Occurrences)

Murder (41 Occurrences)

Mischief (64 Occurrences)

Marshaled (4 Occurrences)

Macron

Plowed (9 Occurrences)

Poised (2 Occurrences)

Poisons (1 Occurrence)

Plough (11 Occurrences)

Pokereth-hazzebaim (2 Occurrences)

Barsabbas (2 Occurrences)

Bites (5 Occurrences)

Bolt (5 Occurrences)

Butler (9 Occurrences)

Bite (13 Occurrences)

Bag (52 Occurrences)

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