Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 69:21
They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
21. This verse is connected with the preceding one. Not content with merely refusing sympathy, they aggravated and embittered his sufferings, as though one were to mock a hungry man by offering him bitter and poisonous food, or a thirsty man by giving him sour and undrinkable wine. The language is plainly metaphorical: cp. Jer 8:14; Jer 9:15; Jer 23:15. The Heb. word rsh, rendered gall (LXX , Vulg. and Jer. fel), denotes some bitter and poisonous plant, which cannot however be identified with certainty. Tristram ( Nat. Hist. of Bible, p. 447) thinks that the Poppy is the plant intended. “ Papaver arenarium grows everywhere in Palestine; it springs up very quickly in cornfields, and its juice is most bitter and poisonous.”
Vinegar cannot here mean the thin sour wine which was used as a refreshing beverage (Num 6:3; Rth 2:14), but such as had gone bad and become nauseous and unfit to drink.
Allusion seems to be made to this passage in St Matthew’s account of the Crucifixion (Mat 27:34), though it is not actually quoted; and St John expressly says that the cry “I thirst” was uttered “that the scripture might be accomplished [34] .”
[34] The ‘Gospel of Peter’ (ch. 5) represents the potion of “gall with vinegar” as poison administered to hasten death.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
They gave me also – My enemies; all persons around me. No one would show me even so much kindness as to give me food when I was hungry, or drink when I was thirsty. They utterly forsook me; they left me to die unpitied. Nay, they did more than this. When I was perishing with hunger, they not only refused to give me wholesome food, but they mocked my sufferings by giving me a bitter and poisonous herb for food, and vinegar for my drink.
Gall for my meat – For my food. Or, they gave me this instead of wholesome food. The word here rendered gall – ro’sh – is the same in form which is commonly rendered head, and occurs in this sense very often in the Scriptures. It is also used to denote a poisonous plant, perhaps from the idea that the plant referred to was distinguished for, or remarkable for its head – as the poppy; and then the name may have been given also to some other similar plants. The word then comes to denote poison; venom; anything poisonous; and then, anything very bad-tasted; bitter. It is rendered gall, as here, in Deu 29:18; Jer 8:14; Jer 9:15; Jer 23:15; Lam 3:5, Lam 3:19; Amo 6:12; venom in Deu 32:33; poison, in Job 20:16; and hemlock, in Hos 10:4. In Deu 29:18, it is rendered, in the margin, rosh, or a poisonful herb. It does not occur elsewhere with any such signification. It may not be possible to determine precisely what is denoted here by the word, but it undoubtedly refers to some poisonous, bitter, deadly, stupefying substance given to a sufferer, instead of that which would be wholesome food, or suited to sustain life.
And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink – Instead of giving me pure water, they gave me sour wine – vinegar – that which would not slake my thirst, or which would not answer the purpose of drink. The form of trial here referred to is that where one is dying of thirst, and where, instead of giving water to assuage the thirst, one should give, in mockery, that which could not be drunk, or which would answer none of the purposes required. The word translated vinegar – chomets – is rendered in the ancient versions sour grapes, but the proper signification here seems to be vinegar – the usual meaning of the word. What is here stated to have been done to David was also done to the dying Saviour, though without any intimation that the passage here had an original reference to him – or that what was done to him was intended to be a fulfillment of what is here said. See Mat 27:34, Mat 27:48; Mar 15:23; Joh 19:29. In the case of the Saviour, they first gave him vinegar mingled with myrrh – a usual custom in reference to those who were crucified – for the purpose of deadening the pain, or stupefying the sufferer. Mat 27:34. At a subsequent part of the crucifixion they gave him vinegar, extended to him in a sponge affixed to a reed. Mat 27:48; Joh 19:29. This was for a different purpose. It was to allay his thirst, and it seems (as the former may have been) to have been an act of kindness or compassion on the part of those who were appointed to crucify him. The former he refused to take, because he came to suffer; the latter he just tasted as he died. Joh 19:30. The coincidence in the cases of David and the Saviour was remarkable; but in the case of the Saviour no further use is made of what occurred to David than to employ the language which he employed to describe his own sufferings. The one was not, in any proper sense, a type of the other; nor does the language in the psalm refer to the Saviour.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 21. They gave me also gall for my meat] Even the food, necessary to preserve us in their slavery, was frequently mingled with what rendered it unpleasant and disgusting, though not absolutely unwholesome. And vinegar, sour small wines, was given us for our beverage. This is applied to our Lord, Mt 27:34, where the reader is requested to consult the notes.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Gall, or poison, or bitter herbs, Hos 10:4. See Deu 29:18; Jer 9:15; Lam 3:19. Instead of giving me that pity and comfort which my condition required, they barbarously added to my afflictions. These things were metaphorically fulfilled in David, but properly and literally h Christ, the description of whose sufferings was principally intended here by the Holy Ghost, who therefore directed Davids pen to these words, and possibly informed him that this should be accomplished in Christ; which may not seem improbable to him that considers the following imprecations, which are so many and so severe, that they may seem to exceed the bounds of justice and charity, if they be applied to Davids enemies, as a recompence for their injuries done to him; whereas they most deservedly and fitly belong to the enemies and murderers of Christ.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21. Instead of such, his enemiesincrease his pain by giving him most distasteful food and drink. ThePsalmist may have thus described by figure what Christ found inreality (compare Joh 19:29;Joh 19:30).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
They gave me also gall for my meat,…. Either some bitter herb mentioned with wormwood and hemlock, De 29:18; or the gall of some animal The Targum renders it,
“the gall of the heads of serpents:”
the poison of some serpents is in their heads, and the word that is here used signifies the head; see De 32:33. This was literally fulfilled in Christ, Mt 27:34; and showed that he bore the curse of the law; that being given to him for food, which was not fit to be eaten; thereby intimating, that he deserved not to have the common food and necessaries of life; which is the case of those in whose place and stead he suffered: and this may be a rebuke to such who, through fulness and affluence, are apt to slight and contemn some of the good creatures of God, which ought to be received with thanksgiving; let them remember the gall that was given Christ for meat. And this may serve to reconcile poor Christians to that mean fare and low way of living they are obliged to; though they, have but a dinner of herbs, or bread and water, it is better fare than their Lord’s; it is not gall;
and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink; Christ, when on the cross, was athirst, which was occasioned by a fever that usually attended persons in his circumstances; see Ps 22:15; and, that this Scripture might be fulfilled, he signified it, saying, “I thirst”; upon which vinegar was given to him, as all the evangelists relate;
Mt 27:48. This shows the truth of Christ’s human nature; that it was a true and real body that he assumed, which was subject to hunger and thirst, and was supported by food and drink, as our bodies are; also the truth of divine revelation; since such a minute circumstance as this, predicted so many hundred years ago, should, after so long a time, be exactly fulfilled; and likewise the truth of the Messiahship of Jesus, in whom this, and every thing else said Messiah, in the Law, the Prophets, and the book of Psalms, were fully accomplished; and therefore it may be strongly concluded that this is he of whom they spoke. Moreover, this expresses the inhumanity of the enemies of Christ, to use him in this manner, when he was suffering and dying; see Pr 31:6.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
21. And they put gall into my meat. Here he again repeats that his enemies carry their cruelty towards him to the utmost extent in their power. He speaks metaphorically when he describes them as mingling gall or poison with his meat, (85) and vinegar with his drink; even as it is said in Jeremiah,
“
Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.” (Jer 9:15)
But still the Apostle John justly declares that this Scripture was fulfilled when the soldiers gave Christ vinegar to drink upon the cross, (Joh 19:28😉 for it was requisite that whatever cruelty the reprobate exercise towards the members of Christ, should by a visible sign be represented in Christ himself. We have stated on the same principle, in our remarks upon Psa 22:18, that when the soldiers parted the garments of Christ among them, that verse was appropriately quoted, “They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots;” although David’s object was to express by figurative language that he was robbed, and that all his goods were violently taken from him, and made a prey of by his enemies. The natural sense must, however, be retained; which is, that the holy prophet had no relief afforded him; and that he was in a condition similar to that of a man who, already too much afflicted, found, as an additional aggravation of his distress, that his meat was poisoned, and his drink rendered nauseous by the bitter ingredients with which it had been mingled.
(85) The word ראש, rosh, here denominated gall, is thought by Celsius, Michaelis, Boothroyd, and others, to be hemlock According to Dr Adam Clarke and Williams, it refers to bitters in general, and particularly those of a deleterious nature. Bochart, from a comparison of this passage with Joh 19:29, thinks that ראש, rosh, is the same herb as the Evangelist calls ὑσσωπος, “hyssop;” a species of which growing in Judea, he proves from Isaac Ben Orman, an Arabian writer, to be so bitter, as not to be eatable. Theophylact expressly tells us that the hyssop was added as being deleterious or poisonous; and ‘Nonnus’ paraphrase is, “one gave the deadly acid mixed with hyssop.” See Parkhurst on ראש. The word occurs in Deu 29:18; and is, in the latter place, rendered poison In Hos 10:4, it is rendered hemlock; and in Amo 6:12, it is put in apposition with a word there translated hemlock, although the same word is also rendered wormwood
Vinegar, we conceive, here means sour wine, such as was given to slaves or prisoners in the East. Persons in better circumstances used lemons or pomegranates to give their drink a grateful acidity. It was therefore a great insult offered to a royal personage to give him in his thirst the refreshment of a slave or of a wretched prisoner; and David employs this figure to express the insults which were offered to him by his enemies. See Harmer ’ s Observations, volume 2, pp. 158, 159.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(21) Gall.Heb., rsh, i.e., head. (Comp. poppy heads. See Deu. 32:32.) In Hos. 10:4 it is translated hemlock, but is most probably the poppy (papaver arenarium), which grows everywhere in Palestine, and answers all the conditions. The rendering, gall, comes from the LXX.
Vinegar.Sour wine would not be rejected as unpalatable (see Note Rth. 2:14). It was forbidden to Nazarites as a luxury (Num. 6:3). Was the author of the psalm possibly a Nazarite? or are the expressions in the psalm merely figurative. Comp.
The banquet where the meats became
As wormwood.
TENNYSON: Elaine.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. They gave me gall for meat “Gall,” here, properly denotes active poison of any kind, whether in food or drink. See Jer 8:14; Amo 6:12. Sometimes the word signifies a poisonous herb, as Deu 29:18; Hos 10:4. Comp. 2Ki 4:38-41.
They gave me vinegar to drink A direct foreshadowing of the sufferings of Christ, quoted Mat 27:34; Mat 27:48; Joh 19:29. When they came to the place of crucifixion “they gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall.” Mark says, “wine, (that is, soured wine, vinegar,) mingled with myrrh,” or bitter drug, answering to “gall,” Mat 27:34. This was to stupify him, and so render him less sensible to pain; but he declined it. Later they offered him vinegar as a stimulant, of which it does not appear that he drank further than tasting, as it was put to his lips.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 69:21. They gave me also gall, &c. This was only figurative in respect of David, as it is here expressed, but it was literally true of our Saviour on the cross; and therefore what follows may as truly, and perhaps more properly, be considered as predictions of the punishment which should be inflicted on the persecutors of our Lord, than as imprecations of David against his enemies. See the first note on this psalm. The word rosh, rendered gall, is frequently joined with wormwood. See Deu 29:18. And from a comparison of this place with Joh 19:29. Bochart thinks the herb rosh, in this psalm, to be the same as the evangelist calls hyssop; a species of which in Judaea, he proves from Isaac Ben-Omran, an Arabic writer, to be bitter; adding, that it is so bitter as not to be eatable. And Chrysostom, Theophylact, and Nonnus, took the hyssop mentioned by St. John to be poisonous. Theophylact expressly tells us, that hyssop was added as being deleterious, or poisonous; and Nonnus, in his paraphrase, says,
One gave the deadly acid, mix’d with hyssop.
See Bochart, vol. 2: p. 590 and Parkhurst on the word .
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Psa 69:21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
Ver. 21. They gave me also gall for my meat ] Venenum vel eicutam; and so showed themselves miserable comforters.
And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
They gave. Fulfilled in Mat 27:34, Mat 27:48. Mar 15:23, Mar 15:36. Luk 23:36. Joh 19:28-30.
gave = put. See note on Mat 27:34.
gall. = something bitter, probably the poppy. Hebrew. r’osh. In Deu 29:18; Deu 32:33, it is rendered “venom”; in Job 20:16, “poison”; in Hos 10:4, “hemlock”.
for = into.
meat = choice food. Occurs only here. A kindred form in 2Sa 13:5, 2Sa 13:7, 2Sa 13:10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
gall for my meat: Bochart, from a comparison of this passage with Joh 19:29, thinks that rosh is the same herb as the evangelist calls , hyssop; a species of which, growing in Judea, he proves from Isaac ben Orman, an Arabian writer, to be so bitter as not to be eatable. Theophylact expressly tells us, that the hyssop was added , as being deleterious, or poisonous, and Nonnus, in his paraphrase, says, “One gave the deadly acid mixed with hyssop.” Jer 8:14, Jer 9:15, Jer 23:15, Mat 27:34, Mat 27:48
vinegar: Mar 15:23, Mar 15:36, Luk 23:36, Joh 19:29, Joh 19:30
Reciprocal: Psa 22:15 – tongue Psa 69:3 – my throat Psa 102:9 – I Have Lam 3:5 – gall Joh 19:28 – that the
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 69:21. They gave me gall for my meat Instead of affording me that pity and comfort which my condition required, they barbarously added to my affliction. These words were only metaphorically fulfilled in David, but were properly and literally accomplished in Christ; the description of whose sufferings, it seems, was principally intended here by the Holy Ghost, who therefore directed Davids pen to these words. And hence what follows may as truly, and perhaps more properly, be considered as predictions of the punishment which should be inflicted on the persecutors of our Lord, than as imprecations of David against his enemies.