Greek word · G5521

χολή

cholē

gall

In classical Greek this is the bile or gall produced by the liver, and by extension bitterness or anger. So in Jewish Greek it was a general word for 'something bitter and nauseating', not only the liver fluid.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

χολή, -ῆς, ἡ

[in LXX for רֹאשׁ, לַעֲנָה, מְרֵרָה ;]

gall: Matthew 27:34 (here prob. = myrrh, cf. Mark 15:23, see Swete, in l; DCG, i, 634); metaphorically, Acts 8:23.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Matthew 27:34

Range of meaning: In classical Greek this is the bile or gall produced by the liver, and by extension bitterness or anger. In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament used by Greek-speaking Jews) it translates two Hebrew words for bitter or poisonous plants: rosh, a poisonous herb (Deut 29:18; Ps 69:21), and la'anah, wormwood (Prov 5:4; Lam 3:15). So in Jewish Greek it was a general word for 'something bitter and nauseating', not only the liver fluid.
Against the English: English 'gall' now means bile, or else 'nerve, cheek' ('the gall of him!'). Translations that keep 'gall' are tracing the Psalm 69 wording. Some paraphrases say 'bitter herbs' or 'a bitter drug', which describes the substance better but loses the scriptural echo.
How it drifted: The English word has narrowed toward its medical sense and its slang sense of impudence. The broad biblical sense of 'bitter poison or bitter herb' has mostly dropped out of everyday use.
Used elsewhere in the period: Ps 68:22 LXX (69:21 English): 'They gave gall (cholēn) for my food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine (oxos) to drink.' See also Deut 29:17 LXX; Lam 3:15, 19; Prov 5:4; Acts 8:23 ('gall of bitterness'). Mark 15:23 describes the same drink as wine 'mixed with myrrh' (esmyrnismenon).

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

Matthew 27:34 χολῆς gall

they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.

Here: Literally bile, but in the Greek Old Testament it is the stock word for anything bitter or poisonous, such as wormwood and other bitter herbs. Here it means a bitter additive. It is probably the myrrh that Mark names, and Matthew gives it a scriptural label taken from Psalm 69.

Acts · 1

Acts 8:23 χολὴν [the] gall

For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and captive to iniquity.”

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.