Hebrew word · H2558

חֹ֫מֶץ

chometz

vinegar

Fermented drink gone sour, from a root meaning 'to be sour or leavened'. Nazirites had to avoid ḥōmeṣ of wine and of strong drink (Num 6:3), so it counted as a grape product people actually drank. Boaz invites Ruth to dip her bread in it at the harvesters' meal (Ruth 2:14), a cheap workers' relish.

Appears 6 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

vinegar

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Psalm 69:21

Range of meaning

Fermented drink gone sour, from a root meaning 'to be sour or leavened'. Nazirites had to avoid ḥōmeṣ of wine and of strong drink (Num 6:3), so it counted as a grape product people actually drank. Boaz invites Ruth to dip her bread in it at the harvesters' meal (Ruth 2:14), a cheap workers' relish. Proverbs uses it for something that stings: 'like vinegar to the teeth' (10:26), and singing to a heavy heart is 'like vinegar on soda' (25:20).

Against the English

'Vinegar' (KJV, NASB, NIV, BSB, WEB) is technically right, but a modern reader pictures salad-dressing acid that nobody drinks. ESV and NLT's 'sour wine' gets closer: a low-grade, harsh drink.

How it drifted

Modern vinegar is a refined condiment. Ancient ḥōmeṣ ranged from spoiled wine to a diluted sour drink that people really did drink.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX ὄξος, Vulgate acetum. In the Roman period ὄξος/posca (sour wine cut with water) was the everyday drink of soldiers and labourers. That is the ὄξος offered to Jesus on the cross (Mark 15:36; Matt 27:48; Luke 23:36; John 19:29). John explicitly links it with his 'I thirst' and 'that the Scripture might be fulfilled' (John 19:28).

From the study of Numbers 6:3

Range of meaning

Wine or other fermented drink that has gone sour (acetic). It is from the root ḥ-m-ṣ, "to be sour, leavened", the same root as ḥamets, leavened bread. Mixed with water, it made a cheap, refreshing drink for labourers and soldiers.

Against the English

Every major version says "vinegar", which is technically right. But modern readers think of a condiment and may wonder why anyone would need a law against drinking it. In Israel it was something people actually drank.

How it drifted

Today vinegar is a cooking ingredient. In the ancient Mediterranean, soured wine diluted with water (Latin posca) was an everyday drink of the poor and of soldiers.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ruth 2:14: Boaz invites Ruth to dip her bread in the ḥomets at a harvest meal. Ps 69:21: "for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." Prov 10:26: vinegar sets the teeth on edge. In the Gospels, the Greek oxos offered to Jesus on the cross (Mark 15:36; John 19:29) is the same kind of soldiers' sour wine.

From the study of Proverbs 10:26

Range of meaning

Sour wine, vinegar: a fermented drink, usually wine, that has gone acidic. It comes from the root ḥ-m-ṣ, meaning 'be sour, leavened'. It is the same family of words as ḥāmēṣ, the leavened bread banned at Passover.

Against the English

Modern 'vinegar' calls up distilled white vinegar used for salad dressing or cleaning. Ancient ḥōmeṣ was cheap soured wine. Labourers drank it and dipped bread in it. It was ordinary and useful, but harsh when it hit the teeth straight.

Used elsewhere in the period

Numbers 6:3 names 'vinegar of wine' and 'vinegar of strong drink' among the things a Nazirite avoids. In Ruth 2:14 Boaz invites Ruth to dip her bread in the ḥōmeṣ at the reapers' meal. Psalm 69:21 says 'for my thirst they gave me vinegar' (the Gospels echo this at the crucifixion with Greek oxos, the cheap sour wine soldiers drank). Proverbs 25:20 uses it again in a picture of something that grates: 'vinegar on soda'.

Where it appears

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 6:3 חֹ֥מֶץ וְחֹ֥מֶץ vinegar of, and vinegar of

    he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins.

    Here: Wine or beer gone sour. Watered down, it was a cheap working drink (compare Ruth 2:14), not just something to cook with. Banning it closes the loophole of "it's not really wine any more."

Ruth · 1

  1. Ruth 2:14 בַּחֹ֑מֶץ in the vinegar

    At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here; have some bread and dip it into the vinegar sauce.” So she sat down beside the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left over.

    Here: Soured wine or a sour fermented drink used as a dip and thirst-quencher for field workers. This is not table vinegar used as a seasoning.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 69:21 חֹֽמֶץ׃ vinegar

    They poisoned my food with gall and gave me vinegar to quench my thirst.

    Here: Wine (or other fermented drink) that has gone sour. It could be drunk and was used as a dip for bread (Ruth 2:14), but it was harsh and stinging (Prov 10:26). Given for thirst instead of water, it adds insult and does not satisfy.

Proverbs · 2

  1. Proverbs 10:26 כַּחֹ֤מֶץ׀ like <the> vinegar

    Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the slacker to those who send him.

    Here: 'Like the vinegar.' This is wine or another fermented drink that has gone sour. People drank it and dipped bread in it, but it is sharp and acidic. The word opens the first picture of something sharp and irritating.

  2. Proverbs 25:20 חֹ֣מֶץ vinegar

    Like one who removes a garment on a cold day or vinegar poured on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

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