Lexical Summary
rosh: poison, bitterness, poisoned
Original Word:רֹאשׁ
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:ro'sh
Pronunciation:rohsh
Phonetic Spelling:(roshe)
KJV: gall, hemlock, poison, venom
NASB:poison, bitterness, poisoned, poisonous, gall, poisonous weeds
Word Origin:[apparently the same asH7218 (רוֹאשׁ - head)]
1. a poisonous plant, probably the poppy (from its conspicuous head)
2. (generally) poison (even of serpents)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
gall, hemlock, poison, venom
Or rowsh (Deut. 32:32) {roshe}; apparently the same asro'sh; a poisonous plant, probably the poppy (from its conspicuous head); generally poison (even of serpents) -- gall, hemlock, poison, venom.
see HEBREWro'sh
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
roshDefinition(bitter and poisonous herb) venom
NASB Translationbitterness (2), gall (1), poison (4), poisoned (2), poisonous (2), poisonous weeds (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
II. and (
Deuteronomy 32:32)
Deuteronomy 32:33 a bitter and poisonous herb, them venom, always figurative; —
, + (or "")Deuteronomy 29:17;Lamentations 3:19, so ()Jeremiah 9:14;Jeremiah 23:15; (without )Jeremiah 8:14;Deuteronomy 22:32 ("" );Lamentations 3:5; alonePsalm 69:22,Hosea 10:4,Amos 6:12.
venom, of serpents,Deuteronomy 32:33;Job 20:16.
poison,Deuteronomy 32:32, see II..
Topical Lexicon
רֹאשׁ – Strong’s Hebrew 7219
Hazardous plant imagery and covenant warning
Within Moses’ final admonitions the term surfaces as a vivid emblem of hidden spiritual peril. “Make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison” (Deuteronomy 29:18). The image warns that idolatry can germinate unseen, yet, like a toxic weed, infect the whole community.Hebrews 12:15 later borrows the picture—“root of bitterness”—to caution the church against the same peril.
The vine of Sodom: national apostasy exposed
In the Song of Moses, Israel’s future unfaithfulness is compared to the corrupt viticulture of Sodom:
“For their vine is from the vine of Sodom … Their grapes are poisonous; their clusters are bitter. Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras” (Deuteronomy 32:32-33).
Here רֹאשׁ brands the entire produce of a counterfeit vine as lethal. Centuries later, prophets will reuse the motif to expose covenant infidelity.
Prophetic indictments: poisoned water and wormwood
Jeremiah declares that persistent sin will be repaid in kind:
“The LORD our God has… given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against Him” (Jeremiah 8:14; cf. 9:15; 23:15).
Rֹאשׁ appears alongside “wormwood,” intensifying the message that rebellion converts life-giving streams into bitterness.Hosea 10:4 pictures judgment that “springs up like poisonous weeds,” whileAmos 6:12 laments that Israel has “turned justice into poison.” The word becomes shorthand for institutionalized corruption—when truth itself tastes like venom.
Personal lament and corporate suffering
Lamentations applies the term to the siege trauma of Jerusalem: “He has besieged me… with bitterness and hardship” (Lamentations 3:5; cf. 3:19). Rֹאשׁ thus bridges personal grief and national catastrophe, illustrating how sin’s consequences invade both public and private life.
Individual wickedness: Job’s portrait
Job’s friend Zophar predicts that the wicked will “suck the poison of cobras” (Job 20:16). The verse shows רֹאשׁ used for self-inflicted ruin—evil consumed becomes evil’s executioner.
Messianic prophecy fulfilled
Psalm 69:21 records, “They poisoned my food with gall and gave me vinegar to drink.” The Gospel writers recall this verse when Jesus is offered wine mixed with bitter gall (Matthew 27:34;John 19:29-30). Rֹאשׁ thereby foreshadows the rejection and suffering of the Messiah, who drinks the cup of judgment on behalf of sinners.
Theological themes
1. Hidden beginnings, catastrophic ends – Rֹאשׁ starts as an unseen root but matures into lethal fruit.
2. Moral inversion – Justice and righteousness become poison when detached from the fear of the LORD (Amos 6:12).
3. Retributive irony – God repays obstinate sin with the very bitterness it produced (Jeremiah).
4. Messianic substitution – The bitter cup prophetically reserved for the wicked is ultimately tasted by Christ, opening the way to grace.
Pastoral and ministry implications
• Vigilance against “roots” of bitterness, whether personal grievances or doctrinal compromise, is essential for congregational health.
• Prophets’ use of רֹאשׁ urges leaders to guard teaching and practice; poisoned springs defile entire communities.
• In counseling the suffering,Lamentations 3 reminds us that bitterness can be acknowledged honestly, yet set within hope (3:21-23).
• The gospel offers the only true antidote: the One who “knew no sin” absorbed mankind’s gall so that living water could flow (John 7:37-39).
Thus רֹאשׁ stands as Scripture’s enduring symbol of the deadly nature of sin and the surpassing grace that overcomes it.
Forms and Transliterations
וְרֹ֥אשׁ וָרֹֽאשׁ׃ וראש וראש׃ כָּרֹאשׁ֙ כראש לְרֹאשׁ֙ לראש ר֔וֹשׁ רֹ֑אשׁ רֹ֔אשׁ רֹ֖אשׁ רֹ֥אשׁ רֹֽאשׁ׃ רֹאשׁ־ ראש ראש־ ראש׃ רוש kā·rōš kārōš karoSh lə·rōš lərōš leroSh rō·wōš Roosh rōš rōš- rosh rōwōš vaRosh veRosh wā·rōš wārōš wə·rōš wərōš
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