What was 'gall' that was given to Jesus at the crufixion?

Question

Based on answers previously on Yanswers, I am down to a concoction using venom for the following reasons:
1. historicity; the practice of giving cucifixion victims a stupefying agent seems well documented, and is supported by every respected bible reference i've consulted.
2. Practical elimination: every other substance I have seen mentioned (bile, plant galls, certain plants and mushrooms) either have no effect or would produce effects which surely have been noted, like convulsions.
3. Symptomatic: Various venoms produce the symptoms described in the gospels.
4. Dosing: Only venoms are completely ineffective if swallowed. They only work trans dermally and the mouth is the best site for transdermal administration, and especially so if there is a mouth injury, as is very likely considering Jesus' rough treatment.
I can only find one candidate, the Mediterrean viper, but I would like to think that a snake with neurotoxic venom is more likely. An other candidates?

Robin of course he refused to drink it. thats my point. Greek pharmacoepaias are specific as to the effects and purposes of the various drugs in use. Hemlock causes fairly sudden death if injested. Mhyrh is used for entirely different things. Only the Med viper, or asp, (the same animal) has venom that is effective simply by holding it in the mouth without drinking. Nearly all poisons are bitter, some extremely so, and a mild acid like vinegar removes the taste. I'm looking for a candidate besides the viper.

but thanks for the biblical references. My research had just turned up roman and greek material.

Well, Robin, as the only answerer, you will get the prize, even tho you didn't answer the question. FYI, yours is a pretty standard argument that I was trying to avoid because it conveniently sidesteps the account as given in the gospels, which inconveniently perfectly match the dosing regimen and symptoms for poisoning by the asp you mention. Also, you make an ignorant statement about the poppy. They are not bitter, at least not the portion used as a poison and medicinally, which is the sap from the ripening seed pods. This is pleasant tasting and aromatic.

Answer 1

Gall (1.) Heb. mererah , meaning "bitterness" (Job 16:13); i.e., the bile secreted in the liver. This word is also used of the poison of asps (Job 20:14), and of the vitals, the seat of life (Job 20:25). (2.) Heb. rosh . In Deu 32:33 and Job 20:16 it denotes the poison of serpents. In Hos 10:4 the Hebrew word is rendered "hemlock." The original probably denotes some bitter, poisonous plant, most probably the poppy, which grows up quickly, and is therefore coupled with wormwood (Deu 29:18; Jer 9:15; Lam 3:19). Compare Jer 8:14; Jer 23:15, "water of gall," Gesenius, "poppy juice;" others, "water of hemlock," "bitter water." Gr. chole (Mat 27:34), the LXX. translation of the Hebrew rosh in Psa 69:21, which foretells our Lord's sufferings. The drink offered to our Lord was vinegar (made of light wine rendered acid, the common drink of Roman soldiers) "mingled with gall," or, according to Mark (Mar 15:23), "mingled with myrrh;" both expressions meaning the same thing, namely, that the vinegar was made bitter by the infusion of wormwood or some other bitter substance, usually given, according to a merciful custom, as an anodyne to those who were crucified, to render them insensible to pain. Our Lord, knowing this, refuses to drink it. He would take nothing to cloud his faculties or blunt the pain of dying. He chooses to suffer every element of woe in the bitter cup of agony given him by the Father (Joh 18:11).

Answer 2

Actually no. The cause that the Romans attempted to deliver Jesus the wine combined with gall, used to be to numb Jesus to the discomfort of the anguish at the pass. The cause that individuals use the declaration "He definite has plenty of gall" honestly implies that they're pronouncing the individual has plenty of nerve to mention the insulting matters that they're pronouncing.