### Core Meaning & Semantic Range
The Hebrew word **laʻănâh**, represented by `{{H3939}}`, refers to **wormwood** or **hemlock**. It appears **8 times** in **8 unique verses**. The word's definition, derived from a root meaning to curse, suggests something poisonous and accursed, and it is used throughout scripture to symbolize a bitter and destructive reality.
### Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis
In the biblical narrative, `{{H3939}}` serves as a potent metaphor for spiritual and moral corruption. In Amos, it represents the perversion of justice, where judgment is turned to **wormwood** [[Amos 5:7]] and the fruit of righteousness into **hemlock** [[Amos 6:12]]. It is also depicted as the bitter consequence of sin and divine judgment. God declares He will feed His people and false prophets with **wormwood** as punishment ([[Jeremiah 9:15]], [[Jeremiah 23:15]]). This imagery of bitterness extends to personal suffering, where an immoral path's end is "bitter as **wormwood**" [[Proverbs 5:4]] and the memory of affliction is linked to **the wormwood** and the gall [[Lamentations 3:19]].
### Related Words & Concepts
Several related words clarify the concepts of bitterness and judgment associated with **wormwood**:
* `{{H7219}}` **rôʼsh** (gall, hemlock, poison, venom): Often appears alongside `{{H3939}}` to describe a poisonous combination, such as a "root that beareth **gall** and **wormwood**" [[Deuteronomy 29:18]] or a punishment of drinking "water of **gall**" [[Jeremiah 9:15]].
* `{{H4751}}` **mar** (bitter): This adjective is used to define the nature of wormwood, as seen in the warning that a destructive end is "**bitter** as wormwood" [[Proverbs 5:4]].
* `{{H4941}}` **mishpâṭ** (judgment): This is what is corrupted or perverted into wormwood, signifying a complete reversal of divine and moral order [[Amos 5:7]].
* `{{H6666}}` **tsᵉdâqâh** (righteousness): Like judgment, the fruit of **righteousness** is turned into hemlock, showing how good principles can be poisoned by sin [[Amos 6:12]].
* `{{H6040}}` **ʻŏnîy** (affliction): This word describes the state of suffering that is equated with the experience of wormwood, as seen in the remembrance of "mine **affliction** and my misery, the **wormwood** and the gall" [[Lamentations 3:19]].
### Theological Significance
The theological weight of `{{H3939}}` is significant, highlighting the consequences of turning from God.
* **Perversion of Justice:** Wormwood symbolizes the inversion of God's standards, where **judgment** `{{H4941}}` and **righteousness** `{{H6666}}` are transformed into something poisonous and harmful ([[Amos 5:7]], [[Amos 6:12]]).
* **Fruit of Apostasy:** Turning away from God to serve other gods is described as cultivating a "root that beareth gall and **wormwood**," indicating that sin has poisonous origins and consequences [[Deuteronomy 29:18]].
* **Divine Chastisement:** God uses the metaphor of feeding the people **wormwood** to represent His righteous judgment against their profaneness and rebellion ([[Jeremiah 9:15]], [[Jeremiah 23:15]]).
* **Embodiment of Suffering:** The word encapsulates profound personal misery and affliction, as the soul is filled with bitterness and made "drunken with **wormwood**" [[Lamentations 3:15]].
### Summary
In summary, `{{H3939}}` is more than a botanical term; it is a biblical symbol of profound bitterness. It represents the corrupting poison of injustice, the bitter fruit of sin, the severity of divine judgment, and the depths of human suffering when one turns away from God.
TRV