G3690 — ὄξος (oxos)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3690
Original: ὄξος
Transliteration: oxos
Pronunciation: oz-os
Part of Speech: Neuter noun
Root: ὀξύς (oxys, G3691) — sharp, keen, swift; base sense "acid/sour"
Occurrences: 6 unique verses (7 tokens) in NT
First Occurrence: Matt 27:34 — "They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G3691 (oxys); vinegar, i.e. sour wine: — vinegar.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 6.019 — Plant Products
Other words in domain: γλεῦκος (gleukos, G1098), ἔλαιον (elaion, G1637), οἶνος (oinos, G3631), σίκερα (sikera, G4608)

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
006	Artifacts	`search_relationships.py` groups oxos with concrete food-and-drink items in the material culture field, fitting its Gospel usage as an actual substance offered at the crucifixion.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
vinegar	3	50.0%
of vinegar	2	33.3%
with vinegar	2	33.3%

Note: All translations render the same English word "vinegar" — variation is purely prepositional context.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Matthew	2	0.2
John	2	0.2
Mark	1	0.1
Luke	1	0.1

All occurrences are in the Gospels, exclusively in crucifixion narratives. Every Gospel includes at least one reference. John has two tokens in one verse (19:29) describing both the vessel and the sponge.

Morphological Forms¶

Form	Parsing	Occurrences
ὄξους	Genitive Singular Neuter	4× (Matt 27:48, Mark 15:36, John 19:29 ×2)
ὄξος	Accusative Singular Neuter	2× (Luke 23:36, John 19:30)

Only two case forms appear: genitive (partitive — "full of vinegar," "filled with vinegar") and accusative (direct object — "offering him vinegar," "received the vinegar").

Semantic Categories¶

1. Offered to Jesus Before Crucifixion (Pre-Cross Drink)¶

Matt 27:34 — "They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink."

This is the only occurrence where Jesus refuses the drink. Matthew uses oxos where Mark 15:23 uses oinos (wine) with myrrh — either a separate incident or variant tradition.

2. Sponge Soaked in Sour Wine on the Cross¶

Matt 27:48 — "And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink."
Mark 15:36 — "And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down."
John 19:29 — "Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth."

The central usage: a sponge soaked in sour wine lifted to Jesus on the cross. The delivery mechanism (sponge + reed/hyssop) is consistent across three Gospels.

3. Soldiers Mocking with Sour Wine¶

Luke 23:36 — "And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar"

Luke's unique framing — the offering is explicitly an act of mockery by soldiers, distinct from the bystander action in the other Gospels.

4. Jesus Receives and Declares "It Is Finished"¶

John 19:30 — "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."

John uniquely records Jesus accepting the sour wine immediately before his final words. This is the only occurrence where Jesus receives rather than refuses the drink.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
σπόγγος (spongos)	G4699	3× (50%)	"filled a sponge with vinegar" — the delivery method
περιτίθημι (peritithēmi)	G4060	3× (50%)	"put it on a reed" — placing the sponge
κάλαμος (kalamos)	G2563	2× (33%)	"on a reed" — the reaching instrument
ποτίζω (potizō)	G4222	2× (33%)	"gave him to drink" — the act of offering
πλήθω (plēthō)	G4130	2× (33%)	"filled" the sponge or vessel
προσφέρω (prospherō)	G4374	2× (33%)	"offering him" the vinegar
τρέχω (trechō)	G5143	2× (33%)	"ran" to get the sponge
λαμβάνω (lambanō)	G2983	2× (33%)	"took" a sponge / "received" the vinegar

The collocations paint a vivid physical scene: someone runs, takes a sponge, fills it with sour wine, puts it on a reed, and gives him to drink.

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3691 ὀξύς (oxys) — adjective: sharp, keen, swift (8 occurrences: Rev 1:16, 2:12, 14:14, 14:17, 19:15 of sharp swords; Rom 3:15 "feet swift to shed blood"; also Psa 56–57 title in LXX). The root sense is "sharp/acid" — oxos is the substantive form meaning "that which is sour."

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G3690.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G3690.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
חֹמֶץ (chomets)	H2558	"vinegar"	Hebrew OT equivalent; used in non-crucifixion contexts (Nazirite law, Ruth's meal, Psalms/Proverbs); oxos is the NT Greek term exclusively at the crucifixion

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 6.019 — Plant Products)¶

Word	Strong's	Total Verses	Key Difference
οἶνος (oinos)	G3631	25	Wine in general — broad usage across social, ritual, and metaphorical contexts
γλεῦκος (gleukos)	G1098	1	Sweet/new wine — the opposite end of the fermentation spectrum from oxos
σίκερα (sikera)	G4608	1	Strong drink — non-grape fermented beverage, Semitic loanword
ἔλαιον (elaion)	G1637	10	Oil — different plant product entirely (olive vs. grape)

Oxos is specifically sour/acidified wine (posca), the cheap drink of Roman soldiers and common laborers. It sits between oinos (regular wine) and gleukos (fresh sweet wine) on the fermentation spectrum.

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
חֹמֶץ (chomets)	H2558	4	12.15	One-to-one semantic equivalent: vinegar/sour wine. H2558 appears 6× in OT (Num 6:3, Ruth 2:14, Psa 69:22, Prov 10:26, 25:20). The Psalm 69:22 reference ("in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink") is directly echoed in the crucifixion narratives.