4669. smurnizó

Lexical Summary

smurnizó: To anoint with myrrh

Original Word: σμυρνίζω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: smurnizó
Pronunciation: smoor-NEE-zo
Phonetic Spelling: (smoor-nid'-zo)
KJV: mingle with myrrh
NASB: mixed with myrrh
Word Origin: [from G4667 (Σμύρνα - Smyrna)]

1. to tincture with myrrh, i.e. embitter (as a narcotic)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

mingle with myrrh.

From Smurna; to tincture with myrrh, i.e. Embitter (as a narcotic) -- mingle with myrrh.

see GREEK Smurna

HELPS Word-studies

4669 smyrnízō (from 4666 /smýrna, "myrrh") – properly, mingle with myrrh, a bitter herb given to help deaden the pain of criminals sentenced to crucifixion.

[Wine mixed with gall was commonly offered to dying criminals as a pain-deadener. This cheap wine was routinely given to people condemned to brutal execution.]

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from smurna
Definition
to be like myrrh, to mingle with myrrh
NASB Translation
mixed with myrrh (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 4669: σμυρνίζω

σμυρνίζω: (σμύρνα, which see);

1. intransitive, to be like myrrh (Dioscorides (?) 1, 79).

2. to mix and so flavor with myrrh: οἶνος ἐσμυρνισμενος (perfect passive participle) wine (A. V. mingled) with myrrh (Vulg.murratum vinum), i. e. flavored or (Pliny, h. n. 14, 15) made fragrant with myrrh: Mark 15:23. But since the ancients used to infuse myrrh into wine in order to give it a more agreeable fragrance and flavor, we must in this matter accept Matthew's account (Matthew 27:34, viz. 'mingled with gall') as by far the more probable; (but see χολή, 2).

Topical Lexicon

Occurrence and Context

Strong’s 4669 (ἐσμυρνισμένος, from σμυρνίζω) appears once, at the crucifixion scene in Mark 15:23: “And they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it”. The verb describes the act of flavoring or lacing wine with myrrh immediately before it is presented to Jesus.

Historical Background: Wine Mixed with Myrrh

1. Palliative custom. Jewish tradition, echoed in later rabbinic sources (e.g., Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 43a), speaks of charitable women who offered condemned men a narcotic drink to dull pain. Myrrh, with its analgesic and mildly narcotic properties, was a common additive.
2. Roman practice. Roman executioners sometimes provided soldiers’ wine (οἶνος ὄξος) mixed with bitter or sedative agents to hasten death or reduce resistance, aligning with Mark’s record of the soldiers’ involvement.
3. Symbolic irony. Myrrh appears elsewhere at moments of honor—gifts from the Magi (Matthew 2:11) and the burial spices (John 19:39). At Calvary, however, it is proffered as a merciful soporific just before the ultimate humiliation of the cross.

Myrrh Across Scripture

• Birth – Matthew 2:11
• Bridal imagery – Song of Solomon 1:13; 3:6
• Worship – Exodus 30:23 (anointing oil)
• Burial – John 19:39
• Suffering – Mark 15:23

The fragrance spans Jesus’ incarnation (birth), devotion (life), atonement (death), and burial, tying His whole redemptive mission together.

Mark 15:23 in the Passion Narrative

1. Voluntary refusal. By rejecting the drugged wine, Jesus chooses full awareness, embracing the entirety of the Father’s will (cf. John 18:11, “the cup the Father has given Me”).
2. Fulfillment of Scripture. Psalm 69:21 prefigures, “They gave Me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink”. The offered myrrh-wine, followed by the sour wine in Mark 15:36 and John 19:29, collectively satisfy the psalmic lament.
3. Complete obedience. Hebrews 2:10 states that the pioneer of salvation was made perfect through sufferings. Refusing anesthesia ensured unmitigated suffering, underscoring the depth of His substitutionary sacrifice.

Theological Significance

• Substitutionary suffering. Jesus bears pain without relief, highlighting the costliness of atonement (Isaiah 53:4-5; 1 Peter 2:24).
• Moral clarity. His refusal demonstrates unwavering commitment to obey fully and consciously (Philippians 2:8).
• Contrast with worldly mercy. Human compassion offers temporary numbing; divine mercy secures eternal redemption through undiluted suffering.

Prophetic and Typological Echoes

• Proverbs 31:6 – “Give strong drink to one who is perishing.” Jesus, the sin-bearer, qualifies yet declines, foreshadowing that He will drink the Father’s cup instead (Mark 14:36).
• Exodus 12:8 – The Passover lamb is eaten with bitter herbs; bitterness accompanies the true Passover Lamb at Calvary, linking redemption themes from Exodus to the Gospel.

Ministry Reflections

1. Endurance in suffering. Believers are called to “share in His sufferings” (Philippians 3:10), drawing courage from Christ’s deliberate endurance.
2. Compassion that points to Christ. While medical relief is appropriate, the church’s ultimate ministry is not merely to alleviate temporal pain but to proclaim the One who conquered sin and death through unmitigated suffering.
3. Wholehearted obedience. Jesus’ refusal of the myrrh-wine challenges disciples to resist shortcuts that obscure God’s purposes, embracing obedience even when costly.

Summary

The lone New Testament occurrence of Strong’s 4669 in Mark 15:23 highlights a decisive moment: an offered mercy that Jesus rejects to fulfill a greater redemptive plan. Myrrh, present at His birth and burial, here punctuates the cross, underscoring the seamless consistency of God’s salvific work from incarnation to resurrection.

Forms and Transliterations

εσμυρνισμενον εσμυρνισμένον ἐσμυρνισμένον esmurnismenon esmyrnismenon esmyrnisménon

Englishman's Concordance

Mark 15:23 V-RPM/P-AMS
GRK: ἐδίδουν αὐτῷ ἐσμυρνισμένον οἶνον ὃς
NAS: Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take
KJV: wine mingled with myrrh: but
INT: they gave him mixed with gall wine he

Strong's Greek 4669
1 Occurrence

ἐσμυρνισμένον — 1 Occ.