Topical Encyclopedia
Sickness, as depicted in the Bible, is a condition that affects the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of individuals. It is often seen as a consequence of the fallen state of the world due to sin, but it also serves as a context for demonstrating God's power, mercy, and sovereignty.
Biblical Understanding of Sickness1.
Origin and Nature: Sickness entered the world as a result of the Fall. In
Genesis 3, the disobedience of Adam and Eve brought sin into the world, leading to various forms of suffering, including sickness.
Romans 5:12 states, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned."
2.
Sickness as a Consequence of Sin: In some instances, sickness is portrayed as a direct consequence of personal sin. For example, in
John 5:14, Jesus warns the man He healed at the pool of Bethesda, "See, you have been made well. Stop sinning, or something worse may happen to you." However, it is crucial to note that not all sickness is a direct result of personal sin, as seen in the case of the man born blind in
John 9:1-3, where Jesus clarifies that his condition was not due to his sin or his parents' sin.
3.
Sickness and God's Sovereignty: The Bible illustrates that God is sovereign over sickness and health. In
Exodus 15:26, God declares to the Israelites, "If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His statutes, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD who heals you."
4.
Healing and Miracles: The New Testament is replete with accounts of Jesus healing the sick, demonstrating His divine authority and compassion.
Matthew 4:23 records, "Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people." These miracles served as signs of the coming Kingdom of God and the restoration that Jesus brings.
5.
Sickness and Faith: The Bible encourages believers to respond to sickness with faith and prayer.
James 5:14-15 instructs, "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven."
6.
Sickness and Suffering: Sickness is often a part of the broader theme of suffering in the Christian life. The Apostle Paul speaks of a "thorn in the flesh" in
2 Corinthians 12:7-9, which he describes as a means to keep him humble and reliant on God's grace. He concludes, "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me."
7.
Eternal Perspective: Ultimately, the Bible points to a future where sickness will be eradicated.
Revelation 21:4 offers hope, stating, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away."
In summary, sickness in the Bible is multifaceted, serving as a reminder of the brokenness of the world, a platform for God's miraculous work, and a call to faith and reliance on God's promises.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) The quality or state of being sick or diseased; illness; disease or malady.
2. (n.) Nausea; qualmishness; as, sickness of stomach.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PINING SICKNESSpin'-ing, sik'-nes: In the account of the epileptic boy inMark 9:18 it is said that "he pineth away." The verb used here (xeraino) means "to dry up," and is the same which is used of the withering of plants, but seldom used in this metaphorical sense. The English word is from the Anglo-Saxon pinjan and is often found in the Elizabethan literature, occurring 13 times in Shakespeare. In the Old Testament it is found inLeviticus 26:39 (bis) and inEzekiel 24:23 and 33:10. In the Revised Version (British and American) it replaces "consume" inEzekiel 4:17. In all these passages it is the rendering of the Hebrew maqaq, and means expressly being wasted on account of sin. InLeviticus 26:16 "pine away" is used in the Revised Version (British and American) to replace "cause sorrow of heart," and is the translation of the Hebrew dubh; and inDeuteronomy 28:65 "sorrow of mind" is also replaced in the Revised Version (British and American) by "pining of soul," the word so rendered being de'abhon, which in these two passages is expressive of homesickness. InIsaiah 24:16 the reduplicated exclamation, "my leanness," of the King James Version is changed into "I pine away," the word being razi. The starving people inLamentations 4:9 are said to pine away, the word so translated being zubh. All these Hebrew words have a general meaning of to dry or to waste or wear away, or to be exhausted by morbid discharges.
Pining sickness inIsaiah 38:12 the King James Version is a mistranslation, the word so rendered, dallah, meaning here the thrum by which the web is tied to the loom. The figure in the verse is that Hezekiah's life is being removed from the earth by his sickness as the web is removed from the loom by having the thrums cut, and being then rolled up. Both the King James Version margin and the Revised Version margin have the correct reading, "from the thrum." Septuagint has erithou eggizouses ektemein, and Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) dum adhuc ordirer, succidit me. The other reading is due to another interpretation of the word which in a few passages, asJeremiah 52:15, like its root dal, means something small, poor, and decaying or weak, such as the lean kine of Pharaoh's dream (Genesis 41:19).
Alexander Macalister
SICK; SICKNESS
sik, sik'-nes (chalah (Genesis 48:1, etc.), choli (Deuteronomy 28:61, etc.), tachalu' (Deuteronomy 29:21, etc.), machalah (Exodus 23:25, etc.), daweh (Leviticus 15:33, etc.), 'anash (2 Samuel 12:15, etc.); astheneo (Matthew 10:8, etc.; compare2Ma 9:22), kakos echon (Luke 7:2), kakos echontas (Matthew 4:24, etc.), arrhostos (Sirach 7:35;Matthew 14:14, etc.), arrhostema (Sirach 10:10, etc.), with various cognates, kamno (James 5:15); Latin morbus (2 Esdras 8:31)): Compared with the number of deaths recorded in the historical books of the Bible the instances in which diseases are mentioned are few. "Sick" and "sickness" (including "disease," etc.) are the translations of 6 Hebrew and 9 Greek words and occur 56 times in the Old Testament and 57 times in the New Testament. The number of references in the latter is significant as showing how much the healing of the sick was characteristic of the Lord's ministry. The diseases specified are varied. Of infantile sickness there is an instance in Bath-sheba's child (2 Samuel 12:15), whose disease is termed 'anash, not improbably trismus nascentium, a common disease in Palestine. Among adolescents there are recorded the unspecified sickness of Abijah (1 Kings 14:1), of the widow's son at Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17), the sunstroke of the Shunammite's son (2 Kings 4:19), the epileptic boy (Matthew 17:15), Jairus' daughter (Matthew 9:18), and the nobleman's son (John 4:46). At the other extreme of life Jacob's death was preceded by sickness (Genesis 48:1). Sickness resulted from accident (Ahaziah,2 Kings 1:2), wounds (Joram,2 Kings 8:29), from the violence of passion (Amnon,2 Samuel 13:2), or mental emotion (Daniel 8:27); see also in this connectionSongs 2:5;Songs 5:8. Sickness the result of drunkenness is mentioned (Hosea 7:5), and as a consequence of famine (Jeremiah 14:18) or violence (Micah 6:13). Daweh or periodic sickness is referred to (Leviticus 15:33;Leviticus 20:18), and an extreme case is that ofLuke 8:43.
In some examples the nature of the disease is specified, as Asa's disease in his feet (1 Kings 15:23), for which he sought the aid of physicians in vain (2 Chronicles 16:12). Hezekiah and Job suffered from sore boils, Jehoram from some severe dysenteric attack (2 Chronicles 21:19), as did Antiochus Epiphanes (2 Maccabees 9:5). Probably the sudden and fatal disease of Herod was similar, as in both cases there is reference to the presence of worms (compareActs 12:23 and 2 Maccabees 9:9). The disease of Publius' father was also dysentery (Acts 28:8). Other diseases specified are paralysis (Matthew 8:6;Matthew 9:2), and fever (Matthew 8:14). Not improbably the sudden illness of the young Egyptian at Ziklag (1 Samuel 30:11), and the illness of Ben-hadad which weakened him so that he could not resist the violence of Hazael, were also the common Palestine fever (2 Kings 8:15) of whose symptoms and effects there is a graphic description inPsalm 38. Unspecified fatal illnesses were those of Elisha (2 Kings 13:14), Lazarus (John 11:1), Tabitha (Acts 9:37). In the language of the Bible, leprosy is spoken of as a defilement to be cleansed, rather than as a disease to be cured.
The proverb concerning the sick quoted by the Lord at Capernaum (Mark 2:17) has come down to us in several forms in apocryphal and rabbinical writings (Babha' Qamma' 26:13; Sanhedhrin 176), but is nowhere so terse as in the form in which He expresses it. The Lord performed His healing of the sick by His word or touch, and one of the most emphatic charges which He gave to His disciples when sending them out was to heal the sick. One of the methods used by them, the anointing with oil, is mentioned inMark 6:13 and enjoined by James (5:15). In later times the anointing which was at first used as a remedial agent became a ceremonial in preparation for death, one of the seven sacraments of the Roman church (Aquinas, Summa Theologia suppl. ad Piii. 29).
The duty of visiting the sick is referred to inEzekiel 34:4, 16, and by the Lord in the description of the Judgment scene (Matthew 25:36, 43). It is inculcated in several of the rabbinical tracts. "He that visits the sick lengthens his life, he who refrains shortens it," says Rabbi Ischanan in Nedharim 29. In Shulchan `Arukh, Yoreh De`ah there is a chapter devoted to this duty, which is regarded as incumbent on the Jew, even though the sick person be a Gentile (Gittin 61a). The church's duty to the sick, so long neglected, has, within the last century, been recognized in the mission field, and has proved, in heathen lands, to be the most important of all pioneer agressive methods.
While we find that the apostles freely exercised their gifts of healing, it is noteworthy that we read of the sickness of two of Paul's companions, Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:26) and Trophimus (2 Timothy 4:20), for whose recovery he seems to have used no other means than prayer.
See alsoDISEASE.
Alexander Macalister
HEZEKIAH'S SICKNESS
SeeDIAL OF AHAZ.
Greek
3554. nosos -- disease,sickness... disease,
sickness. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: nosos Phonetic
Spelling: (nos'-os) Short Definition: a disease, malady Definition: a disease
...3553. nosema --sickness
...sickness. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: nosema Phonetic Spelling:
(nos'-ay-ma) Short Definition: a trouble, disease Definition: a trouble...
769. astheneia -- weakness, frailty
... 769 ("weakness,sickness") refers to an ailment that of enjoying or accomplishing
what they would like to do.... disease, infirmity,sickness, weakness....
3119. malakia -- softness, weakness
... Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: malakia Phonetic Spelling: (mal-ak-ee'-ah)
Short Definition: weakness, illness Definition: weakness, illness,sickness....
4912. sunecho -- to hold together, to hold fast, pass. to be...
... with Definition: (a) I press together, close, (b) I press on every side, confine,
(c) I hold fast, (d) I urge, impel, (e) pass: I am afflicted with (sickness)....
5198. hugiaino -- to be sound, healthy
... [5198 () is opposite to having a debilitatingsickness. Thus it became the ideal
way to open and close personal letters in ancient times -- ie ().]....
2577. kamno -- to be weary
... 2577 -- properly, become weary (this was a common meaning for this term from 900
bc on, J. Thayer); weary to the point ofsickness; "spent," ready to...
931. basanos -- a touchstone (a dark stone used in testing metals)...
... peculiar mark. Then it was used for examination by torture.Sickness was
often regarded as 'torture' " (, 1, 37).]. Word Origin of...
2825. kline -- a small couch
... bed, table. From klino; a couch (for sleep,sickness, sitting or eating) -- bed,
table. see GREEK klino. (klinarion) -- 1 Occurrence. (klinen) -- 4 Occurrences....
776. asitia -- abstinence from food
... a fast Definition: either: lack or wheat, lack of food (the literal meaning), or:
abstinence from food, a fast, loss of appetite, sea-sickness (the extended...
Strong's Hebrew
2483. choli --sickness... 2482, 2483. choli. 2484 .
sickness. Transliteration: choli Phonetic
Spelling: (khol-ee') Short Definition:
sickness. Word Origin
...4245. machaleh --sickness, disease
... machaleh. 4245a .sickness, disease. Transliteration: machaleh Phonetic Spelling:
(makh-al-eh') Short Definition: disease. disease, infirmity,sickness...
4245a. machalah --sickness, disease
... 4245, 4245a. machalah. 4245b .sickness, disease. Transliteration: machalah
Short Definition:sickness. Word Origin from chalah...
4064. madveh --sickness
... 4063, 4064. madveh. 4065 .sickness. Transliteration: madveh Phonetic Spelling:
(mad-veh') Short Definition: diseases.... disease. From davah;sickness -- disease...
4245b. machaleh --sickness, disease
... 4245a, 4245b. machaleh. 4246 .sickness, disease. Transliteration: machaleh
Short Definition: disease. Word Origin from chalah Definition...
4251. machluy --sickness, suffering (caused by wounds)
...sickness, suffering (caused by wounds). Transliteration: machluy or machaluy
Phonetic Spelling: (makh-loo'-ee) Short Definition: sick....
1803. dallah -- hair, thrum
... 1802b, 1803. dallah. 1803a . hair, thrum. Transliteration: dallah Phonetic
Spelling: (dal-law') Short Definition: hair. hair, piningsickness, poorest sort...
1739. daveh -- faint, unwell
... 1). faint, menstruous cloth, she that is sick, havingsickness. From davah;
sick (especially in menstruation) -- faint, menstruous...
8464. tachmas -- male ostrich
... disease, grievous, that aresickness. From chamac; a species of unclean bird (from
its violence), perhaps an owl -- night hawk. see HEBREW chamac. 8463, 8464...
4257. Machalath -- in psalm titles, probably the name of a tune.
... Mahalath From chalah;sickness; Machalath, probably the title (initial word) of
a popular song -- Mahalath. see HEBREW chalah. 4256, 4257. Machalath. 4258...
Library
Evening Prayer inSickness.
... Evening Prayer InSickness. III. InSickness. 7,5,7,5. Herr, ein ganzer Leidenstag.
[177]Heinrich Puchta. Lord, a whole long day of pain. Now at last is o'er!...
Psalm 6 Complaint inSickness.
... THE PSALMS OF DAVID PSALM 6 Complaint insickness. CM Complaint insickness.
In anger, Lord, rebuke me not; Withdraw the dreadful storm;...
Psalm 6:1. CM Complaint inSickness; Or, Diseases Healed.
... THE Psalms of David, In Metre. Psalm 6:1. CM Complaint insickness; or,
diseases healed. 1 In anger, Lord, rebuke me not, Withdraw...
Sickness and Recovery.
... SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC WORSHIP. 932. "Sickness and Recovery. 932. CM Doddridge.
Sickness and Recovery. 1 My God, thy service well...
Consolations against Impatience inSickness.
... THE PRACTICE OF PIETY. CONSOLATIONS AGAINST IMPATIENCE INSICKNESS. If in thysickness
by extremity of pain thou be driven to impatience, meditate"...
The Diverse Forms of SpiritualSickness.
... Book X. 24. The Diverse Forms of SpiritualSickness.... For not every sin is to be
considered asickness, but that which has settled down in the whole soul....
Psalm 6:2. LM Temptations inSickness Overcome.
... THE Psalms of David, In Metre. Psalm 6:2. LM Temptations insickness overcome.
1 Lord, I can suffer thy rebukes, When thou with...
Home-Sickness.
... HOME-SICKNESS. 8,8 Ich wolt daz ich daheime wer. [32]Henry of Loufenburg. Fifteenth
Century. trans. by Catherine Winkworth, 1869. I would I were at last at home...
Psalm 6 Temptations inSickness Overcome.
... THE PSALMS OF DAVID PSALM 6 Temptations insickness overcome. LM Temptations
insickness overcome. Lord, I can suffer thy rebukes,....
Little Jennie'sSickness and Death
... LITTLE JENNIE'SSICKNESS AND DEATH. Little Jennie was eight years old, March
30, 1886. The April following she was taken very sick...
Thesaurus
Sickness (40 Occurrences)... 1. (n.) The quality or state of being sick or diseased; illness; disease or malady.
2. (n.) Nausea; qualmishness; as,
sickness of stomach. Int.
... PINING
SICKNESS.
...Disease (213 Occurrences)
... or disturbing the performance of the vital functions, and causing or threatening
pain and weakness; malady; affection; illness;sickness; disorder; -- applied...
Pining (6 Occurrences)
... & vb. n.) of Pine. 2. (a.) Languishing; drooping; wasting away, as with longing.
3. (a.) Wasting; consuming. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. PININGSICKNESS....
Recover (37 Occurrences)
... lost time. 4. (vt) To restore fromsickness, faintness, or the like; to
bring back to life or health; to cure; to heal. 5. (vt) To...
Bowels (40 Occurrences)
... The remarkable phrases used in 2 Chronicles 21:18, 19, "Yahweh smote him in his
bowels" and "His bowels fell out by reason of hissickness," refer to a severe...
Illness (15 Occurrences)
... 2. (n.) Disease; indisposition; malady; disorder of health;sickness; as, a short
or a severe illness. 3. (n.) Wrong moral conduct; wickedness....
Mahalath (6 Occurrences)
... The whole phrase has by others been rendered, "On thesickness of affliction: a
lesson;" or, "Concerning afflictivesickness: a didactic psalm."....
Bed (142 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary (Hebrews mittah), for rest at night (Exodus 8:3; 1 Samuel
19:13, 15, 16, etc.); duringsickness (Genesis 47:31; 48:2; 49:33, etc...
Sicknesses (15 Occurrences)
... 2 Chronicles 21:15 and thyself with sore sicknesses, with a disease of thy bowels,
until thy bowels fall out by reason of thesickness day by day. (DBY YLT)....
Severe (53 Occurrences)
... 1 Kings 17:17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman,
the mistress of the house, fell sick; and hissickness was so severe that...
Resources
Is it sometimes God's will for believers to be sick? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is kingdom theology? | GotQuestions.orgWhy does God allow birth defects? | GotQuestions.orgSickness: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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