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Sickness and Physicians in the Bible
41 passages of the Berean Standard Bible, line by line, from Nave’s Topical Bible.
Physicians
- Joseph’s physicians embalm JacobGen 50:2
The verses
Gen 50:2And Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So they embalmed him,
- Asa, diseased in his feet, seeks the physicians2 Chr 16:12, 1 Kgs 15:23
The verses
2 Chr 16:12In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady became increasingly severe. Yet even in his illness he did not seek the LORD, but only the physicians.
1 Kgs 15:23Now the rest of the acts of Asa, along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, however, he became diseased in his feet.
- A woman bleeding twelve years spent all she had on physiciansMark 5:25–26, Luke 8:43
The verses
Mark 5:25–26And a woman was there who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had borne much agony under the care of many physicians and had spent all she had, but to no avail. Instead, her condition had only grown worse.
Luke 8:43including a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all her money on physicians, but no one was able to heal her.
- “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick”Matt 9:12
The verses
Matt 9:12On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
- A proverb: “Physician, heal yourself!”Luke 4:23
The verses
Luke 4:23Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown what we have heard that You did in Capernaum.’”
- Luke, “the beloved physician”Col 4:14
The verses
Col 4:14Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas send you greetings.
- “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is no physician there?”Jer 8:22
The verses
Jer 8:22Is there no balm in Gilead? Is no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?
Remedies
- A poultice of pressed figs for Hezekiah’s boil2 Kgs 20:7, Isa 38:21
The verses
2 Kgs 20:7Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” So they brought it and applied it to the boil, and Hezekiah recovered.
Isa 38:21Now Isaiah had said, “Prepare a lump of pressed figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”
- The Samaritan bandages wounds, pouring on oil and wineLuke 10:34
The verses
Luke 10:34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
- A little wine for the stomach and frequent ailments1 Tim 5:23
The verses
1 Tim 5:23Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead, because of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
- The sick were anointed with oilMark 6:13, Jas 5:14
- A joyful heart is good medicineProv 17:22
The verses
Prov 17:22A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
Examples
- Jacob falls ill; Joseph brings his two sonsGen 48:1
The verses
Gen 48:1Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he set out with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
- An Egyptian slave is abandoned by his master when he falls ill1 Sam 30:13
The verses
1 Sam 30:13Then David asked him, “To whom do you belong, and where are you from?” “I am an Egyptian,” he replied, “the slave of an Amalekite. My master abandoned me three days ago when I fell ill.
- Jeroboam’s son falls ill; his mother goes in disguise to the prophet1 Kgs 14:1–3
The verses
1 Kgs 14:1–3At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill, and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Now get up, disguise yourself so they will not recognize you as my wife, and go to Shiloh. For Ahijah the prophet is there; it was he who spoke about my kingship over this people. Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will become of the boy.”
- The son of the widow at Zarephath grows sick1 Kgs 17:17
The verses
1 Kgs 17:17Later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill, and his sickness grew worse and worse, until no breath remained in him.
- The Shunammite’s boy in the field: “My head! My head!”2 Kgs 4:18–20
The verses
2 Kgs 4:18–20And the child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the harvesters. “My head! My head!” he complained to his father. So his father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” After the servant had picked him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died.
- Ahaziah is injured falling through a lattice2 Kgs 1:2
The verses
2 Kgs 1:2Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers and instructed them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.”
- Ben-hadad of Aram asks Elisha whether he will recover2 Kgs 8:7–8
The verses
2 Kgs 8:7–8Then Elisha came to Damascus while Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick, and the king was told, “The man of God has come here.” So the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand, go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD through him, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
- Elisha falls sick with the illness from which he died2 Kgs 13:14
The verses
2 Kgs 13:14When Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he would die, Jehoash king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”
- Hezekiah is mortally ill, then recoversIsa 38:1, 2 Kgs 20:7
The verses
Isa 38:1In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’”
2 Kgs 20:7Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” So they brought it and applied it to the boil, and Hezekiah recovered.
- Job, covered with boils, scrapes himself with broken potteryJob 2:7–8
The verses
Job 2:7–8So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. And Job took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself as he sat among the ashes.
- Daniel lies ill for days after a visionDan 8:27
The verses
Dan 8:27I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was confounded by the vision; it was beyond understanding.
- Peter’s mother-in-law is in bed with a high feverMatt 8:14, Luke 4:38
- A royal official’s son lies sick at CapernaumJohn 4:46–47
The verses
John 4:46–47So once again He came to Cana in Galilee, where He had turned the water into wine. And there was a royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die.
- A boy with seizures often falls into fire or waterMatt 17:15
The verses
Matt 17:15“Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.
- Many sick lie at the pool of Bethesda; one man for thirty-eight yearsJohn 5:2–3, John 5:5
The verses
John 5:2–3Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool with five covered colonnades, which in Hebrew is called Bethesda. On these walkways lay a great number of the sick, the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed.
John 5:5One man there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
- A man lame from birth is carried daily to the temple gateActs 3:2
The verses
Acts 3:2And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts.
- Lazarus of Bethany is sick; his sisters send word to JesusJohn 11:1–3
The verses
John 11:1–3At this time a man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one You love is sick.”
- Dorcas becomes sick and diesActs 9:37
The verses
Acts 9:37At that time, however, she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upper room.
- Publius’s father is sick with fever and dysenteryActs 28:8
The verses
Acts 28:8The father of Publius was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him, and after praying and placing his hands on him, he healed the man.
- Epaphroditus is sick, nearly to deathPhil 2:25–27
The verses
Phil 2:25–27But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my needs. For he has been longing for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. He was sick indeed, nearly unto death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.
- Paul first preaches in Galatia because of an illnessGal 4:13–14
The verses
Gal 4:13–14You know that it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. And although my illness was a trial to you, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus Himself.
- Paul leaves Trophimus sick at Miletus2 Tim 4:20
The verses
2 Tim 4:20Erastus has remained at Corinth, and Trophimus I left sick in Miletus.
Sources
From Nave’s Topical Bible (Orville J. Nave, 1896; public domain): subjects chosen, lines shortened and put into modern words, lines of interpretation left out; each verse checked.
Berean Standard Bible · Public domain