The Bible has many words in the original languages for healing. I want to focus on 6 Old Testament words for healing to see how it is described in the Old Testament.

In my last post, I talked about the messianic prophecies for healing in the Old Testament. In this post, I want to address the words used in the Hebrew Old Testament for healing.

The words the Bible uses are important because the Bible is God’s Word. He does not make mistakes when He tells the biblical authors the words to use. A deep dive into 6 Old Testament words for healing reveals God’s processes for physical divine healing.

As we do these six word studies, I hope they show us how God heals in the Old Testament and what He did for people with infirmities, ailments, and sicknesses. Let’s see how God did these great miracles of healing so we can understand how He heals today.

Many Words and Concepts for Healing

Words for healing appear around 70 times in the Old Testament. They range in particular meanings in different contexts. When we do word studies on healing in the Old Testament, we must be careful to understand the range of meaning and its context in each passage.

We have talked about most of the times the Old Testament talks about healing. I have not covered every single passage but given you most of the occurrences of healing in the Old Testament. It is talked about in other passages as well.

The First Old Testament Word for Healing

The first and most common word for healing is רפא (rapha). This word occurs the most in the Old Testament, a whopping 67 times. Its range of meaning spans concepts of heal, repair, rebuild, be made whole, and cure.

Rapha is used to describe the healing process through people who are skilled in medicine, mending wounds, and people who are called healers. It is often combined with prepositions and prefixes to further contextualize its meaning, as you will see in the other words.

Because there are so many occurrences of this word, I will not list all the verses it appears. But I want to give you a taste of some of the contexts of rapha. Most people would recognize the most familiar passage as Exodus 15:22-27. The Israelites are beginning their wilderness wanderings and the people cannot find water to drink.

They find themselves in a place called Mara (meaning better). The water is making anyone who drinks it sick. God provides the answer to Moses in the form of a tree that when thrown into the water that makes it sweet and safe to drink.

God promises the Israelites He will not the sicknesses of the Egyptians on them as long as they trust in Him. In dramatic fashion, Yahweh combines rapha with His name, declaring Himself to be, “Yahweh your Healer.” The next place they go has plenty of water to drink in the wilderness.

This is why we call Jesus the great Physician. Only He can heal every disease and sickness we encounter. We can fully trust in the Lord to heal us from our diseases and give us health. Rapha speaks of anyone who is a physician and has the gift of healing. But we first remember that Yahweh is our Healer. He uses doctors among other ways to heal us.

The Second Old Testament Word for Healing)

Another word for healing is closely related to rapha. מַרְפֵּא, merapha. It only appears 12 times in the Old Testament (2 Chronicles 21:18; 36:16; Proverbs 4:22, 6:15; 12:18; 13:17; 29:1; Jeremiah 14:19 [2]; 33:6; Malachi 4:2).

Its range of meaning is “remedy, health.” You can see Jeremiah and Proverbs use it heavily. In Proverbs, this word refers often to wise words that heal the soul. Jeremiah speaks of the healing of his nation by God’s power.

We can experience the healing and remedy of God in our lives. We only need to ask Him to bring His healing touch into our situation. No situation is too hopeless for God to heal!

The Third Old Testament Word for Healing

Yet another word for healing isאֲרוּכָה (ahraphra). It appears 6 times in the Old Testament (2 Chronicles 24:1; Nehemiah 4:7; Isaiah 58:8; Jeremiah 8:20; 30:17; 33:6). It has the ideas of health, repairing, and restoration.

Jeremiah speaks about health of the body and the healing of his nation. In Nehemiah and 2 Chronicles, the idea of repairing the city of Jerusalem and its walls. Isaiah prophesies that God’s healing will spring forth and God’s glory will go before His people.

The Fourth Old Testament Word for Healingx6

You can see how many of these words used less often are cognates of rapha. The next word on our list of Old Testament words for healing is רְפוּאָה (raphuah). It occurs just 3 times (Jeremiah 30:13; 46:11; Ezekiel 30:21).

It is exclusively used by the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Jeremiah talks about medicine for balloons and says there is no medicine for the wounds of nations and people. Ezekiel uses this word to describe the binding up of a wound. We can be thankful that our great Physician is just what medicine we need for every ailment we have.

The Fifth Old Testament Word for Healing

Another word for healing is תְּרוּפָה (terapha) and occurs once in Ezekiel 47:12. There, Ezekiel talks about healing from leaves, so this word also relates to medicine. God has provided many medicines naturally through plants and other things in His creation.

The Sixth Old Testament Word for Healing

The final word for healing in the Old Testament is רִפְאוּת (rapha’ut). It occurs on in Proverbs 3:8. It says that the fear of the Lord will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. In this context, this word speaks of medicine, recovery, and a remedy.

We don’t realize the power of wisdom and wise words today. They can be refreshment to us, and having a healthy fear of the Lord, reverence and regular practice of worship, can minister to our bodies more than we imagine.

These six words talk about the nuances of healing in the Old Testament. They show us the range and power of God’s healing, wisdom for our souls, and the physicians and medicines of the Old Testament. We are grateful for God’s goodness and care for us. Let us always lean on Him for our healing and allow Him to heal us as He wishes and in His ways.

Praying for Your Healing

Let me have the privilege of praying for you and your healing.

Great Physician Jesus, we have been looking at words that describe how You heal our bodies and souls. I lay my brother and sister at Your feet and ask You to heal them and me. We have seen the power of Your healing processes in these words. We ask You to heal us in whatever manner You wish. We are open to Your healing power and promises. We thank and praise You for Your goodness to us and Your healing mercy in our bodies and lives. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

Up Next

Now that you know the words used in the Old Testament for healing, we will next look at how God ultimately healed people through resurrection.

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