When one examines the concept of healing in the Old Testament and African (Yoruba) context, it is apparently quite important, but when one examines prestigious books on the Old Testament theology, it appears to be difficult to find a major section on God as a healer or significant discussion on the healing work of Yahweh in the period of the Old Testament. The Old Testament and African Indigenous Religion believe that Yahweh is the ultimate healer through prophets, and physicians are also agents of healing on behalf of God. They used words, materials such as water, herbs and touching for healing. The purpose of this article is to examine the Old Testament and African, or Yoruba, tradition to show how Yahweh’s healing work is important and that he is the ultimate healer in the Old Testament and African (Yoruba) tradition, although prophets and physicians are also agents of healing on behalf of God. To achieve this purpose, this article used African Biblical Hermeneutic methodology to examine various vocabularies for healing in the Old Testament (רפא, שׁלום, מרפא, ארכה).
Apart from assisting readers to appreciate the healing work of Yahweh in the Old Testament, this article has brought the possibility for readers to appreciate both Old Testament and African (Yoruba) healing, and to attribute them ultimately to God. It can also be used supplementarily to Western orthodox healing, as God is the final healer.
Health is an important aspect of life all over the world. Throughout the Old and New Testament, the words
In this modern age of science, healing has become secularised to the extent that the meaning of healing is not all that important for human relationship with God. The fact is that, throughout the Old Testament, it is emphasised and accepted that Yahweh is the healer of his people (Ex 15:26; Ezk 34:4; Jr 8:15).
When one examines prestigious books on the Old Testament theology, it appears difficult to find a major section on God as a healer or a significant discussion on the healing work of Yahweh in the period of the Old Testament.
This is probably because the major works on Old Testament theology in the 20th century mainly focus on the mighty acts of Yahweh or salvation history, redemption, election, covenant, liberation, creation and others. As a result, major theological work on God as a healer is difficult to find.
This article aims to examine various terminologies used for health and healing in the Old Testament based on the Old Testament conception of healing, as well as on the African conception of healing among the Yoruba people of Nigeria. To achieve this aim, this article used the African Biblical Methodology.
From the Old Testament point of view, human body parts are complex structures. The common Hebrew terms for the body (נפשׁ) have a broad semantic meaning – life, mind and soul with various meanings – and occur about 750 times (Renn
One of the most important Hebrew words for the soul, life and mind is נפשׁ and it occurs 750 times in the Old Testament (Renn
The Old Testament does not present a systematic definition of health or medicine, but rather gives a picture of the characteristics of healthy people as seen in their character, action and life (Wilkinson
Peace means well-being which is one of the characteristics of healthy people in the Old Testament. The closest translation is ‘well-being’ (Van Zyl
The Hebrew word שׁלום expresses what one may call the quality of the fullness and well-being of life in the Old Testament. It is the word that comes closest to expressing the Old Testament concept of health. This word appears about 250 times in the Hebrew Bible in about 213 separate verses (Davidson
Shalom in the Old Testament has spiritual, social and economic dimensions. The spiritual dimension in the Old Testament includes all that Yahweh himself is to the people (Hasel
The word above is translated as righteousness. It means the state of being righteous or just (Renn
שׁמע is translated as obedience or obey. It is a common and important verb that occurs about 1150 times in the Old Testament (Renn
The above Hebrew word כח is a noun that occurs about 130 times. It means strength, power and might (Renn
In Deuteronomy 7:12–14, exceptional fertility is promised to those who obey the law of God. According to this passage, if the children of Israel listen, obey and keep the commandment of Yahweh, he will love them, bless them and multiply them. None of them will be barren, and sickness will be kept away from them (Dt 7:12–14).
Another important characteristic of health is a long life. A long life was promised to Abraham as part of shalom (Gn 15:15) and that is why he led a full life and died at an advanced age (Gn 25:8). A long life was promised to those who obey God’s law (Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16; 1 Ki 3:14; Pr 3:1–2).
A close examination of the Hebrew text shows that there are four Hebrew words used in the Old Testament for healing. These words are ארכה, מרפא, שׁלום and רפא.
Exodus 15:26, which appears to be the root verse of רפא, seems to be the most important foundation of the Old Testament theology of healing. Karl Barth called it ‘the divine Magna Carta in all matters of health questions’ (cited by Wilkinson
The word רפאך, as it is used in the sentence, is
Unlike other words used for healing in the Old Testament, it has a purely Hebrew root. In many occurrences of this word, God is the one who caused the healing and humankind became the object of that healing (Harris et al.
However, this is not to say that there is no debate among scholars about its basic meaning. One view maintains that the basic root means ‘to stitch together’. It is further explained that the application of the root ‘to heal’, came from the practice of stitching the edges of wounds together to restore skin continuity. (Wilkinson
Another view is that the primary root of רפא means to ‘restore’, ‘to make whole’ and ‘to heal’ (Abogunrin
These two words are also used infrequently for healing. ארכה comes from the root word ארד. This is a rare noun that occurs only six times in the Old Testament. It means healing, soundness and health in four of these six instances (Davidson
When used negatively, the meaning is ‘incurable’. The term is used both literally and metaphorically. The literal use is in the book of Jeremiah 8:15 and the negative use in 2 Chronicle 21:18 referring to ‘incurable disease’. The prophet, Jeremiah, mentioned that their hope of healing for the children of Israel will be fulfilled as a result of God’s judgement (Jr 4:19; Frechette
הבשׁ literarily means ‘to bind’ and ‘bind round about’, especially with ropes as a headdress (Ex 29:9; 8:13). It has a concept of ‘binding up’ a wound, for example. It means to stop, to restrain or to bandage. In Isaiah 1:6, 30:26, Ezekiel 39:21 and Hosea 6:1, it refers to healing which is promoted by covering the wound with bandage. Hosea 6:1 says לכו ונשׁובה אל־.
Throughout the Old Testament, Yahweh is considered as the healer – whether by means of materials or not. There are many occasions when he heals directly, especially barren women. One example is Sarah in Genesis 18:11–14; 21:1–2. The barren women of Abimelech’s household became pregnant (Gn 20:17–18 – New Revised Standard Version [NRSV]). Rebekah and Rachel became fertile by praying to Yahweh (Gn 20:17–18 – NRSV). More elaboration will be given later in this article.
Prophets of the Old Testament heal the sick either by giving advice or by carrying out healing procedures themselves. Elisha advised Naaman, the Syrian army commander, to wash in the Jordan River and that led to the cure of his leprosy (2 Ki 5:1–14). Another example of prophetic advice for healing is Isaiah’s advice to King Hezekiah who applied a fig poultice to his boil (Is 38:21). With a combination of prayer and application of a fig poultice, Hezekiah was also healed (2Ki20:7; Is 38:21).
Although physicians are not prominent in the Old Testament text, their existence is acknowledged, and their activities and worth are not denied. This is in contrast with the place of physicians in Mesopotamia and Africa, particularly in Egypt, and the post-biblical times where their presence is not only acknowledged, but also prominent.
People were advised not to live in a place where there was no physician (Gaiser
It is sometimes claimed that doctors in the Old Testament were not highly regarded because of their basic interpretation of some Old Testament passages such as Job 13:14 and 11 Chronicles 16:13. However, because they were not so prominent does not mean that they were not highly regarded in ancient Israel. A passage in one of the Old Testament Apocrypha Ecclesiasticus made clear their worth around the 2nd century BCE. The author, Jesus ben Sirach, scholar and scribe, discussed how the Jewish attitude towards physicians should be. Ecclesiasticus advised the people to honour physicians, because it was God who gave them their calling (Ec 38:1–3).
The Old Testament view is that Yahweh is the healer of all diseases, even those who are healed through prophets, physicians, through different means or materials such as herbs, water and symbolic actions. However, there are various occasions when Yahweh healed directly. Most of the time it has to do with fertility as mentioned earlier.
That is why God said אני יהוה רפאך [I am the Lord your healer] (Ex 15:26). When Abraham and his wife were already old and had passed the age of childbearing, Yahweh promised Abraham, ‘I will surely return to you about this time next year and Sarah your wife will have a son’ (Gn 18:10). The Lord fulfilled his promise and Sarah became pregnant in her old age and bore Isaac (Gn 21:1–2).
The barren women of Abimelech’s household became pregnant. Abraham prayed for Abimelech and his wife, and God healed both the wife and female slaves (Gn 20:17).
Rebekah and Rachel became fertile by the grace of Yahweh and because of Isaac’s prayer. Both Rebekah and Rachel became pregnant and bore children (Gn 25:21; 30:22–23).
The Shunammite Woman bore a son by Elisha’s pronouncement (2 Ki4:8–17).
The widow’s son in 1 King 17:7–24 was healed by Elijah when her son died. When she reported the death to the prophet Elijah, he got hold of the dead child and took him to the upper room, laid the child on his bed, stretched himself out on the body of the deceased three times and cried to the Lord to revive him. The dead boy came alive (1 Ki 17:20–21 – NRSV). Elijah then returned the boy to his mother. Wilson (
With these miracles of raising a dead child and the multiplication of oil and bread, Elijah demonstrated that he acted by the power of Yahweh as was the testimony of the widow: ‘Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth”’ (1 Ki 17:24; Collins
The story demonstrates the power of symbolic action and the supplicatory prayer of Elijah. It also affirms the name of Elijah as the man of God, and that his God is the true God to serve and not Baal.
The Shunammite dead boy was raised from the dead by Elisha (2 Ki 4:18–36) by an ‘artificial cardio-respiratory’ resuscitation on the son. He lay upon the child, ‘put his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands’, and the boy was raised from death ‘instantly’ (2 Ki 4:33-35 – NRSV).
Yahweh is not limited in his power. He can use any means for healing. For example, the children of Israel had just escaped from the Egyptians at the Sea of Reed and marched for three days to the wilderness of Shur or Etham (Nm 23:8). At Marah, they found bitter, undrinkable water. When the children of Israel complained, Yahweh showed Moses a tree that he had to cut down and throw into the water. The water then became drinkable. After the water of Marah was sweetened, Yahweh promised not only to heal the Israelites, but to keep diseases far away from them if they keep his commandments (Ex 15:26).
Five important things are worth noticing in the above promise of Yahweh: (1) the promise was conditional to their obedience; (2) the promise was to prevent diseases; (3) these are specific diseases similar to the ones suffered by the Egyptians; (4) it implies that Yahweh himself can afflict people; and (5) there was an assurance that if the people get sick, Yahweh can heal them. This promise was a result of the dissatisfaction of the people. It means that not all the healing is subject to their obedience (Ex. 15:24). Muntner (
Israel murmured many times, but Yahweh responded positively. He sweetened the bitter water of Marah (Ex 15:22–25). He provided bread or manna from heaven (Ex 16:2–12) and water from the rock (Ex 17:1–7).
However, when they murmured against Moses, God sent a poisonous snake to bite them, and many died (Nm 21:6). When they call out to Moses, he prayed to God and God instructed Moses to make a serpent of bronze for healing (Nm 21:9). Anyone bitten by the poisonous snake could look at the bronze snake and live (Nm 21:9).
While the snakes in the wilderness were symbols of death, it was a symbol of temptation in the garden of Eden (Nm 21:9). Snakes were generally associated with
During a famine, the prophet, Elisha returned to Mount Gilgal where a company of prophets was meeting (2 Ki 4:38). He ordered them to cook for these prophets using a large pot for the stew made of poisonous wild vine (2 Ki 4:38). As the company of prophets ate the stew, they called out, ‘oh man of God there is death in the pot’ (2 Ki 4:38–42), because it was made of the poisonous wild vine. Elisha, the man of God, fixed the stew with flour and the food was not harmful anymore (2 Ki 4:42–44).
King Hezekiah was healed by prayer and a lump of figs (2 Ki 20:7, 21): The king’s response to his illness was a prayer to Yahweh. He faced the wall and wept bitterly. Yahweh heard his prayer. He sent the prophet Isaiah back to him to tell him the good news that he would add 15 years to his life. The prophet Isaiah said, ‘Prepare a lump of figs. They did so and applied it to the boil and he recovered’ (2 Ki 20:7).
The Prophet Elisha healed Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, of leprosy with water (2 Ki 5:1–14–19; Ogunkunle
The origin and evolution of healing as a specialised skill is the oldest in the world (Adodo
Egyptians were writing medical textbooks as early as 5000 years ago, and the Athenians used to import physicians to the cities of the ancient Near East, Rome and Europe (Adodo
There is a dispute as to whether ancient Egyptians transported their medicine and civilisation to Sub-Saharan Africa (Adodo
The medical practice in sub-Saharan Africa is a combination of magical, mythical, spiritual and scientific activities (Adodo
According to the Yoruba legend, the earliest form of healing in Africa is vibrational healing developed by
Yoruba people live mainly in the southwestern part of Nigeria and some other states such as the Kogi and Kwara states. Others live in Benin and Sierra Leone. They are the largest ethnic group in sub-Saharan Africa (Bascom
The Yoruba song below tells what peace means in the African context.
Important song of peace.
| Alafia | Translation |
|---|---|
| I will build a house | |
| I will bear children | |
| I will buy motor cars | |
| Without peace [ |
|
| Those things are impossible | |
| Peace is the most important | |
| Health is wealth | |
| He who has peace (shalom) | |
| Has everything |
For us to appreciate healing in the Old Testament and the African context, it is important to briefly discuss the therapeutic system in the African indigenous culture.
As in the Old Testament, healing in the African (Yoruba) indigenous culture is a corporate matter which involves the totality of the person, the family and the community (Adamo
Good health in the African indigenous concept differs remarkably from the Western concept. While the World Health Organisation (WHO) (
They are medicine men or women who are professional healers and good in the art of healing, either by herbs or
The use of potent words,
See
Example of potent words for healing scorpion bite.
| Oorun lode l’lalamuwonu | Translation of the potent words for healing |
|---|---|
| It is the sun that rises that made the lizard comes in | |
| The sun sets and the lizard comes out (7 times) |
Example of potent words to drive away all evil.
| The use of leaves with potent words | Translation of the potent words |
|---|---|
| He says it is the |
|
| He says it is |
|
| He says it is potash that will break off all evil | |
| He says it is |
A non-Yoruba or non-African may doubt this, but the Yoruba people who have seen it at work, will not. Many biblical scholars believe in the power of words. For example, Edmond Jacob, Von Rad, Eichrodt, Knight and Bultmann believe in the power of spoken words to perform some mysterious things. They emphasised that the spoken word in ancient Israel was never ‘an empty sound but an operative reality whose actions cannot be hindered once it has been pronounced’ (Jacob
This is supported by Isaiah 55:11 that indicates that the word that goes out will not go without accomplishing its purpose. It means that the spoken words are not empty sounds.
Many problems are experienced with herbal medicine (
Example of some herbs for various diseases.
| Names of diseases | Method of use |
|---|---|
| Malaria fever | Squeeze yellow pawpaw leaves in water. Take a cup full three times daily for seven days. |
| Asthma | Burn dried pawpaw leaves. Inhale the smoke during an asthma attack. To prevent an asthma attack, inhale the smoke every night. |
| Kidney problems, prostatitis, and diabetes | Cut plantain root and squeeze the juice and mix with half a bottle of honey. Take two tablespoons full three times daily. |
| Earache | Lemon leaves juice, drops of honey, ginger, clove, and apply drops in the ear. |
This article has discussed the concept of health and healing in the Old Testament by mentioning the various terminologies used for health and healing. Yahweh, prophets and physicians are the main agents of healing in the Old Testament. The methods used in the Old Testament and the African tradition, which were employed for healing, for example words, prayers, water and herbs, are also discussed.
From the above study, is concluded that the ancient Hebrew tradition resembles that of the African tradition. What is worth noting, is that, unlike the Eurocentric concept of healing, the Hebrew and African concepts of healing denote completeness. Healing encompasses the spiritual, physical, economic and all that life entails, that is, the total well-being of an individual and a society. Like the Hebrew concept of healing, African Christianity has both the social, spiritual, physical and economic dimensions.
The spiritual dimension of
D.T.A. declared that no competing interest exist.
D.T.A. declares that he is the sole author of this research article.
This article followed all ethical standards for research without direct contact with human or animal subjects.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
The author confirms that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.
However, many believe they have a gift of healing which can be attributed to God.
African biblical methodology means approaching the biblical text from an Afrocentric perspective.
This story is believed to be a composite narrative belonging to Yahwistic and Elohistic sources (Marsh