Recently, while reading through my Bible about the story of the woman with the issue of blood that Yeshua healed, in Luke 8:34-48, there was something about the Hebrew text that caught my attention. Luke 8:43 says that no man could heal her. The Hebrew word “marpe” from the root word “to heal” (רפא) is used here to indicate that the woman went to earthly physicians but could not be cured of her illness. As the story goes, the woman approached Yeshua from behind and touched his clothing and was healed. Yeshua immediately felt power leave him to heal the woman. Finding the woman that had been healed, Yeshua said “be of good cheer my daughter, your faith has healed you, go in peace” (Luke 8:48). What caught my attention is the word Yeshua used to describe the woman’s healing. Yeshua uses the word “hoshiyah” from the Hebrew word for saved (נושׁע) to describe the manner in which the woman was healed. The reason this caught my attention is that by the use of two different words there must be two different words occurring in the Greek text. In addition to this, note that a connection has been made between faith “emunah” and salvation “hoshiyah.” According to Yeshua, the woman’s faith resulted in her deliverance from the bondage of her illness; as a result Yeshua used the correct Hebrew word to explain what had happened to her. I also found it interesting to consider that the act of God’s salvation, the process of being saved by faith, and the forgiveness of sins, there is accompanied the healing of the body.
Investigating this further, I looked at the New International Version (NIV), Young’s Literal Translation (YLT), New American Standard Bible (NASB), and the King James Version (KJV) to see how the English translators chose to translate these verses.
Luke 8:43-48
8:43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 8:44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 8:45 "Who touched me?" Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you." 8:46 But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me." 8:47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 8:48 Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace." (NIV)
Luke 8:43-48
8:43 and a woman, having an issue of blood for twelve years, who, having spent on physicians all her living, was not able to be healed by any, 8:44 having come near behind, touched the fringe of his garment, and presently the issue of her blood stood. 8:45 And Jesus said, `Who [is] it that touched me?’ and all denying, Peter and those with him said, `Master, the multitudes press thee, and throng [thee], and thou dost say, Who [is] it that touched me!’ 8:46 And Jesus said, `Some one did touch me, for I knew power having gone forth from me.’ 8:47 And the woman, having seen that she was not hid, trembling, came, and having fallen before him, for what cause she touched him declared to him before all the people, and how she was healed presently; 8:48 and he said to her, `Take courage, daughter, thy faith hath saved thee, be going on to peace.’ (YLT)
Luke 8:43-48
8:43 And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, 8:44 came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. 8:45 And Jesus said, ‘Who is the one who touched Me?’ And while they were all denying it, Peter said, ‘Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.’ 8:46 But Jesus said, ‘Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.’ 8:47 When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. 8:48 And He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.’ (NASB)
Luke 8:43-48
8:43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, 8:44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. 8:45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 8:46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. 8:47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. 8:48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. (KJV)
The NIV translation has Yeshua saying that “your faith has healed you, go in peace.” The English translation does not convey the deeper spiritual meaning that can be extracted from the Hebrew text above, the connection between faith and salvation. The YLT translation is a better translation saying “thy faith hath saved thee, be going on to peace.” Both the NASB and KJV translations say that the woman’s faith has made her well or whole. Regardless of the variations amongst the English translations, the scriptures indicate that the healing of the woman was performed as a result of her faith touching Yeshua.
The interesting point I wanted to make is the connection that is found between faith, salvation, and physical healing. In the Scriptures, when one was saved spiritually there was a physical manifestation of healing that accompanied the saving faith. Did you catch that? Healing faith is the same kind of faith as saving faith. God is still in the buisness of saving souls by faith in Yeshua the Messiah, and if God is still in the buisness of saving souls shouldn’t He still be in the buisness of healing our bodies? God heals not only the hurting spirit but also our hurting physical bodies. I want to encourage you to reach out to the Lord for healing, because God does heal. The point is the kind of faith one needs is the same faith one has for believing that Yeshua laid his life down for for the forgiveness of sins. Do you believe that Yeshua laid his life down for the forgiveness of your sins? If you place your faith in Yeshua for the healing of your body, it will surely happen.
