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Unveiling the Word

Understanding Greek words in the Bible helps readers uncover the depth of meaning intended in the original texts. The Greek word νόσος (nósos), found in Matthew 4:23, refers to disease or sickness. It plays a significant role in New Testament passages, especially in contexts where Jesus heals the afflicted. Grasping the meaning of nósos not only adds clarity to New Testament accounts but also offers insights into the cultural understanding of disease in the ancient world. In ancient Greek culture, illness was often associated with divine punishment or imbalance, which adds further layers to the New Testament depictions of healing and restoration.

Necessary Information

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Greek Word: νόσος (nósos), pronounced NO-sos.

Etymology: Nόσος is derived from a root that conveys the sense of sickness, disease, or affliction. In both the classical and biblical Greek, it is used to describe various physical ailments, making it a foundational term when discussing health and illness.

Part of Speech: Noun (feminine). This word primarily functions as a noun, referring to physical diseases or conditions. It belongs to the third declension, following a typical pattern for feminine nouns in ancient Greek grammar.

The F.O.G Word Choice: Coming Soon.

Defining Meanings

1. Physical Disease or Ailment: The primary use of nósos is to describe physical diseases. In Matthew 4:23, it refers to the various sicknesses that Jesus healed as He traveled through Galilee. It emphasizes Jesus’ role as a healer, physically restoring those afflicted by illness.

2. Spiritual or Moral Affliction: While most commonly associated with physical disease, nósos can also extend metaphorically to describe spiritual or moral affliction. In some cases, it might represent an inner condition that reflects an imbalance or dis-ease of the soul.

Exploring Similar Words

1. ἀσθένεια (asthéneia) [pronunciation: as-THEH-nay-ah]: Refers to weakness or infirmity, often with an emphasis on general physical frailty rather than specific illnesses. Asthéneia is used in contexts where weakness or lack of strength is the focus, rather than disease itself.

2. μαλακία (malakía) [pronunciation: ma-la-KEE-ah]: This word refers to softness or weakness and is sometimes used in medical contexts to describe more chronic conditions, as opposed to the acute illnesses denoted by nósos.

3. λοιμός (loimós) [pronunciation: loy-MOS]: Refers to plague or pestilence, often used in contexts of widespread or contagious diseases. Loimós indicates a collective outbreak of disease, while nósos can refer to individual afflictions.

Reviewing the Word’s Morphology

For nouns such as nósos, it is important to consider the following morphological features:

• Case: It appears in various cases depending on its syntactic role in a sentence—nominative, genitive, dative, accusative.

• Number: It can appear in both singular and plural forms (e.g., nósoi for “diseases”).

• Gender: Feminine. Greek nouns have gender, and nósos is feminine in form.

• Declension: As a third declension noun, nósos follows a specific pattern of inflections that modify the word to fit its grammatical context.

For a beginner’s guide to reading Greek grammar, click here for more information.

Studying Lexicon Insights

The word nósos appears in a variety of contexts across the New Testament and classical Greek literature. Its most frequent usage is in the context of physical sickness. In New Testament passages like Matthew 4:23, it highlights Jesus’ healing ministry. In classical literature, nósos similarly describes physical diseases but sometimes takes on broader metaphorical meanings. The concept of disease in the ancient world often carried moral or spiritual implications, with sickness seen as a sign of divine displeasure or imbalance in one’s life. By healing nósos, Jesus symbolically restores not only the body but also the soul and relationship with God.

This overview synthesizes insights from BDAG, Thayer’s, LSJ, Vine’s, Strong’s, LEH, and Moulton and Milligan.

Tracing Related Scriptures

1. Matthew 4:23: “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness [nósos] and all manner of disease among the people.”

2. Matthew 9:35: “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness [nósos] and every disease among the people.”

3. Luke 7:21: “And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight.”

Analyzing Classical Usage

Author Name of Work Text

Homer Iliad “Apollo struck the Greeks with a deadly nósos that swept through the camp.”

Hippocrates On Epidemics “The nature of nósos can be understood through careful observation of the body and its humors.”

Septuagint Deuteronomy “The Lord will take away from you all sickness [nósos] and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt on you.”

Noteworthy Summary

Nósos is a term used to describe physical illness or disease, and its use in the New Testament often emphasizes Jesus’ role as a healer. It carries cultural and theological weight, as disease was sometimes seen as a reflection of moral or spiritual affliction. Understanding nósos sheds light on the broader themes of healing and restoration in biblical texts.

Did You Know?

1. Nósos was used extensively in medical texts by ancient physicians like Hippocrates to describe diseases and their symptoms.

2. In the New Testament, Jesus’ healing of nósos was often seen as a sign of the coming kingdom of God and the restoration of creation.

3. The belief that disease could be a punishment from the gods influenced how illnesses were viewed both medically and theologically in ancient cultures.