Bible Dictionary: Fever

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Easton's Bible Dictionary

(Deuteronomy 28:22; Matthew 8:14; Mark 1:30; John 4:52; Acts 28:8), a burning heat, as the word so rendered denotes, which attends all febrile attacks. In all Eastern countries such diseases are very common. Peter's wife's mother is said to have suffered from a "great fever" (Luke 4:38), an instance of Luke's professional exactitude in describing disease. He adopts here the technical medical distinction, as in those times fevers were divided into the "great" and the "less."

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) A diseased state of the system, marked by increased heat, acceleration of the pulse, and a general derangement of the functions, including usually, thirst and loss of appetite. Many diseases, of which fever is the most prominent symptom, are denominated fevers; as, typhoid fever; yellow fever.

2. (n.) Excessive excitement of the passions in consequence of strong emotion; a condition of great excitement; as, this quarrel has set my blood in a fever.

3. (v. t.) To put into a fever; to affect with fever; as, a fevered lip.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

FEVER

fe'-ver (qaddachath, dalleqeth; puretos, derived from a root signifying "to burn"):

A generic term, applied to all diseases characterized by high temperature of body. Several forms of febrile disease are among the commonest of all maladies in Palestine today, as they were also in the period covered by the Bible history. Of these the most prevalent is ague or intermittent malarial fever, which is common in all parts but especially in low-lying districts or places where there are pools or marshes in which mosquitoes breed, these insects being the commonest carriers of the malaria bacillus. These fevers are generally more severe in late summer and autumn, when the mosquitoes are most numerous, and when there is a liability to chill, owing to the sudden drop of temperature at sunset. During the day one uses as light clothing as possible, but immediately after sunset the air becomes chilly and damp, and the physiological resistance to the influence of the parasite is remarkably diminished. On this account travelers in Palestine at this season should be particular to avoid exposure to these evening damps, and to use mosquito curtains invariably at night.

In most tropical countries now houses are rendered mosquito-proof by close wire netting, and thereby the risk of infection is much diminished. In Palestine the marshes of the north about Banias and the Water of Merom, the Shephelah, and the Jordan valley are the most fever-stricken regions of the country. The word qaddachath is translated burning ague in Leviticus 26:16 the King James Version (the Revised Version (British and American) "fever"), and is coupled with dalleqeth, translated inflammation in Deuteronomy 28:22. Septuagint renders the former word puretos, and the latter rhigos in this passage, a collocation which is interesting as Galen uses these words together rhigopuretos in his description of a fever identical with that common in Palestine. In Leviticus the word in Septuagint is ikteros which literally means jaundice, a disease otherwise not mentioned in the Bible.

In Palestine as in other malarious countries the condition of jaundice or yellowing of the skin frequently accompanies repeated and protracted attacks of fever which cause organic disease of the liver. On this account Hippocrates describes all fevers as due to a perverted secretion of bile. These fevers begin with severe shivering fits, hence, the name rhigos which is used by Hippocrates. This is followed by a period of burning dry heat, ending in a period of profuse perspiration. Such attacks may take place daily, a few hours of interval with normal temperature separating the end of one fit from the onset of the next.

The commonest type however is that called tertian, in which a whole day separates one fit from the next. In some of the severe fevers which are rife in the Jordan valley the temperature never falls to the normal, and while there is a short remission between the attacks with a body heat a little above the normal, there is no intermission. Rarer febrile conditions which have been met with in Palestine, such as the Malta fever, present the same characteristics and may continue for months. Cases also of genuine blackwater fever have been recorded by several authorities. It is probable that in former days these fevers were even worse than they are now, as ancient medicine knew of no certain remedy for them. At present they generally yield at once to treatment by quinine, and in my own experience I believe that the administration of this remedy in large and repeated doses is the most effectual treatment.

Other febrile diseases are rife in certain districts in Palestine, and probably existed in Bible times. Typhoid is common in some crowded towns and villages, and considering how little protected the wells are from contamination, the wonder is that it is not much more prevalent. It is probable also that typhus then, as now, was present as an occasional epidemic in the more crowded cities, but even the physicians of Greece and Rome did not differentiate these diseases. All these fevers seem also to have existed in Egypt to much the same extent as in Palestine. The Papyrus Ebers speaks of "a fever of the gods" (46) and another called "a burning of the heart" (102). Its causation is attributed to the influence of the "god of fever," and the evil sequelae of the disease as it affects the heart, stomach, eyes and other organs are described in terms which remind us of the minatory passages in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28. The conditions there mentioned, such as consuming the eyes and causing sorrow of heart or pining away of the soul, graphically describe the state frequently seen affecting those in the Shephelah villages who have suffered from frequent returns of fever, and who in consequence have developed serious local affections of the liver, spleen and other organs. Before the introduction of quinine, cases of this kind must have been much more commonly met with than they are now. It is probable that this state is that called shachepheth, or consumption, in these passages.

Another form of fever, charchur, the "extreme burning" of the King James Version or "fiery heat" of the Revised Version (British and American), is coupled with the other forms of fever in Deuteronomy 28:22. This is called in Septuagint erethismos or irritation, and may have been a feverish condition with a reddened skin, possibly erysipelas or else one of the eruptive fevers. At present outbreaks of scarlatina, measles and erysipelas are of fairly frequent occurrence and are often very severe.

In the New Testament fever is mentioned eight times. The disease which affected Simon's wife's mother is called a "great fever" (Luke 4:38), and that which nearly proved fatal to the nobleman's son in the same district was also a fever (John 4:52). Cases of the kind are common all round the Sea of Galilee at the present day.

Alexander Macalister

Greek

4445. puresso -- to be on fire, to be ill of a fever
... to be on fire, to be ill of a fever. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: puresso
Phonetic Spelling: (poo-res'-so) Short Definition: I am sick with a fever ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4445.htm - 6k

4446. puretos -- a fever
... a fever. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: puretos Phonetic Spelling:
(poo-ret-os') Short Definition: a fever Definition: a fever, scorching heat ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4446.htm - 6k

4092. pimpremi -- to fill full of
... swell up, burn with fever or passion A reduplicated and prolonged form of
a primary preo preh'-o which occurs only as an alternate ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4092.htm - 5k

2741a. kausoo -- to burn with great heat
... Word Origin from kausos (burning heat, fever) Definition to burn with great heat
NASB Word Usage intense heat (2). 2741, 2741a. kausoo. 2741b . ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2741a.htm - 5k

Strong's Hebrew

6920. qaddachath -- fever
... 6919, 6920. qaddachath. 6921 . fever. Transliteration: qaddachath Phonetic
Spelling: (kad-dakh'-ath) Short Definition: fever. Word ...
/hebrew/6920.htm - 6k

2746. charchur -- violent heat, fever
... 2745, 2746. charchur. 2747 . violent heat, fever. Transliteration: charchur
Phonetic Spelling: (khar-khoor') Short Definition: heat. ... fever. ...
/hebrew/2746.htm - 6k

2534. chemah -- heat, rage
... Or (Dan. 11:44) chemac {khay-maw'}; from yacham; heat; figuratively, anger, poison
(from its fever) -- anger, bottles, hot displeasure, furious(-ly, -ry), heat ...
/hebrew/2534.htm - 6k

1816. dalleqeth -- inflammation
... Word Origin from dalaq Definition inflammation NASB Word Usage inflammation (1).
inflammation. : from dalaq; a burning fever -- inflammation. see HEBREW dalaq. ...
/hebrew/1816.htm - 6k

2721a. choreb -- dryness, drought, heat
... Word Origin from chareb Definition dryness, drought, heat NASB Word Usage drought
(2), dry (3), fever (1), heat (6). 2721, 2721a. choreb. 2721b . ...
/hebrew/2721a.htm - 5k

2725. cherabon -- drought
... Word Origin from chareb Definition drought NASB Word Usage fever heat (1). drought.
From charab; parching heat -- drought. see HEBREW charab. 2724, 2725. ...
/hebrew/2725.htm - 6k

7565. resheph -- flame
... From saraph; a live coal; by analogy lightning; figuratively, an arrow, (as flashing
through the air); specifically, fever -- arrow, (burning) coal, burning ...
/hebrew/7565.htm - 6k

Library

Of Four Kinds of Fever Wherewith a Man May be Tormented
... THE SECOND BOOK CHAPTER XXXII. OF FOUR KINDS OF FEVER WHEREWITH A MAN MAY
BE TORMENTED. ... The first kind is called the quotidian fever. ...
/.../john/the adornment of the spritual marriage/chapter xxxii of four kinds.htm

Being Attacked by Fever, He is in Great Danger.
... Book V. Chapter IX."Being Attacked by Fever, He is in Great Danger. 16. ... The
fever increasing, I was now passing away and perishing. ...
/.../the confessions and letters of st/chapter ix being attacked by fever.htm

His Mother, Attacked by Fever, Dies at Ostia.
... Book IX. Chapter XI."His Mother, Attacked by Fever, Dies at Ostia. 27. What
reply I made unto her to these things I do not well remember. ...
/.../the confessions and letters of st/chapter xi his mother attacked by.htm

How a Little Boy was Cured of a Fever at his Tomb.
... BOOK III CHAP. XII. How a little boy was cured of a fever at his tomb. SOME
time after, there was a certain little boy in the said ...
/.../bede/bedes ecclesiastical history of england/chap xii how a little.htm

He Abandons the School-Room. Remarkable Meeting Near Alexandria. ...
... Mischief-making Preachers. Long and Severe Attack of Typhoid Fever. Does not Lose
Hope. ... Mischief-making Preachers. Long and Severe Attack of Typhoid Fever. ...
/.../chapter xi he abandons the.htm

The Republic had Passed Its Paroxysm of Fever, of Demagoguical ...
... XII. The Republic had passed its paroxysm of fever, of demagoguical madness�
The Republic had passed its paroxysm of fever, of ...
/.../lamartine/atheism among the people/xii the republic had passed.htm

Healing Peter's Mother-In-Law and Many Others.
... name does not contradict this view, for it means "house of fishing" or "fishery."]
30 Now Simon's wife's mother lay sick of { ^c was holden with} a great fever ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xxxii healing peters mother-in-law and.htm

A Battle with Smallpox
... body. The mother's answer was, "None to speak of," and they reached the
conclusion that the pimples on her lip were fever-sores. ...
/.../cole/trials and triumphs of faith/chapter xx a battle with.htm

St. Ambrose Returns Again to the Subject of Christ...
... "And He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her ... He commands the fever,
He commands the unclean spirits, at another place He lays hands on them. ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/chapter x st ambrose returns.htm

A Group of Miracles
... Now Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever; and straightway they tell Him of
her: and He came and took her by the hand, and raised her up; and the fever ...
/.../chadwick/the gospel of st mark/chapter 1 29-34 a group of.htm

Thesaurus

Fever (13 Occurrences)
... Peter's wife's mother is said to have suffered from a "great fever" (Luke 4:38),
an instance of Luke's professional exactitude in describing disease. ...
/f/fever.htm - 17k

Ague (1 Occurrence)
... The translation in Leviticus 26:16 (RV, "fever") of the Hebrew word kaddah'ath,
meaning "kindling", ie, an inflammatory or burning fever. ...
/a/ague.htm - 8k

Feverish (2 Occurrences)
... 1. (a.) Having a fever; suffering from, or affected with, a moderate degree of fever;
showing increased heat and thirst; as, the patient is feverish. ...
/f/feverish.htm - 7k

Consumption (20 Occurrences)
... away of the body; esp., that form of wasting, attendant upon pulmonary phthisis
and associated with cough, spitting of blood, hectic fever, etc.; pulmonary ...
/c/consumption.htm - 14k

Inflammation (6 Occurrences)
... in-fla-ma'-shun (dalleqeth; rhigos): Only in Deuteronomy 28:22, was considered by
Jewish writers as "burning fever," by Septuagint as a form of ague. ...
/i/inflammation.htm - 9k

Waited (72 Occurrences)
... Matthew 8:15 He touched her hand and the fever left her: and then she rose and waited
upon Him. (WEY NAS). ... The fever left her, and she served them. (See NAS). ...
/w/waited.htm - 26k

Wife's (21 Occurrences)
... Wife's (21 Occurrences). Matthew 8:14 When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw
his wife's mother lying sick with a fever. (WEB KJV ASV BBE WBS). ...
/w/wife's.htm - 12k

Ministered (53 Occurrences)
... (KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS RSV). Matthew 8:15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left
her: and she arose, and ministered unto them. (KJV ASV WBS). ...
/m/ministered.htm - 23k

Mother-in-law (16 Occurrences)
... Mother-in-law (16 Occurrences). Matthew 8:14 After this Jesus went to the house
of Peter, whose mother-in-law he found ill in bed with fever. ...
/m/mother-in-law.htm - 11k

Ministering (63 Occurrences)
... him. (YLT). Matthew 8:15 and he touched her hand, and the fever left her,
and she arose, and was ministering to them. (YLT). Matthew ...
/m/ministering.htm - 25k

Bible Concordance

Fever (13 Occurrences)

Matthew 8:14 When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Matthew 8:15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her. She got up and served him.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 1:30 Now Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. of seed shall yield an ephah.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Mark 1:31 He came and took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she served them.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Luke 4:38 He rose up from the synagogue, and entered into Simon's house. Simon's mother-in-law was afflicted with a great fever, and they begged him for her.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Luke 4:39 He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

John 4:52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. They said therefore to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour, the fever left him."
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Acts 28:8 It happened that the father of Publius lay sick of fever and dysentery. Paul entered in to him, prayed, and laying his hands on him, healed him.
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

1 Corinthians 7:9 If, however, they cannot maintain self-control, by all means let them marry; for marriage is better than the fever of passion.
(WEY)

Leviticus 26:16 I also will do this to you: I will appoint terror over you, even consumption and fever, that shall consume the eyes, and make the soul to pine away; and you will sow your seed in vain, for your enemies will eat it.
(WEB JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 28:22 Yahweh will strike you with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with the sword, and with blight, and with mildew; and they shall pursue you until you perish.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Job 30:30 My skin grows black and peels from me. My bones are burned with heat.
(See NAS NIV)

Psalms 32:4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me. My strength was sapped in the heat of summer. Selah.
(See NAS)

Subtopics

Fever

Fever: General Scriptures Concerning

Related Terms

Ague (1 Occurrence)

Feverish (2 Occurrences)

Consumption (20 Occurrences)

Inflammation (6 Occurrences)

Waited (72 Occurrences)

Wife's (21 Occurrences)