Definition and Nature:
Sicknesses in the Bible are often understood as physical ailments, diseases, or conditions that afflict individuals, causing suffering and distress. They are sometimes seen as a consequence of the fallen state of the world due to sin, as well as a means through which God can demonstrate His power and glory.

Biblical Instances and References:

1. Old Testament Context:
Sickness is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, often in relation to the covenantal relationship between God and Israel. In Deuteronomy 28, God outlines blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience, including various diseases: "The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish" (Deuteronomy 28:22).

2. Job's Afflictions:
The Book of Job provides a profound exploration of suffering and sickness. Job, a righteous man, is afflicted with painful sores from head to toe as part of a divine test. Despite his suffering, Job maintains his faith, saying, "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him" (Job 13:15).

3. Healing in the Psalms:
The Psalms often express a plea for healing and deliverance from sickness. Psalm 103:2-3 praises God for His healing power: "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds—He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases" .

4. Prophetic Promises:
The prophets speak of a future time when sickness will be eradicated. Isaiah 33:24 declares, "And no resident of Zion will say, 'I am sick.' The people who dwell there will be forgiven of iniquity" .

New Testament Context:

1. Jesus' Ministry of Healing:
Jesus' earthly ministry was marked by numerous healings, demonstrating His authority over sickness and His compassion for the afflicted. In Matthew 8:16-17, it is recorded, "When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Him, and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 'He took on our infirmities and carried our diseases'" .

2. The Apostolic Era:
The apostles continued Jesus' healing ministry, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Acts 5:15-16 describes the impact of their work: "As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed" .

3. Paul's Teachings:
The Apostle Paul acknowledges the reality of sickness but also emphasizes God's grace and strength in weakness. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul recounts God's response to his own affliction: "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me" .

Theological Considerations:

1. Sickness and Sin:
While not all sickness is a direct result of personal sin, the Bible sometimes links the two. In John 9:1-3, Jesus clarifies that a man's blindness was not due to sin but so "the works of God might be displayed in him" .

2. Faith and Healing:
Faith plays a crucial role in the context of healing. James 5:14-15 instructs, "Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven" .

3. Eternal Perspective:
Ultimately, the Bible points to a future where sickness will be no more. Revelation 21:4 offers hope: "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away" .769. astheneia -- weakness, frailty
... asthenes Definition weakness, frailty NASB Word Usage ailments (1), diseases (1),
ill (1), illness (1), infirmities (1), sickness (3), sicknesses (2), weak (1 ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/769.htm - 7k2483. choli -- sickness
... Origin from chalah Definition sickness NASB Word Usage affliction (1), disease
(2), grief (1), griefs (1), illness (3), sick (1), sickness (14), sicknesses (1 ...
/hebrew/2483.htm - 6k

Thus Then have I Considered the Sicknesses of My Sins in that ...
... Book X Chapter XLI Thus then have I considered the sicknesses of my sins
in that threefold concupiscence? Thus then have I considered ...
/.../augustine/the confessions of saint augustine/chapter xli thus then have.htm

All we Therefore, who Believe in the Living and True God...
... saith, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His returns: Who becometh
propitious to all thy iniquities, Who healeth all thy sicknesses." [1865] He ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/on continence/section 18 all we therefore.htm

The Healing Christ
... ST. MATTHEW Chaps. I to VIII THE HEALING CHRIST. 'Himself took our infirmities,
and bare our sicknesses.'"Matthew 8:17. You will ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture a/the healing christ.htm

Christ is Not, Like God, Quite Free from Darkness: Since He Bore ...
... We may add that "He [4737] took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses," both
infirmities of the soul and sicknesses of the hidden man of our heart. ...
/.../origen/origens commentary on the gospel of john/21 christ is not like.htm

Ancient Syriac Documents Relating to the Earliest Establishment of ...
... the astonishing mighty-works which He wrought, and myriads, even from countries
remote from the land of Jud??a, who were afflicted with sicknesses and diseases ...
/.../unknown/the decretals/ancient syriac documents relating to.htm

The Diverse Forms of Spiritual Sickness.
... And, if you wish to see of what nature are the sicknesses of the soul, contemplate
with me the lovers of money, and the lovers of ambition, and the lovers of ...
/.../origen/origens commentary on the gospel of matthew/24 the diverse forms of.htm

Affliction
... [23]My flesh began unto my soul in pain,. Sicknesses cleave my bones,. ... In my unhappiness,.
Turning my purge to food, Thou throwest me. Into more sicknesses. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/palgrave/the treasury of sacred song/xlv affliction.htm

The Sick Healed.
... After these, others who had been afflicted with long-standing sicknesses asked Peter
that they might receive healing; and he promised that he would entreat the ...
/.../unknown/recognitions of clement /chapter vii the sick healed.htm

Meditations for the Sick.
... Yea, we read of many in the gospel, that by sicknesses and afflictions were driven
to come unto Christ, who, if they had had health and prosperity as others ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bayly/the practice of piety/meditations for the sick.htm

Jesus, the Great Object of Astonishment.
... all that were sick, "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet,
saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." Yes, He ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/till he come/jesus the great object of.htm

Sicknesses (15 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Sicknesses (15 Occurrences). ... Mark 3:15 and to have authority
to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: (WEB KJV WBS YLT). ...
/s/sicknesses.htm - 10k

Manifold (23 Occurrences)
... Matthew 4:24 and his fame went forth to all Syria, and they brought to him all having
ailments, pressed with manifold sicknesses and pains, and demoniacs, and ...
/m/manifold.htm - 15k

Ailing (20 Occurrences)
... Luke 4:40 And at the setting of the sun, all, as many as had any ailing with manifold
sicknesses, brought them unto him, and he on each one of them 'his' hands ...
/a/ailing.htm - 11k

Afflictions (24 Occurrences)
... 28:59 then Yahweh will make your plagues wonderful, and the plagues of your seed,
even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long ...
/a/afflictions.htm - 14k

Laying (87 Occurrences)
... British and American); Isaiah 54:11, "I will set thy stones" (the King James Version
"lay thy stones"); Deuteronomy 29:22, "the sicknesses wherewith Yahweh ...
/l/laying.htm - 39k

Strokes (8 Occurrences)
... Deuteronomy 28:59 then hath Jehovah made wonderful thy strokes, and the strokes
of thy seed -- great strokes, and stedfast, and evil sicknesses, and stedfast. ...
/s/strokes.htm - 8k

Lay (524 Occurrences)
... British and American); Isaiah 54:11, "I will set thy stones" (the King James Version
"lay thy stones"); Deuteronomy 29:22, "the sicknesses wherewith Yahweh ...
/l/lay.htm - 41k

Grievous (73 Occurrences)
... Kings 12:4 2 Chronicles 10:4); tachalu'im (Jeremiah 16:4), "They shall die grievous
deaths," the Revised Version, margin "deaths of sicknesses"; `athaq (Psalm ...
/g/grievous.htm - 31k

Sickness (40 Occurrences)
... Luke 4:40 And at the setting of the sun, all, as many as had any ailing with manifold
sicknesses, brought them unto him, and he on each one of them 'his' hands ...
/s/sickness.htm - 29k

Visited (40 Occurrences)
... rise up after you, and the foreigner that shall come from a far land, shall say,
when they see the plagues of that land, and its sicknesses wherewith Jehovah ...
/v/visited.htm - 18k

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