Healing and the Scriptures

Healing is one of the most prominent themes woven throughout the biblical narrative, yet it is often misunderstood through modern Western assumptions. This course explores healing through the lens of Scripture, the Ancient Near East, Second Temple Judaism, and the early Church, helping students recover the biblical worldview of wholeness, restoration, and divine healing.

Students will examine how illness and healing were understood in the ancient world, including Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Jewish, and early Christian perspectives. Special attention will be given to the Hebrew concept of shalom (wholeness), the Aramaic concept of shlama (peace and completeness), and the role of Jesus as the Divine Physician who restores the image of God within humanity.

The course investigates key themes such as the origins and nature of illness, healing in the Ancient Near East, the Logos as the Healing Word, healing miracles in Scripture, speech-act theory and the power of words, nonverbal communication in biblical healing narratives, and the contrasting approaches of Western and Eastern Christian theology. Students will also explore how the early Church Fathers understood sickness, suffering, medicine, and spiritual restoration.

Rather than viewing healing merely as the removal of physical symptoms, this course presents the biblical vision of healing as the restoration of the whole person—body, soul, mind, relationships, community, and communion with God. Through Scripture, historical context, and theological reflection, students will discover how God's healing work extends from Genesis to Revelation and continues to transform lives today.

Course Topics

• Healing in the Ancient Near East

• The Origins and Nature of Illness

• The Logos as the Healing Word

• Healing in the Ministry of Jesus

• Speech Acts and the Power of Words

• Nonverbal Communication in Biblical Healing

• Western and Eastern Christian Views of Healing

• The Divine Physician in the Early Church

• Healing, Restoration, and the Image of God

• Shalom, Shlama, and Biblical Wholeness

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will:

• Understand healing within its Ancient Near Eastern and biblical context.

• Distinguish between Western and Eastern approaches to illness and restoration.

• Explain the role of the Logos in creation, healing, and redemption.

• Analyze healing narratives in Scripture from a Hebraic and Aramaic perspective.

• Evaluate the teachings of the early Church Fathers on healing and medicine.

• Apply biblical principles of wholeness and restoration to contemporary Christian life and ministry.

  
  

Healing in the Scriptures invites students to move beyond a purely medical understanding of healing and discover God's larger vision of restoration—a vision in which healing is not merely the cure of disease but the renewal of the whole person in the presence of God.