Greek word · G2322

θεραπεία

therapeia

service

Service or attendance (on a god, master or household), care or tending, and medical treatment or healing. By extension it can mean the body of servants itself, a household staff (Luke 12:42 in some manuscripts; Gen 45:16 in the Greek Old Testament). Medical writers use it for therapy and treatment.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

θεραπεία, -ας, ἡ

(θεραπεύω) [in LXX for עֶבֶד Genesis 45:16 (cf. Esther 5:2), etc. ;]

1. service.

2. healing: Luke 9:11 (Field, Notes, 60), Revelation 22:2.

3. Collective, household attendants, servants: Luke 12:42 (LXX, ll. with).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Revelation 22:2

Range of meaning

Service or attendance (on a god, master or household), care or tending, and medical treatment or healing. By extension it can mean the body of servants itself, a household staff (Luke 12:42 in some manuscripts; Gen 45:16 in the Greek Old Testament). Medical writers use it for therapy and treatment.

Against the English

Most versions say "healing," which fits the medical sense and the Ezekiel background. YLT's "service" keeps the word's root meaning but misleads here: the leaves are not "for the service of the nations" in a sense of waiting on them. The word's range simply includes care given to someone.

How it drifted

No real drift. "Healing" is accurate. It can sound to a modern ear like a purely medical cure of a disease. The Greek word carries the broader picture of attentive, restoring care.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it is used of Jesus healing "those who needed healing" (Luke 9:11). Greek medical writers (Hippocratic corpus) use it for treatment. Ezekiel 47:12 in Hebrew says the leaves are litrufah, "for healing/medicine." The Greek Old Testament there has εἰς ὑγίειαν, "for health." John chose a different word but the same idea.

From the study of Luke 12:42

Range of meaning

(1) Service or attendance; (2) care, including medical care or healing (source of English "therapy"); (3) collectively, the body of attendants or servants of a household or court.

Against the English

KJV/WEB/YLT/ESV have "household"; BSB/NIV/NASB have "servants". "Household" can suggest the master's family. The Greek means the staff of servants.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 45:16 (Septuagint) speaks of Pharaoh's "servants" (therapeia) hearing of Joseph's brothers. Classical writers such as Polybius use it for a ruler's retinue. Luke himself uses it in the sense of "healing" in 9:11. Matthew 24:45 has the near-synonym oiketeia ("household slaves").

Similar words

Where it appears

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 9:11 θεραπείας of healing

    But the crowds found out and followed Him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and He healed those who needed healing.

  2. Luke 12:42 θεραπείας care [of servants]

    And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?

    Here: A collective noun: the master's household staff, the servants as a group. The manager is put over his fellow servants, not over the master's family.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 22:2 θεραπείαν [the] healing

    down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

    Here: "Healing, treatment." The word's root idea is attentive care, the kind a servant gives a master or a physician gives a patient. Here it is the restoring care the nations receive.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.