Greek word · G2386

ἴαμα

iama

healing

A healing or cure, and in classical Greek also a remedy or means of healing. It names the result of healing, not the act of treating someone (the noun for that is iasis). In the New Testament it appears only in 1 Corinthians 12:9, 28 and 30, and always in the plural.

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

What it means

ἴαμα, -τος, τό

(ἰάομαι), [in LXX for מַרְפֵּא (2 Chronicles 36:16, Ecclesiastes 10:4, Jeremiah 33:6, etc. ;]

1. most frequently in cl., a means of healing, remedy (Thuc., al.; Wisdom of Solomon 11:4 10:9).

2. = ἴασις (which see), a healing (Plat.; Jer, l.with): pl., 1 Corinthians 12:9 12:28 12:30.†

(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 1 Corinthians 12:9

Range of meaning

A healing or cure, and in classical Greek also a remedy or means of healing. It names the result of healing, not the act of treating someone (the noun for that is iasis). In the New Testament it appears only in 1 Corinthians 12:9, 28 and 30, and always in the plural.

Against the English

Most English versions say 'gifts of healing,' with 'healing' in the singular, which suggests one faculty. The Greek has 'gifts of healings,' both plural. The WEB and YLT keep this.

How it drifted

Translators smooth 'healings' into 'healing' because it sounds more natural in English. The singular then supports the picture of 'the gift of healing' as a standing power that a 'healer' owns.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint uses it for God's restoring cure (Jer 33:6; Isa 58:8, 'your healings shall spring up quickly'). Most strikingly, the fourth-century BC stone records at the healing sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus are headed 'Healings (iamata) of Apollo and Asclepius' and list cures one by one. Corinth had its own temple of Asclepius, where excavators found many clay offerings shaped like healed body parts.

Where it appears

1 Corinthians · 3

  1. 1 Corinthians 12:9 ἰαμάτων of healing

    to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit,

    Here: 'Of healings,' in the plural. Each word in the phrase is plural ('gifts of healings'). This suggests separate acts of healing, each one a gift, rather than a single power that someone holds.

  2. 1 Corinthians 12:28 ἰαμάτων, of healing,

    And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues.

    Here: "Of healings", in the plural, as in 12:9. Each act of healing seems to be a gift in its own right, not a permanent ability someone owns.

  3. 1 Corinthians 12:30 ἰαμάτων; of healings?

    Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

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