Hebrew word · H724

אֲרוּכָה

'arukhah

health

New flesh forming over a wound, and so healing or recovery. It is used in a transferred sense for restoring something broken: repairing a city wall (Neh 4:7 [Heb 4:1]) or the temple (2 Chr 24:13), and restoring a wounded nation (Jer 8:22; 30:17; 33:6).

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

healing, restoration

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 58:8

Range of meaning

New flesh forming over a wound, and so healing or recovery. It is used in a transferred sense for restoring something broken: repairing a city wall (Neh 4:7 [Heb 4:1]) or the temple (2 Chr 24:13), and restoring a wounded nation (Jer 8:22; 30:17; 33:6). BDB defines it as 'healing of a wound, restoration', properly 'the new flesh at the wound'. HALOT has 'new flesh (growing on a healing wound)'.

Against the English

KJV 'health' sounds like a general state of wellness. BSB, WEB and ESV have 'healing', and NASB has 'recovery'. NLT makes the wound image explicit. 'Healing' is accurate. The difference is scope: English readers usually picture one person's body, while the Hebrew word reaches as far as rebuilding ruins.

How it drifted

In modern English 'health' means personal physical fitness. In 1611 'health' could still mean general welfare and even salvation (as in 'saving health'), but readers today hear only the medical sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah uses it for Judah's national wound: 'Is there no balm in Gilead… why then has the healing of my people not come?' (Jer 8:22), and 'I will restore health to you and heal your wounds' (30:17). In Jer 33:6 the object is the city. Nehemiah uses it for the work on Jerusalem's walls. The LXX here has iamata, 'cures, healings'.

From the study of Jeremiah 33:6

Range of meaning

The healing of a wound, especially the new flesh that forms over it. By extension, the repair or restoration of something broken, such as a wall or a building. It may be related to the root ʾ-r-k 'be long', as in flesh that 'lengthens' across a wound, though that link is debated.

Against the English

KJV, BSB and WEB have 'health', and the Strong's gloss also says 'health'. In modern English 'health' means a general state of not being ill. The Hebrew is more concrete: a wound closing up. The Septuagint's synoulōsis ('a scarring over, closing of a wound') keeps that picture.

How it drifted

'Health' was a reasonable older English choice (the root of 'health' is wholeness), but today the word has lost the picture of a wound that closes.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Jeremiah 8:22 the prophet asks 'Is there no balm in Gilead?… Why has the ʾărukāh of the daughter of my people not gone up?' In Jeremiah 30:17 God answers, 'I will bring up ʾărukāh for you and heal you of your wounds.' In Isaiah 58:8, 'your ʾărukāh will spring up quickly.' Nehemiah 4:7 [4:1 Heb] speaks of 'the repair (ʾărukāh) of the walls of Jerusalem going up', and 2 Chronicles 24:13 of the temple repairs.

From the study of Jeremiah 30:17

Range of meaning

The healing of a wound, specifically the new flesh that grows over it and closes it (BDB: "healing of a wound, restoration, lit. the new flesh at the wound"). By extension it means repair or restoration of something broken, such as a wall or a building. The word probably comes from the root ʾ-r-k, "be long", as in new tissue lengthening across the gap.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and ESV say "restore health". BSB has "restore your health" and NIV "restore you to health". "Health" suggests general well-being or fitness. The Hebrew is more concrete: a wound closing with new skin. "Restore" is not in the Hebrew, which says "I will make go up".

How it drifted

English "health" (KJV 1611) once naturally covered being made whole after injury. Today it suggests general wellness and medical fitness, which loses the specific picture of a wound being closed.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 8:22: "Is there no balm in Gilead?… Why then has the ʾărukâ of the daughter of my people not gone up?" Jer 33:6: "I will bring to it ʾărukâ and healing". Isa 58:8: "your ʾărukâ will sprout quickly". Neh 4:7 (Eng 4:1): "the ʾărukâ (repair) of the walls of Jerusalem went up". 2 Chr 24:13: repair work on the temple.

Where it appears

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 24:13 אֲרוּכָ֛ה [the] repair

    So the workmen labored, and in their hands the repair work progressed. They restored the house of God according to its specifications, and they reinforced it.

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 4:7 אֲרוּכָה֙ [the] repair

    When Sanballat and Tobiah, together with the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites, heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they were furious,

    Here: Literally the healing of a wound, the new flesh growing over an injury (Jer 8:22; 30:17). Here it is used of the wall: Jerusalem's torn walls are "healing over."

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 58:8 וַאֲרֻכָתְךָ֖ and healing your

    Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will come quickly. Your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

    Here: 'And your healing.' The word is used for new flesh growing over a wound. It is also used for repairing walls and buildings (Neh 4:7 [Heb 4:1]; 2 Chr 24:13), so here it means a wounded community and a ruined city knitting back together.

Jeremiah · 3

  1. Jeremiah 8:22 אֲרֻכַ֖ת [the] healing of

    Is there no balm in Gilead? Is no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?

    Here: Not general 'health' but the healing of a wound: the new tissue that grows across and closes it. The wound here is the 'brokenness' (shever) of 8:21.

  2. Jeremiah 30:17 אֲרֻכָ֥ה healing

    But I will restore your health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD, because they call you an outcast, Zion, for whom no one cares.”

    Here: Not general "health" but the healing of a wound, the new skin that closes it. The same word is used for repairing the breaches in a city wall (Neh 4:7), which suits a ruined city.

  3. Jeremiah 33:6 אֲרֻכָ֥ה healing

    Nevertheless, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal its people and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.

    Here: The new skin that grows over a wound as it heals. It is used for buildings too: the 'repair' of walls and of the temple (Neh 4:7; 2 Chr 24:13). It is Jeremiah's own word for the healing that never came (8:22) and that God promised to bring (30:17).

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