Hebrew word · H7499

רְפֻאָה

refu'ot

remedy

"Remedy, medicine, treatment": what is applied to bring healing. It comes from rāpāʾ, "heal, repair", the verb used for YHWH as healer (Exod 15:26). The noun occurs only three times: Jer 30:13; 46:11; Ezek 30:21.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

remedy, medicine

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 Jeremiah 30:13

Range of meaning

"Remedy, medicine, treatment": what is applied to bring healing. It comes from rāpāʾ, "heal, repair", the verb used for YHWH as healer (Exod 15:26). The noun occurs only three times: Jer 30:13; 46:11; Ezek 30:21.

Against the English

KJV "healing medicines" combines this word with the next. BSB "remedy" is accurate. A modern reader of "medicines" may picture pills; the ancient picture is salves, oils, balms and bandages (cf. "balm in Gilead", Jer 8:22).

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 46:11: Egypt "multiplies remedies in vain; there is no new flesh for you." Ezek 30:21: Pharaoh's broken arm has not been bound up "to put remedies" on it. Both are images of a nation's political and military collapse.

From the study of Jeremiah 46:11

Range of meaning

Remedies, means of healing, treatments. The word appears only in the plural, in Jer 30:13, Ezek 30:21 and here. It comes from rāpāʾ, 'heal, mend'.

Against the English

'Medicines' (KJV, WEB) can suggest modern drugs. The word covers any healing measure, including dressings, bandages and poultices. In Egypt, treatment also included spoken spells used alongside drugs.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezekiel 30:21 is a close parallel. God has broken Pharaoh's arm, 'and it has not been bound up to apply remedies (rəpuʾôt)'. It probably comes from the same period of Egyptian defeats.

Where it appears

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 30:13 רְפֻא֥וֹת [are] medications of

    There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sores, no recovery for you.

    Here: Plural of a noun from "heal" (rāpāʾ): the actual treatments a healer applies. The same pair of words appears in Jeremiah 46:11, about Egypt: "In vain you have multiplied remedies; there is no new flesh for you."

  2. Jeremiah 46:11 רְפֻא֔וֹת remedies

    Go up to Gilead for balm, O Virgin Daughter of Egypt! In vain you try many remedies, but for you there is no healing.

    Here: Healing measures of every kind: drugs, dressings, treatments. The word comes from rāpāʾ, 'heal'. It is pointed at Egypt, the ancient world's most famous land of doctors.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 30:21 רְפֻא֜וֹת healing<s>

    “Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. See, it has not been bound up for healing, or splinted for strength to hold the sword.

    Here: A plural form: “healings”, meaning remedies or medicines. Egypt was famous for its medicine. Jeremiah 46:11 uses this same word to taunt Egypt: “in vain you multiply remedies.”

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