Lexical Summary gahah: To heal, to cure Original Word: גָּהָה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance cure A primitive root; to remove (a bandage from a wound, i.e. Heal it) -- cure. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to depart, be cured or healed NASB Translation cure (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [גָּהָה] verb depart, i.e. be cured, healed (subject wound) (compare Aramaic  be freed (from guilt, pain, disease, etc.), Aph`el set free, also become free) ולאיִֿגְהֶה מִכֶּם מָזוֺר Hosea 5:13. Topical Lexicon Biblical usage The verb גָּהָה appears a single time in the Old Testament, in Hosea 5:13, where it is translated “cure”. In that setting it describes the hoped-for medical remedy the northern kingdom sought from Assyria—help that ultimately proved powerless. Literary and prophetic context Hosea’s prophecies expose covenant unfaithfulness by likening national idolatry to bodily disease (Hosea 5:12 – 13; 7:1). The rare appearance of גָּהָה intensifies that imagery: Israel’s spiritual rebellion is not a superficial ailment but a festering wound. The people recognize their sickness yet refuse the only Physician able to restore them (Hosea 6:1). Historical background The appeal to “King Jareb” reflects approximately eighth-century BC political maneuvering when both Ephraim (Israel) and Judah attempted to buy protection from Assyria. Archaeological records confirm treaties and tribute lists from Tiglath-Pileser III and Shalmaneser V that match Hosea’s timeframe. Hosea denounces this diplomacy as misplaced trust; the Assyrian monarchs can neither “cure” nor “heal” because the real malady is covenant violation, not military weakness. Theological significance 1. Divine exclusivity in salvation: By reserving גָּהָה for a negative example, Scripture highlights that genuine healing—physical or spiritual—comes solely from Yahweh (Exodus 15:26; Psalm 103:3). Christological foreshadowing Hosea’s portrait of incurable wounds anticipates the messianic ministry of Jesus Christ who “healed all who were sick” (Matthew 8:16) and proclaimed that those who are sick need a physician (Mark 2:17). The inability of Assyria to גָּהָה Israel prefigures the insufficiency of any savior other than Christ, whose atonement fully cures the sin-disease. Application for ministry • Pastoral counseling: Hosea 5:13 warns believers against substituting worldly solutions—whether political, psychological, or financial—for repentance and faith. Homiletical insights 1. Diagnosis precedes cure: Hosea exposes sin before offering restoration (Hosea 6:1 – 3). Summary גָּהָה stands as a one-word indictment of false reliance and a call to seek the only true Healer. Hosea’s lone employment of the verb amplifies the prophet’s central theme: national and personal wholeness are found exclusively in covenant fidelity to the LORD, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Great Physician. Forms and Transliterations יִגְהֶ֥ה יגהה yiḡ·heh yigHeh yiḡhehLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Hosea 5:13 HEB: לָכֶ֔ם וְלֹֽא־ יִגְהֶ֥ה מִכֶּ֖ם מָזֽוֹר׃ NAS: to heal you, Or to cure you of your wound. KJV: he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound. INT: to heal Or to cure at of your wound 1 Occurrence |
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