“Healed” Defined
The Greek word for healed in 1 Peter 2:24 is iaomai. The Hebrew word for healed in Isaiah 53:5 is rapha.
Places Where the Greek Word iaomai Is Used
Here is a complete list of places in the Bible where the Greek word iaomai appears. Once you go through this list, it should settle for you the fact that Peter refers to physical healing, not forgiveness, your relationship with God, or anything else. If it means healed elsewhere, we need to interpret it as healed in 1 Peter 2:24 as well.
“The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” – Matthew 8:8
“And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.” – Matthew 8:13
“For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” – Matthew 13:15
“Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” – Matthew 15:28
“And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.” – Mark 5:29
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,” – Luke 4:18
“And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.” – Luke 5:17
“And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;” – Luke 6:17
“And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.” – Luke 6:19
“Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.” – Luke 7:7
“And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.” – Luke 8:47
“And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.” – Luke 9:2
“And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spake unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.” – Luke 9:11
“And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.” – Luke 9:42
“And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;” – Luke 14:4
“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,” – Luke 17:15
“And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.” – Luke 22:51
“When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.” – John 4:47
“And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.” – John 5:13
“He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.” – John 12:40
“And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.” – Acts 3:11
“And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.” – Acts 9:34
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” – Acts 10:38
“And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.” – Acts 28:8
“For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” – Acts 28:27
“And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” – Hebrews 12:13
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” – James 5:16
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” – 1 Peter 2:24
There are 3 instances connected with the same prophecy where at least at first, one might conclude that it really refers to some kind of spiritual healing, but even then, it would be hard to prove that the word does not mean refer to physical healing that would result if Israel turned back to God. For those who say that it would be a spiritual healing, let me remind you that a person who is born again does not get spiritually healed; he gets spiritually reborn – raised from the dead! He doesn’t get a spiritual healing; he gets a spiritual transplant. So that can’t be what it’s talking about there, either.
And given that these 3 instances all refer to the same prophecy that Isaiah gave, would it not make sense to ascertain whether the original prophecy itself referred to physical healing? The word used in Isaiah is rapha, which also refers to the kind of healing a physician would do – in fact, rapha happens to be the exact Hebrew word for physician! (See the section below for more on this.)
So far, based on the uses of iaomai above, any unbiased reader should be able to determine that the word iaomai does indeed refer to physical healing, not any kind of “spiritual” healing.
The only other place where there could even be any question would be where Jesus said that He was anointed to heal (iaomai) the brokenhearted. But the word brokenhearted in the Greek, while it could include emotional brokenness, is certainly not restricted to it. The word syntribo is translated brokenhearted only once in the New Testament – in the verse just mentioned (see Luke 4:18-19). The word is also translated as follows in these other New Testament verses:
“A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory.” – Matthew 12:20
“Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.” – Mark 5:4
“And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.” – Mark 14:3
“And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.” – Luke 9:39
“For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.” – John 19:36
“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” – Romans 16:20
“And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.” – Revelation 2:27
There is nothing explicitly emotional about the meaning of this word anywhere else in the New Testament. The real meaning of the word is bruised or shattered. While an emotional distraught person could be thought of as “crushed” in popular parlance, it is clear that this word is not restricted to emotional issues, though it probably does include them. Anyone physically crushed by Satan is someone Jesus is anointed to heal as well, as proved in Acts 10:38.
Other than the three Isaiah-related verses and the Luke 4:18-19 passage above (all of which we just proved could still point to physical healing), all other verses very obviously refer to physical healing.
Conclusion: The word iaomai in 1 Peter 2:24 means physically healed.
Places Where the Hebrew Word rapha Is Used
“So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.” – Genesis 20:17
“And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.” – Genesis 50:2
“And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.” – Exodus 15:26
“If he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that smote him be quit: only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed [the underlined phrase actually has 2 forms of the word rapha at the end].” – Exodus 21:19
“The flesh also, in which, even in the skin thereof, was a boil, and is healed,” – Leviticus 13:18
“But if the scall be in his sight at a stay, and that there is black hair grown up therein; the scall is healed, he is clean: and the priest shall pronounce him clean.” – Leviticus 13:37
“And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;” – Leviticus 14:3
“And if the priest shall come in, and look upon it, and, behold, the plague hath not spread in the house, after the house was plaistered: then the priest shall pronounce the house clean, because the plague is healed.” – Leviticus 14:48
“And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.” – Numbers 12:13 [This refers to Miriam’s leprosy.]
“The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed.” – Deuteronomy 28:27
“The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.” – Deuteronomy 28:35
“See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.” – Deuteronomy 32:39
“And they said, If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, send it not empty; but in any wise return him a trespass offering: then ye shall be healed, and it shall be known to you why his hand is not removed from you.” – 1 Samuel 6:3 [This refers to sickness falling as judgment on those who stole the ark of the covenant.]
“And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down.” – 1 Kings 18:30
“And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.” – 2 Kings 2:21-22
“And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.” – 2 Kings 8:29
“But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel.” – 2 Kings 9:15
“Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.” – 2 Kings 20:5
“And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?” – 2 Kings 20:8
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14
“And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.” – 2 Chronicles 16:12
“And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick.” – 2 Chronicles 22:6
“And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.” – 2 Chronicles 30:20
“For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.” – Job 5:18
“But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.” – Job 13:4
“Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
– Psalm 6:2
“O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.” – Psalm 30:2
“I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.” – Psalm 41:4
“Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.” – Psalm 60:2
“Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;” – Psalm 103:3
“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” – Psalm 147:3
“A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;” – Ecclesiastes 3:3
“Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.” – Isaiah 6:10
“And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the LORD, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.” – Isaiah 19:22
“Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.” – Isaiah 30:26
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5
“I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.” – Isaiah 57:18-19. Literally, this ends “says Jehovah Rapha,” which could also be translated “says the Lord Who Heals You” (as in Exodus 15:26).
“Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.” – Jeremiah 3:22
“They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” – Jeremiah 6:14
“For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” – Jeremiah 8:11
“Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” – Jeremiah 8:22
“Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?” – Jeremiah 15:18
“Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.” – Jeremiah 17:14
“And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.” – Jeremiah 19:11
“For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.” – Jeremiah 30:17
“Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.” – Jeremiah 33:6
“Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.” – Jeremiah 51:8-9
“What thing shall I take to witness for thee? what thing shall I liken to thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? what shall I equal to thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Zion? for thy breach is great like the sea: who can heal thee?” – Lamentations 2:13
“The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.” – Ezekiel 34:4
“Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.” – Ezekiel 47:8-9
“But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.” – Ezekiel 47:11
“When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound.” – Hosea 5:13
“Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.” – Hosea 6:1
“When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without.” – Hosea 7:1
“I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not that I healed them.” – Hosea 11:3
“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.” – Hosea 14:4
“For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.” – Zechariah 11:16
So we see that the word rapha used in Isaiah 53:5 is also translated physician. Given its usage in the Bible, there is no question that if refers to healing the way we normally would think of it. Although there are a few references to healing a thing (backsliding, an altar, waters), there is no question that when it refers to healing a person, it means healing a person as we would understand it! So again, an unbiased reader should conclude that healed in Isaiah 53:5 means physically and emotionally healed. So Peter does well to quote Isaiah using a similar Greek word for healed, which interestingly, is also similar to the Greek word iatros that also means physician.