06-29-2025, 03:27 PM
In Isaiah 53:3, the phrase "acquainted with disease" includes the Hebrew word חֳלִי (choli), which refers to physical sickness or illness. This meaning presents a theological difficulty for commentators who interpret this chapter as referring to a healer figure such as Jesus, which may explain why the King James Version rendered it as "acquainted with grief."
My question is: Could the Hebrew word possibly refer to mental illness? The verse describes the figure as "despised and forsaken of men," which could result in emotional suffering, such as depression or social isolation.
Since the term mental illness did not exist in ancient Jewish culture—or in any culture at that time—Could this be G-d’s way of acknowledging such suffering in a form understandable at that time? Or perhaps that is just the truth, a mental illness is simply part of the broader category of disease—i.e., an internal imbalance, such as dysregulation of brain chemistry?
"He was despised, and forsaken of men, a man of pains, and acquainted with disease."
—Isaiah 53:3, JPS Tanakh 1917
My question is: Could the Hebrew word possibly refer to mental illness? The verse describes the figure as "despised and forsaken of men," which could result in emotional suffering, such as depression or social isolation.
Since the term mental illness did not exist in ancient Jewish culture—or in any culture at that time—Could this be G-d’s way of acknowledging such suffering in a form understandable at that time? Or perhaps that is just the truth, a mental illness is simply part of the broader category of disease—i.e., an internal imbalance, such as dysregulation of brain chemistry?
"He was despised, and forsaken of men, a man of pains, and acquainted with disease."
—Isaiah 53:3, JPS Tanakh 1917