Bible Strands
Luke 13:11
and a woman there had been disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was hunched over and could not stand up straight.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus is teaching in a synagogue on a Sabbath when he encounters a woman who has been physically disabled by a spirit for eighteen years. He addresses her directly after observing her condition and the surrounding crowd.
The words — The Greek phrase πνεῦμα ἔχουσα (pneuma echousa) literally means "having a spirit," while ἀσθενείας (astheneias) denotes a state of infirmity or weakness. These terms specify that her prolonged physical deformity stems from spiritual oppression rather than natural illness.
The thread — The connection between physical infirmity and spiritual activity appears in Luke 8:2, which lists women healed of evil spirits and infirmities, and Luke 13:16, which identifies the affliction as a bond held by Satan. The same Greek vocabulary links this woman’s condition to other demon-encountered figures in the narrative.
Why it lands — The text records a specific duration and physical posture to establish the reality of the woman’s suffering before Jesus declares her release. It requires the reader to acknowledge that prolonged affliction does not indicate divine abandonment, but rather sets the stage for authoritative intervention.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.
Cross-references
- Luke 8:2 as well as some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
- Luke 8:27 When Jesus stepped ashore, He was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothing or lived in a house, but he stayed in the tombs.
- Luke 13:16 Then should not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be released from her bondage on the Sabbath day?”
- Luke 8:43 including a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all her money on physicians, but no one was able to heal her.
- Psalms 6:2 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony.
- Mark 9:21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been with him?” “From childhood,” he said.
- Acts 4:22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
- Matthew 9:32 As they were leaving, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to Jesus.
- John 5:5 One man there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.
- Job 2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and infected Job with terrible boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.