Texts in Conversation
In Luke 4, Jesus quotes the saying “Physician, heal yourself,” also found in Rabbinic texts like Genesis Rabbah and Greek works such as Euripides. Its presence in all of these traditions shows how it was a popular expression used in many cultures.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Luke 4:23
New Testament
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 Then he began to tell them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.” 22 All were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” 23 Jesus said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum, do here in your hometown too.’” 24 And he added, “I tell you the truth, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days, when the sky was shut up three and a half years and there was a great famine over all the land. 26 Yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.
Genesis Rabbah 23:4
Aggadah
Rabbinic
“Lemekh said to his wives, Ada and Tzila: Hear my voice, wives of Lemekh, listen to my speech, for have I slain a man for my wound or a child for my injury?” (Genesis 4:23) “Lemekh said to his wives, Ada and Tzila: Hear my voice.” Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: He propositioned them for intercourse, but they said to him: ‘Tomorrow the Flood is coming [to destroy all mankind]. Shall we heed you and bring forth children only to be cursed?’ He said to them: ‘“Have I slain a man for my wound,” that wounds should befall me on his account? “[Have I slain] a child for my injury,” that injuries should befall me on his account?’ This was a rhetorical question: Cain committed murder and yet [his punishment] was suspended for him for seven generations; I, who did not kill anyone, all the more so [punishment] should be suspended for me for that. Rabbi says: This is a flawed a fortiori argument: If so, from whom would the Holy One blessed be He ever collect His promissory note? Rabbi Yaakov bar Idi asked before Rabbi Yoḥanan: If “a man,” why “a child”; if “a child,” why “a man”? He said to him: He [Abel] was a man in terms of his limbs, but a child in terms of years. He [Lemekh] said to them: ‘Let us go to Adam.’ They went to Adam [for consultation]. He said to them: ‘You do yours and the Holy One blessed be He will do His.’ They said to him: ‘Doctor, heal your own lameness. Have you yourself not separated from Eve for a hundred and thirty years so that you should not produce a son from her?’ This was a rhetorical question. When he heard this, he consorted [with Eve] to produce offspring.
Date: 500 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... because Jesus began his ministry at about the age of thirty, it is also at least possible that he had acquired a higher level of education, given the span of time that would allow him to gain further education prior to his public ministry. Indeed, some Jewish boys attended the ephebeia (see above), if they had the financial means to do so. His use of parables may also suggest that he had learning beyond that of the primary, since only learned Jewish teachers would have known how to use this type of genre. Additionally, Jesus’ statement, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician heal yourself’ (Πάντως ἐρεῖτέ μοι τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην· Ἰατρέ, θεράπευσον σεαυτόν)” (Luke 4:23), may also suggest that he had some acquaintance with both Jewish and Greek literature. (This proverb is found in Greek literature, “A physician for others, but himself teeming with sores”, Euripides [480–406 BCE], Incertarum Fabularum Fragmenta 1086, as well as in Jewish literature, “Physician, physician heal thine own limp!”, Genesis Rabbah 23:4) The only thing that would mitigate us from considering this possibility that Jesus did attend an education beyond the primary is if he did not have the financial means to do so ..."
Ong, Hughson T.
The Multilingual Jesus and the Sociolinguistic World of the New Testament
(p. 254) Brill, 2016
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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Since almost all the memes and stories in the New Testament are rewrites of those in the Old Testament (the Jewish Torah) we should not be surprised to find that this one, commonly attributed to Jesus, actually comes from Genesis, written 500 years before Jesus was said to have been born. However i ...