Luke 8:43

Analysis & Commentary

And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any. The phrase "issue of blood" (en husei haimatos, ἐν ῥύσει αἵματος) describes chronic hemorrhaging, likely continuous uterine bleeding. The condition persisted "twelve years"—the exact lifespan of Jairus' dying daughter, creating deliberate narrative symmetry. While Jairus' daughter enjoyed twelve years of life and blessing, this woman endured twelve years of suffering, isolation, and ritual uncleanness.

Under Levitical law (Leviticus 15:25-30), chronic bleeding rendered her ceremonially unclean, unable to touch others, enter synagogue worship, or marry. Everything and everyone she touched became unclean. She lived in social death—isolated, stigmatized, avoided. She had "spent all her living upon physicians" (prosanaloūsa holon ton bion eis iatrous, προσαναλώσασα ὅλον τὸν βίον εἰς ἰατρούς)—exhausting financial resources on medical treatment that failed. Mark 5:26 adds that she "suffered many things" from physicians, suggesting their treatments worsened her condition.

The phrase "neither could be healed of any" (ouk ischysen ap' oudenos therapeuthēnai, οὐκ ἴσχυσεν ἀπ᾽ οὐδενὸς θεραπευθῆναι) emphasizes utter medical futility. No physician, no treatment, no expenditure helped. Her condition was humanly incurable, medically hopeless, completely beyond natural remedy. This hopelessness sets up Christ's supernatural intervention—where human effort utterly fails, divine power perfectly heals. Her desperate faith would reach for Jesus as the final, only hope.

Historical Context

First-century medicine was primitive and often harmful. Physicians treated uterine hemorrhaging with various remedies including herbal concoctions, amulets, and bloodletting—treatments that frequently worsened conditions. The woman's expenditure of "all her living" indicates she was likely once wealthy but medical expenses reduced her to poverty. Luke, as a physician (Colossians 4:14), honestly acknowledges medicine's limitations—an admission remarkable for his profession.

Leviticus 15:25-30 prescribed the isolation required for women with abnormal blood flow. She couldn't attend synagogue, participate in festivals, prepare food for others, or have normal social contact. Her condition made marriage impossible and, if married, would have dissolved the union. For twelve years, she lived as a social outcast, religiously unclean, forbidden from worship community. The shame and loneliness would be crushing—ritual impurity carried stigma suggesting divine disfavor or hidden sin.

This background makes her action in verse 44 remarkably courageous. Touching Jesus in her unclean state violated Levitical law and could have brought public condemnation. Yet desperate faith drove her beyond legal concerns to reach for the Healer who could restore not just physical health but social standing, religious participation, and human dignity.

Questions for Reflection

• How does the woman's twelve years of suffering parallel and contrast with Jairus' daughter's twelve years of life?
• What does the failure of physicians and exhaustion of resources teach about human limitation and the need for divine intervention?
• How does understanding Levitical uncleanness deepen appreciation for both the woman's desperate courage and Jesus' compassionate response?