Luke 8:47
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.
Original Language Analysis
Cross References
Historical Context
For a woman to speak publicly before a mixed crowd was culturally unusual in first-century Judaism. Women rarely addressed public assemblies, especially on personal, shameful matters like chronic bleeding. Her willingness to declare her story "before all the people" demonstrates the desperation that drove her to Jesus and the freedom His healing brought. She had nothing left to lose—already socially dead from twelve years of isolation, Jesus' public affirmation could only improve her standing.
Her testimony served multiple purposes in early Christian understanding. First, it publicly certified the miracle, establishing witnesses for Luke's careful historical documentation (Luke 1:1-4). Second, it removed any question about her continued ritual uncleanness—the healing was complete and immediate, certified before the community. Third, it demonstrated that Jesus' contact with the unclean didn't defile Him but brought purification and restoration—a preview of the gospel's power to cleanse sinners who touch Christ in faith.
The detail "how she was healed immediately" (parachrēma, παραχρῆμα) emphasizes the instantaneous nature of the cure, ruling out natural remission or gradual improvement. Luke, the physician, carefully documents the miracle's medical impossibility, strengthening the historical case for Jesus' divine power and the reliability of eyewitness testimony in Gospel accounts.
Questions for Reflection
- How does Jesus transform the woman's feared exposure into liberation and public honor?
- What does her willingness to declare her story 'before all the people' teach about the relationship between shame and gospel freedom?
- How does this public testimony serve both the woman's complete restoration and the broader purpose of establishing credible witness to Christ's power?
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Analysis & Commentary
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. The phrase "when the woman saw that she was not hid" (idousa de hē gynē hoti ouk elathen, ἰδοῦσα δὲ ἡ γυνὴ ὅτι οὐκ ἔλαθεν) reveals her failed hope for anonymous healing. The verb lanthanō (λανθάνω, "to escape notice, be hidden") indicates she realized concealment was impossible. Her response—"came trembling" (tremousa ēlthen, τρέμουσα ἦλθεν)—manifests fear, possibly from violating purity laws by touching Jesus in her unclean state, or from being exposed before the crowd.
"Falling down before him" (prosepesousa autō, προσπεσοῦσα αὐτῷ) demonstrates worship, reverence, and submission. The same posture Jairus took (v. 41), it expresses recognition of Jesus' authority and her desperate need. She "declared unto him before all the people" (apēngeilen enōpion pantos tou laou, ἀπήγγειλεν ἐνώπιον παντὸς τοῦ λαοῦ) her entire story—"for what cause she had touched him" (her chronic condition, her desperate faith) and "how she was healed immediately" (hōs iathē parachrēma, ὡς ἰάθη παραχρῆμα)—the instantaneous, complete cure.
Her public testimony accomplished what Jesus intended: removed her shame, validated her faith, restored her covenant standing, and demonstrated God's compassion for marginalized people. What she feared—exposure—became her liberation. Jesus transformed her secret shame into public honor, her hidden suffering into declared healing, her isolation into community restoration. This pattern characterizes gospel transformation: what we hide in shame, Christ redeems through public declaration of His grace.