What does ἰατρός (iatrós) mean in the Bible?
The Greek noun iatros means a physician or medical practitioner. Jesus uses a proverb about a physician in Nazareth and compares His mission among sinners to a physician serving the sick.
Greek · G2395
ἰατρός
A physician
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ἰατρόςG2395
Pronunciationiatrós
What does ἰατρός (iatrós) mean in the Bible?
The Greek noun iatros means a physician or medical practitioner. Jesus uses a proverb about a physician in Nazareth and compares His mission among sinners to a physician serving the sick.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἰατρός (G2395) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2395?
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include a doctor (3), Physician (2), on physicians (1), physicians (1).
Where does ἰατρός (iatrós) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 9:12. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (3), Mark (2), Colossians (1), Matthew (1).
What This Word Actually Means
The Greek noun iatros means a physician or medical practitioner. Jesus uses a proverb about a physician in Nazareth and compares His mission among sinners to a physician serving the sick. Gospel narratives also report a woman who had suffered under many physicians and spent her resources without improvement. Luke is identified in Colossians as the beloved physician.
Together these texts acknowledge medical vocation, disappointing or harmful treatment, economic vulnerability, and the figurative force of healing language. They do not create a blanket endorsement of every practitioner or a rejection of medicine. The woman's experience must not be used to tell patients to abandon care, and Jesus' physician saying does not classify every illness as sin.
Luke's profession does not make every biblical observation a clinical judgment. Responsible teaching honors qualified care, informed consent, honest limits, second opinions, and compassion for people harmed or exhausted by treatment. It rejects miracle guarantees, medication shaming, unlicensed diagnosis, financial exploitation, and the claim that seeking medical help reveals weak faith.
How the Bible Uses It
Iatros names physicians literally and appears in Jesus' healing proverbs. Gospel and epistolary contexts hold medical vocation, failed treatment, financial cost, and spiritual metaphor together without collapsing them.
- Luke.4.23
Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in Your hometown what we have heard that You did in Capernaum.’”
Jesus anticipates the proverb Physician, heal yourself as His hometown demands signs like those reported elsewhere.
- Luke.5.31
Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
Jesus answers criticism over table fellowship by saying the sick, not the healthy, need a physician.
- 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.
Luke introduces a woman with twelve years of bleeding who has not been healed despite treatment.
- Mark.2.17
On hearing this, Jesus told them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Jesus uses the physician proverb while explaining His presence among tax collectors and sinners.
- Mark.5.26
She had borne much agony under the care of many physicians and had spent all she had, but to no avail. Instead, her condition had only grown worse.
Mark emphasizes the woman's suffering under many physicians, depleted resources, and worsening condition.
- Col.4.14
Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas send you greetings.
Paul sends greetings from Luke, whom he identifies warmly as the beloved physician.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ita doctor3×Matthew 9:12, Mark 2:17, Luke 5:31
Physician2×Luke 4:23, Colossians 4:14
on physicians1×Luke 8:43
physicians1×Mark 5:26
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 9:12ἰατροῦtoa doctorNoun - Genitive Masculine SingularMark 2:17ἰατροῦtoa doctorNoun - Genitive Masculine SingularMark 5:26ἰατρῶνtophysiciansNoun - Genitive Masculine PluralLuke 4:23ἸατρέtoPhysicianNoun - Vocative Masculine SingularLuke 5:31ἰατροῦtoa doctorNoun - Genitive Masculine SingularLuke 8:43ἰατροῖςtoon physiciansNoun - Dative Masculine PluralColossians 4:14ἰατρὸςtophysicianNoun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 9:12
Aligned rows7
Books represented4
Matthew1Mark2Luke3Colossians1
Source forms
ἰατροῦ3xiatrouMatthew 9:12, Mark 2:17, Luke 5:31
Ἰατρέ1xIatreLuke 4:23
ἰατροῖς1xiatroisLuke 8:43
ἰατρὸς1xiatrosColossians 4:14
ἰατρῶν1xiatrōnMark 5:26
Parsing patterns
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular3xMatthew 9:12, Mark 2:17, Luke 5:31
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural1xLuke 8:43
Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural1xMark 5:26
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular1xColossians 4:14
Noun - Vocative Masculine Singular1xLuke 4:23
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Urgent or worsening symptoms require timely evaluation through appropriate medical or emergency services, with pastoral support alongside rather than in place of care.
- Patients deserve informed consent, privacy, accessible explanations, freedom to seek second opinions, and practical support with costs and transportation.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that seeking a physician demonstrates weak faith or that unsuccessful treatment proves hidden sin.
- Do not claim that Scripture endorses every clinician, therapy, diagnosis, or health system without examination.
- Do not claim that the word iatros grants a pastor or teacher authority to diagnose or prescribe.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. One who heals disease through medical skill; Jesus uses metaphorically for spiritual restoration.
Strong'sG2395
Lexical occurrences7 versesGreek text appearances7 timesWord forms5 forms7 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkMatthew 9:12Source Gloss
a physician
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
One who heals disease through medical skill; Jesus uses metaphorically for spiritual restoration.
(ἰάομαι), [in LXX for רָפָא ;] a physician: Mat.9:12, Mrk.2:17 5:26, Luk.4:23 5:31 8:43 (om. WH, R, mg.), Col.4:14 (on the status of physicians, see MM, Exp., xv.).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
7 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 9:12Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
ἰατροῦ,iatrou
a physician
Read verseMark 2:17Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
ἰατροῦ,iatrou
a physician
Read verseMark 5:26Noun Genitive Plural Masculine
ἰατρῶν,iatrwn
a physician
Read verseLuke 4:23Noun Singular Masculine
Ἰατρέ,iatre
a physician
Read verseLuke 5:31Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
ἰατροῦ,iatrou
a physician
Read verseLuke 8:43Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
ἰατροὺςiatrouv
a physician
Read verseColossians 4:14Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
ἰατρὸςiatrov
a physician
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 5 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns5Aligned forms7Case patternGenitive (4)Number patternSingular (5)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · MasculineCol 4:141×
Genitive · Singular · MasculineMatt 9:12 · Mark 2:17 · Luke 5:313×
Genitive · Plural · MasculineMark 5:261×
Dative · Plural · MasculineLuke 8:431×
Vocative · Singular · MasculineLuke 4:231×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Jesus identifies himself metaphorically, those who are well have no need of a physician
Jesus uses physician as metaphor for his healing mission to sinners, not the righteous
Physician serves as metaphor in Jesus's response about his mission to heal the spiritually sick
Luke is identified as a literal physician, showing medical practitioners in early Christian community
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 7 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἰατρός is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Iatros lets Scripture speak realistically about medicine without making medicine either savior or enemy. Luke is greeted as a beloved physician, showing that medical vocation can coexist naturally with Christian service. The woman with chronic bleeding, however, has endured long illness, unsuccessful treatment, suffering under practitioners, and financial depletion.
Mark and Luke describe the case with different emphases, and neither account licenses contempt for current patients or clinicians. Her healing by Jesus testifies to His compassionate authority within the Gospel, not to a rule that faithful people should refuse qualified care until a miracle occurs. Jesus' saying that the sick need a physician explains His table fellowship and mission toward sinners.
The comparison works because physicians serve people in need; it does not say that every disease results from sin or that pastors can diagnose souls as clinicians diagnose bodies. Faithful application supports evidence-based care, prayer, informed consent, honest discussion of uncertainty, and practical help with access and cost. It takes reports of medical harm seriously and uses appropriate complaint, safeguarding, or legal channels.
It never directs medication changes, promises healing, or treats a suffering person as an illustration before treating that person as a neighbor.
Anchor passage
Col.4.14
Doctrinal connections
- Jesus' physician proverb explains His welcoming mission toward sinners who know their need.
- Gospel healing reveals Jesus' compassion and authority without making illness a reliable measure of personal guilt.
- The bleeding woman's long suffering includes bodily, social, and financial dimensions worthy of truthful attention.
- Failed or harmful treatment can be acknowledged without condemning every practitioner or rejecting all medicine.
- Luke's description as beloved physician honors a medical vocation within Paul's network of coworkers.
- Prayer, neighbor love, skilled care, informed consent, and honest limits can operate without rivalry.
Iatros is the ordinary Greek noun for a physician. In direct narrative it identifies practitioners; in Jesus' proverb it supplies an analogy. The noun itself does not specify training quality, treatment method, outcome, or a theology of illness.
From Old to New Testament
The Old Testament includes healers, remedies, wounds, priests, and appeals to the Lord's healing through varied vocabulary. Canonical reflection can honor both divine dependence and skilled care without treating iatros as the term behind every healing passage.