Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB BLB AICNT OEB WEB WMB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE MOF JPS ASV DRA YLT DBY RV WBS KJB BB GNV CB TNT WYC SR-GNT UHB Related Parallel Interlinear Dictionary Search
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W XY Z
TUMOR
Abnormal swelling or growth in any part of the body. The only significant occurrence of this term is in 1 Samuel 5–6. After the Philistines captured the ark of God from Israel, a painful lethal disease afflicted the population of the Philistine city that kept the ark. Since the disease was associated with the presence of rats (1 Sm 6:4-5), the entire episode is consistent with the disease known as bubonic plague. In bubonic plague, the fleas of the rat are able to transmit to humans the pathologic bacteria Yersinia pestis. The bacteria invade the human body, causing fever and buboes, which are large soft swellings in the armpit and groin. Without treatment, the mortality rate is 60 to 90 percent. The Philistines sent the ark of God back to Israel with handcrafted golden images of rodents and tumors (vv 11, 17-18).
See also Medicine and Medical Practice.