Behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years. She was bent over, and could in no way straighten herself up. When Jesus saw her, he called her, and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” He laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and glorified God. The ruler of the synagogue, being indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the multitude, “There are six days in which men ought to work. Therefore come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day!” Therefore the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath, and lead him away to water? Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham whom Satan had bound eighteen long years, be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”
A chronic spinal condition causing a person to be bent over for 18 years is caused by a malicious spirit, not a physical problem.
Medicine
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The cited passage
What current science says
An 18-year progressive stooped posture is consistent with conditions like ankylosing spondylitis (spinal vertebrae fuse together), severe kyphosis, osteoporosis with compression fractures, or Parkinson's disease. Ankylosing spondylitis alone affects about 1 in 200 adults and causes the spine to gradually lock into a forward-bent position as vertebrae fuse. We can see this on X-rays — the fused spine looks like a bamboo stalk. Treatment includes anti-inflammatory medication, physical therapy, and sometimes surgery. These are bone and joint diseases, not character defects requiring an exorcism.
What the text says
This comes from Luke 13:11-16. A woman 'bowed together' for eighteen years is said to have 'a spirit of infirmity' and is described as one 'whom Satan hath bound' — attributing a clear orthopedic or neurological condition to demonic bondage.
Three honest ways to read this passage
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As history
The text records how its authors understood the world with the knowledge they had. Read this way, a difference from modern science is a window into the ancient mind, not a failure.
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As accommodation
The text speaks to its first audience in their own terms, to make a point that isn't mainly about physics or biology. Read this way, the scientific detail is the vehicle, not the cargo.
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As contradiction
The text makes a claim about the physical world that modern findings dispute. Read this way, the difference is a genuine factual disagreement worth naming.
GEBible doesn't pick one of these for you. Each entry shows the passage, what it says, and what current science says — nothing more.