Healing Stories and Medical Anthropology. A Reading of Mark 10:46-52

     The healing stories of the Gospels have been studied by exegetes from a literary and a theological point of view. Both approaches have contributed greatly to a better understanding of them. Nevertheless none of these methodologies has been able to interpret those stories from their native point of view. The purpose of this article is to contribute to this native understanding of the healing stories. This aim is pursued by using some cross-cultural models taken from Medical Anthropology. These models can help us to imagine how Jesus and his contemporaries experienced and understood illness and healing. The first step will be to elaborate a reading scenario combining these models and some literary and archaeological evidence. Then it will be applied to the story of the blind man of Jericho (Mark 10:46-52). This example will show how Medical Anthropology can be a tool for a more considerate reading of the healing stories.

Journal or Book: Biblical Theology Bulletin 30 (2000) 102-112
Publication Date: 2000