Bible Dictionary
Dropsy
Dropsy was a condition involving abnormal accumulation of fluid in the body. Jesus healed a man afflicted with it while attending a meal at a Pharisee’s house on the Sabbath.
Definition
Dropsy was a disease involving abnormal accumulation of fluid in the body. It could affect the limbs and body generally or be confined chiefly to the abdomen, with the latter form associated in the supplied material with liver disease.
Biblical Usage
A man afflicted with dropsy was present at a Pharisee’s house and was healed by Jesus on the Sabbath. The account appears in Luke 14:2.
Historical Background
The man was able to enter the Pharisee’s house. The supplied medical description identifies forms corresponding to anasarca and abdominal dropsy, both occurring in Palestine.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Mentioned only in Luke 14:2. The man afflicted with it was cured by Christ on the Sabbath.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>drop'-si (hudropikos, "a man afflicted with hudrops or dropsy"): Both forms of this disease occur in Palestine, that in which the limbs and body are distended with water called anasarca, depending generally on cardiac or renal disease, and the form confined to the abdomen, usually the result of liver infection. The latter is the commoner, as liver disease is a frequent result of recurrent attacks of malarial fever. The man was evidently able to move about, as he had entered into the Pharisee's house (Lu 14:2).</p>