“And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.” (Mark 1:34)
The Aramaic word for devil is deva. Devana is an adjective meaning insane. Another Aramaic word, similarly used, is shedana which means demented and refers to those whose talk is distorted and whose minds are unbalanced... Even though these terms sound strange and refer to demons and devils, they are really the names of diseases known to the ancients. When translated into modern languages, the original meaning is lost...
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Author: George M. Lamsa
Keywords: Devils, Lunatics, Demons, Casting out, Casting out devils, Casting out demons, Evil spirit, Mental illness, Demonology, Wicked spirits, Demoniac
Bible reference(s): Acts 19:15-16, Acts 8:7, Luke 10:17, Luke 11:14, Luke 11:15, Luke 11:18, Luke 11:19, Luke 11:20, Luke 11:24, Luke 13:11, Luke 13:32, Luke 4:33, Luke 4:35, Luke 4:41, Luke 8:2, Luke 8:27, Luke 8:29, Luke 8:30, Luke 8:33, Luke 8:35, Luke 8:36, Luke 8:38, Luke 9:1, Luke 9:42, Luke 9:49, Mark 1:23, Mark 1:26, Mark 1:32, Mark 1:34, Mark 1:39, Mark 16:17, Mark 16:9, Mark 3:15, Mark 3:22, Mark 3:30, Mark 5:18, Mark 5:2, Mark 5:8, Mark 6:13, Mark 7:25, Mark 7:26, Mark 7:29, Mark 7:30, Mark 9:25, Mark 9:38, Matthew 10:8, Matthew 11:18, Matthew 12:24, Matthew 12:27-28, Matthew 12:43, Matthew 15:22, Matthew 17:18, Matthew 7:22, Matthew 8:16, Matthew 8:31, Matthew 9:33, Matthew 9:34
Source: Gospel Light (San Francisco: Harper & Row), pp. 177-179.
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