Luke 8:48

Luke 8:48, in plain English

Jesus called her 'Daughter,' told her that her faith had healed her, and sent her away in peace. One word from Him restored everything the disease had stolen.

Why it's here

After twelve years of being untouchable, Jesus called her 'daughter.' That single word did more than heal her body; it gave her back her identity, her community, and her dignity.

Who's speaking

Jesus speaks directly to the woman with tenderness.

Where it sits in the story

In front of everyone, Jesus called her daughter. Her faith had saved her. She was not just healed; she was welcomed, honored, and sent into a life of peace she had not known in twelve years.

The scholarly reading

Jesus addresses her as thygatēr ('daughter'), the only time in the Gospels He uses this term, conferring familial dignity. He attributes her healing to pistis ('faith') and dismisses her with poreuou eis eirēnēn ('go in peace'), the Hebrew shalom formula signifying comprehensive well-being.

Language and setting

The address 'daughter' publicly restores her to community and family, countering twelve years of social exclusion. The peace formula goes beyond physical healing to encompass spiritual wholeness, relational restoration, and covenantal blessing.

Voice

Jesus speaks directly and tenderly to the healed woman.

Significance

Jesus called her 'daughter,' the most intimate, familial address He ever used for a stranger, affirmed that her faith had healed her, and sent her into a new life of complete peace and wholeness.

46But Jesus declared, “Someone touched Me, for I know that power has gone out from Me.”

47Then the woman, seeing that she could not escape notice, came trembling and fell down before Him. In the presence of all the people, she explained why she had touched Him and how she had immediately been healed.

48“Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

49While He was still speaking, someone arrived from the house of the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he told Jairus. “Do not bother the Teacher anymore.”

50But Jesus overheard them and said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

Read all of Luke 8 — A storm, a legion of demons, a bleeding woman, and a dead girl — Jesus moves through a world of chaos and brings order with a word or a touch.