Archaic KJV Word
Heal
Modern equivalent: cure
What Was Lost
The comprehensive restoration. 'He healeth the broken in heart' was not metaphorical -- rapha meant to mend what is shattered and restore it to full function. Healing included physical repair, emotional restoration, relational reconciliation, and spiritual renewal. 'With his stripes we are healed' covered every dimension of human brokenness.
Closest Survivor in Modern English
heal (still used but predominantly understood as physical/medical)
Peak Usage (1611)
KJV Psalm 147:3 -- 'He healeth the broken in heart'; Isaiah 53:5 -- 'With his stripes we are healed'
Died still used but medicalized (~1800)
Hebrew rapha ('to mend/restore/make whole/repair what is broken') was medicalized into 'cure a disease.' Healing became a medical procedure rather than comprehensive restoration of wholeness.
What Replaced It
“cure”
Disease-specific; rapha was restoration of the whole person -- body, soul, relationships, community
“treat”
Medical procedure; healing was God's act of putting broken things back together
“fix”
Mechanical repair; rapha was intimate, personal restoration by the one who made you