Gangrene is when tissue dies due to loss of the vital blood supply to that part of the body. It often happens to the farthest tip of an extremity such as fingertips or toes. The body part will turn black and surgeons will amputate the dead part. They do this so that tissue damage does not extend to more of the limb or harm the life of the person.
The term “gangrene” occurs only once in Scripture (2 Timothy 2:17). Paul warns Timothy not to allow talk that dishonors God. When people dishonor God in the way they talk, it will encourage more people to dishonor God in the way they act. Paul compares this to the way gangrene tends to spread to surrounding tissues of the body.
The disease in the feet of King Asa (2 Chronicles 16:12) was not named, but it could have been gangrene. One could compare the leprosy of Miriam the sister of Moses to gangrene. Scripture compares her condition to the deteriorating flesh of a stillborn baby (Numbers 12:12).