A person trained in medicine. Physicians attended the sick, administered medicines, and repaired wounds. In early Israel the diagnosis and treatment of sick people was part of the office of priests. Other nonprofessional people practiced healing arts in the small towns and villages. King Asa sought their help for his feet (2 Chronicles 16:12). Jeremiah inquired about physicians in Gilead (Jeremiah 8:22). Job complained that his friends were useless physicians (Job 13:4).
Scientific medicine and the careful training of physicians had to wait for the rise of Greek medicine. New Testament times saw medical schools established around the Greco-Roman world. Archeological discoveries of surgical instruments have come from places like Pompeii.
The New Testament refers to many sicknesses. The word "physician" occurs several times in the Gospels (Matthew 9:12; Mark 2:17; 5:26; Luke 4:23; 5:31; 8:43). Luke is identified as a beloved physician (Colossians 4:14). Physicians were not always able to cure people (Mark 5:26; Luke 8:43), but Jesus the healer succeeded where others failed.