{"id":13655,"date":"2024-01-12T15:26:03","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T14:26:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theholyscript.com\/?p=13655"},"modified":"2024-01-12T15:26:03","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T14:26:03","slug":"who-in-the-bible-was-depressed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theholyscript.com\/who-in-the-bible-was-depressed\/","title":{"rendered":"Who In The Bible Was Depressed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Depression has become a growing problem in the world today, alarming more people with each passing minute. Many time periods throughout history have struggled with depression including some of the prominent figures in the Bible.<\/p>\n

In the Bible, depression is not mentioned by name, though several characters suffer from what we would diagnose as depression today. As with most of the Bible, interpretation is subjective but there are some pretty clear cases.<\/p>\n

Elijah is a Biblical character known for his faith in God. In 1 Kings chapter 17, Elijah is in constant prayer and returns to the city with food for the starving. When king Ahab blocks up his path, Elijah flees for his life. Tension and fear are two major causes of depression in the Bible and Elijah is certainly overwhelmed. In 1 Kings 19:4-8, he begs God to take his life, clearly a symptom of extreme depression.<\/p>\n

Job is a complex character who suffers greatly and is often considered to have depression. Job’s friends try to counsel him but eventually Job curses the day he was born, a state of utter despair. In a completely unrelated incident, David, king of Israel, is overwhelmed by loneliness and cries out in Psalm 42: “My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, ‘Where is your God?'”.<\/p>\n