Epileptic; “Lunatic”
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(Matt. 4:24; 17:15)—the traditional term “lunatic” reflects an ancient belief that phases of the moon caused certain seizures or mental disorders. In Matthew 17 the described sufferer has recurrent convulsions and dangerous falls; Matthew uses a term related to the moon, while Mark and Luke describe a spirit that afflicts the boy (Mark 9:17-27; Luke 9:38-42). Modern English should not imply that moonlight causes epilepsy, and neither the text nor medicine permits all such illnesses to be collapsed into one diagnosis. Jesus responds with compassion and delivers the child.