Abstract
It has been often emphasized that extant ancient Hebrew or Jewish literature contains no specific medical texts, in contrast to some other ancient civilizations. However, it is well-known that the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds are interspersed with statements of medico-historical interest; the classical work of Julius Preuss from 1911 gives sufficient proof of their importance. This chapter reviews some of these, as also somewhere medical instruments are mentioned. It discusses some extant texts of medical interest from rabbinic literature and from writings closely associated with it. The chapter analyses Qumran texts, the Pseudepigrapha, and the works of Josephus. It studies the Oath of Asaf and a passage from Ben Sira illuminating it. The Oath of Asaf was composed for physicians in Babylonia in the sixth or seventh century CE, whereas Ben Sira wrote for the average Jewish or rather Hebrew reader by the early second century BCE. Keywords: ancient rabbinic literature; Asaf oath; Babylonian Talmuds; Ben Sira; Jewish literature; Jewish medicalethics; Palestinian Talmuds
Published Version
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