A TALMUDIC PERSPECTIVE ON OLD TESTAMENT DISEASES, PHYSICIANS AND REMEDIES by GILLIAN PATRICIA WILLIAMS submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the subject BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF M LE ROUX NOVEMBER 2009 Student number: 230-053-2 DECLARATION I declare that ‘A TALMUDIC PERSPECTIVE ON OLD TESTAMENT DISEASES, PHYSICIANS AND REMEDIES’ is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. …………………………… ………………………….. SIGNATURE DATE (MS G P WILLIAMS) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the University of South Africa for the study bursary that enabled me to write this dissertation. I am grateful to Professor Magdel le Roux who supervised this dissertation. She is a constant source of encouragement with her advice and an example to follow with her very hard work and dedication. Her patience is legend! I wish to thank Kathleen Airey, now resident in London, my dear friend and erstwhile colleague of many eventful years at the Trade Marks Office, Pretoria. Despite her present busy work schedule, she has been most supportive and gave of her precious time to check one of the longest sections of this dissertation. I want to thank Yvonne Lewin of Cape Town who very kindly offered her time and patience in checking several shorter sections of this work. A very heartfelt thanks to Anthea Harris of Cape Town, who when hearing of this dissertation, kindly offered to lend me her precious copy of Berkow & Talbott’s The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, which deepened my understanding of the diseases documented in this work. I would like to express my thanks to my two special ladies, Elizabeth Maxama and her daughter, Jacqueline Rasmeni. With their characteristic unfailing cheerfulness and smiling faces, they freed me from many household chores. Without their help I would not have successfully completed this dissertation on schedule. DEDICATION I wish to dedicate this work to my family for their love, help and patience. Firstly, my Cape Town family: To my dearest husband, Malcolm, thank you for your unfailing support and willingness to assist, no matter what time of the day or night it was! Your knowledge of the Torah and Talmud is remarkable! To my dearest son, Alexander, thank you for your constant and positive enquiries as to the progress of this work and for your silence when you correctly perceived there were glitches and frustration because progress was slow! Also for finding innovative ways to speed up the process! Secondly, my Pretoria family: To my dearest son, Sean and daughter-in-law, Yolande, my very sincere thanks and appreciation to you both for your hospitality during the many times we came to stay with you in Garsfontein so that I could attend to various aspects of this dissertation and for the use of your special car that facilitated our transport, I am most grateful! SUMMARY The ancient Near Eastern cultures and the Babylonian Talmud are examined to ascertain whether they can elucidate Biblical descriptions of disease (many of which are mentioned by the Talmudic rabbis in the course of their discussions) to render a better understanding of the Biblical text. Archaeological evidence can verify the existence of tuberculosis, gout and leprosy in Old Testament times because these diseases leave specific lesions on ancient bones. The ancient Israelites used amulets and incantations to ward off or treat illnesses despite Biblical prohibitions. This use was echoed in both the ancient Near Eastern cultures and in Talmudic times because some rabbis realised their effectiveness, but the majority doubted their usefulness. Idolatry, necromancy and sorcery were practiced and demons played a role in illness. Physicians, healers, herbal remedies, therapies and folk medicine in Biblical and Talmudic times are investigated. Key terms: Ancient Near East, Old Testament diseases, Talmudic medicine, herbal remedies, archaeology, leprosy, gout, tuberculosis, ancient Israel, amulets, incantations, demons. 1 TIMELINE Archaeological Periods Approximate Periods Stone Age - 10000 – 4000 BCE Chalcolithic Age 4000 – 3150 BCE Early Bronze Age 3150 – 2200 BCE Middle Bronze Age 2200 – 1550 BCE Late Bronze Age 1550 – 1200 BCE Iron Age I 1200 – 1000 BCE Iron Age II 1000 – 800 BCE Iron Age III 800 – 587 BCE Babylonian/Persian 587 – 330 BCE Hellenistic 330 – 63 BCE Roman 63 BCE – 324 CE Byzantine 324 – 636 CE Islamic 636 CE - 1 This timeline was adapted from Bimson et al (1994:24). TIME CHART OF BIBLICAL KINGS THAT APPEAR IN THIS DISSERTATION2 THE UNITED MONARCHY Approximate Year Monarch 1050 – 1011 BCE Saul 1011 – 971 BCE David 971 – 931 BCE Solomon THE DIVIDED MONARCHY FEATURING THE JUDAH KINGS Approximate Year Monarch 911 – 870 BCE Asa 870 – 848 BCE Jehoshaphat (co-regent 873 BCE) 848 – 841 BCE Jehoram (co-regent from 853 BCE) 841 BCE Ahaziah 841 – 835 BCE Athaliah 835 – 796 BCE Joash 796 – 767 BCE Amaziah 767 – 740 BCE Azariah (Uzziah; co-regent from 791 BCE) 740 – 732 BCE Jotham (Co-regent from 750 BCE) 732 – 716 BCE Ahaz (co-regent from 744 BCE; senior partner from 750 BCE). 716 – 687 BCE Hezekiah 2 This time chart is approximate, was adapted from Bimson et al (1994:117-8) and the dates may vary slightly from those appearing in the body of the text. LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS Figure 1: The seal of the Sumerian physician Ur-lugal-edinna, who is symbolised by the forceps shown on the right hand of the figure (Kinnier Wilson 1982:348). Figure 2: Mandrake fruit being offered at a banquet (Reeves 2001:56). Figure 3: Wall relief depicting surgical instruments from the temple at Kom Ombo, Egypt (Reeves 2001:27). Figure 4: Circumcision ceremony depicted on the wall relief from the mastaba of Ankh-ma-Hor (Reeves 2001:30). Figure 5: Wooden statue of a man servant. His duties could pre-dispose him to later suffering from osteo-arthritis (Reeves 2001:40). Figure 6: Nesperehan’s mummy showing the angulation of the spine due to collapse of the spinal vertebrae and the psoas abscess in the lower right abdomen (Nunn 1996:74). Figure 7: Asklepios (on the left ) is depicted with a sacred snake and Hygieia (on the right) lovingly feeds a morsel to her pet snake (Jackson 1988:171). Figure 8: Healing in the abaton – Asklepios curing a sleeping patient, while Hygieia stands ready to assist him (Jackson 1988:144). Figure 9: A Greek doctor at work preparing his patient for blood-letting. (The bleeding cups hang on the wall). His dwarf assistant shows the patients to their places (Jackson 1988:67). Figure 10: A marble relief showing a folding-case of surgical instruments. Five scalpels are shown with bleeding cups on either side of the case (Jackson 1988:115). Figure 11: A wounded soldier is depicted having an arrowhead removed from his thigh by a doctor (Jackson 1988:127). Figure 12: The depiction of a woman doctor (medica) appearing on her tombstone (Jackson 1988:87). Figure 13: Roman surgical instruments, possibly of the same type as those used by the doctor (medicus), who consulted from home. These were discovered in the House of the Surgeon at Pompeii (Jackson 1988:114). Figure 14: The midwife, Scribonia Attice, and her assistant help a labouring woman seated on a birthing chair (Jackson 1988:99). Figure 15: The right foot of a gout sufferer depicting the characteristic destruction of the joint surfaces, especially that of the big toe (Jackson 1988:179). Figure 16: A bubo of bubonic plague appears beneath the arm of this patient (Tenney 1963:219). Figure 17: A Guinea worm (Dracontiasis) is visible beneath the skin surface of the upper arm (Tenney 1963:220). Figure 18: X-ray showing a large osteoma situated on the right side of an adult skull, excavated at a site near Lima, Peru (Ortner & Putschar 1981:379). Figure 19: X-ray showing the button tumour, situated on the frontal bone of a female skull excavated from Pachacamac, Peru (Ortner & Putschar 1981:379). Figure 20: Figurine of a negro man demonstrating the effects of Pott’s disease. His exhaustion is painfully clear and the ‘pigeon chest’ is a result of the illness (Jackson 1988:182). Some skin diseases are very similar to leprosy in appearance Figure 21: A patch of typical psoriasis (Marks 1981:13) Figure 22: Borderline leprosy (Jacyk 1986:17) A skin abnormality can be confused with leprosy Figure 23: Birth mark (Hypopigmented naevus; Jacyk 1986:41) Figure 24: Tuberculoid leprosy (Jacyk 1986:2) Infectious diseases of the skin can also be confused with leprosy Figure 25: Ringworm (Tinea capitis) of the face (Jacyk 1986:43) Figure 26: Borderline leprosy (Jacyk 1986:15) Different kinds of leprosy contrasted with psoriasis Figure 27: Tuberculoid leprosy (Jacyk 1986:3) Like King Uzziah, this patient’s leprosy first manifested on his forehead (2 Chr 26:19-20). Figure 28: A patient with lepromatous leprosy depicting the loss of her eyebrows and eyelashes, characteristic of the illness (Jayck 1986:28). Figure 29: A severe case of psoriasis on the hands– possibly reminiscent of Miriam being ‘as white as snow’ (Nm 12:10; Marks 1981:17). Figure 30: A case of borderline leprosy where thin, almost white scaling of the lesions on the forearm can be seen (Jayck 1986:16). i TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS DEDICATION SUMMARY AND KEY WORDS TIMELINE TIME CHART OF BIBLICAL KINGS THAT APPEAR IN THIS DISSERTATION LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND ............................................................................ 1 1.2 HYPOTHESIS AND AIM ............................................................... 4 1.3 METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS ................................... 5 1.4 SOURCES .................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER TWO MEDICINE AND DISEASE IN THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST 2.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................