1700 B.C.: Hebrew health and healing

Each Hebrew village had a physician who specialized in medicine and a surgery.  Some specialized in internal medicine, some external medicine, and others both.  (3, page 28-29) Permission to practice medicine had to be obtained by the magistrates where the physician wished to settle.  If you were sick (perhaps with asthma) you had the option of seeking out this physician to heal you.

This physician, however, also must obtain permission from the Beth-din, which was the council of the town. Did the doctor have to pass a test? Was he interviewed? What questions were asked? Did he otherwise have to prove his competency? The answers to these questions remain a mystery, explains Robley Dunglison in his 1872 history of medicine. (4, page 31-32)

Jewish physicians were knowledgeable of the basics of anatomy, although their knowledge was quite primitive, as it was for most ancient societies.  They did not understand the concept of internal diseases, nor the link between anatomy and disease.  However, as noted by Garrison, they did have a basic understanding of the most common diseases that left visible signs, such as leprosy, syphilis, phthisis, scabies, anthrax, epilepsy, and the various plagues (such as the plague of Ball Peor (numbers 25: 9) in which 24,000 perished. (7, page 59)

The best remedy was the one preached by Moses: good hygiene.  This included bathing, hand washing, sexual restraint, etc. Although, if someone did get sick, the remedies were simple.  For instance, the remedy for leprosy was washing in the Jordan, or "dipping seven times in the Jordan. (2 Kings 5: 14)" (7, page 59-60)

These physicians were educated in "sanitary administration and jurisprudence," says Puschmann.  Along with good hygiene, they were also required to do other things to prevent disease, which included circumcision.  (3, page 28-29)  While modern experts think they have disproved this theory, ancient people believed uncircumcised penises were more likely to become infected.  This was how circumcision made its way into the Bible.

Physicians were also, as noted by Garrison, required to isolate people with infectious disease such as leprosy, syphilis, gonorrhea and leukorrhea, as noted in Leviticus 12-15. (7, page 60)  This was another significant measure of preventing healthy people from getting these diseases.  It must also have been observed that many diseases were spread through sexual contact, and so sexual abstinence prior to marriage was encouraged, and loyalty to one man or one woman was also encouraged.

Puschmann notes that when a person was sick he called upon his physician, who paid the sick a visit. Then the physician was paid by the sick or his family, and not by a collective tax. (3, page 28-29) Although, "Jewish medicine was almost exclusively a medicine of the state, not a private profession," writes Thomas Bradford in his 1898 book "Quiz questions on the history of medicine." (9, page 9)(5, page 31)

The neat thing about ancient people such as Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Hebrews, is you didn't have to be a physicians to be an expert in medicine, says Puschman. He explains this was because medicine was included in the list of knowledge  taught at schools.  It would be like going to college today for Journalism, and having to take classes in math, English and Business.  So many of the people mentioned in the Bible, particularly prophets such as Solomon, Elijah, Elisha and Ahijah, had medical wisdom, and this wisdom allowed them to "become famous for their successful cures."  (3, page 29)

Baas says King Solomon (who reigned 1020-980 B.C.) was a prophet who had the ability to cure, (2, page 32) and Bradford said of Solomon that "tradition attributes to him a medical work which taught how to cure diseases by natural means. Arabian authorities assert that he left a history of plants and animals, and a number of other works." (9, page 8)

There are various, and random, references to the healing powers of the prophets in the Bible.  Elisha, who lived in the 9th century B.C., healed the water that causes miscarriages:

Some men from Jericho went to Elisha and  said, "As you know, sir, this is a fine city, but the water is bad and causes miscarriages." Elisha said, "Put some salt in a bowl and bring it to me." They brought it to him, and he went to the spring, threw in the salt in the water, and said, "This is what the Lord says: 'I make this water pure, and it will not cause any more  deaths or miscarriages.'" And that water has been pure ever since, just as Elisha said it would be. (Kings 2: 19-22)

Elisha also resurrected a Shunammite's son:

When Elisha arrived, he went alone into the room and saw the boy lying dead on the bed.  He closed the door and prayed to the Lord.  Then he lay down on the boy, placing his mouth, eyes, and hands on the boy's mouth, eyes, and hands.  As he lay stretched out over the boy, the boy's body started to get warm.  Elisha got up, walked around the room, and then went back and again stretched himself over the boy.  the boy sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes.  Elisha called Gehazi and told him to call the boy's mother.  When she came in, he said to her, "Here's your son." She fell at Elisha's feet, with her face touching the ground; then she took her son and left." (Kings 4: 32-37) 

He also healed Naaman:

"Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram.  He was a great man in sight of his master and highly regarded.  because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife.  She said to her mistress, 'If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.'” (2Kings 5:1-2)

Naaman's master allowed him to see the king of Aram, who allowed Naaman to see the king of Israel for permission, although the king of Israel " tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”

The next passages says that:

When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet. So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”   

But Naaman went away angry and said,

“I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage. Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. (2Kings 5:9-15)

To finish this neat story, Naaman offered payment, or at least to be a servant to the prophet, but Elisha would not take payment, saying, "go in peace."  Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, was upset that Elisha didn't take payment, and so he did so himself.  Elisha punished Gehazi:

But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow. (2Kings 5: 27-28)

In another Biblical story, King Asa (10th century B.C.) was king of Judah, and he was among the first kings to be faithful to the worship of God.  In fact, even his name, Asa, means physician.  He opposed idolatry and all immoral behavior.  Yet despite his faithfulness, when he was struck with disease at the end of his life, he consulted physicians instead of the Lord (2Chronicles 16: 12-14)

"In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe; yet even in his disease he did not seek The Lord, but sought help from physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. They buried him in the tomb which he had hewn out for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier which had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer's art; and they made a very great fire in his honor." (2Chronicles 16: 12-14

King Jeroboam, who died in 910 B.C., prayed to an old prophet for healing:

The prophet prayed to the Lord, and the king's arm was healed. (Kings I 13: 7) 

The prophet Elijah, who lived around 869-850 B.C., healed a widow's son:

"Give the boy to me," Elijah said.  He took the boy from her arms, carried him upstairs to the room where he was staying, and laid him on the bed.  Then he prayed aloud, "O Lord my god, why have you done such a terrible thing to this widow?  She has been kind enough to take care of me, and now you kill her son!" Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times and prayed, "O Lord my god, restore this child's life!" The Lord answered Elijah's prayer; the child started breathing again and revived. (Kings I 17: 19-22)

Isaiah cured king Heekiah's illness:

Isaiah left the king, but before he had passed through the central courtyard of the palace the Lord told him to go back to Hezekiah, ruler of the Lord's people, and say to him, "I, the Lord, the god of your ancestor David, have heard your prayer and seen your tears.  I will heal you, and in three days you will go to the temple.  I will let you live fifteen years longer.  I will rescue you and this city Jerusalem from the emperor of Assyria.  I will defend this city, for the sake of my own honor and because of the promise I made to my servant David." (Kings II 20: 4-6)

There are many more references to health and healing in the Bible, from Adam all the way to Jesus. Consider the following:

•  “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the healer.” (Peter 2:24)
• Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:14-16
• And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. (Matthew 10:1)
• And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. (Matthew 4:23)
• “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."  (Isaiah 53:5, and 1Peter 2:24)

Most of these passage are not necessarily about medical healing, but spiritual healing.  Basically, by learning from the sins of others, we can be healed.  By not doing the evil things other people have done, the things that make you spiritually or physically sick, you will stay healthy, or be healed.

So the Bible, while not a medical texts, provides us with some vague information of medical wisdom from around 1500 to 1700 years before the birth of Christ. Most diseases at this time were best left to nature (4, page 30), as the remedies provided (bleeding, purging, emetics) often made the patient feel worse, and sometimes caused death.  The Bible offered a hope and a prayer, perhaps the best remedy of all.

Reference:  See "1700 B.C.: Hebrew Bible influences medicine"

1200 B.C.: Asthmatic Hebrew Girl

The Israelite children were amused in song as the ladies stood by in delight. Yet one girl, her name is Adina, does not sing. She stands near the edge of the woods, leaning against a tree, her shoulders hunched high, her breathing obviously heavy. Instead of song she mouths words of prayer to the Jewish God for healing.

How blessed is he who considers the helpless; the Lord will deliver him in a day of trouble.The Lord will protect him and keep him alive,and he shall be called blessed upon the earth...The Lord  will sustain him upon his sickbed; in his illness, You restore him to health.

It's a psalm (Psalm 41:1-3) she sang when her breathing was labored, and lately this was often.  She prayed and she stood in the back of the group hoping no one would notice; hoping savta (grandma) didn't notice, because savta surely would pay Adina special attention Adina felt she didn't deserve.

I interviewed Adina for several hours as we walked through the woods.  She showed me her favorite place of worship in a clearing where the sun showed bright and hot overhead.  It was her God peering down upon her, blessing her with His touch.  She knelt in prayer and encouraged me to do the same.  

In a mellifluous whisper she prayed, a psalm of healing (Psalm 57: 2-3):  "I will cry out to God Most High, to God who performs all things for me.  He shall send from heaven and save me." 

As if on cue a soft, fresh breeze wafts over the field causing the grass and leaves to talk.  "It's our God talking," she says.  She smiles brightly, holding firmly in her grasp the device that saved her, the device that gave her her breath back, the device I brought with me from a distant time, a time when her God, the Israelite God, is still worshiped.  

"Do you not have natural remedies?" I ask.  "Something like that inhaler, something you inhale, that gives you your breath back like that inhaler did. It's a natural remedy."

"No," she answered swiftly.  "God alone decides who is sick and who is well.  His people see it as pointless, blasphemous, to take measures that would interfere with His will."  (Prioreschi, vol I, page 520)

"I consider that inhaler," I motion to the blue device in her grasp, "a gift from God. Why wouldn't your people?"

"I guess we are not there yet," she closes her eyes.  "We do have physicians, although they are from distant lands.  They have what you call natural remedies.  They have salves and smoke to inhale through reeds.  Savta has me use such from the chabash (Prioreschi, page 521), although sometimes they make me worse.  I don't want to insult her, so I try to hide my," she pauses as though in search of the best word, "dyspnea, as you call it."  

After saying several prayers with her, and listening to her sweet voice sing many others, I was summoned back to the time machine.  On the way back to 2012 I reviewed Plinio Prioreschi's "A History of Medicine, where he listed the following Biblical references to physicians and natural medicine:

And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father...  (Genisis, 50: 2)

And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseases in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the fortieth year of his reign. (II Chronicles, 16: 12,13)

But ye ar forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.  (Job, 13: 4) 

Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?  why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? (Jeremiah, 8: 22)

...shall grow all trees... and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine. (Ezekiel, 47: 12) 

...thou has no healing medicines... (Jeremiah, 31: 13)

...in vain shalt thou use many medicines;; for thou shalt not be cured.  (Jeremiah, 46:11)

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:  but a broken spirit drieth the bones. (Proverbs, 17:22)

We must understand that the Ancient Hebrews, the Israelites, as Adina said, had access to physicians and natural medicine, although they were more focused on using prayer for it's healing purposes.

The reason was, or may have been, because the Hebrews believed God created all things, including health and sickness.  For this reason, to seek a physician for medicine may have been seen as "blasphemous," said Prioreschi (1, page 526-7).

Physicians were only sought when prayer failed to work.

This may have been for the best too, as natural remedies were sometimes worse than allowing nature to take it's course.

Note:  Chabash is a Biblical term used for healer (Prioreschi, "A History of Medicine," Vol. I, second edition, 1996, page 460, page 521 in the first edition printed in 1991).  Teruphah is Hebrew for "healing reemedy." (Prioreschi page 535)

References:

1. Prioreschi, Plinio,"A History of Medicine," volume I, pages 516 and 521

1550 B.C.: Moses preaches good hygiene

Moses (12th and 13th century B.C.)
He is the father of hygiene therapy,
or prophylactic medicine.

While most people don't think of Moses in this light, he had a significant impact on health and healing. In fact, many medical historians give Moses credit as the father of preventative medicine.

Moses (sometimes referred to as Mesu, Mouses and Mosheh) was a Hebrew liberator, leader, lawgiver, profit and historian. He lived at the end of the 13th and early part of the 12th centuries before the birth of Christ.  (2)

The Bible records that his cradle was set into the Nile river by his Hebrew mother Jochebed when the Pharaoh ordered that all first born Hebrew sons be killed. Moses was rescued by the Pharoah's daughter, and adapted by the family of the Pharaoh.  He was then educated "in all the knowledge of the Egyptian priesthood, in which he became proficient," said medical historian Pierre Victor Renouard in 1856. (1, page 32)

Of interest here is that Egyptian priests were educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptian gods, as their studies included all the wisdom of the Sacred books, or the Hermetic books. This knowledge would have include mathematics, weights and measures, law, cosmology, religion, and medicine. So it is very likely that Moses was as adept at health and healing as he was at being a leader.

The Bible says that "One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand."

When Pharaoh learned of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses escaped to Midian.

Concerned about the Israelites, God sent Moses back to Egypt to free the Israelites. He allowed Moses to perform miracles before the Pharaoh to convince the king that Moses was sent by the Israelite God, and the Pharaoh sent for "wise men and sorcerers."

These wise men and sorcerers were the high priests, the Chief Priests of Egypt, who were learned in all the greatest magic of the gods. Pharaoh was convinced the power of the gods was more powerful than the god of the Israelites.

The Bible then says:

"So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. Pharaoh then summoned his wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same thing by their secret arts. Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs. Yet Pharaoh's heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said."

Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt in what became known as the Exodus. He helped them escape the Pharaoh's army to Midian by creating an opening in the Red Sea.

God appeared to Moses once again in a burning brush on Mount Sinai. Thus, it was through Moses that God said:

"I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee." (Exodus 15:26)

And then God provided Moses with laws for the people of Israel to follow, including the ten commandments. The Catholic translation is as follows (translations may vary, although the basic idea is always the same):

1. I, the Lord, am your god.  You shall not have other gods besides me.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day
4. Honor your father and your mother
5. You shall not kill
6. You shall not commit adultery
7. You shall not steal
8. You shall not bear false witness
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods

Renouard explained that wisdom obtained while living among the Egyptians, along with wisdom learned from the Isrealite God, allowed Moses to lead the Hebrews to the promised land. He would have had knowledge of the Egyptian Pharmacopoeia, and known that their recipes would be hard to put together while traveling to the promised land.

So god appeared to him and encouraged him to educate the people in how to prevent disease, as opposed to treating it. In order to accomplish this, Moses, through the Lord, preached good hygiene. He encouraged the Hebrews to only eat the purest foods, such as the rabbit and hog, even though these animals were considered impure in Egypt. Perhaps, Renouard proclaims, this is evidence that Moses held "his own views other than those ascribed to him."

Medical historian Fielding Hudson Garrison said that the ultimate goal here was to prevent the people from getting sick. He inculcated the idea that it was especially important to wear clean clothing, and to wash and bathe, especially while traveling to foreign lands, and when touching strangers. He inculcated good hygiene when surrounded by sick people, and handling dead bodies or other unclean objects. He encouraged good hygiene during menstrual periods. He discouraged sexual perversion because sexual perversion was linked with illness. These were techniques of keeping people "pure" in order to avoid sickness. (4, page 60)

For an example Renouard refers us readers to the Bible, Numbers Chapter 15, which starts like this: And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: (1, pages 32-33)

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land of your habitations, which I give unto you. And will make an offering by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savour unto the Lord, of the herd, or of the flock. (Numbers 15: 2-3)

Renouard also refers to Levaticus 11 and 12, which show God telling Moses what to teach the Israelites about what they should and should not do in order to maintain their health. Here is a small sample of what Moses said: 

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "say to the Israelites: 'Of all the animals that live on land, These are the ones you mayt eat: You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. "There are some that only chew the cud or only have a divided hoof, but you must not eat them. The camel, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is ceremonially unclean for you. The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you. And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean for you. Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams you may eat any that have fins and scales. But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales—whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living creatures in the water—you are to regard as unclean. And since you are to regard them as unclean, you must not eat their meat; you must regard their carcasses as unclean. Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is to be regarded as unclean by you. (Levaticus 11: 1-10)

The Lord said to Moses:

"You will make yourselves unclean by these; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean till evening. Whoever picks up one of their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening." (Levaticus 11: 24)

He said:

"And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even. And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even. And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten." (Levaticus 11: 39-41)

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean. And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled. (Levaticus 12: 1-4)

Moses also makes a reference to healing:

The one who struck the blow will not be held liable if the other can get up and walk around outside with a staff; however, the guilty party must pay the injured person for any loss of time and see that the victim is completely healed.

“Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result, but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property. (Exodus 21: 19-21)

Thanks to Moses, the Hebrews were freed from the bonds and prejudices of Egyptian laws and tradition, said medical historian Theodor Puschmann in 1891. (3, page 28)

It was also thanks to Moses that the Jewish (and later the Christian) community was introduced to the method of good hygiene as a method of preventing disease.

Perhaps, said Puschman, it was this new found freedom that allowed Moses to encourage the Hebrews to eat some of the foods Egyptian gods forbade, such as rabbit and hog. Yet this may also have been a byproduct of the necessity of eating the foods that were available in the lands the Hebrews happened to be in at the time, for Moses surely wouldn't want his followers to starve on the way to the promised land due to Egyptian laws. (3, page 28)

Puschmann said this newfound freedom also allowed the Hebrews to be influenced by the people they came into contact with, such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Chaldees, and Persians. This exposure further increased their medical knowledge as well. (3, page 28)

The Hebrews were able to adapt these new cultures and incorporate them into their own. For example, you no longer had to be a priest in order to be a physician. For the first time ever, anyone interested in learning could learn, and this meant anyone could become a doctor. (3, page 28)

This was perhaps a gift of the God of Israel.

1. Renouard, Pierce Victor, "History of Medicine: From it's origin to the 19th century," 1856, Cincinnati, Moore, Wistach, Keys and Co., page 26, chapter 1, "Medicine of the Antique Nation."
2. "Moses," Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10596a.htm, accessed 3/21/13
3. Puschmann, Theodor, translated by Evan H. Hare, "A history of medical education from the most remote to the most recdent times," 1891, London, H.K. Lewis
4. Garrison, Fielding Hudson, "An introduction to the history of medicine, with medical chronology, suggestions for study, and bibliographic data," 3rd edition, 1922, Philadelphia and London, W.B. Saunders Company