Medicine in the Talmud: Natural and Supernatural Therapies between Magic and Science

Jason Sion Mokhtarian

Published by University of California Press 2022

Medicine in the Talmud

Natural and Supernatural Therapies between Magic and Science

Jason Sion Mokhtarian

https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520384040

Overview
Contents

About this book

Despite the Talmud being the richest repository of medical remedies in ancient Judaism, this important strain of Jewish thought has been largely ignored—even as the study of ancient medicine has exploded in recent years. In a comprehensive study of this topic, Jason Sion Mokhtarian recuperates this obscure genre of Talmudic text, which has been marginalized in the Jewish tradition since the Middle Ages, to reveal the unexpected depth of the rabbis’ medical knowledge. Medicine in the Talmud argues that these therapies represent a form of rabbinic scientific rationality that relied on human observation and the use of nature while downplaying the role of God and the Torah in health and illness. Drawing from a wide range of both Jewish and Sasanian sources—from the Bible, the Talmud, and Maimonides to texts written in Akkadian, Syriac, and Mandaic, as well as the incantation bowls—Mokhtarian offers rare insight into how the rabbis of late antique Babylonia adapted the medical knowledge of their time to address the needs of their community. In the process, he narrates an untold chapter in the history of ancient medicine.

Author / Editor information

Mokhtarian Jason Sion :

Jason Sion Mokhtarian is Associate Professor and Herbert and Stephanie Neuman Chair in Hebrew and Jewish Literature at Cornell University. He is author of Rabbis, Sorcerers, Kings, and Priests: The Culture of the Talmud in Ancient Iran.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
ABBREVIATIONS Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
DISCLAIMER Publicly Available Download PDF	xv
PREFACE Publicly Available Download PDF	xvii
Chapter 1 Medicine on the Margins Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 2 Trends and Methods in the Study of Talmudic Medicine Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	31
Chapter 3 Precursors of Talmudic Medicine Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
Chapter 4 Empiricism and Efficacy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	72
Chapter 5 Talmudic Medicine in Its Sasanian Context Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	89
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	113
NOTES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
GLOSSARY OF AILMENTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	183
BIBLIOGRAPHY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
Source Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223
General Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	229

Language: English
Publisher: University of California Press
Pages
- Main content: 260

eBook

Published: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 9780520384040