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Review of Articles

Review of Articles AJS Review 35:2 (2011), 323-346 Mira Balberg, Rabbinic Authority, Medical Rhetoric, and Body Hermeneutics in Mishnah Negaʿim (The late second century C.E. was a time of preoccupation with health and the body in the Greco-Roman world. “Caring for the Self” was part of the philosophical ideal; in this period we encounter for the first time the terms iatrophilosophos [doctor-philosopher] and iatrosophistes [doctor-sophist]. The rabbis adopted many of the Greek medical ideas and practices, but combined them with the biblical tradition to formulate a unique rabbinic system. This is also the case with the inspection of skin afflictions as prescribed in Lev 13-14, interpreted in m. Negaʿim in dialogue with the contemporaneous Galenic medical discourse. The rabbis present themselves as interpreters of bodies, interweaving the hermeneutics of texts and the hermeneutics of bodies which was also a prominent aspect of Galen’s work. Their legal expertise takes the form and rhetoric of a distinctly medical expertise. The biblical monopoly of the priests in this area is denied; they have to follow the instructions of the rabbis and are relegated to the function of a rubber stamp. The whole discussion concerns exclusively the examination of the Jewish body. Gentiles by definition http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal for the Study of Judaism Brill

Review of Articles

Journal for the Study of Judaism , Volume 43 (2): 276 – Jan 1, 2012
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
Subject
Other
ISSN
0047-2212
eISSN
1570-0631
DOI
10.1163/157006312X637892
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AJS Review 35:2 (2011), 323-346 Mira Balberg, Rabbinic Authority, Medical Rhetoric, and Body Hermeneutics in Mishnah Negaʿim (The late second century C.E. was a time of preoccupation with health and the body in the Greco-Roman world. “Caring for the Self” was part of the philosophical ideal; in this period we encounter for the first time the terms iatrophilosophos [doctor-philosopher] and iatrosophistes [doctor-sophist]. The rabbis adopted many of the Greek medical ideas and practices, but combined them with the biblical tradition to formulate a unique rabbinic system. This is also the case with the inspection of skin afflictions as prescribed in Lev 13-14, interpreted in m. Negaʿim in dialogue with the contemporaneous Galenic medical discourse. The rabbis present themselves as interpreters of bodies, interweaving the hermeneutics of texts and the hermeneutics of bodies which was also a prominent aspect of Galen’s work. Their legal expertise takes the form and rhetoric of a distinctly medical expertise. The biblical monopoly of the priests in this area is denied; they have to follow the instructions of the rabbis and are relegated to the function of a rubber stamp. The whole discussion concerns exclusively the examination of the Jewish body. Gentiles by definition

Journal

Journal for the Study of Judaism – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2012

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