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Talk:Tzaraath

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 70.92.176.164 (talk) at 07:54, 17 January 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The "Tzaraas as reward" section is meant to include the midrash about the Jews' entering the Land, finding houses with tzaraas, and tearing them down to find treasure hidden in the walls. —msh210 16:43, 7 Apr 2005 (UTC)

replaced poorly supported version with new version and gave sources

Here are the two key pargraphs I added:

According to Dr. Harold Spinka, M.D., and Wycliff Bible Encyclopedia Biblical leprosy describes a number of conditions. Dr. Spinka states that besides including the modern leprosy, Biblical leprosy can also include various skin conditions, syphilis, small pox, and not merely the disease leprosy as we understood today (experts appear divided on whether Biblical leprosy includes modern leprosy, see Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia citation in the references section).[1] The Wycliffe Bible Encylopedia and the journal Perspectives in Biological Medicine states that Biblical leprosy may include mold which will be discussed later in greater length.[2]

Dr. Harold Spinka, M.D wrote regarding the Levitical law regarding Biblical leprosy, "A review of Leviticus of the Old Testament shows that the priests were in charge of infectious diseases, as well as of the moral and religious welfare of the nation. The differential diagnosis between infectious and non-infectious cutaneous diseases is quite modern." [3] Similarly, Arturo Castiglioni in A History of Medicine wrote, "The laws against leprosy in Leviticus 13 may be regarded as the first model of a sanitary legislation" (p. 71). Castiglioni also stated, "Study of Biblical texts appears to have demonstrated that the ancient Semitic peoples, in agreement with the most modern tenets of epidemiology, attributed more importance to animal transmitters of disease, like the rat and the fly, than to the contagious individual" (p. 71).

ken 20:55, 12 December 2005 (UTC)kdbuffalo[reply]


What other diseases could there be that so closely parallel what we currently call leprosy? How can anyone know whether it really was or not? It's not like there were cell cultures left around. They simply described an infectious skin disease that made the skin rot.. and we translated it as leprosy.. sounds right to me!

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