MEDICINE
and
In
Is
16",
Jer
4"
to
the
flatvlent
distension
of
the
colon
due
to
the
same
cause.
Heart.
There
are
few
references
to
physical
diseases
affecting
it.
Pr
l^"
may
be
one.
Cases
of
syncope
seem
to
be
recorded
in
Gn
45™,
1
S
4'8
282",
Dn
8".
The
allusions
to
a
'broken
heart'
in
Scripture
are
always
metaphorical,
but
the
theory
that
our
Lord's
death
was
due
to
rupture
of
the
heart
deserves
mention.
Paralysis
or
palsy.
This
is
a
disease
of
the
central
nervous
system,
wliich
comes
on
rapidly
as
a
rule,
and
disappears
slowly,
if
at
all.
Such
cases
are
mentioned
in
the
NT,
e.g.
Mt
*",
Lie
5",
perhaps
Ac
9»».
The
case
in
Mt
8'
may
have
been
one
of
acute
spinal
menin-gitis,
or
some
other
form
of
especially
painful
paralysis.
In
the
case
of
the
withered
hand
of
Mt
12>i>,
Mis
3>,
Lk
6<>
a
complete
atrophy
of
the
bones
and
muscles
was
prob-ably
the
cause.
The
case
in
Ac
3^
was
possibly
of
the
same
nature.
Such
cases
are
probably
intended
also
in
Jn
5'.
The
man
in
Jn
S'
can
hardly
have
been
suffer-ing
from
locomotor
ataxia,
as
he
could
move
himself,
and
his
disease
had
lasted
38
years.
Therefore
this
also
was,
in
all
likelihood,
a
case
of
withered
limbs.
The
sudden
attack
mentioned
in
1
K
13'
was
probably
due
to
sudden
hcemorrhage
affecting
some
part
of
the
brain,
which
may
under
certain
circumstances
be
only
temporary.
Apoplexy.
A
typical
seizure
is
described
in
1
S
25",
due
to
hsemorrhagein
the
brain
produced
by
excitement,
supervening,
in
this
particular
instance,
on
a
drinking
bout
(cf.
also
1
Mac
9^).
The
same
sort
of
seizure
may
be
referred
to
in
2
S
6',
Ac
S'-'».
Trance
is
mentioned
In
Gn
2^'
15".
But
the
cases
in
1
S
2612,
jg
421,
Mt
S"
were
probably
of
sleep
due
to
fatigue.
Prophetic
frenzy
is
alluded
to
in
Nu
24'-
',
2
K
9"
(cf.
Is
8").
Saul
is
an
interesting
psychical
study:
a
man
of
weak
judgment,
violent
passions,
and
great
susceptibility,
eventually
succumbing
to
what
seem
to
be
recurring
paroxysms
of
mania,
rather
than
a
chronic
melanchoUa.
A
not
uncommon
type
of
mono-mania
seems
to
be
described
in
Dn
4
(the
lycanthropy
of
Nebuchadnezzar).
In
the
NT
various
nervous
affections
are
probably
included
among
the
instances
of
demoniac
possession,
e.g.
Lk
11",
Mt
12".
In
Lk
1^,
Ac
9'
are
apparently
mentioned
cases
of
temporary
aphasia
due
to
sudden
emotion.
(Cf.
also
Dn
10".)
Deafness
and
dumbness.
Many
of
the
NT
cases
of
possession
by
dumb
spirits
were
probably
due
to
some
kind
of
insanity
or
nervous
disease,
e.g.
Mt
W,
Mk
9^.
In
Mk
7''
stammering
is
joined
to
deafness.
Is
28"
and
32*
(cf.
SS"")
probably
refer
to
uninteUigible
rather
than
defective
speech.
Moses'
slowness
of
speech
and
tongue
(cf
.
Ex
V)
was
probably
only
lack
of
oratorical
fluency.
Patience
with
the
deaf
is
recommended
in
Lv
19".
♦
Epilepsy.
The
case
in
Mt
\T^,
Mk
9",^k
9"
is
of
genuine
epileptic
fits;
the
usual
symptoms
Jfffe
graphic-ally
described.
Like
many
epileptics,
the
patient
had
been
subject
to
the
.in
•from
daWttpdA.
The
'pining
away'
mentioned
in
the
Markan
account
iS'i
characteristic
of
a
form
of
-the
disease
in
which
the
fits
recur
frequently
and
cause
progressive
exhaustion.
The
word
used
in
Mt.
to
describe
the
attack
means
literally
'to
be
moon-struck';
the
same
word
is
found
in
Mt
4«,
and
an
allusion
to
moon-stroke
occurs
in
Ps
1216.
It
•was
a
very
general
beUef
that
epilepsy
was
in
some
way
connected
with
the
phases
of
the
moon.
Such
a
theory
is
put
forward
by
Vicary,
the
physician
of
Henry
viii.,
at
so
late
a
date
as
1677.
Sunstroke.
This
is
mentioned
in
Ps
121",
Is
49",
and
cases
of
apparently
genuine
siriasis
are
described
in
2
K
4"
and
Jth
8'.
This
seizure
is
very
rapid
and
painful,
accompanied
by
a
great
rise
in
temperature,
passing
speedily
into
coma,
and
resulting
as
a
rule
in
death
within
a
very
short
space
of
time.
The
cure
effected
in
2
K
4
was
plainly
miraculous.
Heat
syncope,
rather
than
sunstroke,
seems
to
have
been
the
seizure
in
MEDICINE
Jonah's
case
(Jon
4').
He
fainted
from
the
heat,
and
on
recovery
was
conscious
of
a
severe
headache
and
a
feeling
of
intense
prostration.
Dropsy
is
common
in
Jerusalem.
The
cure
of
a
case
of
dropsy
is
recorded
in
Lk
14^.
Pulmonary
disease
as
such
finds
no
mention
in
Scrip-ture.
The
phrase
used
in
1
K
17",
'there
was
no
breath
left
in
him,'
is
merely
the
ordinary
way
of
stating
that
he
died.
Gout.
This
disease
is
very
uncommon
among
the
people
of
Palestine;
and
it
is
not,
as
a
rule,
fatal.
The
disease
in
his
feet
from
which
Asa
suffered
(1
K
15'',
2
Ch
1612)
has
usually
been
supposed
to
be
gout,
though
one
authority
suggests
that
it
was
articular
leprosy,
and
another
that
it
was
senile
gangrene.
The
passages
quoted
give
us
no
clue
to
the
nature
of
the
disease
in
question,
nor
do
they
state
that
it
caused
his
death.
Josephus
describes
Asa
as
dying
happily
in
a
good
old
age.
The
OT
records
remark
only
that
he
suffered
from
a
disease
in
the
feet,
wliich
began
when
he
was
advanced
in
years.
Under
the
heading
surgical
diseases
may
be
classed
the
spirit
of
infirmity,
affecting
the
woman
mentioned
in
Lk
13"-
IS,
who,
though
she
could
attend
the
synagogue
meetings,
was
bowed
together
and
unable
to
Uft
her-self.
This
was
probably
a
case
of
senile
kyphosis,
such
as
not
infrequently
occurs
with
aged
women,
and
some-times
with
men,
who
have
spent
their
Uves
in
agricultural
or
horticiUtural
labour,
which
necessitates
constant
curvature
of
the
body.
Crook
-backedness
(Lv
212°)
disqualified
a
man
for
the
priesthood.
Tills
disease
is
one
which
can
occur
in
youth,
and
is
due
to
caries
of
the
vertebrae.
The
collec-tions
of
bones
found
in
Egypt
justify
the
inference
that
such
curvatures
must
have
been
fairly
common
in
Egypt.
Fracture
of
the
skull.
A
case
is
recorded
in
Jg
9",
where
insensibility
did
not
immediately
supervene,
showing
the
absence
of
compression
of
the
brain.
In
Ac
20»
fatal
compression
and
probably
a
broken
neck
were
caused
by
the
accident.
The
fall
in
2
K
1'
was
the
cause
of
Ahaziah's
ultimate
death.
Lameness.
Mephibosheth's
lameness
was
due
to
an
accident
in
infancy
(2
S
4<),
which
apparently
produced
some
sort
of
bone
disease,
necessitating
constant
dressing,
unless
the
phrase
in
2
S
19^
refers
merely
to
washing.
Lameness
was
a
disqualification
for
the
priesthood
(Lv
21i»);
Christ
healed
many
lame
people
in
the
Temple
(Mt
21")
as
well
as
elsewhere.
Jacob's
lameness
(Gn
32")
may
also
be
mentioned.
Congenital
malformations.
Cf.
2
S
21«',
1
Ch
20«.
The
possession
of
superfluous
parts
was
held
to
disqualify
a
man
for
the
priesthood
(Lv
21"),
as
did
also
dwarfish-ness
(Lv
212"),
unless
the
reference
there
is
to
emaciation
from
disease.
The
word
in
Lv
21",
which
is
translated
'that
hath
a
flat
nose,'
may
refer
to
the
deformity
of
a
hare-Up.
Skiqdiseases
are
of
common
occurrence
in
the
East.
The
most
important
of
them
was
leprosy
(wh.
see).
■But
th#re
are
many
minor
diseases
of
the
skin
recog-nized'ili-..pible
>^acfments
undef
various
terms.
Baldness
(Lv
13"-<s)
was
no);
looked
upon
as
causing
ceremonial
uncleanness,
nds
apparently
was
it
common;
^
it
seems
to
have
been
regarded
not
as
a
sign
of
old
age,'"
but
as
the
result
of
a
life
spent
in
excessive
labour
with
exposure
to
the
sun
(cf.
Ezk
29i'),
and
so
in
Is
3«
it
is
threatened
as
a
mark
of
degradation
and
servitude.
Itch
(Dt
28")
is
probably
the
parasitic
disease
due
to
a
small
mite
which
burrows
under
the
skin,
and,
if
neglected,
sometimes
spreads
all
over
the
body;
this
disease
is
very
easily
communicated,
and
is
not
un-common
in
Syria
at
the
present
time.
It
was
a
dis-qualification
for
the
priesthood
(Lv
212").
Scab
(Dt
282')
or
scurvy
(Lv
212")
is
a
kindred
disease
in
which
a
crust
forms
on
the
skin;
it
is
most
common
on
the
head,
but
sometimes
spreads
all
over
the
body,
and
is
most
difficult
to
cure.
'Scab'
in
Lv
212"
is
the
