III
PHARMACY IN THE BIBLE
Pour bien entendre le Vieux Testament il est absolument nécessaire
d'approfondir l'Histoire Naturelle, aussi bien que les mœurs
des Orientaux. On y trouve à peu près trois cents noms de végétaux;
je ne sais combien de noms tirés du règne animal, et un
grand nombre qui désignent des pierres précieuses.—T. D.
Michaelis, Göttingen, 1790.
To some extent the habits and practices of the Israelites were based on those of the Egyptians. But in the matter of medicines the differences are more notable than the resemblances. In Egypt the practice of medicine was entirely in the hands of the priesthood, and was largely associated with magical arts. It appears, too, that the Egyptian practitioners had acquired experience of a fairly wide range of internal medicines. Among the Israelites the priests did not practise medicine at all. Some of the prophets did, and they were expected to exercise healing powers. Elijah and Elisha were frequently called upon for help in this way, and the prescription of Isaiah of a lump of figs to be laid on Hezekiah's boil (2 Kings, xx, 7) will be recalled. But among the Israelites physicians formed a distinct profession, though it cannot be said that in all the history covered by the Scriptures they performed the same functions. The physicians of Joseph's household
