How does the Bible stand up against man’s wisdom? One of the most amazing technologically advanced cultures archaeologists have unearthed to date is that of ancient Egypt, the medical center of the ancient world (Massengill, 1942). During the days of the Medo-Persian Empire, the ancient historian Herodotus recorded in “The Histories” that it was king Darius’ practice “to keep in attendance certain Egyptian doctors, who had a reputation for “the highest eminence in their profession.”
In 1872, Georg Ebers discovered the Ebers Papyrus (c. 1550 B.C.), which included “a text of 110 pages for treating ailments such as trauma, cancer, heart disease, depression, dermatology, gastrointestinal distress, and many others.” Many of these treatments are documented in the 1930 work “Ancient Egyptian Medicine: The Papyrus Ebers” by Cyril Bryan. Let’s examine some of these recommended treatments. For “what to do to draw out splinters in the flesh,” a remedy is prescribed consisting of worm blood, mole, and donkey dung” (p. 73). Remedies to help heal skin diseases included such prescriptions as “A hog’s tooth, cat’s dung and dog’s dung - pound and apply as poultice” (p. 92). A recipe for hair growth included lizard dung and the blood from a cow, donkey, pig, dog, and stag (p. 102). While many of the treatments discussed in the Ebers Papyrus may have been helpful, the harmful remedies and ingredients like those mentioned above certainly cast a pall over the wisdom and knowledge of a culture purported to be so advanced.
There was one Biblical character who was raised and educated within this academically advanced culture. Can you guess who it was? In Acts 7:22 we learn that “Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.” From the Old Testament, we learn that Moses was born into Egyptian slavery in approximately 1525 BC - virtually identical to the date attributed to the Ebers Papyrus. With such an education, one would expect Moses to include some of the Egyptian “wisdom” in his writings if he were writing using his only his own ability. What medical prescriptions do we find in the books of the Bible attributed to Moses? Do they contain remedies that any physician today would run from?
Moses’ first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, are clearly not medical textbooks. They do, however, contain numerous regulations for sanitation, quarantine, and other medical procedures to govern the daily lives of the Israelite nation. Missing entirely from the pages of these writings are the harmful remedies and ingredients mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus. In fact, the Pentateuch exhibits an understanding of germs, disease, and other medicinal issues that “modern” medicine would not grasp for at least another 3,000 years.
In last week’s article we examined Moses’ recipe for lye soap, which a person washed with after touching a corpse. Moses’ book of Leviticus lists several diseases and ways in which an Israelite might come in contact with germs. Moses went one step further with his rules on quarantine, 3,300 years before the discovery of germs or bacteria. Those with a leprosy (or possibly another skin disease) were instructed in Leviticus 13:46 to “dwell alone…outside the camp.” Per Leviticus 13:45, a person with this malady who approached someone without it was to “cover his mouth (or upper lip) and cry out ‘Unclean, unclean!” How did Moses, who predates the Greek doctor Hippocrates by over 1000 years, know the benefits of isolation and that contagions might spread through coughing?
In Genesis chapter 17 we learn that God chose Abraham and his descendants to be a special people, separate from other nations. The covenant that God made with Abraham included circumcision - a “sign” that was to be for all future generations of his descendants. Did Moses know that circumcised boys under the age of one are up to 20 times less likely to have urinary tract infections as uncircumcised boys? (Greenbaum, Dorothy (2006), “Say ‘Yes’ to Circumcision,” online). Did he know that circumcision virtually abolishes the risk of some cancers (Morris, Brian (2006), “Benefits of Circumcision,” online)?
Have you ever wondered why Moses gave instructions to perform circumcision on the eighth day of a newborn male’s life? How could he have known that blood clotting requires the protein prothrombin, which by day three to five of a newborn’s life is 65% below normal, but by day eight is 10% higher than it will ever be again? How could Moses have known that the safest day during the lifetime of a male to perform the surgery would be on day eight?
Moses did not know corpses were potentially hazardous to one’s health. He did not know some diseases were contagious. He did not know the best day to circumcise a male was on the eighth day. Despite the fact that he received possibly the most advanced education available, he did not learn these practices from the Egyptians. He knew because God told him; he was inspired by God to write the first five books of the Old Testament. While Moses did not write a scientific or medical textbook, God’s inspiration is present in every scientific and medical detail included in his works, and thousands of years before man had the means to understand them. The Bible is from God, and the wisdom contained in its pages is superior to man’s wisdom. If you interested in looking further into God’s wisdom, you are invited to study and worship with us at the Blanco Hills Church of Christ every Sunday at 11 am and attend Bible studies every Sunday morning at 10 and Wednesday afternoon at 3:30.
Buz Turk
Blanco Hills Church of Christ
Worship: Sunday 11 am
Class: Sunday 10 am, Wednesday 3:30 pm
blancohillschurch.com
830-554-0701