Why was leprosy so prominent in Bible times? Was this really the case?
Why leprosy???
by amac 4 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Yerusalyim
The "leporsy" of the bible is not the disease we today call leporsy, though bible leporsy INCLUDED this. In bible times leporsy was any of a variety of Skin diseases to include (I think) almost any skin fungus)
YERUSALYIM
"Vanity! It's my favorite sin!"
[Al Pacino as Satan, in "DEVIL'S ADVOCATE"] -
amac
Thanks (again) Yer for your reply. I had read that somewhere else as well. I guess I just find it curious that the bible speaks of so many "skin diseases" and curious if anyone has done any research on this.
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dungbeetle
Good site here:
http://bibleandscience.com/biblebiology.htm#Medicine>Leprosy
Contrary to what Jeffery says, the leprosy mentioned in Leviticus 13-14 is probably not the leprosy we commonly know today.
Wenham comments, "It is difficult to find one English word to cover these diverse conditions. Inspired by the Greek translation (lepra), traditional English translations have rendered tsara’at by ‘leprosy.’
This is obviously inappropriate in the case of mold and mildew in clothes and houses. As for the various skin complaints covered by the Hebrew term, it is doubtful if any of them corresponds to true leprosy (Hansen’s disease; 1979, 192). Avalos states,
"In this regard, Leviticus is consistent with Mesopotamian sentiments about skin diseases such as saharsubbu" (1995, 311). He also doubts that the word rendered "leprosy" is the modern day Hansen’s disease (Ibid., 311-318).
"K. van der Toorn has documented the overlap between Mesopotamia and Israel insofar as ideas concerning hygiene, illness, sin, and punishment are concerned" (Ibid., 13-14).
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Bang
The JW 'bible study' crew surely must be subjected to divine mind block, the amount of time they spend at it: mAn.
Hypocrisy - people just can't cope with hypocrites - but the reality is that it's God who allows someone not to be one. Get a major hypocrite (like it seems can be found in the wtbts) and people don't want to touch them with a forty foot pole.
So how do you tell? There'll be a white appearance (on the outside), and the living flesh will appear (it's in control), and a change in the hair.
An early and definitive detection might require a priestly skill.Hypocrisy for the spiritual is like leprosy for the flesh - people help, maybe, some, and keep a distance. The one that really makes me chuckle is leprosy of the forehead.
Bang
