The role of plagues in the Jews exodus from Egypt: epidemiological approach and contribution to clarifying the origin of the symbol of Medicine
Keywords:
Jews exodus from Egypt, epidemics, symbol of medicine, caduceusAbstract
As it is widely known, the pure theological interpretation of the
Bible is outdated. At present, we must approach biblical texts with
multiple, integrated, or complementary approaches as theology,
archeology, anthropology, mythology, sociology, paleoclimatology,
epidemiology, etc. The assumption that events reported in the
Bible, especially in the Old Testament, happened as they were
described can no longer be accepted in an outright fashion, in
the light of current scientific progress. However, many of the
biblical narratives are based in events that took place, surviving
for several centuries through oral tradition from one generation
to the other being written down at a later stage, according to a
vision coherent with the religious and cultural context of the time.
Thus, the plagues described in Jews exodus from Egypt constitute
a palimpsest of different epidemical outbreaks correlated mainly
with climatic changes that occurred then in the Middle East.
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