Assaf's oath

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The oath of Assaf (or oath of Asaph ) is an ancient medical ethical code of conduct for Jewish doctors , comparable to the well-known oath of Hippocrates , which prohibits doctors from doing anything to the detriment of the patient. The text of the oath can be found in the "Book of Remedies" ( Hebrew ספר רפואות, Sefer Refuot ) or "Book of Assaf" ( Hebrew ספר אסף, Sefer Assaf ), the oldest known medical work in Hebrew. It is attributed to the authors Assaf ben Verhiahu and Johanan ben Zabda, who both probably lived in the Middle East in the 5th century AD. It contains excerpts from classical Hebrew texts, with comments and excerpts from pagan authors. The Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center near Tel Aviv , one of the largest hospitals in Israel , is now called Assafs.

Text of the oath

The oath was taken by medical students at the end of their training and contains the following text:

  1. This is the covenant Assaf ben Berachiahu and Johanan ben Zabda made with their disciples, and they swore them with the following words:
  2. Do not try to kill a soul with an herbal potion.
  3. Do not give potions to women pregnant by fornication with the intention of having an abortion.
  4. Do not covet the beauty of women in order to fornicate them.
  5. Don't reveal the secret of a man who trusted you.
  6. Do not accept any reward [offered with the intention of] to destroy and devastate.
  7. Do not harden your heart against compassion for the poor and against healing the needy.
  8. Do not say of the good: "It is bad" or of the bad: "It is good".
  9. Do not follow the ways of sorcerers using mantra, divination, and magic to separate a man from the woman of his heart, or a woman from the companion of her youth.
  10. Thou shalt not covet wealth or rewards [offered to you] for lustful help from you.
  11. You should not seek help from idolatry to heal with it, or use a remedy that invokes false gods.
  12. On the contrary, despise, avoid and hate all those who worship, put their trust in and inspire confidence in these [false gods].
  13. For they are all nothing, useless, for they are nothing, demons, spirits of the dead; they cannot help their own dead body, so how can they help those who are still alive?
  14. But put your confidence in the Lord your God, the true God, the living God.
  15. For He kills and calls to life, wounds and heals,
  16. Who teaches people knowledge, and also the benefits,
  17. Who just and justly inflicts wounds and heals with compassion and mercy.
  18. None of the advice of his wisdom is out of his power
  19. And nothing is hidden from his eyes.
  20. He lets medicinal plants grow.
  21. He puts prudence in the hearts of the wise so that they may heal in the abundance of His loving kindness and that they may tell of miracles in the gathering of many; so that all living things may know that He created it and that besides Him there is no Redeemer.
  22. For the heathen trust their idols, which are supposed to protect them from distress and yet cannot redeem them from their misery,
  23. Because they place their trust and hope in the dead.
  24. Hence, it is appropriate to stay away from them; go away and keep away from all the horrors of their idols,
  25. And keep to the name of the Lord, the God of souls of all flesh,
  26. And the soul of every living being is in His hand to kill and bring to life
  27. And there is no one who frees from his hand.
  28. Remember Him at all times and seek Him in truth, righteousness and sincere heart, that you may prosper in all your works,
  29. And He will give you help so that you may be successful [in everything you do] and that the mouth of all flesh may call you happy.
  30. And the pagans will leave their false gods and images and strive to worship God like you,
  31. Because they will realize that their trust is in vain and that their plans are not fruitful,
  32. For they pray to a God who cannot do [them] any good, who will not save them.
  33. As for you, be strong, do not let your hands get weak, for your work will be rewarded.
  34. The Lord is with you as long as you are with him
  35. If you keep his covenant, keep his commandments, hold fast to them,
  36. You will be seen as His Saint in the eyes of all flesh, and they will say:
  37. Happy those who have this lot, happy those people whose God is the Lord.
  38. Their students answered and said:
  39. We will do everything that you admonished us to do and that you have commanded us to do,
  40. Because it is a commandment of the Torah
  41. And we must obey it with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our might, obey and obey,
  42. Don't stagger or swerve to the right or left.
  43. And they [Asaph and Johanan] blessed them in the name of the Most High God, Creator of heaven and earth.
  44. And they went on to commission them, saying:
  45. The Lord God, His saints and His Torah testify that you should fear Him, not deviate from His commandments, and obey His commandments with an upright heart.
  46. Do not cling to greed to help a wicked [shed] innocent blood.
  47. You should not mix a deadly potion, neither for men nor women, that they might kill others.
  48. You shall not speak of those herbs [from which such potions are made]. You shouldn't hand them over to anyone
  49. And you shouldn't speak of this
  50. You should not use blood in any medical activity
  51. You shall not make a man's soul suffer by using iron instruments or branding irons until you have examined him two or three times; [only] then you should give your advice.
  52. Do not allow yourself to be dominated by arrogance and lift up your eyes and your heart.
  53. Do not harbor vengeance or hatred towards a sick person.
  54. You should never break your word.
  55. The Lord our God hates [?] Such acts.
  56. But keep his commandments and regulations and follow all his ways in order to please him and to be pure, truthful and upright.
  57. So Assaf and Johanan admonished their students and swore them.

See also

literature

  • Julius Kleeberg (ed.): Oaths and confessions in medicine. Basel / Munich 1979, p. 21.
  • Sussmann Muntner: Hebrew medical ethics and the Oath of Asaph. In: Journal of the American Medical Association. Volume 205, 1968, p. 912.

Web links

Portal: Judaism  - Overview of Wikipedia content on the subject of Judaism
Portal: Medicine  - Overview of Wikipedia content on medicine

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Oath of Asaph ha Rophe. In: Indian Journal of Medical Ethics. Retrieved April 17, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Sussmann Muntner: Hebrew Medical Ethics and the Oath of Asaph. JAMA 205 (13) . 1968, p. 912-913 , doi : 10.1001 / jama.1968.03140390036009 .
  3. ↑ Internet site of the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center ( memento of the original from September 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed April 17, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.assafh.org
  4. ↑ Asaph's Oath. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; Retrieved April 17, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www1.umn.edu
  5. ^ Fred Rosner : Medicine in the Bible and the Talmud: Selections from Classical Jewish Sources . KTAV Publishing House, 1995, ISBN 978-0-88125-506-5 , pp. 183–4 ( limited preview in Google Book search).