Advice for a Successful Doctor's Visit: King Asa Meets Ben Sira
In 2 Chr 16:12b, King Asa is criticized for turning to physicians in his time of sickness. Scholars disagree about the reasons for the Chronicler's disapproval of Asa's behavior. In this essay, I argue that Asa's mistake consisted of turning to physicians alone when he should also hav...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Catholic Biblical Association of America
[2018]
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| In: |
The catholic biblical quarterly
Year: 2018, Volume: 80, Issue: 2, Pages: 231-246 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Chronicle 2. 16,12
/ Bible. Jesus Sirach 38,1-15
/ Physician
/ Medicine
/ Healing
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| RelBib Classification: | HB Old Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Medicine
B Heads of state B Medical Personnel B Physicians B GOD in Christianity B Ben Sira B KINGS & rulers B Healing B Asa B Chronicles |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | In 2 Chr 16:12b, King Asa is criticized for turning to physicians in his time of sickness. Scholars disagree about the reasons for the Chronicler's disapproval of Asa's behavior. In this essay, I argue that Asa's mistake consisted of turning to physicians alone when he should also have consulted priests and prophets. Support for this reading can be found in Sir 38:1-15, which describes the role of physicians in consideration of priestly and prophetic roles in healing and mediating between humans and God. Careful analysis of Sir 38:1-15 illustrates that physicians are endowed with divine wisdom but cannot represent God directly. Consequently, Asa's ill-fated consultation with the physicians demonstrates that their service should always be combined with prayer and sacrifices. |
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| ISSN: | 2163-2529 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The catholic biblical quarterly
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/cbq.2018.0049 |