Jewish sacred texts, in particular the Hebrew Bible, Apocrypha (noncanonic, postbiblical writings), rabbinic literature from the late Roman era (the Talmud and midrash), the Mishnāh Torah (Repetition of the law; a twelfth-century CE classification of religious subjects), and the Shulhan Arukh (The prepared table; a sixteenth-century CE codebook of Jewish law), all touch upon sickness, recovery, and health. Excerpts on health from holy books and their influence on Jewish culture can be arranged readily into the following six subjects:

1. divine healing,
2. health wisdom,
3. visiting the sick,
4. religious law (halakhah),
5. folk healing,
6. professional medicine.

Divine Healing

In the Bible (c. sixth century BCE), God is the force responsible for both sickening and healing: "I deal death and give life; I wounded and I heal" (Dt. 32:39). Accordingly, God inflicts plagues, heals Hezekiah's intestinal ailment, and tests Job with boils and other...