CODE
Oath of Asaph ha Rophe
(slightly abridged and
modified)
And this is the Covenant contracted between Asaph ben Berechiah, and Yochanan
ben Zabda, with their students:
“Take heed that you kill not any man with the sap of a root. Do not dispense
a potion to a woman with a child by adultery to cause her to miscarry. Do not
lust after beautiful women to commit adultery with them. Do not follow the
statutes of sorcerers or join them to divine by magic or use witchcraft with
intent to separate a man from his beloved wife or a woman from the husband of
her youth.
“Do not disclose secrets confided unto you. Do not take a bribe to cause
injury or kill. Do not harden you heart against the poor and needy but, instead,
have pity on them and heal them. Do not call good evil and evil good. Do not
desire riches or bribe with malicious intent.
“Do not make any assurance of cure by means of words and practices connected
with idol worship but detest, abhor and hate all such practices and those who
trust in them and also those who make promises by such means for all such
practices are worthless.. . for are they not - and the satyrs - but dead
spirits? Their corpses will not save nor are they able to deliver the living.
“Instead, trust in the Lord, thy God, the God of truth the living God for it
is He who kills and grants life, smites and heals. He teaches knowledge which
will be of use. He wounds with righteousness and justice and He heals with
loving kindness and compassion. No crafty device can be concealed from Him, for
naught is hidden from His sight. It is He who causes medicinal plants to grow.
He implants in the hearts of wise men the skill to heal... The gentiles
(non-Jews) trust in their idols which do not save them from their distresses and
do not rescue them from their troubles since their expectations and hopes are in
dead gods.. . And you be strong and let not your hands slacken for there is a
reward for your labours (as) God is with you when you are with Him. If you will
keep his covenant and adhere unto His statutes, you shall be assaints in the
eyes of all men...”
And the students answered: “All that you have admonished us and commanded us
we shall obey for these are the commandments of the law and it is our duty to
perform them with all our hearts and soul and might, to do and to obey and not
to turn aside or stray from the straight path.. .”
And Asaph and Yochanan continued to testify unto them, “ . ..Do not seek
ill-gotten gains in order to help an evildoer shed blood. Do not mix poisons for
any man or woman to slay his or her friend. Do not reveal which roots are
poisonous or give them to anyone. Do not speak about their actions. Do not cause
shedding ofblood by any manner of medical treatment.
“Take heed that you do not cause malady in any man. Lest you cause an injury
by hastening to cut through the flesh of man with an iron instrument or by
branding, you shall first observe twice or thrice and then only give you
counsel.Let not a spirit of haughtiness cause you to lift you eyes and you
hearts in pride. Do not bear a grudge or any hatred against a sick person. Alter
not your prescriptions for them that hate the Lord thy God but keep His
ordinancesand commandments and walk in His ways that you may find favour in His
sight by being pure and upright.”
References
1. The sixth-century manuscript bearing
this oath is in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. This translation is by Dr. Samuel
J. Aptekar from the copy published in The Jewish Encyclopedia 3, 675-676. 1972.
(‘ha Rophe´ = the doctor, ‘ben Berechiah´ = the son of Berechiah.) Asaph is said
to be the oldest medical writer in Hebrew.
2. Muntner Sussman: Hebrew
medical ethics and the Oath of Asaph. JAMA 20596-97, 1968
3. Friedenwald
Harry: The ethics of the practice of medicine from the Jewish point of view.
Johns Hopkins Hospital Bulletin No. 3 18,256-266, 19 17.
