About the lecture
Texts scholars have explored the role of male cultic figures in treating sickness in ancient Jewish studies. Meanwhile, references to women's ritual responses to sickness, which are less explicit in the sources, have not received equal scholarly attention. Notably, a number of ancient Jewish texts suggest that women played a prominent role in addressing sickness. In this lecture, I will analyze women's expertise in healthcare by analyzing their access to divination reflected in the ancient Jewish texts. On the one hand, women consulted prophets and other figures who accessed the divine will. On the other hand, texts witness women being versed with various methods such as physiognomy and the oracle of the lot. Further, texts from the other ancient near Eastern cultures demonstrate women's keen interest in health. By considering women's participation in healthcare in antiquity, this paper also addresses broader questions of gendered roles in contemporary caregiving.
Read more about Dr. Hanna Tervanotko