Archive | 2019
Rhetoric, Demons, and the Poisoner’s Tongue in Judaism and Early Christianity
Abstract
Abstract Judaism and Christianity share toxicological traditions with the eastern and Greco-Roman world as well as developing traditions of their own. They utilized or prohibited them according to their religious traditions. This become apparent when exploring their commentaries on scripture and their noncanonical literature, as well as their canonical writings that make up the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Both Jews and Christians were aware of venomous animals, medicinal plants, poisons, contraceptives, and abortifacients. Their knowledge is demonstrated in story-telling, moral debates, rhetoric and invective, practical applications, and even tales of the diabolic and demonic.