The Bible and natural philosophy in Renaissance Italy : Jewish and Christian physicians in search of truth / Andrew D. Berns, University of South Carolina.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Print version record.

The Bible and Natural Philosophy in Renaissance Italy explores the reciprocal relationship between biblical interpretation and natural philosophy in sixteenth-century Italy. The book augments our knowledge of the manifold applications of medical expertise in the Renaissance and of the multiple ways in which the Bible was read by educated people who lacked theological training. Andrew D. Berns demonstrates that many physicians in sixteenth-century Italy, Jewish and Christian alike, took a keen interest in the Bible and post-biblical religious literature. Berns identifies the intellectual tools that Renaissance doctors and natural philosophers brought to bear on their analysis of the Bible and assesses how their education and professional experience helped them acquire, develop, and use those tools. The Bible and Natural Philosophy in Renaissance Italy argues that the changing nature of medical culture in the Renaissance inspired physicians to approach the Bible not only as a divine work but also as a historical and scientific text-- Provided by Publisher.

Cover; Half-title; Title page; Copyright information; Table of contents; Acknowledgments; A Note on Translation, Transliteration, and Names; List of abbreviations; Introduction; Medical Culture in Late Renaissance Italy; The Bible and Medicine in Late Renaissance Italy; Biblical Commentary in Jewish and Catholic Learned Communities; Chapter Summary; 1 "This Is What King David Meant"; Amatus Lusitanus: Medical Commentary and the Bible; The Vulgate Bible in the Sixteenth Century; Ulisse Aldrovandi and Biblical Studies; Conclusion; 2 Pliny, Papyrus, and the Bible; Melchior Guilandinus.

Aldrovandi, Guilandinus, and Pliny's Natural HistoryFrom Pliny to the Bible: Leoniceno's Legacy in the Later Sixteenth Century; Aldrovandi and Other Contemporary bibliologiae; Conclusion; 3 "The Grandeur of the Science of God"; David de' Pomi and Greek Education; Natural Philosophy in tsemaḥ david; David de' Pomi and Renaissance Lexicography; Hyacinth and tsemaḥ david; Conclusion; 4 Jewish-Christian Relations in Sixteenth-Century Italy; Portaleone's Medical Letters and Jewish-Christian Relations in Renaissance Italy; Bread; Monsters; Magno and Baptism; Portaleone and Jewish concerns.

Portaleone and Galen/RufusPortaleone and Colombo; Conclusion; 5 "I Seek the Truth from Whomever Pronounces It"; Why Incense?; Identifying the Elements of Incense: Portaleone's Criticism of Rabbinic Sources; Geography and Greek; Criticism of Ancient Greek and Latin Sources; Holy Pharmacology: Portaleone's Reconstruction of Biblical Incense; Making Biblical Incense: The Construction of a Prohibited Product; Conclusion; Conclusion; Appendix I The Ancient Israelite Incense Mixture; Biblical Text; Exodus 30:34-38; Jewish Publication Society Translation; Babylonian Talmud Keritot 6a.

Soncino TranslationAppendix II Ulisse Aldrovandi and Hebrew; Appendix III The Index to Portaleone's Responsorum et consultationum medicinalium liber (1607); Bibliography; Manuscripts; Printed Books Before 1800; Printed Books since 1800; Index.

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