The Hippocratic oath in the Jewish tradition

Abstract

In recent times, the need has emerged for the Federation of medical orders to proceed with a revision of the code of ethics whose paradigm is the Hippocratic oath in order to adapt to the changing needs and expectations of modern society. Given the privileged position enjoyed by medicine among the Jews over the generations, the present research wanted to compare the Greek text with the texts of the Jewish tradition which explicitly speak of medical deontology: some in the form of an oath such as that of Hippocrates, others as a prayer of the doctor. After an identification and choice of the reference Hebrew texts, an analysis of the differences was carried out. The diversity of Jewish deontological texts is not so much in the omission of elements present in the Greek text as in the number and importance of new elements such as social commitment, the relationship between doctor and patient, the doctor's duty to study and in scientific research as well as relationships with colleagues. From this it emerges that the care of the sick is an integral part of a vaster moral code that invests all human activity, medical ethics reflect the rules that regulate the relationship between man and man and between man and the Creator.