Care of Sick in Ancient World 29 ber, and then too, Moses' command not to allow a witch to live shows that even he was not entirely free from survivals of superstition. Who were those witches of Moses' day? Were they the same old women whose inherited knowledge of herbs and potions brought them into competition with men then engaged in formulating a more complex and, probably, more scientific health cult? We do not know. But it is known that Jewish women have had in remote times a remark- able skill in medicine, and they must have become experienced in the care of the sick, though this care was exercised, perhaps, only within the home. Moses developed remarkable codes of sanitation and hygiene both for family and community life. He is supposed to have learned these sciences from the Egyptians, but Moses has surpassed everyone else in the clearness of his minute detail, and he stands out in history as one of the great sanitarians of the world. The Jewish religion emphasized human brother- hood and social justice. The duties of hospitality to the stranger, with relief for the widow, the fatherless, and the oppressed, were constantly urged as righteous. The Jews early showed that sense of personal and social responsibility which distinguished them among the nations. They
