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A perfect example of one of these primary sources is the book of Leviticus found in the Bible. ... (Leviticus, Chapter 13) Leprosy as mentioned in the Bible is not the same disease that the world is familiar with today; instead it was a skin disease of some sort that affected people in ancient times.
The text in Leviticus goes through a detailed explanation of how the priests were to diagnosis the spots on a man’s skin as leprous and then the steps the priest and the infected male were to take in separating himself from the rest of the tribe. (Leviticus, Chapter 13) However, one can tell from reading the text that the reason for separation from the rest of the tribe was not because the priest feared that the leprous man would infect others with his disease, but because the priest did not want the evil and sins that had come upon this man to affect others in the tribe. ... This leap is described by Sheldon Watts in his book, Epidemics and History: Disease, Power, and Imperialism as an idea referred to as the “Ideology of Order”. ... 16) The premise of the ideology of order was to basically help to protect the ordinary citizen from the plague that was raging throughout Europe. ... 16-17)
As mentioned earlier these steps in the ideology of order were taken to prevent the spread of the plague; yet, one can find some similarities between these elements and the religious steps that Moses and his people in the time of Leviticus took to guard against leprosy. ... By sequestering the contents of the ship from contact with people for the forty days and nights it was enough time for any disease on the ship to run its course and die out.
These same types of religious beliefs that actually proved to be scientifically significant can be applied to the actions of the people in the time Leviticus was written and their unknowing use of the ideology of order. While all of the elements of the ideology of order are not present in the time of Leviticus there are some definite similarities.
Approximate Word count = 1679
Approximate Pages = 6.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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