Editing Leprosy (section)

=== Historical texts ===
Written accounts of leprosy date back thousands of years. Various skin diseases translated as leprosy appear in the ancient Indian text, the ''[[Atharava Veda]]'', by 600 BC.<ref>{{Cite journal|vauthors=Singh KS, Pandey BD|date=March 2012|title=Leprosy – Hidden Disease?|url=http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/13672|journal=Science Reporter|volume=49|issue=3|access-date=4 August 2019|archive-date=3 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803022616/http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/13672|url-status=live}}</ref> Another Indian text, the ''[[Manusmriti]]'' (200 BC), &nbsp;prohibit contact with those infected with the disease and make marriage to a person infected with leprosy punishable.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Jacob JT, Franco-Paredes C | title = The stigmatization of leprosy in India and its impact on future approaches to elimination and control | journal = PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases | volume = 2 | issue = 1 | pages = e113 | date = January 2008 | pmid = 18235845 | pmc = 2217676 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000113 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

The Hebraic root tsara or tsaraath (צָרַע, – tsaw-rah' – to be struck with leprosy, to be leprous) and the Greek (λεπρός – lepros), are of broader classification than the more narrow use of the term related to Hansen's Disease.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Grzybowski A, Nita M | title = Leprosy in the Bible | journal = Clinics in Dermatology | volume = 34 | issue = 1 | pages = 3–7 | date = January 2016 | pmid = 26773616 | doi = 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2015.10.003 }}</ref> Any progressive skin disease (a whitening or splotchy bleaching of the skin, raised manifestations of scales, scabs, infections, rashes, etc.) — as well as generalized molds and surface discoloration of any clothing, leather, or discoloration on walls or surfaces throughout homes — all came under the "law of leprosy" ([[Book of Leviticus|Leviticus]] 14:54–57).<ref>[See: Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. "Entry for 'Leper; Leprosy'". "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia". 1915. Access-date=6 January 2017</ref> Ancient sources such as the [[Talmud]] (Sifra 63) make clear that'' tzaraath'' refers to various types of lesions or stains associated with [[Ritual purification|ritual impurity]] and occurring on cloth, leather, or houses, as well as skin. Traditional [[Judaism]] and Jewish rabbinical authorities, both historical and modern, emphasize that the ''tsaraath'' of Leviticus is a spiritual ailment with no direct relationship to Hansen's disease or physical contagions. The relation of ''tsaraath'' to "leprosy" comes from translations of Hebrew Biblical texts into Greek and ensuing misconceptions.<ref>{{Cite web |vauthors=Shurpin Y |date=6 April 2022 |title=Is Tzaraat Leprosy? |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4714280/jewish/Is-Tzaraat-Leprosy.htm |website=Chabad.org |access-date=6 April 2022 |archive-date=6 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406180106/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4714280/jewish/Is-Tzaraat-Leprosy.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

All three [[Synoptic Gospels]] of the [[New Testament]] describe instances of [[Jesus]] healing people with leprosy ([https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+8%3A1-4&version=ESV Matthew 8:1–4], [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%201%3A40-45&version=ESV Mark 1:40–45], and [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+5%3A12-16&version=ESV Luke 5:12–16]). The Bible's description of leprosy is congruous (if lacking detail) with the symptoms of modern leprosy, but the relationship between this disease, ''tzaraath'', and Hansen's disease has been disputed.<ref>{{cite book|vauthors=van der Loos H|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n4geAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA464|title=The Miracles of Jesus|date=1968|publisher=Brill Archive|page=464|access-date=21 May 2022|archive-date=1 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501050107/https://books.google.com/books?id=n4geAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA464|url-status=live}}</ref> The biblical perception that people with leprosy were unclean can be found in a passage from [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%2013%3A44-46&version=NIV Leviticus 13:44–46]. While this text defines the leper as [[Tumah and taharah|impure]], it does not explicitly make a moral judgement on those with leprosy.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Lewis G |title=A Lesson from Leviticus: Leprosy |journal=Man |date=December 1987 |volume=22 |issue=4 |page=598 |doi=10.2307/2803354|jstor=2803354 }}</ref> Some [[Early Christianity|early Christians]] believed that those affected by leprosy were being punished by God for sinful behavior. Moral associations have persisted throughout history. In the 6th century Pope [[Pope Gregory I|Gregory the Great]] and [[Isidore of Seville]] considered people with the disease to be heretics.<ref name="Covey-2001">{{cite journal | url=http://his.library.nenu.edu.cn/upload/soft/haoli/114/372.pdf | title=People with leprosy (Hansen's disease) during the Middle Ages | vauthors = Covey HC | journal=[[Social Science Journal]] | year=2001 | volume=38 | issue=2 | pages=315–21 | doi=10.1016/S0362-3319(01)00116-1 | s2cid=145166840 | access-date=25 June 2016 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815003614/http://his.library.nenu.edu.cn/upload/soft/haoli/114/372.pdf | archive-date=15 August 2016 }}</ref>