Cairo Genizah : Medical

Cairo Genizah

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Leaves from an extensive lexicon of materia medica. Entries are written in a larger script and separated from the main text by spacing. Lemmata are either in Hebrew or Judaeo-Arabic. Entries are numbered progressively on the outer margin from 211 to 240, and include items of material medica beginning with the letters ט‫,‬ י‫,‬ כ, showing that the lexicon was very extensive. Most of the entries provide Greek (יוני), Latin (לעז) and Arabic names in transliteration (occasionally more than one) of the simple discussed, and open with a definition of their nature in terms of hotness, coldness, humidity and dryness. Simples discussed include various kinds of clay (common clay, terra cimolia, red clay), talc, hyacinth, wine (red and white), bread, peach, camphor, frankincense, liver, mushrooms, and vinegar.</p>