Stroke in ancient times: a reinterpretation of Psalms 137:5,6

Abstract

-Stroke was probably first described in Psalms 136: 5-6 of the Catholic Bible, and Psalms 137:5-6 of the Evangelical Bible. Based on the Portuguese, Spanish, English, German, Dutch, Russian, Greek, and original Hebrew Bible, the significance of this Psalm is the invocation of a punishment, of which the final result would be a stroke of the left middle cerebral artery, causing motor aphasia and right hemiparesis.KEy woRDS: stroke, history, Bible. Acidente vascular cerebral nos velhos tempos: uma reinterpretação dos Salmos 137 (versículos 5,6)Resumo -Acidente vascular cerebral foi descrito pela primeira vez provavelmente na Bíblia, nos Salmos 136, versículos 5 e 6, da bíblia católica, e 137, versículos 5 e 6, da bíblia evangélica. Nas bíblias escritas em português, espanhol, inglês, alemão, holandês, russo, grego e no original hebraico, o significado destes Salmos seria a invocação de um castigo, que poderia corresponder a acidente vascular da artéria cerebral média esquerda, levando a afasia motora com hemiplegia direita.

Newer insights to the neurological diseases among biblical characters of old testament

“…The symptoms found in verses 5 and 6 (“right hand shall be paralyzed,” “tongue shall stick to my palate”) offer a diagnosis of stroke with right hemiplegia and motor aphasia. [ 24 25 ] A similar passage is found in Ezekiel,[ 24 ] where god commands ezekiel to shut himself inside his house (v 24) where god would make “thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house” (v 26). The following verse goes on to say that god would, later, return the power of speech to the prophet Ezekiel.…”

O Word That I Lack! Silence, Speech, and Communicative Bodies in the Rehabilitation (and Redemption) of Stroke Patients with Expressive Aphasia

“…It has long been of interest to medical historians (e.g., Benton, 1971;Lima Resende, Weber, Zeugner Bertotti, & Agapejev, 2008) that one of the earliest descriptions of right hemiplegia associated with expressive aphasia appears in the Hebrew Scriptures, in the form of a self-directed curse in the first verses of Psalm 137:…”