Jean Astruc

Jean Astruc

Name	Jean Astruc
Birth name
Birth date	19 March 1684
Birth place	Sauve, France
Death date	5 May 1766
Death place	Paris, France
Alma mater
Occupation	Physician, Professor
Years active
Organization
Known for	Biblical criticism, Medicine
Notable works
Spouse(s)
Website

Jean Astruc (19 March 1684 – 5 May 1766) was a French physician and professor, renowned for his contributions to biblical criticism and medicine. He is best known for his work on the Documentary Hypothesis, which proposed that the Pentateuch was derived from multiple sources.

Early Life and Education

Jean Astruc was born in Sauve, France, to a Protestant family. His father was a Protestant minister who converted to Catholicism, which allowed Astruc to pursue a career in medicine. He studied at the University of Montpellier, where he earned his medical degree in 1703.

Medical Career

Astruc began his medical career in Montpellier, where he practiced and taught medicine. He later moved to Paris, where he became a professor at the Collège Royal. Astruc was a prominent figure in the medical community, known for his expertise in syphilis and other venereal diseases. He published several medical texts, including De Morbis Venereis ("On Venereal Diseases"), which was a comprehensive study of sexually transmitted infections.

Contributions to Biblical Criticism

Jean Astruc is perhaps most famous for his work in biblical criticism. In 1753, he published Conjectures sur les mémoires originaux dont il paraît que Moïse s'est servi pour composer le livre de la Genèse ("Conjectures on the Original Memoirs which it Appears Moses Used to Compose the Book of Genesis"). In this work, Astruc proposed that the Book of Genesis was composed of several different sources, which he identified by the use of different names for God and other stylistic differences.

Astruc's method involved identifying two main sources, which he labeled as "Elohist" and "Yahwist," based on the names used for God in the text. This approach laid the groundwork for the Documentary Hypothesis, which was further developed by later scholars such as Julius Wellhausen.

Legacy

Jean Astruc's work had a profound impact on both the fields of medicine and biblical studies. In medicine, his detailed studies of venereal diseases contributed to the understanding and treatment of these conditions. In biblical criticism, his analytical approach to the text of Genesis opened new avenues for scholarly research and debate.

Astruc's legacy is reflected in the continued study and discussion of the sources of the Pentateuch, as well as in the historical development of medical science in France.

Also see

• Documentary Hypothesis
• Pentateuch
• Julius Wellhausen
• Biblical criticism
• University of Montpellier