In the A ̄ryabhat. ̄ıya, A ̄ryabhat
̇
a speaks of the diurnal rotation both as a rotation of the
earth and as a rotation of the fixed stars. Mathematically, these are equivalent, but other
Indian astronomers, including V, rejected that the earth is rotating, for phys-
ical reasons. A ̄ryabhat
̇
a also divided the world ages untraditionally, for which later Indian
astronomers criticized him.
DSB 1.308–309, 15.590–602 (A ̄ryapaks.a), 15.602–608 (A ̄rdhara ̄trikapaks.a), D.E. Pingree; CESS
A.1.50–53, A.2.15, A.3.16, A.4.27–28, A.5.16–17; D.E. Pingree, Jyotih.s ́a ̄stra: astral and mathematical
literature = A History of Indian Literature 6.4 (1981); Idem, “A ̄ryabhat
̇
a, the Paita ̄mahasiddha ̄nta, and
Greek astronomy,” Studies in History of Medicine and Science ns 12.1–2 (1993) 69–79.
Kim Plofker and Toke Lindegaard Knudsen
Asaf ha-Rofe, Asaf the Jew, Asaf ben Berekhiah (300 – 900 CE)
Jewish physician associated with the oldest extant medical text in Hebrew, Sefer Asaf ha-Rofe
or Sefer Refu’ot (“Book of Remedies”), not completely published or translated and sorely
understudied. Its date and provenance remain debated. Among current theories, an
8th/9th c. compilation in Byzantine Italy seems most plausible. Sefer Asaf records the teach-
ings of Asaf and his colleagues Yohanan ben Zabda and Yehudah ha-Yarhoni. Some MSS
identify Asaf with Asaf ben Berekhiah, mentioned briefly in I Chron. 15:17 and associated
with Solomon in Jewish and Islamic folklore. The book is prefaced by an account of the
origins of medicine in revelations by the angel Raphael (lit. “God heals”) to Noah, transmit-
ted to Shem, progenitor of the Jews. From the Jews, medicine was taught to Indians, Greeks,
Egyptians, and Mesopotamians. In listing famous physicians, Sefer Asaf groups “Asaf the
Jew” with H, G, and D. The body of the text is an eclectic
compendium of medical traditions, covering all areas but surgery. Its anatomy and embry-
ology reflect Jewish tradition. Hippokratic influence is marked; its medical aphorisms are
essentially Hebrew paraphrases of the H C, A, and the
oath that Asaf and Yohanan require of their students stands in a close relationship to the
H O. Gale ̄n’s influence is minor, but lists of pharmacological plants derive
largely from Dioskouride ̄s. In presenting a Jewish interpretation of Hippokratic medicine, in
particular, Asaf and his colleagues may stand in the tradition of earlier Jewish physicians
such as R S. No evidence suggests influence from Arabic medicine.
S. Pines, “The Oath of Asaph the Physician and Yohanan Ben Zabda,” Proceedings of the Israel Academy
of Sciences and Humanities 9 (1975) 223–264; E. Lieber, “Asaf’s Book of Medicines,” DOP 38 (1984)
233 – 249; EJ2 2.543–544, S. Muntner.
Annette Yoshiko Reed
Asamo ̄n (unknown date)
Wrote about the rise of the Nile. The name appears to be Egyptian for “eagle” (Heuser
1929: 13), but cf. also LGPN 3A.78 (2nd c. BCE, E ̄lis).
RE 2.2 (1896) 1515 (#3), H. Berger.
PTK
ASAF HA-ROFE, ASAF THE JEW, ASAF BEN BEREKHIAH