Prenatal human development in the Hebrew Bible: A Jewish Perspective

Abstract

There are several references to the first stages of human life in the Old Testament Scriptures. Some of them are formulations of both descriptions of the creation of man in the Book of Genesis, fragments of Psalms, historical books and wisdom literature. These fragments do not create a coherent conception, which illustrates the development of prenatal humanity. They rather point to God’s involvement in human conception and birth, which remains for us hidden and unconceivable. This article discusses questions of human conception in the context of Hebrew Scriptures. They serve as a starting point for reflections of the state of the human embryo from the perspective of Jewish bioethics.