. THE WISDOM OF BEN SIRA (ECCLESIASTICUS) The Wisdom of Ben Sira derives its title from the author, “Yeshua [Jesus], son of Eleazar, son of Sira” (50:27). The following are the best-ascertained results which flow from a comparison of the Greek version with the text of our Hebrew fragments. PEOPLE have been reading the Bible for nearly tw yearso thousan. 1. ‎ Mary Wilder Tileston examines the Book of Sirach, otherwise known as Ecclesiasticus, faithfully interpreting and presenting its wisdom for the modern reader. The author, Yeshua ben Sira, was a Jew who had been living in Jerusalem, who may in fact have established his school and written his work in Alexandria (Guillaume). . The Holy Bible. the differences of tone in chs. Who hath measured the height of heaven, and the breadth of the earth, and the depth of the abyss? Vol. 1.1 Proper noun. It was also in the later time of Simon II that Ptolemy Philopator was prevented only by the high priest's prayer to God, from desecrating the Most Holy Place; he then started a fearful persecution of the Jews at home and abroad (cf. ); in apparent discrepancies of thought and doctrine (cf. This being the case, the translator's grandfather, the author of Ecclesiasticus, may be regarded as having lived and written his work between forty and sixty years before (between 190 and 170 B.C. His familiar surname was Ben Sira, as the Hebrew text and the ancient versions agree to attest. Another text, "The Wisdom of Solomon," appears to have been written as a reply to the argument given in the Book of Ecclesiastes. 44-49), Ben Sira follows closely the order of their appearance in books of the Heb. Jump to navigation Jump to search. By comparison, the books of the Catholic Bible include all 66 in the previous list plus seven extra books. They afford a most varied fund of thoughtful rules for self-guidance, Together with these maxims, which resemble closely both in matter and form the Proverbs of Solomon, the first part of Ecclesiasticus includes several more or less long descriptions of the origin and excellence of wisdom (cf. The Book of Ecclesiasticus, also known as the Wisdom of Sirach or Book of Sirach or simply as Sirach, is a second century BC writing by a Jewish scribe named Shimon ben Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sira who was from the City of Jerusalem. It is a disposition of the heart which prompts man to practise the virtues of faith, hope, and love of God (ii, 8-10), of trust and submission, etc. His maxims against pride (iii, 30; vi, 2-4; x, 14-30; etc. As can readily be seen, the two general remarks just made simply set forth the elementary canons of historical criticism; and they would not have been dwelt on here were it not that they have been very often lost sight of by Protestant scholars, who, biased by their desire to disprove the Catholic doctrine of the inspired character of Ecclesiasticus, have done their utmost to depreciate the doctrinal and ethical teaching of this deuterocanonical book. At the close of the book (1, 27-29), there is first, a short conclusion containing the author's subscription and the express declaration of his general purpose; and next, an appendix (li) in which the writer returns thanks to God for His benefits, and especially for the gift of wisdom and to which are subjoined in the Hebrew text recently discovered, a second subscription and the following pious ejaculation: "Blessed be the name of Yahweh from this time forth and for evermore.". The Hebrew name is the Torah or Law ( Joshua 1:7 ). Proper noun . His close acquaintance with "the Law, the Prophets, and the other books delivered from the fathers", that is, with the three classes of writings which make up the Hebrew Bible, is distinctly borne witness to by the prologue to the work; and the 367 idioms or phrases, which the study of the Hebrew fragments has shown to be derived from the sacred books of the Jews, are an ample proof that Jesus, the son of Sirach, was thoroughly acquainted with the Biblical text. He depicts death in the light of a reward or of a punishment, only in so far as it is either a quiet demise for the just or a final deliverance from earthly ills (xli, 3, 4), or, on the contrary, a terrible end that overtakes the sinner when he least expects it (ix, 16, 17). verse 15), "head" for "poison" (xx); xlvi. The following table lists out the order of the books as they were written. The great uncial codices, the Vatican, the Sinaitic, the Ephraemitic, and partly the Alexandrian, though comparatively free from glosses, contain an inferior text; the better form of the text seems to be preserved in the Venetus Codex and in certain cursive manuscripts, though these have many glosses. The following are the principal dogmatic doctrines of Jesus, the son of Sirach. There are some clues in the context that may suggest a different person wrote the book after Solomon’s death, possibly several hundred years later. which would furnish a reason for the great encomium passed upon Simon in Ecclesiasticus 1 is the surname "the Just" (cf. In the eleventh Isaa century ibc n Yashush, , a Jewish court physician of a ruler in Muslim Spain, pointed tha out t a list of Edomite king thas appeart ins Genesi 3s 6 named kings who lived lon afteg Moser was s dead. Ecclesiasticus. There are quite a few verses that imply Solomon wrote this book. Again, in their eyes, the citation of the book by rabbinical writers, sometimes in Hebrew, sometimes in Aramaic, did not appear decisive, since it was not certain that they came from a Hebrew original. The book has the same meaning whoever wrote it. Contents. They affirm that a careful examination of the contents disclosed a distinct unity of mental attitude on the author's part towards the same leading topics, towards God, life, the Law, wisdom, etc. one of the books of the Apocrypha. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05263a.htm. Contents show. May we point out in particular Chapter 43:13-20 on the glory of God as shown in the wonders of Nature to serve as a strong … This article was transcribed for New Advent by Beth Ste-Marie. Indeed, it is probably no less because of the success which Ben Sira attained to in branding vice than because of that which he obtained in directly inculcating virtue, that his work was so willingly used in the early days of Christianity for public reading at church, and bears, down to the present day, the pre-eminent title of "Ecclesiasticus". XVII, ch xx). Though used by various church leaders throughout history, Ecclesiasticus / Sirach was not officially accepted until 1546 at the Council of Trent. According to the defenders of this position, the compilatory character of the book does not necessarily conflict with a real unity of general purpose pervading and connecting the elements of the work; such a purpose proves, indeed, that one mind has bound those elements together for a common end, but it really leaves untouched the question at issue, viz. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Neubauer, who also soon published them (Oxford, 1897) Next followed the identification by Professor Schechter, first, of seven leaves of the same Codex (B), containing xxx, 11-xxxi, 11; xxxii, 1b-xxxiii 3; xxxv, 11-xxxvi, 21; xxxvii, 30-xxxviii, 28b; xlix, 14c-li, 30; and next, of four leaves of a different manuscript (called A), and presenting iii, 6e-vii, 31a; xi, 36d-xvi, 26. Cancel {{#items}} {{/items}} Ecclesiasticus 1. Books of the Bible list with the name of each book, the writer, place written, and time covered. of the same chapter; ch. Ibn Yashus suggesteh thadt the list . sloth (vii, 16; xxii, 1, 2), the sins of the tongue (iv, 30; vli, 13, 14; xi, 2, 3; i, 36-40; v, 16, 17; xxviii, 15-27; etc. Finally, there seems to be an historical trace of the compilatory character of Ecclesiasticus in a second, but unauthentic, prologue to the book, which is found in the "Synopsis Sacrae Scripturae". The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. It was, of course, from a Hebrew text incomparably better than the one we now possess that the grandson of the author of Ecclesiasticus rendered, the book into Greek. God is the Source of Wisdom. ; also known as the Book of Sirach.). Ben Sira describes it under several important aspects. Oftentimes, the corruptions of the Hebrew may be discovered by means of the Greek; and, conversely, the Greek text is proved to be defective, in the line of additions or omissions, by references to parallel places in the Hebrew. Their chief argument for this was that the Greek version contains certain errors: for example, xxiv, 37 (in Gr., verse 27), "light" for "Nile" (xx); xxv, 22 (Gr. The purpose of the Book of Ecclesiastes . The Wisdom of Jesus, the son of Sirach. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Beth Ste-Marie. The man, as the head of the family, he represents indeed as vested with more power than would be granted to him among us, but he does not neglect to point out his numerous responsibilities towards those under him: to his children, especially his daughter, whose welfare he might more particularly be tempted to neglect (vii, 25 sqq. In this document, which is printed in the works of St. Athanasius and also at the beginning of Ecclesiasticus in the Complutensian Polyglot, the actual redaction of the book is ascribed to the Greek translator as a regular process of compilation detached hymns, sayings, prayers, etc., which had been left him by his grandfather, Jesus, the son of Sirach. We are going to examine some verses from the Apocrypha later in our discussion. They first describe at length the Divine wisdom so wonderfully displayed in the realm of nature (xlii, 15-xliii), and next illustrate the practice of wisdom in the various walks of life, as made known by the history of Israel's worthies, from Enoch down to the high priest Simon, the writer's holy contemporary (xliv-1, 26). THE BOOK OF SIRACH OR BEN SIRA. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Before setting forth in a summary way the principal teachings, doctrinal and ethical, contained in the Book of Ecclesiasticus, it will not be amiss to premise two remarks which, however elementary, should be distinctly borne in mind by anyone who wished to view the doctrines of the son of Sirach in their proper light. THE BOOK OF SIRACH OR BEN SIRA. Within Ecclesiasticus are intimations of a threefold division of canonical writings (e.g. Who Wrote the Bible? But the great bulk of the glosses resemble the Greek additions in the Book of Proverbs; they are expansions of the thought, or hellenizing interpretations, or additions from current collections of gnomic sayings. i; iv, 12-22; vi, 18-37; xiv, 22-xv, 11; xxiv). They consist in the significant repetition of several sayings in different places of the book (cf. ), and his slaves, concerning whom he writes: "Let a wise servant be dear to thee as they own soul" (vii, 23; xxxiii, 31), not meaning thereby, however, to encourage the servant's idleness or other vices (xxxiii, 25-30). ), evil company, (xi, 31-36; xxii, 14-18; etc. Two data are particularly helpful for this purpose. He is commonly regarded, however, from the general character of his work, as a man of good general culture, with a fair command of both Hebrew and Greek. Who hath measured the height of heaven, and the breadth of the earth, and the depth of the abyss? Wikipedia Ecclesiasticus on Wikisource. It is quoted (and misquoted) more often than other books. Commentaries: CALMET* (Venice, 1751): FRITZSCHE, (Leipzig, 1859); BISSELL (New York, 1880); LESETRE* (Paris, 1880); EDERSHEIM (London-1888); ZOCKLER, (Munich, 1891); RYSSEL (Tübingen, 1900-1901); KNABENBAUER* (Paris, 1902). It points out the very special esteem in which this didactic work was formerly held for the purpose for general reading and instruction in church meetings: this book alone, of all the deuterocanonical writings, which are also called Ecclesiastical by Rufinus, has preserved by way of pre-eminence the name of Ecclesiasticus (Liber), that is "a church reading book". Still, most critics were of the mind that the primitive language of the book was Hebrew, not Aramaic. He manifestly alludes to the narrative of the Fall, when he says: "From the woman came the beginning of sin, and by her we all die" (xxv, 33), and apparently connects with this original deviation from righteousness the miseries and passions that weigh so heavily on the children of Adam (xl, 1-11). How deep is the ocean? 2 Who can number the sand of the sea, and the drops of rain, and the days of eternity? The Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical Books found in Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican versions of the Bible also include this book. He is described in the Greek and Latin versions as "a man of Jerusalem" (1, 29), and internal evidence (cf. The author of the Book of Ecclesiasticus is not King Solomon, to whom, as St. Augustine bears witness, the work was oftentimes ascribed "on account of some resemblance of style" with that of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Canticle of Canticles, but to whom, as the same holy doctor says, "the more learned" (apparently among the church writers of the time) "know full well that it should not be referred" (On the City of God, Bk. They regarded it as divinely dictated, revealed, or inspired, or as a human creation. May 1, 1909. The Wisdom of Jesus, the son of Sirach. Together with these maxims, which nearly all bear on what may be called individual morality, the Book of Ecclesiasticus contains valuable lessons relative to the various classes which make up human society. 2 Who hath numbered the sand of the sea, and the drops of rain, and the days of the world? The additional books in the Catholic Bible are found in the Old Testament and include: Tobias, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus / Sirach, Baruch, and 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees bringing the total to 73 books. On the other hand, he directs the lower classes, as we might call them, to show themselves submissive to those in higher condition and to bear patiently with those who cannot be safely and directly resisted (viii, 1-13; ix, 18-21; xiii, 1-8). Lastly, two pages of manuscript D were discovered by Dr. M.S. The year 196 is the year of the death of the High Priest Simon II, who is praised at great length in chapter 50, which seems to have been written after Simon’s death. Finally, the comparatively large number of the Hebrew manuscripts recently discovered in only one place (Cairo) points to the fact that the work in its primitive form was often transcribed in ancient times, and thus affords hope that other copies, more or less complete, of the original text may be discovered at some future date. iii, 3). xxxvi, 1-19, is a prayer for the Jews of the Dispersion, altogether unconnected with the sayings in verses 20 sqq. Imprimatur. It may not matter who wrote the book, or when. Ecclesiasticus on Wikipedia. APA citation. These eleven leaves had been discovered by Dr. Schechtler in the fragments brought by him from the Cairo genizzah; and it is among matter obtained from the same source by the British Museum, that G. Margoliouth found and published., in 1899, four pages of the manuscript B containing xxxi, 12-xxxii, 1a; xxxvi, 21-xxxvii, 29. To attest the Torah or law ( Joshua 1:7 ), Job, Psalms, and! 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