Sirach

BEN SIRACH (ECCLESIASTICUS)

The Book, Its Author, and Date of Composition. The book’s title and the author’s name are listed in the final section (51:27-29), similar to Ecclesiastes. Several wisdom-related terms are associated with the title: teaching, counsel, prudence, and wisdom. The author is identified as “Simon, son of Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sirach” (50:27). He is a well-informed and experienced individual who has interacted with various people and cultures during his travels.
The book was written in Hebrew around 197 B.C. to reaffirm the loyalty of Diaspora Jews to the laws and traditions of their elders amid the widespread influence of Hellenistic culture. The Hebrew text quickly fell out of use, possibly because some segments of Jewish tradition did not recognize it as canonical. However, since the late 19th century, fragments of the original Hebrew—comprising two-thirds of the original work—have begun to surface in various locations.
The Greek version, created around 132 B.C., is the work of Ben Sirach’s grandnephew. The grandfather wrote it in scholarly Hebrew, following formal Jewish models. The grandnephew then translated it into Greek, a structured and refined language with a distinctly different style. This translation acts as one of the early works translated into Greek. Its interpretation seems to carry an apologetic tone toward the classics of Greek literature. He aims to preserve the prestige of both the grandfather and his people’s literature.
The Wisdom of Ben Sirach is one of the most comprehensive books in the Old Testament. The Christian tradition accepted it as canonical, and it was so widely read in the early Church that it earned the title Ecclesiasticus.

Content of Ecclesiasticus. With Jesus Ben Sirach, we see a dedicated pursuit of knowledge practiced within an educational setting. According to his confessions in the book, the author has committed himself to studying, teaching, and explaining what is traditionally regarded as wisdom, sensibility, or prudence. He considers experience, observation, and reflection as key sources of knowledge. At the same time, he highlights the value of tradition (30:25; 36:16) and the significance of prayer (39:5-8).
In its time, wisdom involved studying and commenting on biblical texts, narratives, and laws. The book does not explicitly cite the referenced passage; it merely alludes to it, assuming readers are familiar with it. At the end, it offers a summary of history as a treatise on notable lives.
The principle of his doctrine centers around a correlation. Supreme wisdom involves respect or reverence for God, expressed through following the law. Above all, it highlights justice and mercy for the weak and the needy. This wisdom is demonstrated and put into practice within Israel.
Ben Sirach, a traditionally pious and compassionate figure, inspires his listeners with reverence and trust in God. His teachings focus on the present life, where, according to traditional views of retribution, God rewards those who stay faithful and punishes those who stray.

FOREWORD. These lines, written by the translator of the book from Hebrew to Greek, highlight several key points: 1. His reasons for translating it: to help readers learn and assist outsiders. 2. The author: my grandfather, Jesus. According to 50:27, this Jesus is the son of a man named Eleazar, son of Sirach, from Jerusalem. 3. The sources that inspired the author: The Law, the Prophets, and other early Christian writings. 4. Reasons for and audience of the Greek translation: to enable Jews in the diaspora to learn about their traditions in a language they understood better than that of their ancestors. 5. Context of the translator and the translation: Egypt, 132 A.D.; the translation was completed in 117 B.C.