Sirach 48:1-14
Chapter 48
He brought famine upon the people, and in his fervent love, he had them reduced in number.
Speaking in the Lord’s name, he closed the heavens and called down fire three times.
How marvelous you were, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! Who could ever claim to be your equal?
By the word of the Most High, you brought a dead man back to life;
you brought kings to ruin and threw famous men out of their beds.
You heard a rebuke at Sinai and sentences of punishment at Horeb;
you anointed kings to serve as warriors and prophets to follow you.
You were carried away by a storm of flames in a chariot pulled by fiery horses.
It was written that you should be the one to calm God’s anger in the future, before it breaks out in fury, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and to restore the tribes of Jacob.
Happy are those who see you and those who die in love, for we shall also live.
Such was Elijah, taken up in a whirlwind, and Elisha was filled with his spirit. During his life, no leader could shake him; no one could dominate him.
Nothing was too hard for him, and even in death, his body profesied.
In life, he achieved great things; in death, his deeds were extraordinary.
Commentaries
History.
The hymn of praise to the Creator and the subsequent expression of thanksgiving and admiration for the wonders of creation serve as an introduction to this extensive praise or exaltation of the key figures in Israel’s history. The goal is to demonstrate how God’s power and greatness, as revealed through creation, ultimately find expression in Israel’s long historical journey, from Enoch to Simon (or Simeon), the high priest whom Ben Sirach deeply respects and reveres.
Prophets and Kings.
Ben Sirach highlights the figures of the earliest prophets from the northern kingdom, including Elijah (48:1-11) and his successor Elisha (12-24), focusing on their defense of the Israelite religion. Among the kings before Jerusalem’s fall, he mentions only Hezekiah (17-22) and Josiah (49:1-3), noting that “all were corrupt except David, Hezekiah, and Josiah” (49:4). The major prophets he names include Isaiah (49:22-24), the counselor of Hezekiah and God’s messenger for the people; Jeremiah, the prophet of Jerusalem’s destruction (49:7); and Ezekiel (49:8). He also praises the group of “the twelve” prophets as the best mediators between God and the people, and refers to Zerubbabel, who was appointed governor by Persia when the exiles returned and sought to restore Israel. Zerubbabel aimed to follow in David’s footsteps. Joshua, a key figure in Jerusalem’s physical rebuilding, and Nehemiah, known for his role in restoring Israeli identity and promoting the Jewish faith as we recognize it today, are also mentioned. Interestingly, Ben Sirach does not mention Ezra in this list of Israel’s heroes, whether by oversight or intention.