Ben Sira

Ben Sira

Ben Sira was the author of the deuterocanonical book Sirach.

His name

The evidence seems to show that the author's name was Shimon (Simon), son of Yeshua (Jesus/Joshua), son of Eleazar, son of Sira. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05263a.htm] In the Greek text, the author is called "Jesus the son of Sirach of Jerusalem." (l.27) "Jesus" is the Anglicized form of the Greek name "Ιησους", the equivalent of Syriac "Yeshua`" and Masoretic Hebrew "Yehoshua`". The 'ch' on the end of "Sira" means "of"; thus "ben Sirach" means "son of Sira".

The copy owned by Saadia Gaon, the prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the 10th Century CE, had the reading "Shim`on, son of Yeshua`, son of El`azar ben Sira"; and a similar reading occurs in the Hebrew manuscript B. By interchanging the positions of the names "Shim`on" and "Yeshua`," the same reading is obtained as in the other manuscripts.

The correctness of the name "Shim`on" is confirmed by the Syriac version, which has "Yeshua`, son of Shim`on, surnamed Bar Asira." The discrepancy between the two readings "Bar Asira" and "Bar Sira" is a noteworthy one, "Asira" ("prisoner") being a popular etymology of "Sira."

The surname Sira means "the thorn" in Aramaic. The Greek form, Sirach, adds the letter chi similar to Hakeldama"ch" in Acts 1:19.

His life

According to the Greek version, though not according to the Syriac, the author traveled extensively (xxxiv. 11) and was frequently in danger of death (ib. verse 12). In the hymn of chapter li. he speaks of the perils of all sorts from which God had delivered him, although this is probably only a poetic theme in imitation of the Psalms. The calumnies to which he was exposed in the presence of a certain king, supposed to be one of the Ptolemaic dynasty, are mentioned only in the Greek version, being ignored both in the Syriac and in the Hebrew text. The only fact known with certainty, drawn from the text itself, is that Ben Sira was a scholar, and a scribe thoroughly versed in the Law, and especially in the "Books of Wisdom."

Ben Sirah, a Jew who had been living in Jerusalem, may have authored the work in Alexandria, Egypt "circa" 180–175 BC, where he is thought to have established a school. [See Guillaume, Phillipe. "New Light on the Nebiim from Alexandria: A Chronography to Replace the Deuteronomistic History": sections 3 – 5: full notes and bibliography]

References


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  • Ben Sira — est un érudit, qui a écrit le Siracide (ou Ecclésiastique) vers 180. Les seules informations qu on a de lui sont issues de ce livre. Rédigé en hébreu, il fut traduit en grec par son petit fils en Égypte. Celui ci y ajouta une préface. Qui était… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ben Sira — Das Buch Jesus Sirach (Ben Sira, Siracides, Sophia Seirach oder Ecclesiasticus, abgekürzt Sir, auch fälschlich Ben Sirach durch Vermischung von Ben Sira und Jesus Sirach) ist ein Buch der Weisheitsliteratur, das ungefähr 180 v. Chr. von dem in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • BEN SIRA, WISDOM OF — (also called Ecclesiasticus), a work of the Apocrypha, which, though usually known by this name, may have been called by its author, The Words of Simeon b. Jeshua, the title found on the Hebrew fragments. In Greek the book is called Σοφία (ʾIήσου …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • BEN SIRA, ALPHABET OF — BEN SIRA, ALPHABET OF, a narrative, satirical work, written probably in the geonic period in the East. The Alphabet of Ben Sira is one of the earliest, most complicated, and most sophisticated Hebrew stories written in the Middle Ages. Four… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • BEN SIRA, SIMEON BEN JESUS — (second century B.C.E.), Hebrew aphorist, sage, and scribe, the author of wisdom of ben sira (Ecclesiasticus). Ben Sira was a younger contemporary of the high priest Simeon (50:1ff.), apparently Simeon the Just, who according to the Talmud and… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • BEN-SIRA Rabbinus celebris — quem cum Siracide male confundit Rabbi David Ganz, uti docet Vorstius ad Chronol. eius p. 254 …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Ben Sira (Jesus ben Sira) — (fl. 2nd cent BCE)    Pales tinian sage. He lived in Jerusalem. He was the author of the apocryphal book known as Ecclesiasticus or The Wisdom of Ben Sira …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Ben Sira — noun Ecclesiasticus, a book of the Bible. Syn: Sirach , Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach …   Wiktionary

  • Ben Sira — noun an Apocryphal book mainly of maxims (resembling Proverbs in that respect) • Syn: ↑Sirach, ↑Ecclesiasticus, ↑Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach • Instance Hypernyms: ↑book • Part Holonyms: ↑sapiential book, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • The Alphabet of Ben-Sira — ( Alphabetum Siracidis , Othijoth ben Sira ) is an anonymous medieval text, attributed to Ben Sira (Sirach), the author of Ecclesiasticus . It is dated to anywhere between AD 700 and 1000. It is a compilation of two lists of proverbs, 22 in… …   Wikipedia

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