those who had kept your children imprisoned,
through whom the imperishable light of the law was to be given to the world.
The Death of the Egyptian Firstborn
5When they had resolved to kill the infants of your holy ones,
and one child had been abandoned and rescued,
you in punishment took away a multitude of their children;
and you destroyed them all together by a mighty flood.
6That night was made known beforehand to our ancestors,
so that they might rejoice in sure knowledge of the oaths in which they trusted.
7The deliverance of the righteous and the destruction of their enemies
were expected by your people.
8For by the same means by which you punished our enemies
you called us to yourself and glorified us.
9For in secret the holy children of good people offered sacrifices,
and with one accord agreed to the divine law,
so that the saints would share alike the same things,
both blessings and dangers;
and already they were singing the praises of the ancestors.f
10But the discordant cry of their enemies echoed back,
and their piteous lament for their children was spread abroad.
11The slave was punished with the same penalty as the master,
and the commoner suffered the same loss as the king;
12and they all together, by the one formg of death,
had corpses too many to count.
For the living were not sufficient even to bury them,
since in one instant their most valued children had been destroyed.
13For though they had disbelieved everything because of their magic arts,
yet, when their firstborn were destroyed, they acknowledged your people to be God’s child.
14For while gentle silence enveloped all things,
and night in its swift course was now half gone,
15your all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne,
into the midst of the land that was doomed, a stern warrior
16carrying the sharp sword of your authentic command,
and stood and filled all things with death,
and touched heaven while standing on the earth.
17Then at once apparitions in dreadful dreams greatly troubled them,
and unexpected fears assailed them;
18and one here and another there, hurled down half dead,
made known why they were dying;
19for the dreams that disturbed them forewarned them of this,
so that they might not perish without knowing why they suffered.
Threat of Annihilation in the Desert
20The experience of death touched also the righteous,
and a plague came upon the multitude in the desert,
but the wrath did not long continue.
21For a blameless man was quick to act as their champion;
he brought forward the shield of his ministry,
prayer and propitiation by incense;
he withstood the anger and put an end to the disaster,
showing that he was your servant.
22He conquered the wrathh not by strength of body,
not by force of arms,
but by his word he subdued the avenger,
appealing to the oaths and covenants given to our ancestors.
23For when the dead had already fallen on one another in heaps,
he intervened and held back the wrath,
and cut off its way to the living.
24For on his long robe the whole world was depicted,
and the glories of the ancestors were engraved on the four rows of stones,
and your majesty was on the diadem upon his head.
25To these the destroyer yielded, these hei feared;
for merely to test the wrath was enough.
next chapter
* * *
a Gk They
b Meaning of Gk uncertain
c Meaning of Gk uncertain
d Gk their
e Gk those persons
f Other ancient authorities read dangers, the ancestors already leading the songs of praise
g Gk name
h Cn: Gk multitude
i Other ancient authorities read they
18.4 In Jewish-Hellenistic and rabbinic writings Israel’s acceptance of the Torah is understood to include an obligation to spread its teachings among the Gentiles (see 2 Esd 7.20–24; Testament of Levi 14.4; 2 Apocalypse of Baruch 48.40; Ps.-Philo, Biblical Antiquities 11.1-2; Mekilta on Ex 20.2; Philo, Questions on Exodus 2.41-42).
18.5–25 The sixth antithesis (see note on 11.1 – 19.22): the Egyptian firstborn are destroyed (Ex 11.1 – 12.32), but Israel is protected and glorified.
18.5 One child, Moses (Ex 1.22-2.10). By a mighty flood. The author returns to his favorite theme of measure for measure (cf. Mekilta on Ex 14.26; Jubilees 48.14).
18.6 That night, the well-known night on which the firstborn of the Egyptians were slain. The oaths. Cf. Ps 105.42–43.
18.9 Singing the praises of the ancestors. The writer attributes to those who partook of the first Passover a practice that developed in later days; see 2 Chr 30.21; Jubilees 49.6.
18.10 The discordant cry . . . back. The rabbis draw the same contrast (Mekilta on Ex 13.4; Philo, Questions on Exodus 1.3).
18.15 Leaped from heaven, a stern warrior. Athena, the personification of wisdom, is similarly described in the Hymn to Athena 5–9 and by Callimachus Fragment 37.
18.16 Touched heaven while standing on the earth, a well-known Homeric image (Iliad 4.443; cf. 1 Chr 21.16; Testament of Orpheus 33-34; Babylonian Talmud Chagiga 13b; Philo, Confusion of Tongues 113).
18.20 A plague. See Num 17.6-15.
18.21 A blameless man, Aaron.
18.24 The whole world alludes to a widespread StoicCynic notion that the true temple is the universe itself (Cicero, Nature of the Gods 3.26; Philo, Special Laws 1.66-97). The diadem. See Ex 28.36-38; Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 63b.
18.25 The destroyer. Cf. 1 Cor 10.10.
WISDOM OF SOLOMON 19
The Red Sea
1But the ungodly were assailed to the end by pitiless anger,
for Goda knew in advance even their future actions:
2how, though they themselves had permittedb your people to depart
and hastily sent them out,
they would change their minds and pursue them.
3For while they were still engaged in mourning,
and were lamenting at the graves of their dead,
they reached another foolish decision,
and pursued as fugitives those whom they had begged and compelled to leave.
4For the fate they deserved drew them on to this end,
and made them forget what had happened,
in order that they might fill up the punishment that their torments still lacked,
5and that your people might experiencec an incredible journey,
but they themselves might meet a strange death.
God Guides and Protects His People
6For the whole creation in its nature was fashioned anew,
complying with your commands,
so that your childrend might be kept unharmed.
7The cloud was seen overshadowing the camp,
and dry land emerging where water had stood before,
an unhindered way out of the Red Sea,
and a grassy plain out of the raging waves,
8where those protected by your hand passed through as one nation,
after gazing on marvelous wonders.
9For they ranged like horses,
and leaped like lambs,
praising you, O Lord, who delivered them.
10For they still recalled the events of their sojourn,
how instead of producing animals the earth brought forth gnats,
and
instead of fish the river spewed out vast numbers of frogs.
11Afterward they saw also a new kinde of birds,
when desire led them to ask for luxurious food;
12for, to give them relief, quails came up from the sea.
The Punishment of the Egyptians
13The punishments did not come upon the sinners
without prior signs in the violence of thunder,
for they justly suffered because of their wicked acts;
for they practiced a more bitter hatred of strangers.
14Others had refused to receive strangers when they came to them,
but these made slaves of guests who were their benefactors.
15And not only so—but, while punishment of some sort will come upon the former
for having received strangers with hostility,
16the latter, having first received them with festal celebrations,
afterward afflicted with terrible sufferings
those who had already shared the same rights.
17They were stricken also with loss of sight—
just as were those at the door of the righteous man—
when, surrounded by yawning darkness,
all of them tried to find the way through their own doors.
A New Harmony in Nature
18For the elements changedf places with one another,
as on a harp the notes vary the nature of the rhythm,
while each note remains the same.g
This may be clearly inferred from the sight of what took place.
19For land animals were transformed into water creatures,
and creatures that swim moved over to the land.
20Fire even in water retained its normal power,
and water forgot its fire-quenching nature.
21Flames, on the contrary, failed to consume
the flesh of perishable creatures that walked among them,
nor did they melth the crystalline, quick-melting kind of heavenly food.
Conclusion
22For in everything, O Lord, you have exalted and glorified your people,
and you have not neglected to help them at all times and in all places.
* * *
a Gk he
b Other ancient authorities read had changed their minds to permit
c Other ancient authorities read accomplish
d Or servants
e Or production
f Gk changing
g Meaning of Gk uncertain
h Cn: Gk nor could be melted
19.1–9 The seventh antithesis (see note on 11.1 – 19.22): the Egyptians are drowned in the sea, but Israel passes through safely (Ex 14).
19.1 The ungodly, the Egyptians.
19.7 A grassy plain, a legendary elaboration of the biblical narrative.
19.9 Leaped like lambs. See Ps 114.4.
19.10–22 A retrospective review of the events and themes of chs. 11–19.
19.10–12 Brief recapitulation of Israelites’ sojourn in Egypt and wandering in the wilderness.
19.13–17 Egypt is more blameworthy than Sodom.
19.13 Sinners, the Egyptians. In applying the term hatred of strangers to the Egyptians, the author is reversing the very charge made against the Jews by the pagan world (Diodorus of Sicily, History 34.1; Josephus, Against Apion 2.95).
19.14 Others, the Sodomites (Gen 19). Guests. The Israelites had been invited to Egypt (Gen 45.17–18). Benefactors, a reference to Joseph’s services.
19.16 The reference to festal celebrations and civic rights represents an amplification of Gen 45.18; 47.2–12 (the same point is made in Philo, Life of Moses 1.34-36).
19.17 Loss of sight. See Ex 14.20. Righteous man, Lot.
19.18-21 Transposition of the elements.
19.18 For the elements ... remains the same. The precise meaning is uncertain, but the following translation yields a satisfactory sense: “The elements were transposed, as on a harp the notes vary the key while holding to the melody.” The reference is to the variation of a musical key by the transposition of the notes within it, and the analogous heightening or lowering of the tension of the elements through a change in the proportions of fire and air constituting their pneumata, or breath currents, in accordance with Stoic physical theory (cf. 16.24).
19.22 Concluding doxology or formula of praise to God. Including a doxology was a practice common in Jewish religious literature. See Ps 150; Tob 14.15; Sir 51.30; 3 Macc 7.23; 4 Macc 18.24.
Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus Son of SIRACH
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Author and Title
SIRACH TAKES ITS TITLE FROM THE NAME OF ITS AUTHOR, Jesus son of Eleazar son of Sirach, given in the signature (50.27). The name Jesus, a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew Yeshu‘a, is also mentioned in the prologue written by his grandson on the occasion of his translating the book into Greek. In rabbinic tradition through the eleventh century the book was frequently referred to as “The Book (or Instruction) of Ben Sira.” In Christian tradition the book has been referred to as “The Wisdom (or Book) of Jesus Son of Sirach” (most Greek and Old Latin manuscripts) or as “Ecclesiasticus,” a title found in many Latin Vulgate manuscripts meaning “churchly” or “belonging to the church.”
Text and Canon
BEN SIRA’S BOOK OF WISDOM was eagerly read and widely used as a handbook for study and instruction in educational settings. It was copied many times over in Hebrew and in its Greek, Latin, and Syriac translations. In the course of its transmission, as was customary with collections of proverbial material, teachers felt free to add explanatory notes, compare translations, revise and retranslate difficult sayings, and even add to the collection. The variant readings given in the NRSV textual notes as well as the added verses and italicized material given in the text in chs. 26 and 51 are only some of the more obvious instances of important differences among the various manuscript traditions.
The book gradually fell into general disuse among Jews, most likely because it was not included in the Jewish canon. Consequently, the Hebrew text was unknown to modern scholars before several nineteenth-and twentieth-century manuscript discoveries. Manuscripts from Masada and Qumran dating from the first centuries BCE and CE preserve portions, but the most extensive Hebrew texts, dating from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, were found late last century in the Cairo synagogue genizah, or “storeroom.” When combined, these manuscripts provide a Hebrew text for approximately two-thirds of the book. The Greek, Syriac, and Latin translations, on the other hand, provide complete texts, because Sirach was included in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, and thus was preserved in the canon of the Christian church. Because of differences between the Jewish and Christian canons of the Hebrew scriptures, Sirach has been assigned to the Apocrypha by Protestants and to the deuterocanonical writings by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The NRSV translation is based on a critical comparison of the Hebrew manuscripts with the Greek text edited by Joseph Ziegler in the Göttingen edition of the Septuagint.
Date and Times
BEN SIRA, A TEACHER IN JERUSALEM, wrote sometime between 200 and 180 BCE, in the shadow of the shift in hegemony that occurred in 198 BCE when the Seleucid successors to Alexander the Great in Antioch wrested control of Judea from the Ptolemies of Egypt. In ch. 50 Ben Sira mentions the high priest Simon son of Onias (50.1) as if he were a contemporary who had recently died, and in the prologue his grandson reports that he moved to Egypt in the thirty-eighth year of the reign of (Ptolemy) Euergetes (“Benefactor”). Simon II, “the Just,” was high priest from 219 to 196 BCE, and the grandson’s arrival in Egypt can be dated at 132; thus he finished his translation around 117 after Ptolemy’s death. Since Sirach contains no allusions to the Maccabean-Seleuci
d conflict that broke out under Antiochus IV in 175–164, Ben Sira must have completed his writings by 180 BCE.
At that time trouble was already brewing for the Jews in Jerusalem. The Seleucid victory aggravated two issues that had been threatening the Jewish social system: the hegemony of foreign kings and the social, cultural, and religious tensions that resulted from the introduction of Hellenistic culture. Combined with internal conflicts arising from the aspirations of leading priestly families who jockeyed between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids for patronage, these threats set the stage for the wars and bloody intrigues that soon broke out under Antiochus IV.
Parts of his work clearly reflect Ben Sira’s assessment of what he perceived as threats to the Jewish temple system and way of life, but he does not address them directly. Instead, he offers a book of instruction that assumes the integrity and glory of the Jewish way of life, a way of life to which he was fully committed and to which he devoted his life as a scholar and teacher. Social and cultural threats are handled obliquely by allusion, repeated emphasis upon injunctions related to critical social relations, and warnings about foreign rulers and strangers.
Content and Achievement
BEN SIRA’S ACHIEVEMENT WAS to combine the learning typical of the ancient Near Eastern and Israelite wisdom traditions with the commandments of Moses found in the Torah (Hebrew, “instruction,” regularly translated “law”), although he does not quote the Torah explicitly. He did this, moreover, in the interest of supporting the Second Temple system of governance with its priestly codes of law and sacrifice. The term he uses to combine the wisdom of Proverbs with the law of Moses is the “fear of the Lord,” a term capable of naming an ethical piety appropriate to the culture of Second Temple Judaism.
Ben Sira’s intellectual achievement is demonstrated by his knowledge and employment of a large literature. In the prologue to the Greek translation his grandson mentions his study of the Hebrew scriptures. Allusions to this literature throughout Sirach indicate a familiarity with all of the books now contained in the Hebrew Bible except Ezra, Daniel, Esther, and Ruth. He also shows knowledge of Greek and Egyptian literature and thought. His achievement was to draw upon this learning to create a conceptual framework in support of an ethic of Jewish piety for Second Temple times.
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