John Barton speaks out for an undervalued and little-read wisdom book of the Old Testament.
‘Let us now praise famous men.” These words, from Sirach 44:1, begin what was once the favourite biblical reading at memorial services in the UK for the great and the good. I even heard it, absurdly, at a service to mark the centenary of a women’s college. But where do the words come from? In an episode of University Challenge notorious among biblical scholars, though noticed by almost no one else, the answer “Ecclesiastes” was awarded the standard five points, on the grounds that it was not significantly different from the correct answer, “Ecclesiasticus”.
They are, however, not the same book at all, though both are in the Old Testament. Ecclesiastes (in Hebrew Qohelet) is the sceptical challenge to faith that declares everything to be futile (“vanity of vanities” in the King James Version). Ecclesiasticus is the traditional, though certainly confusing, name of the “deuterocanonical” book (among Protestants hived off into the Apocrypha) known to Jews as “The Wisdom of Jesus ben [son of] Sira”, or in Greek “Sirach”, which is how it is often cited now. The author is usually referred to as Ben Sira. Because his book comes from the second century BC, as we are told by his grandson and translator in his preface to his Greek version, it was regarded in later Judaism as too recent to be included in the Hebrew scriptures, even though it had been written in Hebrew. But it was widely respected. Substantial parts of the original Hebrew text were found in 1896 during the excavation of an ancient genizah (storage-room for damaged books) in Cairo, and there are further fragments among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Before that it was extant only in Greek, and in translations in some other languages. Most of the Church Fathers re-garded it as part of holy scripture, alongside all the other Old Testament books, which they knew only in Greek anyway.
Ecclesiasticus is a “wisdom” book, that is, it is a collection of terse aphorisms and longer paragraphs on ethical and religious themes, modelled on the book of Proverbs, but reflecting the somewhat different concerns of the Second Temple period in Judaism – the last few centuries BC. Like any Jewish sage, Ben Sira insists that his students (for he is running a school) should observe the law of Moses. He stresses that everyone is able to do so, since human beings are endowed with free will:
Do not say, “It was the Lord’s doing that I fell away”;
For he does not do what he hates.
Do not say, “It was he who led me astray”;
For he has no need of the sinful.
The Lord hates all abominations,
Such things are not loved by those who fear him.
It was he who created humankind in the beginning,
And he left them in the power of their own free choice.
If you choose, you can keep the commandments,
And to act faithfully is a matter of your own choice.
He has placed before you fire and water;
Stretch out your hand for whichever you choose.
Before each person are life and death,
And whichever one chooses will be given.
(Sirach 15:11-17)
The emphasis, however, tends to fall more on what we would call lifestyle: living sensibly and moderately, and above all in harmony with family and neighbours. This involves virtues such as patience (chapter 2) and above all humility – which is perhaps surprising, as Ben Sira seems to be a person of considerable self-confidence, with a sense of his own status in society, and his advice is aimed at students who are also likely to succeed. Humility is praised at length in 3:17-24:
My child, perform your tasks with humility,
then you will be loved by those whom God accepts.
The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself;
so you will find favour in the sight of the Lord.
For great is the might of the Lord,
but by the humble he is glorified.
Neither seek what is too difficult for you,
nor investigate what is beyond your power.
Reflect upon what you have been commanded,
for what is hidden is not your concern.
Do not meddle in matters that are beyond you,
for more than you can understand has been shown to you.
For their conceit has led many astray,
and wrong opinion has impaired their judgment.
Similarly pride is condemned: “Pride was not created for human beings, or violent an-ger for those born of women” (10:18). One should enjoy life – there is no ascetic ideal in Sirach, as 14:11-19 makes clear. Music, wine and a good house and household are desirable. But one should also confess one’s sins, and not presume on God’s favour. Ben Sira is almost alone among biblical authors in telling the reader how to conduct a friendship (Sirach 19:13-17).
Ecclesiasticus is undervalued. It is too little read in most churches, with only small excerpts in the liturgy. It would be good if to modern Christians, as to George Eliot’s Adam Bede when he read the Bible on Sun-days, “the son of Sirach’s keen-edged words would bring a delighted smile” (Adam Bede, chapter 51). His message is bracing at times, but reflects a profound belief that God is more reliable and merciful than we are. Though he may seem far above, he is really near at hand to support us:
Let us fall into the hand of the Lord,
but not into the hands of mortals;
for equal to his majesty is his mercy.
(Sirach 2:18)
Dr John Barton is Emeritus Oriel & Laing Professor of Holy Scripture in the University of Oxford, and a senior research fellow of Campion Hall
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