Table Of ContentThe Book of Ben Sira
in Modern Research
W
DE
G
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die
alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
Herausgegeben von
Otto Kaiser
Band 255
Walter de Gruyter * Berlin · New York
1997
The Book of Ben Sira
in Modern Research
Proceedings of the
First International Ben Sira Conference
28-31 July 1996
Soesterberg, Netherlands
Edited by Pancratius C. Beentjes
Walter de Gruyter · Berlin · New York
1997
© Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI
to ensure permanence and durability
Library of Congrus Catakging-m-Publìcatùm Data
International Ben Sira Conference (1st : 1996 : Soesterberg, Netherlands)
The book of Ben Sira in modern research : proceedings of the first
International Ben Sira Conference, 28-31 July 1996, Soesterberg, Ne-
therlands /edited by Pancratius C. Beentjes.
p. cm. - (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die alttestament-
liche Wissenschaft, ISSN 0934-2575 ; Bd. 255)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 3-11-015673-3
1. Bible. O. T. Apocrypha. Ecclesiasticus - Criticism, interpreta-
tion, etc - Congresses. I. Beentjes, Pancratius Cornells. II. Tide.
III. Series: Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissen-
schaft ; 255,
BS1765.2.I58 1997
229'.406-dc21 97-34015
CIP
Die Deutsche Bibliothek — Catakging-m-Publication Data
[Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft / Beihefte]
Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft. — Berlin ;
New York : de Gruyter
Früher Schriftenreihe
Reihe Beihefte zu: Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
Bd. 255. The book of Ben Sira in modern research. - 1997
The book of Ben Sira in modern research : proceedings of the First
International Ben Sira Conference, 28-31 July 1996, Soesterberg, Nether-
lands / ed. by Pancratius C. Beentjes. - Berlin ; New York : de Gruy-
ter, 1997
(Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ; Bd.
255)
ISBN 3-11-015673-3
ISSN 0934-2575
© Copyright 1997 by Walter de Gruyter & Co., D-10785 Berlin
All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
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Printed in Germany
Printing: Werner Hildebrand, Berlin
Binding: Lüderitz & Bauer-GmbH, Berlin
Introduction
The year 1996 commemorated the centenary of a major event, namely
the discovery in the Cairo genizah of some Hebrew fragments that
turned out to be the Hebrew text of the Book of Ben Sira
(Ecclesiasticus) given up as lost for many centuries. The first couple of
decades after these discoveries were almost exclusively devoted to text-
critical research of the recovered Hebrew Ben Sira manuscripts origi-
nating from the 11th or 12th Century.
The discovery at Masada in April 1964 of a substantial portion of a
Hebrew Ben Sira Scroll that has been set in the first half of the 1st
Century BCE brought another revolution in Ben Sira research. For
these very old Scroll fragments were solid proof of the reliability of the
text-critical state of the mediaeval manuscripts, as brought to light be-
tween 1896 and 1931. Since the late 1960s, a shift in Ben Sira research
has been visible. Some excellent monographs were published in which
the Book of Ben Sira was more and more studied from theological,
cultural and literal perspectives.1 The publication by Gerhard von Rad
of his Weisheit in Israel (1970) was a further impulse to the renewed
scholarly attention to Ben Sira. So in the early 1980s, it became ex-
tremely popular: about 600 publications on the Book of Ben Sira have
been published since 1980.
See, for instance, J. Haspecker, Gottesfurcht bei Jesus Sirach (AnBib 30)
Rome 1967; J. Hadot, Penchant mauvais et volonté libre dans la Sagesse de
Ben Sira (L'Ecclésiastique) Bruxelles 1970; J. Marböck, Weisheit im Wandel.
Untersuchungen zur Weisheitstheologie bei ben Sira (BBB 37) Bonn 1971; Th.
Middendorp, Die Stellung Jesus Ben Siras zwischen Judentum und Hellenis-
mus, Leiden 1973; O. Rickenbacher, Weisheitsperikopen bei Ben Sira (OBO 1)
Freiburg/Schw. 1973; G.L. Prato, Il Problema della teodicea in Ben Sira
(AnBib 65) Rome 1975; H. Stadelmann, Ben Sira als Schriftgelehrter (WUNT
2. Reihe, Band 6) Tübingen 1980; P.C. Beentjes, Jesus Sirach en Tenach,
Nieuwegein 1981.
VI Introduction
Over all these years, Ben Sira scholars had only met one other inci-
dentally. An excellent opportunity, however, to organize an interna-
tional meeting of Ben Sira experts was offered by the commemoration
of the 1896 discoveries of the first Hebrew Ben Sira genizah fragments.
So at the end of July 1996 the 'First International Ben Sira Conference'
was held at Soesterberg in the Netherlands. The present volume con-
tains the Proceedings of this meeting. At the risk of not doing justice to
the depth of research invested in the individual papers and the variety
of opinions, some points of interest should be emphasized.
The history and rivalry beween scholars at the end of the 1890s is
outlined by Dr. Stefan Reif, Director of the Taylor-Schechter Genizah
Collection at Cambridge University Library. Many facts about to the
British scholarly environment at the end of the 19th Century shed light
on the personalities of scholars involved in the discovery and identifi-
cation of the mediaeval Ben Sira manuscripts, their relationships and
the human elements functioning at the centre of scholarly enterprise.
Professor F.V. Reiterer, Director of the 'Ben Sira Forschungsprojekt'
of the Paris-Lodron University of Salzburg (Austria) reviews the
themes and main points of the 600 or so publications about the Book of
Ben Sira that have been published since 1980. Two much discussed
topics of Ben Sira research, namely the structure of the book and its re-
daction history, are treated in a separate chapter by Professor Johannes
Marböck (Graz, Austria). As there is a real lack of research into both
form and structure of the Book of Ben Sira, Marböck's contribution is
well suited as a starting point for further inves-tigations into this very
complicated subject. The analysis by Professor Núria Calduch-Benages
(Rome) of the 'trial motive' in the Book of Ben Sira surprisingly shows
that Sir 2,1-6 contains a programmatic occurrence of this motive, which
is worked out in various ways and contexts througout the book. In all
instances, testing is part of the search for Wisdom, which in any way is
a major element in the book's structure.
According to Dr. Claudia Camp (Fort Worth, Texas), Ben Sira's
adoption of the female personification of Wisdom is part of his gender
ideology. Not only has Ben Sira linked Wisdom to Torah and cult, but
also anchored Wisdom, Torah, and cult to the ideology of 'honor and
shame'. Not only Chapters 23-26, but also the priestly imagery in
Chapter 50 highlight the cultic need for control of the feminine.
Introduction VII
On priests, there is a vivid debate among scholars whether Ben Sira
be considered a priest or not. In a stimulating contribution, Dr. Benja-
min Wright (Bethlehem, Penn., USA) advances an intriguing theory
relating to some works (1 Enoch, Aramaic Levi), roughly contemporary
to Ben Sira, that were criticizing the Jerusalem priesthood. He points
out some passages in the Book of Ben Sira (e.g. 3,21-24; 34,1-8; 43,2-
5) opposing these contemporary works.
Two distinguished Ben Sira scholars demonstrate that a careful
reading of Ben Sira texts should always be the basis for a fruitful exe-
getical investigation. Professor Alexander Di Leila (Washington DC,
USA) shows that Sir 1,11-30 is to be read as an elegantly crafted poem
that must go back to a rhetorically well structured Hebrew parent text.
Professor Maurice Gilbert (Namur, Belgium) offers a thorough analysis
of Sir 10,19-11,6, a pericope that has been studied intensively (H.-P.
Rüger, A.A. Di Leila, G.L. Prato, and A. Minissale). Evidence is ad-
duced that this poem on 'the wisdom of the poor' is a well structured
diptych describing the right way to be honoured, which is the fear of
God and Wisdom.
The significance of the Hebrew Ben Sira texts and fragments discov-
ered in the Judaean Desert (Qumran and Masada) cannot be underesti-
mated, as those texts are crucial to the textual history of the Book of
Ben Sira. The contribution of Dr. Corrado Marione (Turin, Italy) is a
fine example of how a careful reading and reconstruction of those texts
can help towards a better understanding of Ben Sira.
Professor Pancratius Beentjes (Utrecht, Netherlands) reflects on the
considerations in his decision to publish a new text edition of all extant
Hebrew Ben Sira manuscripts together with a synopsis of all parallel
Hebrew Ben Sira texts. During the compilation of this synopsis a tex-
tual phenomenon showed up, namely a consonantal interchange, that
had never been systematically described nor analysed for the Hebrew
Ben Sira manuscripts. It could probably shed some new light upon the
manufacture of the mediaeval Ben Sira manuscripts and their prove-
nance.
Of course I like to thank all the sponsors of the 'First International
Ben Sira Conference':
'Katholieke Theologische Universiteit Utrecht' (KTU)
'Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen' (KNAW)
'Stichting voor Filosofie en Theologie' (SFT)
Vili Introduction
'Nederlandse Onderzoekschool voor Theologie en Religiewetenschap-
pen' (NOSTER)
'Wetenschappelijk Onderwijsfonds Radboudstichting'
'Stichting Sormani Fonds'
'Mr. Paul De Gruyter Stichting'
'Maatschappij tot Nut der Israelieten in Nederland'.
I am also indebted to J. Christopher Rigg (Bennekom, Netherlands)
for correcting the texts of the authors who are not native speakers of
English.
Finally, let me thank Professor Dr. Otto Kaiser, editor of Beihefte zur
Zeitschrift für die allttestamentliche Wissenschaft, and Publishing
House Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, for accepting the proceedings of the
Ben Sira conference in the series.
Nieuwegein, Netherlands P.C. Beentjes
June 199/
Contents
Introduction V
Stefan C. Reif
The Discovery of the Cambridge Genizah Fragments
of Ben Sira: Scholars and Texts 1
Friedrich Vinzenz Reiterer
Review of Recent Research on the Book of Ben Sira
(1980-1996) 23
Johannes Marböck
Structure and Redaction History in the Book of Ben Sira
Review and Prospects 61
Corrado Mattone
Ben Sira Manuscripts from Qumran and Masada 81
Pancratius C. Beentjes
Reading the Hebrew Ben Sira Manuscripts Synoptically
A New Hypothesis 95
Alexander A. Di Leila O.F.M.
Fear of the Lord as Wisdom: Ben Sira 1,11-30 113
Núria Calduch-Benages
Trial Motive in the Book of Ben Sira
with Special Reference to Sir 2,1-6 135
Maurice Gilbert S.J.
Wisdom of the Poor: Ben Sira 10,19-11,6 153
χ Contents
Claudia V. Camp
Honor and Shame in Ben Sira:
Anthropological and Theological Reflections 171
Benjamin G. Wright III
"Fear the Lord and Honor the Priest"
Ben Sira as Defender of the Jerusalem Priesthood 189
Abbreviations of Sigla 223
Abbreviations of Periodicals, Reference Works and Series 225
Index of references 229
Personalia 233
