Ecclesiastical / Ben Sirah
Introduction
This book is known by its two names: Sirach and Ecclesiasticus. The first one recalls its author, Jesus, the son of Sira and the second name refers to its welcome by Christians for centuries. It was considered as the epitome of practical wisdom, more elaborate and more “religious” than the Book of Proverbs.
Written in Hebrew, it was later translated into Greek by the grandson of the author (see the preface of the book). In Jesus Christ’s time, the book existed in the two languages although it was especially used by Greek synagogues and a few years later, Jews did not accept it as “Scripture.” The Church used the book although it only knew the Greek version and it was only in the 19th century that part of the Hebrew text was found. It is slightly different from the Greek translation that sometimes added a few verses and the different numbering of the verses added to the confusion. The Hebrew versions are not necessarily older or more faithful to the original than the Greek text. In that regard, we have made our choices without prejudice or absolute rule.
This book consists of two main parts:
– Chapters 1–42 include seven series of maxims. Each one starts with the praise of wisdom. The poem on wisdom in Chapter 24 is particularly interesting.
– Chapters 43–51 begin by praising God whose wisdom shines in the order of the universe and continue with a description of God’s wise activity through the great people of the Old Testament.
This book is one of the deuterocanonical books: see page 1233.
The Jews do not use the word “Bible.” They refer to the Bible as: “The Law, the Prophets, and the Writings,” these being the three major headings of the Sacred Book. See a similar expression in Luke 24:44.
1.1 In this poem, the author professes his faith. To those who think they are more modern because they seek human wisdom and doctrine, he simply declares that true wisdom consists in trusting God and fearing him.
He often speaks of fearing the Lord (v. 11) just as the Psalms do. This is different from the fear of pagans who imagine a resentful God.
To fear God is to see him always present and to take decisions in his presence. Whoever knows God is near fears to offend him because he is aware of his love and fidelity. To fear God signifies to respect him and to be mindful of him before all else.
Fearing the Lord is the opposite of fearing what others will say, fearing to be made fun of, or fear of failure. Those who fear the Lord give more importance to what God says, what he promises when he invites us to seek him and to save others.
2.1 Those who want to serve God must be ready to face trials and contradictions. Authentic trust in God is demonstrated when things do not turn out well. Along with faith and perseverance, trust is the basic quality of the believer.
3.1 This is the best commentary on Moses’ commandment concerning children’s responsibilities toward their parents. To honor our parents means: to respect, to be understanding and to offer material assistance in their difficulties.
5.1 At times, some Christians take advantage of God’s infinite mercy to continue with their evil behavior (v. 6).
6.5 Here, we have a text concerning true friendship. Ben Sira invites us not to be naive or off guard.
We should reflect before confiding in a friend, but should also have this life-saving remedy which a true friend is, a grace that God grants to those who fear him (v. 17). Also see 12:8-18 and 37:1-15.
Verses 18-37. We obtain wisdom through a disciplined life.
7:15. Ben Sira appreciates manual work, specifically work in the fields.
9.1 Ben Sira lives in a society that holds women in contempt. It is a society that had not yet discovered the rich quality of married love, so there were great temptations for young and adult men who would easily be satisfied with occasional love. Thus Ben Sira has many warnings against women’s seduction, but always as if they were in the first place culpable. See 23:12 and 42:12.
10.6 A few words of simple philosophy about suitable modesty for everyone.
11.11 These thoughts are not new in the Scriptures which encourages us on every page to trust in God. Ben Sira foretells what we will find on the lips of Jesus concerning wealth (see Lk 12:16).
And he says: Love the Covenant, dedicate your life to it. The Covenant means following the law. Jesus, too, will speak of seeking the kingdom of God instead of being preoccupied with providing for the future.
Note the end of this text. The Book of Sirach, like certain parts of the Book of Job, affirms that God may wait until death to give a reward; but he does not risk speaking of what will follow: faith in the resurrection was as yet undeveloped.
13.1 This long paragraph is an invitation not to seek the company of those above us. Often the rich, those above, are godless, without conscience. The author points out the dangers:
– those above take advantage of those who seek to become familiar with them;
– to be admitted into the friendship of the rich, we have to accept many humiliations and to forget our own dignity;
– contact with the rich will lead us to imitate their faults.
15.11 This poem clearly declares that human beings are free and responsible. In his letter (1:13), James will recall the first sentence of this paragraph. In Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Moses already told his people: “Life and death are before you; choose.”
At times, the Scripture seem to say that God pushes a person to sin to punish him later (see Ex 10:27; 2 S 24:1); yet there is no doubt that humans are free. The Israelites were so convinced that nothing is done without God, that they had trouble explaining how someone can sin without this being God’s will. Even though they lacked the words to express it, they always saw human beings as persons responsible for their actions.
16.26 Here we have an optimistic vision of humankind. God gave them power over all things on earth. This is why they must not give themselves to evil.
He put his own eye in their hearts (17:8): this means conscience and intuitions of the spirit (see Pro 4:23) which lets us see the work of God.
What is greatest in us is not the reason which discusses and argues, but an intuition of the truth, which in a time seeks reasons to support it. When we forget about this intuition which is, in fact, the dynamic of scientific research, we are always capable of using reason in such a way that denies the evidence of the divine presence in the universe. It is this divine capacity that leads us to true wisdom.
Then, God had to reveal himself to us, so that this capacity to come to the truth would lead to sound knowledge, decisive in terms of the direction of our lives: in verses 11-14, the author refers to the gift of the law to Israel through Moses.
19.4 In many passages throughout the Book of Sirach, as in Proverbs, the author shows that controlling one’s tongue is a prerequisite for dominating our person and our destiny (Jas 3).
20.1 We must avoid two errors: correction with anger, because we fall into excesses, and being resentful in silence, without letting off steam.
21.19 The politeness of well-educated people shows their noble spirit. When we are truly wise, we instinctively discover the rules of good and noble conduct. As Saint Francis de Sales used to say: “Courtesy is the precious flower of charity.”
The sin of the tongue (22:27) (or the lips) means, first of all, proud words and proud projects. This is always the beginning of all the other sins.
23.1 Prayer of the youth who discovers his weakness when faced with life’s temptations. Prayer of the adult person who has experienced that evil is deeply rooted in his heart. An invitation to parents to look after their children’s training.
12. Ben Sira speaks of impurity in the traditional sense: sin against chastity.
– In verses 12-15, he speaks of vulgar words and malicious conversations. As Jesus says in Matthew 12:34: the mouth speaks of what fills the heart.
– Verses 16-21 refers to extramarital relationships.
– Verses 22-23 deals with an adulterous woman, though it can also be applied to the adulterous man: 1) it is a sin against God; 2) it is a sin against the spouse; 3) it is a sin against the family’s honor.
24.1 This poem attributed to the Wisdom of God is similar to those in Proverbs 8 and Wisdom 7. What is emphasized here is the presence of Wisdom in God’s people.
Two events from sacred history help us understand this presence of God himself through his Wisdom:
– the cloud which accompanied the Hebrews in the desert (see Ex 13:21);
– the Tent which served as Sanctuary in the desert (see Ex 25).
The first image teaches us that God’s glory so surpasses us, that we can only know something of God when he hides his glory in the cloud. The second image teaches us that the real dwelling of God is not something material that we call “heaven”; God dwells in this world mysteriously and provisionally, as in a tent.
The wisdom of God rules the universe and all the nations. It has inspired the sages and the religions of all countries and yet it came in a special way to Israel, which is its dwelling and inheritance. This prepares us for what John says in his Gospel 1:3 and 1:9: the Wisdom of God is Christ, and the people through whom it will be present is the Church.
Catholic liturgy has used this poem for the feasts of the Virgin Mary because the words fit the role that God gave her in the Church. On the day of the Annunciation, she received the Wisdom in the name of all. This is why she has been granted to be the first of God’s people and the mother of all others.
The last verses return to practical things: the wisdom of God is found especially in the law, that is, in the book of his words.
30. Ben Sira is a sage. After years of fidelity in his duty as father of a family, counselor, and businessman, he marvels at all that he has received from divine Wisdom. He is well aware that his work is of exceptional importance for many believers in the future, and he gives thanks to God. The All-powerful has done great things for me (Lk 1:49).
26.1 Ben Sira praises the perfect woman from a moral and physical viewpoint. With regard to this, it would be necessary to show how the modern urban society is destructive of all those who are not in an independent situation. It is true for both man and woman, even if the latter does not know the slavery and endemic misery of Ben Sira’s time. Today’s cities offer an immense field of action for Christian family groups.
29.1 Verses 2-6 deal with those who ask for loans and do not pay back.
Alms and, in a broader sense, all that we do for others without charge is the best assurance against misfortune. On this subject see Tobit 4:9 and Luke 16:9.
30.1 Here Ben Sira touches a point on which the destiny of a people depends. Everyone complains that there are few responsible people. We experience good intentions everywhere, but where are the people who can persevere in doing good and carry out their good intentions? The major cause of a lack of maturity in willpower is found in the total lack of parental authority. A three-month-old baby knows that if he keeps crying he will force the mother to pick him up. When he is two years old, a child knows how to threaten, scream, have a tantrum, with the assurance that, in the end, his parents will give in: “What can we do? The child does not want it.”
Ben Sira knows that only children who are subject to discipline, and whose whims are not satisfied by their parents, only they will come to real freedom because they can persevere in doing good.
Christianity, of course, is not founded on the observance of the law. Yet, though every believer may experience something of the “spirit,” we will have trouble reaping its fruits if we are not disciplined.
31.12 Scripture does not condemn the use of wine: it was made for our delight (see Ps 104:15). Only those consecrated as Nazirites abstain from wine. The New Testament will not condemn wine either: such is the meaning of Jesus’ first miracle in Cana (Jn 2).
Nevertheless, the Books of Wisdom have many warnings against drunkenness. See what Paul has to say in Ephesians 5:18 and 1 Corinthians 5:11.
34.1 Previously in Israel, dreams were very important. Here we have a reaction against dreams. Without denying that, in some cases, God can guide or warn the believer through a dream, the author teaches that we must not be guided by dreams: the sure way is to fulfill God’s law (see commentary on Gen 37).
18. What infuriates the sacred author is that after they have stripped the humble, the rich come to the temple to offer their magnificent presents.
35.9 We must generously assist in the cost of worship as long as it is not a way of forgetting our responsibilities concerning injustice in our world. The Lord is pleased with our sacrifices but, above all, he hears the prayer of the orphan and sees the tears of the widow.
36.1 The author shares the ideas of his contemporaries who think only of the salvation of the world through the salvation of the Jewish people. He believes in the promises of the prophets: God will do justice and will gather together the dispersed children of Israel.
This hope has always been the strength of the Jewish people. After Christ, the Jews were dispersed as the Gospel foretold. Counting on God’s promises and the certitude of their unique vocation they were often able to resist dispersion and assimilation.
The New Testament shows us that all of God’s promises to his people have been fulfilled in Jesus. It is based on this certitude that we must re-evaluate the words of God. At first, they all seemed centered on the gift to Israel of material land within the limits of Palestine. The prophets show that things were not so simple, and Jesus teaches his apostles that salvation history is a process of deaths and resurrections.
38.1 We must pray to be healed of a disease, but without neglecting the help of doctors as some people do. This is clearly stated in Scripture (vv. 7, 12-13).
42.9 Sirach’s original text, written in Hebrew, was much longer in verse 9 and said: “Her room should have no windows and she should not be able to see the entrances to the house.” Such advice is one more proof of the male domination in Hebrew culture which the Greek translator did not dare show his more liberal-minded readers. However inspired the authors of the Scriptures were, God did not miraculously free them from the limitations of their culture.
15. Modern civilization separates people from nature. In their work, many people see fluorescent lights more often than they see the sun. Many do not know either the silence or the sounds of nature, because noise has invaded everything. However, as soon as we know something about science, we think we know the mysteries of the universe. In our cities, it is increasingly more difficult for us to experience the mystery and the beauty of the universe.
God speaks to us through his creation as authentically as he does in the words of Christ. The languages are different, in the same sense that music tells us something in a way that is different from words. Those who know how to see God in the universe are also able to discover him in great human achievements: dams, electronic computers, buildings, new materials, etc. What emerges from human hands also belongs to God’s creation.
44.1 After the hymn to God whose glory is revealed through his creation, the author will present to us God’s work in his chosen people, Israel.
In his poem of praise of the ancestors, we have a glimpse of all the famous people of Israel: kings, liberators, prophets, sages, poets. The author notes that many courageous and just people died whose deeds and virtues will not be recorded after them. He knows that even if all the descendants of a famous man disappear, as in the case of Moses, the people of Israel hold on to the promises of eternity. In this book, there is still no sign of faith in a resurrection of persons (except possibly in 48:11 and all hope is fixed on the future of the chosen people).
19. In what follows, Ben Sira remembers the most prominent people of sacred history. He attributes to them according to the ideas of his days. He was living in an age when priests had the most important role and the entire life of the Jews revolved around the temple. So, he gives the priority to the priests, to Aaron, Phinehas, and Simon II, whom he had known personally.
In 48:11, as in Malachi 3:23, we find the Jewish belief that Elijah would return in the days of the Messiah. For the Jews, Elijah was the man who raised the dead and who had been preserved from death by God. Ben Sira hopes to regain life to see the happy days of salvation.
49.16 Suddenly, before praising the high priest Simon, his contemporary, Ben Sira remembers origins. In the beginning, the first man. Surpassing the current ideas of the Jews who, until then, did not look much further than their own history, Ben Sira thinks about the first human, the father of all humanity. Adam represents all sinful humanity, called to salvation. He is the first human also, who bears in himself the destiny of all the rest. In Romans 5:12-20, Paul will speak of Christ as the New Adam. Of him, one can say: “Adam is above every living being.”
50.5 Let us underline this lengthy portrait of Simon, the high priest. Ben Sira, who carried out responsibilities and knew life, feels no shame in expressing his great admiration for the temple rituals. As for any Jewish believer, the sacred vestments, the music, and the solemn ceremonies reveal something to him about the world of God which is splendor, happiness, celebration, and praise.
The last paragraph serves as the conclusion of this part of the book (Chaps. 44–50). Ben Sira blesses his readers using the same words that Simon addressed to the people on their knees.
51.1 This thanksgiving for liberation is a complement to the Book of Ben Sira. The listing of the dangers from which God can free people, recalls for us the heroes of the Old Testament: Daniel in the lions’ den, Daniel and his friends in the furnace, Joseph imprisoned, Susanna, David.
This is used for the feasts of martyrs in the liturgy of the Church. Their death (see Wis 3:1) was liberation from evil. Like Jesus, martyrs did not escape from evil and death, but they conquered both, overcoming natural fear and forgiving their enemies.
