The Wisdom of Ben Sira. I

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440 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

THE WISDOM OF BEN SIRA.

i. To the Clarendon Press, in conjunction with the
Cambridge University Press, scholars are indebted for
Facsimiles of the Fragments hitherto recovered of the Booh
of Ecclesiasticus in Hebrew (1901) ; and to Prof. Israel
LeVi for an excellent commentary on the fragments, under
the name L'EccUsiadique ou la Sagesse de Jdsus Fits de
Sira, now completed by its second part (1901), namely on
the fragments not included in Messrs. Cowley and Neubauer's
The Original Hebrew of a portion of Ecclesiasticus (1897).

Another valuable treatise on Der jilngst wiederaufge-
fundene Hebrdische Tenet des Buches Ecclesiasticus has been
brought out by Prof. Dr. Norbert Peters of Paderborn
(Freiburg im Breisgau, 190a). It has only quite recently
come into my hands, and is accordingly not quoted below ;
but I look forward to making use of it in the continuation
of this article in a future number of the Jewish Quarterly
Keview.

The facsimiles are from four Cairene manuscripts A, B,
C, D, or as M. Levi calls them A, B, D, C. The manuscripts A
and B were so designated in The Wisdom of Ben Sira, edited
by S. Schechter and C. Taylor (Camb., 1899), with reference
to the order of their contents ; the third was called C by
Dr. Schechter, as coming next in the order of discovery 1
(/. Q. B., XII, 456) ; but Levi placed and places it last as
"n'e'tant qu'un recueil de morceaux choisis." His reason
is a good one ; but we shall for convenience keep to the
order A, B, C, D as being that of the Introductory Note

1 On the discovery of the Paris fragments of C and D by M. Levi, see the
article J. T. S. referred to below.

THE WISDOM OP BEN SIEA 441

to the Facsimiles in which the contents of the fragments
are enumerated. Briefly the fragments of A and B con-
tain the greater part of Chapters III-XVI and XXX-LI
respectively ; those of C have extracts from some of the
Chapters IV-XXXVII ; and the one folio of D extends from
Chap. XXXVI, 29 to Chap. XXXVIII, 1. On C Levi
remarks : " Notre recueil de morceaux choisis est un nouvel
indice de l'estime qui entourait l'Eccle'siastique ; vraisem-
blablement il a 6t6 compose - a l'usage des ecoles."

2. In the following notes on a selection of passages from
the fragments commented upon in Levi's Deuxieme Partie
the abbreviation J. T. 8. stands for the writer's article on
" The Wisdom of Ben Sira " in No. 4 of the Journal of
Theological Studies (July, 1900), and the abbreviation /. F.
for the second edition of his Sayings of the Jewish Fathers
(1897). An Appendix to J. F. was published in 1900.

The review of the Cambridge Wisdom of Ben Sira by
Prof. A. A. Bevan, contributed to the first number of the
Journal of Theological Studies (Oct. 1899), is hereinafter
quoted in the notes on Sir. iii. 23, xiii. 11, 12, xiv. 1.

To Mr. J. H. A. Hart, who is preparing an edition of
Ecclesiasticus according to MS. 248 (Pref. to Camb. B. S.),
I am indebted for information about the readings of the
Greek in some difficult verses.

In translations reproduced below from the Cambridge
Ben Sira notes of interrogation in brackets will be found
in places. It was explained in the Preface that (?) was
used in two ways, namely as meaning either that the sense
was considered doubtful, or that a conjectural reading,
whether doubtful or not doubtful, had been adopted. This
has not unnaturally led to misunderstandings. For an
instance see /. T. S., page 577 f.

Sir. iii. 17 (xi. 10). Heb. for these verses gives : —

: mono jrvoo anNni irujn •jbnnn twjd *» iii. 1 7
: npa» tub nmn!> po fp&y rain nob m xi. 10

442 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

In chap. iii. 17 I proposed to read at the end <cal Zitep
av9p(i>irov boriKov dyairrj^jjcTTj (J. T. S., p. 57a). Comparing
Prov. xxii. 8 avbpa lX.apbv K<xi borrjv tikoyti 6 ®eo?, and
a Cor. ix. 7 Ikapbv nal borrjv ayaira 6e6s, we may suggest
as a possibility that St. Paul got his word love in this
connexion from Sir. iii. 17. At the beginning of the verse
Gr. read IpDjn 03, rightly or wrongly. However that may
be, pDJT is (I think) a genuine word of Ben Sira (J. F., p. 169).

In chap. xi. 10 the mark over the ay in refers to a triad
of dots .', in the margin. Possible missing variants are
IpDy and TW, either of which might have been used by
Ben Sira in a verse founded upon Prov. xxviii. ao : —

Sir. iii. 18 Minish thy soul from all the great things of
the world. Syr. from all that there is of great N»!>JJ3.
Heb., with vowel points added to B]JD : —

,\pb\v\ fbvn bo "jpw ago

The hemistich being somewhat long omit tbty, comparing
Gr. &r<i) fiiyas el Tocrovro* Taiselvov acavTov. Here the com-
parison, the more . . . so much the more, represents Heb. '».
One who is conversant with great things should minish
himself all the more. The apparent allusion in this verse
to Psalm cxxxi. 1 (p. 445) suggests that Ben Sira possibly
wrote 1»D nit&M in verse ai, but cf. Sir. xi. 4, xliii. 25
nis^a, 29 nixi>BJ.

Sir. iii. ai, 2a Search not the things that are too
wonderful for thee; And seek not that which is hid from
thee. What thou art permitted, think thereupon j But thou
hast no business with the secret things. The Hebrew for
this is: —

:mpnn bx noo hdddi mm bx "po nw6a 21
: nnnwa pDj? ib pso ponn mninw noa 22

The Greek (cf. J". T. £., p. 574) is.—

THE WISDOM OF BEN SIRA 443

21 xaXfTMorepA <rov fir) fijm,

Kal laxvporepd <rov fir) i£iTa(e.

22 & irpo<r(T&yr) trot, ravra biavoov'

ov y&p eoriv (roi XP € ^ a ™ v KpvnrQv.

The Syriac (ap. Walton) is to the effect : —

21 Difficiliora te tie quaeras ;
Teque fortiora ne pervestiges.

22 Quod curae tuae commissum est intellige;
Et ne sit tibi ausus in occulta.

Of the rabbinic citations of these verses the three given
below are of especial interest :

(1) Talm. Babli Chagigah, 13 a: —

NTD p 1BD3 mro pV

"npnn btt iod n&avs\ t?mn bx "pe xbsmz 21
.nnnon pay i? p« punn jvenw n»3 22

(2) Talm. Jerus. Chagigah, ii. 1 (77 c) : —

"npnn no b\»wo npioy inn no i»o nt^a 21

,'w n»a 22

(3) BereBh. Rab. viii. 2 : —

-IOS NTD p DS?3 "Ityi'N '"I

mpnn hi* •]»» prna n-nn bx *p» bviaa 21
Wn bs too noiaoa inn b ibd t^aiico

.'13 nca 22

Here in (1) the whole passage is cited from the Book
of Ben Sira, and very nearly as we have it in MS. A.
In (2) and '(3), where the book is not mentioned, verse 22
is given again without material variation ; but verse 21 is
much altered in (2), chiefly under the influence of Job xi. 8,
and its forms in (1) and (2) are worked up into a doublet
in (3). With ^NETi in (3) compare Judges xiii. 18, " Why
askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is iN^>B ? " With
reference to (1) Edersheim wrote, " There can be little doubt
that the recension in the Talmud [Babli], with its four

444 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

members in exact parallelism, is the correct one, nor yet
that it — rather than the Greek — represents what had
originally been written by the older Siracide." This I take
to be the obvious and true conclusion from the evidence,
now including the Cairene Hebrew.

Brief allusion was made in J. T. S., page 573, to Prof.
W. Bacher's identification (J. Q. R., XII, 287) of the quota-
tions in (1) and (3). Some time afterwards I found that
his form of (1) had apparently been taken from the Oxford
Original Heb. of Ecclus., page xix, where, as Mr. Cowley
writes to me (28th April, 1902), the quotation as from
B. T. Hagbigah " is simply wrong," words from Ber. Kab.
having by some accident taken the place of words from the
Talmud Babli. Levi repeats the misquotation, and (like
Bacher) founds a textual theory upon it, in the following
note on verse 21 : —

"G. et S. ont un autre texte qui se ramene a l'he'breu
bwn !>k "]od prrai e>mn bit -jdd mp2, Ce qui est trop
difficile pour toi ne le recherche pas, et ce qui est trop
fort pour toi ne le demande pas. Or, telle est la lecon
dune citation que R. Ele"azar, rabbin palestinien du m e
siecle, fait de notre ouvrage '« "po hlJ3 (Talmud de
Babylone, Haguiga, 13 a = Bereschit Rabba, 8). Mais, a la
suite de ce verset, qui manque dans notre texte et qui est
conserve" en G. et en S., il cite ces mots '« k!jbi»3 , ce qui
est, en gros, notre verset, lequel manque en G. et S. II
existait done au m e siecle un exemplaire plus complet que
le ndtre et que celui des versions."

Thus again it is said that (1) = (3), and the antiquity of
the doublet in (3) is inferred. But the Cairene text, with
perhaps 1CN3 for 'w HD3 and pK for pKl, and possibly nx^a
sing., as in Psalm exxxix. 6 ('p) and the quotation (2), for
nivbb , is (I think) substantially the original which underlies
the versions. On their renderings and the citations the
following suggestions may be submitted for consideration.

a. In (1), where the quotation is from Sefer ben Sira,
the passage as cited does not differ materially from its

THE WISDOM OF BEN SIRA 445

form in A. In (2) and (3) it is given with considerable
variations, not as from a document, but on the authority of
"Rabbi Eleazar" speaking in the name of ben 8ira.
Perhaps once there was a direct reference to our author,
who at the end of chap, li is called " Simon, son of Jesus,
son of Eleazar ben Sira."

b. It seems clear, although commentators have overlooked
it, that Ben Sira alludes to Deut. xxix. 28 '13 m*UlMn
(J. T. 8., p. 573), cf. J. F., page 169, note 45. There are
two aspects of the secret things. They may be regarded
as things beyond the wit of man to find out ; or as things
which he ought not to pry into, presuming ra ixr} Ovtyra
<ppoveiv to be "as Elohim knowing good and evil," cf.
Enoch lxiv. 2, " These are the angels who descended to the
earth, and revealed what was hidden to the children of men
and seduced the children of men into committing sin."
The versions, having a text like that of A, dwelt upon the
difficulty of the things hidden and described them as too
hard and strong for a man. Gr. h irpoo-erdyri a-oi is an
indifferent rendering of TPWirw fiB3 (? '*> "iB*a), Syr. what
they have authorized thee, *]lt3i>K>K*r K»3.

c. A comparison of the Greek, the Syriac, and the
quotations (J. T. 8., p. 574) suggests that the Midrash may
have been influenced by the versions in respect of the word
pm, strong. With its *|B» 5>VU3 compare "JOB 3*1 in Sir.
iii. 23, or Psalm cxxxi. 1 'JDO mt6sJ31 ni!>"U3 TO^n t6l. In
the doublet Sir. viii. 1 Heb. (p. 455) we find *|oe mp as a
variant for 5>VU B»N.

Sir. iii. 23 *1DD b$ "|»» *inV31, Gr. jut) T:epiepyd(ov ktL
For the difficult lion (Ex. xxiii. 21 tammer) Bacher
suggests p»yn, go-deep (J. Q. R., XII, 274)5 a word which
"s'accorde mal avec *V\f" (Levi). Bather read "inen, Be
not busy in what is superfluous. If niahir means 6£vs ev
Tols epyois avrov (Prov. xxii. 29), it may also mean irepCepyos
in what is not one's business. Syro-hex. Dannn i. e. for
<ro4>i£°u> which may be for *inDn read tortfl. See Eccles. ii. 15

446 THE JEWISH QUAETEELY EEVIEW

•w . . . wran noS, vii. 16 -trm Dsnnn bm (LXX ecrocfua-d^v,
<ro<j>C£ov), whence probably Ben Sira's "inv. Prof. Bevan
gives a good explanation of Heb. "ion on the hypothesis
(which he does not definitely adopt) that it is the original
reading.

Sir. iii. 25 norm term nyi PK31, cf. Aboth iii pN dk
'13 run (/. jF., 4P2>-> pp. 74, 153)-

Sir. iii. 31 Whoso doeth good, it shall meet him in- his
ways (?) ; And in the time that he tottereth he shall find
a stay. Heb. : —

;j]?b>d nmd> itsitt njai va-m unv 3its by®

LeVi, "G, retraduit en helsreu, fournit un texte d'une
authenticity indiscutable : 6 avrairobibovs x&P lTa s fi-^vr\rai
els ra ixfTci ravra = VinnN3 "Of Dnon bm ... La locution
31D i'jna, Hen faisant, n'est pas h^bral'que, et wna ne
signifie rien. Or, ces mots sont la traduction servile de S.,
lequel, comme il lui arrive souvent, a confondu UVinK, sa
fin, avec WHK, ses voies."

Working back from the end of the verse we may say,
Where should a man totter or stumble but on his way or
ways, in some sense of the word, literal or metaphorical ?
If the Hebrew stood alone no change would be wanted ;
for (1) 3113 by® is as good Hebrew as the Biblical pTi b])b,
jn byt, and the like; and (2) the verse as it stands gives
a true and excellent sense. An explorer with a good
character finds the natives favourable: his reputation as
31D ^yis " meets" and helps him (cf. Sir. xii. 17 INlp jn DN,
xv. 2 innonpl) : and so with a man on his way in life. But
the versions suggest that this was expressed differently.

(1) Syr. Beneficus expeditus (♦*&-*►) est in via sua, for
Heb. 13*113 "Cny, as Ben Sira may very well have written.

(2) Gr. for Trip ds ra juero ravra, cf. Job xv. 28 '13 rmjffin,
"quae ruinae futurae sunt," and the familiar neo-Heb.
N3? *mj&, used of the time to come. What more natural
then than for Gr. to think of the righteous here as 3lt3^ -)13T,

THE WISDOM OP BEN SIRA 447

and accordingly to turn I3*n3 or "WTO (with 1 or v dropped
before njOl) into ~D?J, \xi\xwirai or "DP, MS. 253 and Syro-hex.
Hvqo-Ofaerai % There would be no objection to Levi's bti)i, cf.
Prov.xxxi. 12 m n^i 310 inn^tta.

Sir. iv. 20 Gr. trovrfipucrov naipbv /cal <pij\a£(u airb Ttovrjpov.

Heb. jno "insi n»&> ^n ny ^a.

Without questioning the allusion to Eccles. iii (Camb.
B. 8., p. 41), I venture to think that pen is for Jtttn,
a variant for ny . The hemistich would be better without it.

Sir. iv. 25 Gainsay not the truth (Heb. God); And
submit thyself unto God. Heb. : —

: vsyn wnba bm bun oy 3nDn bn

With the versions read noNn (Schechter) for ban, and
■jr^iK (/. Q. R., XII, 283) for tfrbx. Compare the renderings
of n^N in Sir. xvi. 23 (p. 474)-

The general sense being, Do not resist the truth and
yield to thy own folly; the question is how the verse is to
be reconstructed on that basis. Syr. restrain thyself from
thy follies (yl aN . riw ), however arrived at, serves as a
paraphrase.

The Greek of MS. 248 (cf. Syro-hex., Lai, &c.) is :—

p.-q avrC\eye ry akr)dela Kara p.r)be ev ,

nal irepl ifreijo-naTos Ttjs cnraibevtrlas <rov ivTpdtrqdi.

The word JJ33 (like JH3) goes with nnn, out of which may
have been got the words underlined in Gr., cf. chap. vii. 8
nnN3. Eead therefore, with the sense, Bow not down to
thy own folly : —

: pan b» inSx nnni nosn (or by) oy 3-ion bx

This was suggested by the reading of 248 and the Biblical
construction nnn J»3 ; and it is confirmed by Sir. vi. 1
(v. 15) 248 /xt} hyv6a pi8£ jy , nal farri kt£ for Heb. : —

:njib> \nn i>x snis nnni nne>n btt na-ini ay»

See also the end of the note on Sir. vii. 18 ^n nw (p. 453).

448 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

Sir. iv. zj And be not contrary before rulers. Heb.
txbwa vsb jndd ban.

For this we should perhaps read, with sing, instead of
pi. for brevity : —

ibwo *xb }D«n ban

Gr. and Syr. give contradictory renderings, cf. chap. xiii.
11 nD2n, and for uses of jcx see chap. xii. 10, xiii. 11, xv.
15 «, xvi. 3.

Sir. iv. 30. Levi, assimilating the verse to a saying
quoted from Aristophanes, renders it : —

Ne sois pas comme un lion dans ta maison,
Et faible et peureux dans ton travail.

Chaucer, who elsewhere in the Canterbury Tales quotes
the son of " Syrak " by name, paraphrases Sir. iv. 30 thus
in the Somnours Tale (ed. Skeat, 1894) : —

D 1988 Touchinge this thing, lo, what the wyse seith :
" With-in thyn hous ne be thou no leoun ;
To thy subgits do noon oppressioun ;
Ne make thyne aqueyntances nat to flee."

The verse is found in the fragments of both A and C.
In A it ends with *irON!>D:), probably repeated from verse 29.
In C it ends imiajn, but Gr. suggests "pays. In J. T. S.,
page 576, 1 proposed to read it : —

{•pasa tfwitM irrcn rrn&o *nn bat

The verse in A is on the whole so like Syr. Ne sis canis
in domo tua, & severus (a*^)o) ae terribilis in actionibus
tuis that "1T1D1 in it (cf. Ps. lxix. 9) should perhaps be
assimilated thereto. The letters of "tt1» spell DTtf, a not
impossible word for raging; but D5M (v. 7 1»Jtt), meaning
much the same as S|5?1f, would be better. As a further
improvement then erase ajmi as superfluous.

Sir. vi. 3 That it should consume thy strength like
an ox (?).

THE WISDOM OP BEN SIRA 449

To the footnote in the Cambridge Ben Sim, now that
more fragments have been found, add a reference to Sir.
xxxvi. 30 (MSS. B & D) tTO 1»U> TU ptO, Gr. oS ovk Z<mv
(ppayfxos, biapTrayqo-erai (al. biappay-) KTrj/xa, which favours
the conjecture njnrvt (or "V-) for m$mi. On <ppayp:6s, Syr.
WD, see J. F., page 134, note 2 ; and compare Prov. xxiv.
45, 46 (3°> 3 1 ) LXX &cntep yedpyiov avrjp a<ppcav, Kal &a-irep
ap.ire\wv avOpmiros ivberfs <ppev&v . . . ol 8e (ppayjxol t&v kidwv
avrov KaTavK&TtTovrai.

Sir. vi. 14 ?iipn arris toiion ants, Syr. NBpirn, Gr. o-zce'ir?)
Kparaid. In Heb., " he'mistiche bien plat."

2k6ttj being one of the renderings of ohel, read with
a play on, oheb (as again in Sir. vii. 35) '13 pypn ^niN,
A faithful friend is a firm shelter, a well pitched tent, cf.
Isa. xxxiii. 20 LXX o~Kt}val at ov ixrj creio-O&aiv, 2. @. o~Kr)v-r\v
aixeraOerov, Eccles. vi. 10 fpp 1 " 1 (?)•

Sir. vi. 20 b^tfh wn naipp, .EKe esi escarpie pour le sot.
Gr. ws Tpaxeia eari <r<pobpa rois diratfievrois (Heb. T'lN?, r$
&<ppovi), Kal ovk ffxixevel li> avrrj aK&pbios.

Philo 1 in Be Ebr. § 36 (Mangey, i. 380) writes : touto) y&p
Kal "navrl a<ppovi Tpax&a Kal bvaflaros Kal apyaXeoaTarq vevo-
jxiarai f) kit aperrfv ayovara 680s, Kada, Kal t&v iraAaifiv Tts
kp,apTvpy]<T(v elirdv

TtjV fiivToi KaKOTjjro Kal ikabbv Iotiv k\4<r6ai.
Trjs 8' aperrjs Ibp&ra 6ebs irpoirapoiOtv I0tjk«;
adavaros, paKpbs 8£ Kal 6p6ios ot/xos es avrrjv,
Kal rprrxys rd -np&Tov.

Thus in the quotation, which is from Hesiod, it is said of
the path (oT/^os) to Virtue that it is rpqxvs to irp&Tov, at first
rough, Philo having before said as above that the way
(680s) is itavrl a<ppovi rpa^a. Under 3pJ? Gesenius writes
" 1) locus acclivis, clivus ..." Such being its primary
sense, the word in Ben Sira may have been suggested by

1 In Cohn and Wendland's major and minor editions of Philo De Ebr. is
in vol. ii, and the passage quoted from Hesiod is at the end of cap. (36).
VOL. XV. I i

450 THE JEWISH QUAETEELY EEVIEW

Hesiod's oT/xos rpr/xtis. The fool ovk fyfxevei, will not
remain, in the way of or to Virtue or Wisdom. Philo,
whether or not thinking of Sir. vi. 20, writes in effect that
the way is ^in bJ? naipy.

Sir. vi. 22 For discipline is according to its(T) name;
And to the more part she is not plain (or right). Gr. a-ocpla
yap Kara rb ovo/xa avrrjs l<m, km ov ttoWois ecm (pavepd.
Heb. "13 Kin p natra iDion »a, where read wa, or nb^a.
Syr. as if vnpio.

On the Greek, before the Hebrew was discovered,
Edersheim in the Speaker's Commentary well remarked,
that "It seems impossible by any critical ingenuity to
explain the first clause of this verse, since there is not any
Hebrew or Greek word which would admit of a play upon
the word wisdom." Suggestions of Hitzig and Horowitz
were then referred to, and the note ends with the Syriac,
" Her name is like her teaching [hidden ?], and she is not
approved by fools." The following are some of the proposed
explanations of the saying : —

(a) The Arabic 'Urn has been thought of as suggesting
a Hebrew word from the root ab]i for knowledge or wisdom,
which in Job xxviii. 21 is called noi>j», hidden. On wisdom
as hidden see also J. F., page 173, note 55.

(6) Prof. Bevan in a letter to me (May 5» 190°)
writes as follows: "In De Sacy's SSances de Hariri
re-edited by Eeinaud and Derenbourg (1 847-1 853), vol. II,
p. 184, there is a note on the phrase I4*— IS IaUJUIj, and
folly is like its nam,e, which occurs in several Arabic poets.
The native commentators explain this to mean that folly
is as hateful as its name, that is to say, folly deserves its
evil reputation. Reinaud and Derenbourg point out that
this phrase supplies a clue to the meaning of "Eocpla yhp Kara
Tb Svopa avrrjs lori in Ben Sira. It seems to me therefore
that we need not assume any play upon words in Sir.
vi. 21."

(c) In Sir. iv. 19 DniDN3 wno'l , , . IID 1 * DX it is implied

THE WISDOM OF BEN SIRA 45 1

"with a threefold word-play," that Wisdom's training
(1D1») is restraining and therefore not agreeable to all men
(Camb. B. S., p. xxi n.). Bacher, followed by Levi, takes
the play to be on 11D and assumes a comparison with its
hophal participle, cf. Isa. xvii. 1 "VyD "IDID, removed from
being a city. Thus, it is concluded, "The discipline is
like its name, i.e. 1D1», remote, distant, not accessible to
many" (/.Q.i?., XII, 277).

(d) As in my note referred to above in (c), I still hold
that in musar, iraiSeta, there is a play upon 1DN, bind, cf.
Job xii. 18 '13 tiKbto 1D1». The fool may remove himself
(Sir. iv. 19) from musar, but in itself this is not remote
from or inaccessible to any. The same word-play is
reproduced in Sir. xxi. 19 Gr. ire'Sat kv tioo-Xv avorJTois iratSeta.
Syr. "Instar carceris est sapientia stulto," with "wisdom"
presumably for musar, as Sir. vi. 22 <ro<p[a. While wisdom
in a certain sense is declared to be remote and hid, not
from the fool only but from the eyes of all living (Job
xxviii. ai), the same writer makes the wisdom accessible to
any a simple thing for all (ver. 28), cf. Sir. li. 26 Gr.
sinbe£6.<r6o) fj ^vyy vp&v iraiZe(av iyyvs ioriv etipelv avnjy,
Heb. [Wisdom] is nigh to them that seek her. To the fool
she is not acceptable : her discipline is a restraint : he turns
out of the way because it is at first Tpa\€ia. Through then-
own fault she is "loin des railleurs," and "les hommes de
mensonge n'y pensent pas" (Sir. xv. 8, Levi, p. 109).

Sir. vi. 37 Ton rum vmcoi ji^y nNTO nworvn. Read
run without vau, or runn (Schechter). This is found as a
variant in the saying of J3 33 p in Aboth v, see page 172
of the Appendix to J. F.

Sir. vii. 1 8 /c d ^n HNl. Exchange not a friend at a price;
Neither a brother that is attached, for gold of Ophir, Gr.
?i>€Kei> &Sia<popov (? bta<p~) . . . yvt\(nov ktI.

Although ^n may be made to mean " attached " (Camb.
J5. #., p. xxiv n.), in that sense it does not go well with

1 i 2

452 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

hn. Baeher writes that '"'litfi is corrupted from thw"
(J. Q. B., XII, 378). The conjecture and the prima facie
objection to it are alike obvious: it would be excellent
"si ^n ressemblait plus a tbv" (Levi). The following
remarks are offered in support of the conjecture.

(a) With DpK' in the sense integer, perfectus the phrase
a?& JIN, Gr. aZek<f)bv yvrja-tov, would mean one who is a
brother ais' ojn^orepcov, and not a mere half-brother. Or the
phrase may mean " sincere brother, equivalent to DWi nx,"
Aram. tfbf (Baeher).

(0) To Bacher's explanation of Syr. a brother thou hast,
as from th& misread "]*?&, add that thw may have been
written WW with medial mem, a letter sometimes corrupted
into a or 13, cf. Sir. vii. 15 i»ta for bun before rrpbtn, Aboth v
m i?)*) ra nbm 'tt « 12 p with a variant ^D for "fra
(J. F., App., p. 17a).

(c) It is less easy to account for Heb. vbtl, but it
may be the result of successive variations from D^. In
Stade's ZATW., Jahrg. XX (1900), art. Bemerkungen zum
hebrdischen Ben Sira, N old eke writes, partly in footnotes
(p. 85), " Dies ^n m giebt keinen Sinn ; dagegen fuhrt das
durchaus angemessene abeX.cj)dv yvqa-iov des Griechen auf
D^n m, leiblicher Bruder. So pobn (pBNiri) pn« Ps.-Jon.,
Gen. xlix. 5, Fragmententargum eb. (s. bei Ginsburger S.
103). Im Samaritanischen ist O^n das gewohnliche Wort
fur Bruder geworden, s. z. B. Gen. iv. 2 ; ix. 5 ; xix. 7 ;
xxiv. 1 3 ; xlix. 5. [In den Handschriften des samaritanischen
Targums zum Teil durch riN ersetzi] Das, wie langst
erkannt, aus dem Assyrischen stammende Wort war also
einst in Palastina iiblich geworden, aber die b*Mn ])&b hat
es nicht angenommen. [Talimu steht auch im Assyrischen
als adjektivisches Attribut hinter ns. Jensen erklart mir,
dass die von Delitzsch im Lexicon angegebene Bedeutung
Zwilling unrichtig sei]." From hbw may have come tbn or
D^n and thence ^bt\, possibly through a variant D1$T),
abbrev. '^n.

Nevertheless it is simpler, and as some think better,

THE WISDOM OP BEN SIEA 453

to accept Noldeke's Q^Jl as the original reading, -whence

Syr. "]i> JT'NT and Gr. yvr\<nov.
The Greek of MS. 248 is :—

pvrj aXXd^ys <pl\ov abiacpopov Kara jlwjSc ?y,
firjbe abek<f)bv yvqa-iov iv x/>wi&> "2,ov<piip.

The Syro-hex. by its KtMEO, boopedv (Hart), attests abiacpopmi
taken as &vev biacpopov, but buupopov seems to be wanted.
Holmes and Parsons give the readings: p) lAiyfjjs (for
a\\&£.) 307. abia<}>6pov Kara jj.r)biv 106. biacpopov, with

Kara p,r\bi £v in charact. minore, Alex.

It might be said (1) that /mj&£ & (al. fi-qbiv) is a dittograph ;
or (a) that it comes from Heb. and attests a reading 'n n«1
(cf. Sir. iv. 35 n., p. 447), whatever 'T\ may stand for. On
this hypothesis jonj8e b> may be accounted for in different
ways. Bacher's tv& might have given rise to variants as D^B>,
Con, abn, M^n, or Ben Sira may have written Q^n n«l ; and
in either case a marginal variant 'n riKI may have been
taken into the text.

Lastly it may be suggested that Ben Sira wrote tyon nto .
Hence again the abbreviation 'n rwi, and Aram. Dw and
Syr. i? JT'Nl.

Sir. vii. 30, 31. Mr. Elkan Adler's fragment of A as read
in L' Ecclesiastique begins with '13 DN1 (ver. 29) followed by : —

30 With all thy might love thy Maker; and forsake

not his ministers.

31 Glorify God and honour a priest; and give their

portion as thou hast been commanded.
tttnp nonni pnx [to* t] n»nni anax or6 31°

Syr. for '13 nrb defectively, "Panem oblationum &
primitias manuum." This attests Dn? which Gr. airapxriv
nal . . . anapxriv ayiu>v (H. & P.) omits.

The word Dnax " n'est pas dans la Bible." So Levi, with
the conjecture that there was a reading D*B*t for iT-nx,
which Syr. took rightly as from n$K and Gr. read DEW.
Psalm lxxviii. 25 E»K ^3K Dn'ON Qrb suggests an original

454 THE JEWISH QUAETEBLY EEYIEW

CTON, with perhaps an early variant WK. If the phrase

" bread of abbirim" means "cibus nobilium s. principum

i. e. cibus delicatior, exquisitus," like Gen. xlix. 20 dainties

of a king, it is quite appropriate in Sir. vii. 31, where the

gifts should of course be of the best. Ben Sira gives his

own sense and application to Biblical expressions. Note

the npn b» " bread of ebarim " in Midrash Tillim (J. F„

p. 178). Heb. in verse 31 npbn, cf. fax "de Deo."

As Ben Sira would not have used the same word nonn

in both herniations, we should perhaps in the former

read : —

.nawro cton oni>

Using an old word and comparing Lev. xxiii. 17, we
might render this, " Payndemayn and wave loaves " ; and
so we might read in Psalm lxxviii. 25 "Man did eat
payndemayn." On this word, which means panis Domini,
Lord's-bread, see Dr. Skeat's Chaucer ; and cf. the Century
Dictionary, on " paindemaine." Levi renders WiB^ in
verse 30 and W3K in Sir. xliii. 5 by " ses ministres."

Sir. vii. 32-35. In the Revised Version, which represents
the Greek, verses 32-34 run thus : —

32 Also to the poor man stretch out thy hand,
That thy blessing may be perfected.

33 A gift hath grace in the sight of every man living ;
And for a dead man keep not back grace.

34 Be not wanting to them that weep ;
And mourn with them that mourn.

The Hebrew for the next verse is : —

:anNn udd 'o aniND J? neti bx 35

(a) The epithet "poor" is applicable to the dead (Ps.
xlix. 17). Gr. and Syr. read '13 }n for Heb. *n bs Vsb |DD jn
(ver. ^). With ion at the end of the verse compare the
rabbinic gemiluth chasadim, which is for rich, poor, living
and dead (J. F., p. 13). Giving to <n bl includes giving to
an enemy.

THE WISDOM OF BEN SIRA 455

(b) To give point to verse 35 we must suppose it to
mean, So thou mayest have for a friend one who was an
enemy, cf. the contrast oheb, sone in Sir. vi. 1, 9, 13. To
restore the assonance then read TING, and we get as a climax,
Make no exception: withhold not sympathy even from an
enemy, for of him thou mayest become beloved. Ben Sira
would have thought of Ex. xxiii. 4 f. la *jyh "W J»an »a,
and Prov. xxv. 21 f. If thine enemy be hungry, &c. As
partly accounting for the form of Gospel precepts inculcating
the love of enemies, note that the Hebrew words amt*, MW
for friend and enemy mean lover and hater respectively.

(c) St. Paul perhaps alludes to Sir. vii. 30-35 in Komans
xii, xiii. After quoting Prov. xxv. 21 f. he writes at the end
of chap, xii Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with
good. By chesed a man annihilates his enemy, qua enemy,
i. e. he makes him a friend, "having slain the enmity
thereby" (Eph. ii. 16). To God's ministers give their due
pbn (Rom. xiii. 6 f.). Bless all (ib. xii. 14), "that thy
blessing may be perfected." KXaUiv /xera kXcuovtw (xii. 15).

Sir. viii. 1. This verse, which is a good example of a
doublet, is read as below in L'Eccle'siastique, but the beth
of 1TO is not clear — perhaps we should read 'b or ?K for it,
cf. i>N two lines above in the facsimile : —

: Vf by awn rmb bra b^n dj> ann bit (a)

:rra han mb "po ne>p dp ann ba (p)

(a) " 31BT), retourner, est mauvais ; il faudrait ^lsn, comme
dans le doublet qui suit." Or (?) read aiBTi with medial
haf at the end from "\3W, a word used of the subsidence of
the waters in Gen. viii. 1 and giving the sense here, " Where-
fore shouldest thou be humiliated at his hand?" Gr. /«j
biajj.ci.xov fiera avdp&Trov hwaarov fj.r] -nore epTrio-ris els T<is x^ipa?
avrov, with hvvavrov for bvtJ t^K.

(/3) " Doublet qui correspond mot pour mot a S." (Levi),
but Heb. ann is not exactly UiX Some scribe put (a)
and the variant (/3) into the same text. Gr. and Syr. may

456 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

have rendered "]2& as if %3, or there may have been
a variant hsn. If (a) had stood alone one might have
thought of 31K>n as for tmn.

Sir. viii. % JVT & B"N with b in the margin and p (np)
under it, as noted by Mr. Elkan Adler (J". Q. R., XII, 467).

Sir. viii. 7 JM i>y bbr\T\T\ bx, Gr. MS. 248 hi veupy rw
€X.0poT&T(p <tov (Prov. xxiv. 17). In the facsimile may be
seen indications that there was a variant for yu, to which
Levi would prefer no as " moins pre*tentieux " ; but Ben Sira
may have meant y$. For the word see also Sir. xiv. 17.

Sir. viii. 8 winn Dnwnai cioan nrw &m ba. With
lamed for resh we get the sense, " Neglect not the discourse
of sages; so shalt thou sharpen thyself with their hard
sayings," cf. Ps. lii. 4 BWO *iyna. The word rrfri suggests
rnn, sharp, cf. Prof, xxvii. 17 /row sharpeneth iron; so a
man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Sir. ix. 8. Many men have been ruined n&K nya
(Prov. vi. 26, vii. 26) ; and she infiameth her lovers WO
(MS. '3). LeVi, " Et leur amour brule comme le feu," and
in a footnote, " Et elle brwle comme le feu ses amants ; mais
la lecon des versions est meilleure."

But Ben Sira seems, like R. Aqiba after him (J. F.,
p. 137, n. 4), to play upon the words for man, woman, fire.
Compare Sir. viii. 3, " Strive not with }1e6 &>$, and put not
wood E>N by," where p*n— from mu, as JiWi (vii. 14) from
fUB> — perhaps hints at pVJ, spark (xi. 32, cf. James iii. 5);

Sir. xii. 14 Heb. b>n 13 -iyon , . . jvn (MS. r\m) b»k.

Sir. ix. 17. By the wise of hands "W "jew ; and he that
is wise of speech ruleth over peoples (or his people).

On the text of the latter hemistich see L ' Ecclesiastique.
It is a question how to understand or emend ~\W "]Wr\\
Gr. tpyov haivethjo-erai, Syr. urbs stabilitur with Sapientia
judicis wrongly for CFV , 03n3. Keeping "IW as attested
by Syr. urbs, since "it? may have been read "Vy, alter lew

THE WISDOM OF BEN SIKA 457

to |W from |E>n, "i. q. Arab. ^JU. pulcher fwit. Conj.
II. IV. ornavit," which. Syr. may have read as from jDn,
fortis fwit. Taking the abstract 7&P as for the concrete
"IGW netyD we then get the sense, that under the hand of
the skilled craftsman opus rectum becomes pulchrum:
good workmanship takes fair form : what he does is done
accurately and admirably.

Sir. x. 1 A. V. A wise judge will instruct his people; and
the government of a prudent man is well ordered.

Heb. at the end (?) iTTHD with dots pointing to a missing
variant, perhaps niHD. Syr. stabiliet might be thought
to be for TiD*, cf. Sir. 1. 14 incbl. With either reading we
should have a word not used in the Bible but related to
the Biblical Tip, see Job x. 22 omD"K^i.

Sir. x. 9-1 1. The Speaker's Commentary has a good
note on the reading of verse 9. The passage means,
according to Levi: —

9 Comment s'enorgueillerait celui qui est poussiere et

cendre,
Qui de son vivant deja a les intestins remplis de
pourriture 1

10 Petite maladie, joie du me'decin :
Aujourd'hui roi, demain il tombera.

11 A sa mort, l'homme devient le lot de la pourriture,
Des vers, de la vermine et des betes.

The Hebrew, with some vowel-points omitted, is : —

5^13 Div i«na -vim ibki nay nsu> no 9

ibm nnai ovn ita Nan a^ny rbrm poe> 10

:wii D*J31 njforo noi brw din nios n

This, as it stands, gives (as we shall see) a clear and
striking sense. Verse 1 1 is, briefly, that " When a man
dies he inherits worms." The preceding verses have been
variously rendered as below.

458 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

Syr. (ap. Walton) : —

9 Cur superbiat pulvis ac cinis,

Cujus later a dum vivit vermes perrepunt ?
10 Cujus intestinal, secturus est medicus ?
Qui hodie gradietur, & eras morietur ?

The Latin, minus an interpolation found in the A.V. and
noted in R.V. marg., is as follows : —

9 Quid superbit terra & cinis ?

Quoniam in vita sua projecit intima sua.
Omnis potentatus brevis vita.

10 Languor prolixior gravat medicum.
Brevem languorem praecidit medicus.
Sic & rex hodie est & eras morietur.

The R. V., representing a form of Gr., gives the rendering: —

9 Why is earth and ashes proud ?

Because in his life he hath cast away his bowels.

10 It is a long disease ; the physician mocketh :

And he is a king to-day, and to-morrow he shall die.

The A. V., following a different recension of Gr., ends
thus : —

9 Because while he liveth he casteth away his bowels.
10 The physician cutteth off a long disease ;

And he that is to day a king to morrow shall die.

The corresponding Greek in MS. 248 is : —

9 on iv fay avrov eppi^jrav ret kvroadia avrov.
10 fiaKpbv app<i(rrrjp.a Kditrei larpos' ktI.

Q*iV] Why should a man be proud because in his brief
lifetime he is exalted ? To account for Gr. eppiyj/av (al.
-\fra, -i|fe), suppose the yod absorbed by the preceding VTi,
and read D11 as 1D"i from fiD*i, projecit. Note that no")
can be read ramah and rimmah, high, worm, cast away.
For D1V again see verse 23 Oil 11 e*K i>3 133^ |W.

ft*] In Hebrew Lexicons see under nw, (1) u (Gr. ra
ivToa-dia avrov) ; (a) tva (Job xx. 25) ; (3) TV)1 ; and cf. Heb.

THE WISDOM OF BEN SIKA 459

33 with Syr. More familiar with fern, njia than masc. ^
which Heb. seems to use here for o-fi/wJt, the scribe may first
have written 3 with shva by mistake. The actual pointing
of the letter is roughly represented in L' Eccltsiastique.
Ben Sira's word would have been chosen to suit the
rhythm and match ma> , cf. " nia a H1N3 derivato, &e." (Gesen.
s. v. nia). The man's exaltation of which he is vainly
proud is the exaltation of a " vile body " or carcase which
must soon perish, cf. Sir. xli. 11 UVUfl DTK ?3n.

r6n» yw] The word pDB> is ambiguous. Better than
Gr. fxanpov in this context would (I think) be ixucpov, Lat.
brevem as an alternative to prolixior. From )*OK> written
XDK> would have come [v]j)DE> with skin relative, Syr. Cujus
intestina. On the apparent omission of H?no by Syr. see
below.

zwi] So with M, as our author may or may not
have written. One word is wanted for the text, and
another to explain the versions.

(1) On Gr., starting with 07C6»7iTei as the received reading,
Mr. Hart writes : —

" o7c<oirrei] o-Koitei 106 : Koirm 157. 248 : eKKOirrei 55.
254. Both renderings of the Latin go back to

KOTTTei or eKKOTjret for which Herkenne quotes also the
Armenian. cncoirei is found also in the pseudo-

Athanasian Synopsis from which the prologue of 248 is
taken, and in the Sahidic."

To account for kotit« read yfitv or 3m>, comparing
Isa. x. 15 i3 ashri, LXX tov kotttovtos kv airy. The same
word explains Syr. secturus est medicvs : the medicuus has
to perform a surgical operation on his exalted patient.

(2) Given 3W> as a variant and Lat. gravat as perhaps
approximately the sense of the original, we might con-
jecture that Ben Sira used 3SJJ as connoting labor gravis
et molestus and wrote 3W,cf. Ps. ]xxviii.4o JlCtya lilU'W.
The letters cheth and ayin being interchangeable, as in
pwn and pBty, we could satisfactorily account for the
reading of Gr. and Syr. as coming from 3W.

460 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

Or it might be said that Ben Sira wrote 2W. Of anv
Kohut states in his Aruch Gompletum that it means nvii
pDya is oyoa di*jn, roth werden vor Aergemiss . . . vor Zank.
Thus yrtp might mean much the same as aw. For arra
in the Bible see Lev. xiii. 30, " Then the priest shall see
the plague : and, behold, if . . . there be in it a yellow thin
hair . . . " ; Ezra viii. 27 R.V., " vessels of fine bright brass,"
A.V. marg., yellow, or shining. For 1 Sam. i. 6 And her
adversary also provoked her sore the Targum has rb N3nx»l
nmx. The root anx meaning to glow or be ruddy, it may
have been in early use in all of the above senses. If so,
3*W may have stood in the original Hebrew of Ecclus.
But it is also possible that it came in later as a variant
in place of an original a*vy\

5>1B* '} 'n "\bn] Syr. gradietur, reading *]i>n». With this
word Syr. may have confused f6n», which it does not
translate ; unless, with a transposition, rbflD Kan was taken
as a periphrasis for medicus. Note the inadequate render-
ing of ha* in Gr., Syr., Lat.

The sense of the passage may be represented thus : —

9 How should one who is dust and ashes be proud,
For that while he lives his body is exalted ?

10 A little sickness frets his physician :
A king to day, to morrow he falls.

1 1 When a man dies he inherits worms.

Highest of the high to-day, to-morrow he falls and
becomes food for worms. " How are the mighty fallen."
Ben Sira after his manner, thinking perhaps of Job xxi.
32, 26 he judgeth those that are high . . . the worms shall
cover them, played allusively upon the words DTP and non,
and Syr. wrongly made the connexion between them
organic. Omitting a yod and writing 3SJP we should get
in verse 10, " A little sickness : the physician is troubled."

Sir. xi. 18 There is that waxeth rich by his wariness
and pinching, and this is the portion of his reward. So

THE WISDOM OP BEN SIRA 461

A.V. and R.V. representing the Greek. The Hebrew as
read by Levi is : —

5 roe> aw . . . nujmnn -ibwd w

" Le mot 3TP se lit sans peine, mais il ne conduit a aucun
sens satisfaisant ; on ne sait pas, d'autre part, s'il y avait
avant ce mot ntl comme en G., ou ts*i comme en S. Dans
le premier cas, la phrase signifierait: Et celui-la rend
coupable son salaire." Passing over Syr., " Est etiam quern
propriae divitiae non comitentur " as misplaced, we have to
restore the latter half of the verse with the help of Gr. : —

km aTjTT) $ nepis avrov aub tov fxicrdov avrov.

Over the cheth there is a mark which may refer to a lost
variant or at least indicate that there is some error, probably
in that letter. Reading, with he for cheth, 3\T or aiT
(a synonym for jru) we may suppose this to be a variant
for p?h, which Gr. mistook for a noun pepCs. Supplying
a subject for the verb pbn we then get (1) for the sense,
that the man prospers by his toil and self-denial, the Lord
apportioning him his reward therein, cf. Eccles. iv. 9 a good
reward in their labour, v. 18 (19) to whom God hath
given . . .to take his portion ; and (2) for the original
Hebrew something like the following : —

mat? m pbn '"i nujmntD nB>jm» w

Instead of m we might read "b ; but for m it is to be
said that it would be rather more liable to corruption into
'2, '» (Gr. airo), and would fall out more easily after niT 1 or
Trp. As to Pit (Gr. at/nj), compare page 463 (fe). Or it may
have come from 'n, meaning God, if that abbreviation
was then in use.

Sir. xii. a Do good to the righteous, and find recompense;
If not from him, from the Lord. 3 No good coraeth of
bestowing upon(i) him that is wicked; And(T) that hath
not done righteousness. Heb. : —

5 rwy vb npvs cui wi rro»5> naio pa 3

462 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

Bacher suggests rrooi' (J. Q.E., XII, 278). He is clearly
right as to D31 ; but for mob read 'JiriD^, comparing verse 13
}W for pre, and Prov. xiv. 21 '13 pin»l. No good comes to
a man from being charitable to the wicked: he has not
even the merit and satisfaction of having done an act of
righteousness. Gr. ovk e<rriv &ya6h t$ hheXexLCoim els icand,
misreading matt as for or connected with TOM, cf. chap,
xxxvii. 1 a Heb. TDn, Gr. evbe\ix l C^'

Sir. xii. 5 (xv. 12). In the former verse omit *pw njD,
with Gr. ; prefix '3 (Gr. bnrk6.<ria y&p) ; and read : —

: v$>n jwn roie i>33 jppn run onv *a *3

In chap. xv. I a emend Don w*3 T1W fN "O by reading
pn (Syr.) for "pre (Gr.). For instances of "px (xiii. 6)
in B see chap, xxxviii. 1 and Dr. Driver's Glossary in the
Oxford Original Hebrew of Ecclesiasticus.

Sir. xii. 11 (viii. 18) n nb»3 1^ rWl. Gr. /cai Iotj avrht &s
hixeixaxvs eaoirrpov, B. V. And thou shalt be unto him as
one that hath wiped a mirror.

(a) It is a question which Levi leaves open whether
H (ttO) secret is a corruption of "Wl mirror, or vice versa.
He illustrates the simile of the mirror from the Hippolytus
of Euripides : —

428 kclkovs be Oirqr&v i£ety\v t orav r&xfl,
•npoOels K&ToitTpov &are itap8tv<$ veq
Xpovos, irap' ot<ri jiMjiror' ocpdeiqv iy<&.

The critical time when it comes reveals the character of
evil men, as a mirror shows the face of a maiden.

Hamlet makes it the end of playing, to hold, as 'twere,
the mirror up to nature.

Chaucer in The Squieres Tale writes (ed. Skeat, 1894) : —

F 132 This mirour eek, that I have in myn hond,
Hath swich a might, that men may in it see
Whan ther shal fallen any adversitee

THE WISDOM OF BEN SIRA 463

Un-to your regne or to your-self also ;
And openly who is your freend or foo.
And over al this, if any lady bright
Hath set hir herte on any maner wight,
If he be fals, she shal his treson see,
His newe love and al his subtiltee
So openly, that ther shall no-thing hyde.

**s* ij* %t* ^» *&*

r^ ^* ^^ *^ ^^

225 And somme of hem wondred on the mirour,
That born was up in-to the maister-tour,
How men mighte in it swiche thinges see.
Another answerde, and seyde it mighte wel be
Naturelly, by composiciouns
Of angles and of slye reflexiouns,
And seyden, that in Rome was swich oon.
They speken of Alocen and Vitulon,
And Aristotle, that writen in hir lyves
Of queynte mirours and of prospectyves,
As knowen they that han hir bokes herd.

The reference to Aristotle seems to be not verifiable.
On the mirror in Rome, and on Alocen and Vitulon,
see Dr. Skeat's notes (vol. v. 377 f.); adding that Kepler's
Optics (1604) was called Ad Vitellionem Paralipomena
quibus Astronomiae Pars Optica traditur. See also the
Encyclopaedia BrUannica, art. " Mirror " ; and Fausanias,
vii. 7,1, viii. 37 (vol. i. 360, 42a, ed. Frazer, 1898).

(b) The interchange of yod and zayin is illustrated by
Sir. 1. 16 T3tr6, written (as may be seen from the facsimile)
with a small zayin, and read correctly by Mr. Cowley
(J. Q. B., XII, in); but previously read "VSTib with yod,
yod and "V3Tr6 as a correction. For supposed or real uses
of n in the required sense see Isa. xxiv. 16 "h *I1, 2. ©. rd
Itvarripiov pov ipoC, Targ. "fy "biT\& . . . T"l, Syr. "b ttO ; Dan. ii.
18-30, 47 pn r6jl ; and, as we may now add from Mr. Adler's
fragment of A, Sir. viii. 18 : —

464 THE JEWISH QUAETEELY EEVIEW

attested by Gr. kvu>i:iov aXXorplov p; ttoiijcj/s Kpvnrov. Thus
n is a word used by Ben Sira. As a man should not
betray his raz to a zar; so he should endeavour to arm
himself against an enemy by detecting his concealed
purpose. He will be proof against his plots if he can be
to him as a galeh razin and divine his secret. The
Greek with its simile of the mirror conveys a like sense,
but Sir. viii. 18 favours the reading n rbio of Heb. and
Syr.

Sir. xiii. 11 Make not bold to be free (?) with him; And
mistrust thou his much talk. For with his much talk
maketh he trial of thee; And he will smile upon thee, and
search thee out.

In this rendering, thinking of car'6 as inf. piel, I wrote
"B>an is perhaps a verb related to w&n freedom, '•span /ree."
So Levi, with the remark, " B>an, verbe inconnu a la Bible " ;
but see Lev. xix. zo nt?an. Prof. Bevan writes, " Possibly
we should pronounce t?anp and translate ' to argue,' lit. ' to
investigate.'" Gr. iarjyopfio-Oai and Lat. ex aequo loqui
would thus be wrong renderings of the word as K'BD.-'.

jVDJ] Syr. quoniam multitudo confabulationum ejus
sunt tentationes, but Gr. e« iroXXfjs yctp XaXias neipdo-ei ere.
R. Saadyah, quoted by Dr. Schechter (Camb., B. 8., p. 48),
read ~\Tm HMD PPB> 313 >3. For Heb. |VM )rw I would read
T»M» rw, thus deleting the rabbinic \VQ), which, however,
is found elsewhere in the MS. as below.

(1) Chap. iv. 17 Heb. DWD33 Uin3"' DOE&1, Gr. ko.1
fiao-avtaei avrbv h itaibetq avrfji, i. e. mD1l03. Hence perhaps
HDD, D1DD, and then the synonym rww. Levi (p. 18) on
WirD" 1 , for which the versions suggest UJTOK (Schechter),
" Chose curieuse, saint Je"r6me avait deja un texte alte're'
comme le n6tre, car, (Maissant G., il ditj et in primis eligit
eum, par consequent inn3\"

(a) In chap. vi. 7 Heb. vup pD03 3.7IK mp read jviwa, cf.
Saadyah HD03, and see chap, xxvii. 17 Syr. "p3n KM
(Schechter). It would shorten and improve the hemistich

THE WISDOM OF BEN SIRA. 465

to replace JWi by the Biblical fiDD, which may have
stood also in Sir. xxxvi. 1, xliv. 20. Syr. KM as quoted
suggests Heb. nw, and thus favours the proposed reading
T'W from HD3 in Sir. xiii. 11 (p. 464).

Sir. xiii. 13. This verse is given in an impossible form
in the MS. The versions differ greatly, but they agree in
suggesting the following division of it : —

: ityp "ran? bo-) e>aj by bnre> ab)

(1) Dr. Schechter (Camb., B. 8., p. 49) makes the
following suggestions : Gr. y&O or r6c ; \TV perhaps from
run to repeat; Syr. 0\w; ~\&p "it^p misunderstood by Gr.,
cf. above vii. 8 on nwb "wpn ba.

The Hebrew has defective traces of the texts which
underlie the versions.

(a) Syr. as if : —

: d'oi b>s3 bv $>orv vh\ txbw hbvn n»a«

This is more intelligible than appropriate to the context.
To account for it we want a word in the Hebrew which
could be misread Dw. Then, given by bw t6i, something
like D'O"! CDJ would follow not unnaturally. The translator
may have read in 11 before h)b&.

(6) Gr. (ap. Swete) : —

&vektrJiM>>v 6 jut/ o~vvrr)p&v \6yovs,

Kdi ov i/.ri <pei<rr}Tai irepl KaKC*o-ea>s sal Secr/xSv.

So the E. V. :—

He that keepeth not to himself words spoken is

unmerciful ;
And he will not spare to hurt and to bind.

The A.V. omitting the not, which is perhaps a dittograph
(6 ixrf from ov nrj), gives the rendering, But cruelly he will
lay up thy words, &c. Mr. Hart prefers this reading, and
he quotes as authorities for it : —

MS. 353 and Syro-hex. avika\\uovwi 8e <txnm\pt[<m. koyovs
VOL. XV. K k

466 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

<tov : Lat. [as if -p.u>v vovs for -popm] immitis animus, illius
conservabit verba tua.

Chap. xiii. 13 <rvvTrjpr]<rov for 10BTI suggests TW for
<rvvTT]pri<r€i in verse 12. After it would have come ybo,
or "jnoN, or T'lai. For Kai Seo-juSv Gr. must have had or
assumed a reading "iB>pl (Levi), see Hatch and Redpath's
Concordance; but *ltJ>p may have come by transposition
from "ipt?. This brings us to a reading giving the sense,
Cruelly he will observe thy sayings; And will not stint
mischief and leasing : —

: -ipn njn by bw vbi ybn *ii»e» nrax

Working back from this we could account for variants as
&b& and f>e>lD, and for *K?pi and thence *)t?ip and "VPp itsnp ;
but iK'p in the sense bonds, or in the sense conspiracy, may
be the true reading. Although Syr. DUl and Gr. njn are
not directly interchangeable as variants, either might be
represented by 'T in a marginal reading.

by tarp] Gr. Trtpi for by. Syr. may have been misled by
the fact that by £>»n has usually a personal object, as in
Sir. xiii. 4, xvi. 8 f. For njn by "n see Job xx. 13 f., where
it said that the wicked is chary of wickedness and spares
it for himself. Thus we have in effect njn by borv, aptly
illustrating its opposite in Sir. xiii. 12.

(2) Prof. Bevan writes on '13 bwo }n> : —

" In the interpretation of this very difficult verse we must
be guided chiefly by the context. Both in the passage before
and in the passage after it the author is describing the
cruelty and treachery of the rich in their dealings with the
poor. For this reason the word b&iB 'ruler' seems more
suitable than Dw . . . But whether we read bwo or DISSS',
the preceding word }n* presents an insuperable difficulty . . .
Perhaps we should read b&K> fnas 1DN ' &, ruler is cruel as
an asp,' cf. Deut. xxxii. ^ "ttatt D'onfi Btn ' the cruel venom
of asps.' For the metaphor compare verses 17 and 19,
where the rich are likened to wolves and lions."

(3) Or to account for ffi* read b&so J)V, he will lay (lit.

THE WISDOM OF BEN SIKA 467

give) a stumblingblock, comparing Lev. xix. 14 and before
the blind i>feb» inn vb; Jer. vi. 21 Behold, I will lay
stumblingblocks ('» inl) before this people; Ezek. iii. 20 and
I lay a stumblingblock before him, xiv. 3 '13 una ttJiy 71&ODI ;
Sir. iv. 22 T6lB>a»!>, xxvii. 23 *cal h> toZs \6yois <rov bcoa-ei
o-Kavbakov (248 o-icdvbaka, Lat. scandalum). 1 Sam. xxv. 31
suggests the addition of "]b. As a parallel to Syr. DW
for ?BOD in Sir. xiii. 12, note the word-play in Ps. cxix. 165
*?wso yah ptfi ... an ab&.

It is remarkable that in Sir. xi. 31 we find "V£>? }n*
where DID (ver. 33), represented in Gr. Zmdirjo-fi p&nov,
seems to be wanted; and that Syr. has Jk^ool oe»»,
the equivalent of hc?2» inu, although Levi (perhaps
rightly) explains it as for G?p1D fn 1 ". The text of Ecclus.
having suffered so much through abbreviations, notice that
B>p1D is thus convertible into first Vp 'l» and then "itfpl Die.

If K&K<o<ris in Sir. xiii. 12 can mean vilification it may be
for nan, cf. Jer. xx. 10 For I heard Dun nan, the defaming
of many . . . All my familiars watched (not?) for my
halting, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall
prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on
him ; Sir. li. a ara , , . nano. With nan and Snpao we get :—

npen nan i»y ^om «h n^ f>t?a» pv nras

That is to say : —

Cruelly he will lay a stumblingblock for thee;
And will not spare defaming and lies.

From nan or nan may have come D*an with mem for
"hi (p. 471) in one way or other; and thence, with an
explanatory VB), Syr. Dun WQ3 bv W «h.

To explain the Greek of the preceding clause, read Heb.
with an abbreviation i? '» \TP ntatf. Then with D for n,
as in chap. iii. 14 conversely J?njn for ytMn, we get fbo nia%
Gr. avirrrjprjcrei. Xoyovs crov.

(4) But it may be said, Perhaps after all Gr. awTr/p^vei.
kt€ represents the original Hebrew, say fbo nto; max.

Kk 2

468 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

Conversely then we might read '» itf, '» J1V, 7BO» }rv,
a phrase transposed from chap, xxvii. 23 ; or we might
take '» for wpto, which would go well with -«5>p or npe>.
But, while oncAvbakov stands for B>p1» more often than for
71BOD, I find the former after }ni only in Prov. xxix. 25
WpXQ \T\\ LXX Sifiaxnv a<f><iXixa. In Sir. xxvii. 23 Scocret
<rKdvba\ov, well explained hy Edersheim, seems to be for
?1B>3» jn\ He will put a scandal into thy words, " that is,
he will purposely attach to them a meaning which will
cause offence."

Sir. xiv. 1 Sappy is the man whom his own mouth
hath not troubled j And whose heart hath not condemned
him(i). Heb.:—

fab p vby ran k?i wb my vb trtiK 'nm
Gr. for the latter hemistich, with a variant : —

nal ov Kareiriiyr) iv kvitri cLjxaprCas (248 tfA.j]0ei hfxapTi&v).
Syr. for the same : —

Et cujus oculis non est occultatum judicium.
Lat. : —

Et non est stimulatus in justitia delicti.

U7 'n 'y nns sh] " Read ?3K , , , or perhaps nJN, cf. Is.
iii. 26 and xix, 8 " (Schechter). Prof. Bevan explains Gr.
Karevvyri by JVK or rutO (Sir. xii. 12, xlvii. 20); accepts }H
(}Vn) for p ; and concludes thus : " if we adopt this reading,
and at the same time substitute n|K for fUK, the sense will
be ' whose heart has not brought misery upon him ' (cf. N71
VWJW chap. xv. 13). The subject (137) stands at the end of
the clause because it answers to lira in the clause preceding."
This can now be aptly illustrated from one of the British
Museum folios of B, namely by Sir. xxxvi. 25 Heb. 3ipy 37
MVy jlV, Gr. napbia orpejSA?} 8<£<m At>ir?}i\

As an alternative to 137 }fl we might read conjecturally
37 }n, sorrow of heart, comparing Deut. xxviii. 65 ^fj f°%F\ ;
Prov. X. 22 kfrnrj iv napblq, xxv. 20 napbiav Xiwret . . . k&nri

THE WISDOM OF BEN SIRA 469

avbpbs $A.<i7rrei KapbUtv ; Sir. xxxviii. 18 kinr) Kapbias.
Perhaps in Sir. xiv. 1 Gr. there was a reading h A^tttj
(fll. Triv6ei) Kapbias.

To account for Syr. Et cujus oculis <&c, (1) suppose the
aleph of H3N lost after «h and its hi read as mem (p. 471).
Then by duplicating letters we get WHO D^W (cf. Job
xxviii. 31); and we may take Syr. WT as for J? p,
judgment of heart. Or (2), comparing from Schleusner
S. V. Karavva-o-oiiai, "3¥JM"in hithp. doleo . . . D^NJ niph.
obmutesco, Dan. x. 15 Kwrev6yi\v, stupidus timore obmute-
scebam," suppose that Syr. read WJJO (for 'jtt) nbta. With
the reading J? JIT vbv nJN tb) we have wa for the subject
of the whole* verse, and for its sense : —

Happy is the man whose mouth hath not troubled him ;

And hath not brought sorrow of heart upon him.

Sir. xiv. 9 R.V. A covetous man's eye is not satisfied
with his portion; And wicked injustice drieth up his
soul. Heb. : —

•\pbn Kin ttj>» ^tt pjn
: ipi?n laso injn pbn npta

$>B>tt] Gr. -nkeoviKTov, Syr. t&3Dl. Read 'ta or ^3 from
Isa. xxxii. 5 W>i . , . ^, 7 D-y-i 1^3 »5»3i. Hence Syr. as
if ^D3 and Heb. ^3, a word used by Ben Sira but not
here. Gr. tt\€ov{ktov, which gives the required sense, may
be a rendering of ^"O, cf. Kosenmuller on Isaiah I. c, " Et
avarus non dicetur munificus , , , ^3 Gesenius fraudu-
lentum, dolosum interpretatur . . . hie tamen . . . designatur
talis qui per fraudes res corradit easque tenaciter tenet."

injn] The one trace in Heb., as above, of the original
Hebrew of the hemistich. So Syr. proximi sui i.e. in
mispointed, as Edersheim well remarks. Gr. abuCa irovripd
(248 Ttov-qpov) for py JJ1 misread Jty JH (not jn }iy)— for this
order of the words in Gr. cf. chap. xlii. 9 airoKpv<pos aypvitvia
with the note upon it in L'Ecclisiastique (Part I, p. 50),
and the footnote on chap. xxxi. 1 in Camb. B. 8.

if&n 13nb] Syr. perdit animam suam, Gr. avafapaCvei

470 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

V^xV olvtov, both reading WW. Heb. his portion is an
evident scribal error due to ip$>n ton (MS. )pbn in with N
above the line), whence first npp or npl7l as a variant,
and finally ipbn , . .pbn nplh, like "Wp lump from ipt? in
chap. xiii. i % (p. 466). Gr. ava^palva. Krk points to the true
original WBi BO^o, cf. Num. xi. 6 TW3> u»M (Schechter).
Compare also Sir. vi. 3 f. '13 B»B31 W2> py3 ; and see BO' in
Mandelkern's Concordance.

Thus we come to the sense, In the eye of a churl his
portion is scanty ; And he that is evil-eyed drieth up his
own soul : —

• wbj two py y-n ipbn tnn oyo fys pya

The word #33? was of course suggested by py which has
the sense fountain, cf. pyo in the next verse.

With Heb. [tetaj] *I3N0 compare in the New Testament,
And whosoever shall lose his life (or soul) for my sake shall
find it ; where WBJ TSNon 731 would be better than *wn 731
17 n3Nn WW, or WW 17 13W1 ib»n 731 (Delitzsch).

Sir. xiv. 10 TAe et/e 0/ Aim iAai hath an evil eye(V) is
grudging (Gr.) of bread; And there is famine at his table.
An evil (Syr.) eye lavishing bread Is as a fountain dried
up that should well with water (?). Thus I rendered : —

: vrbw by noinoi oni> by w ^y y-i py («)
t\rbvn by a<n br> vm pyoi anbn nano naio py (/3)

Gr. in Dr. Swete's text or notes : —

dcpOakfids Ttovrjpds (pdovepbs en &prta (aZ. aprcov),
Kai eWnrjs €?ri rrjs rpaire'^jy avrov.

Syr. Oculus nequam multiplicat panem,

Et siccum (ttwy) projicit super mensam.

BW] Looking at vyn above (ver. 9) and ro*iD just below
in (y3), I think that B'yn may be from oyo, say for ayw or
DyoD, piel as Sir. iii. 18 "WBJ Dyo. On this Levi remarks
(p. 6) that in rabbinic " on emploie plus correctement la
preposition 3 avec ce verbe " ; thinking perhaps inter alia

THE WISDOM OF BEN SIEA 471

of Aboth iv pDjn djjdd, where however there are variants
including pDy dj)d» (/. F., App., p. 158). In (a) we should
perhaps read simply hrb (or '») tayio'', corresponding to
Dni'fn] nano in (/3). When the writing is indistinct mem
may be read as or for he, or cheth, or tau. Thus tayo*
transposed might be read t^yn.

noinoi] For this Dr. Schechter referred rightly to Aboth v
n»in» % ajn (Camb. B. 8., p. 50); but with Levi I doubt
whether it was in Ben Sira's Hebrew. On ekknrqs LeVi
writes that Gr. has taken n*TC3 s4cheresse for an adjective,
and he concludes, " L'avare n'ose pas manger son pain, et il
souffre de la secheresse, de la famine a ' sa table," — thus
(as I think) just missing the point.

Reading with Syr. mm we may take it that Ben Sira
means, "The evil-eyed man scants bread, and there is
drought at his table " : he gives little to eat and nothing to
drink. The strange none is accounted for by Aboth v 3jn
to miss bvr\ nwro bv {J. F., App., pp. 77, 167). Supposing
this variant in Aboth already known, we have only to
conjecture that, in some MS. of the Wisdom of B. 8. of
earlier date than A, a note of it was made in the margin
over against miX3, and that eventually none found its
way from the margin into the text. Ben Sira reproduces
the thought of Prov. xxiii. 6 f. Eat thou not the bread of
him that hath an evil eye . . . Eat and drink, saith he
to thee ; but his heart is not with thee. To the votaries
of Wisdom Sir. xv. 3 promises bread and water.

In the above rendering of (/3) from Camb. B. 8. 1 reject
jn^n by as a dittograph and read njn fy with Syr. The
comparison of the evil py with a dried-up py» is in the
manner of Ben Sira, and it is of a piece with '13 ca^o in
verse 9 as restored above (p. 470).

Sir. xvi. 7 R.V. He was not pacified toward the giants
of old time, Who revolted in their strength. Heb. : —

: Dmi3J3 [ohy] onion mp wob kbm vb ,{y\m\

472 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

With this compare Sir. xliv. 3 Rulers of earth in their
royalty (Gr. Lording it in their kingdoms) ; And men of
name in their might. Heb., with references to m*l and
£3*11333 in the right and left margins : —

;Drro:u:» w 'cwxi brrotaa pa ntf

Dip 'a'D'ij] The words *1B>K and ab)y seem superfluous,
and rhythmically the verse is better without them. On
'3'D'i" Levi writes : " Les grants de G. sont bien mieux en
situation que les princes de notre texte, lequel est d'aceord
sur ce point avec S., a moins qu'on n'admette que T DJ ait
fini par comporter ce sens de grants, ce qui est peu
plausible. On attendrait plut6t Q'^'BO." But the word was
well chosen. Ben Sira of course refers to Gen. vi on
the antediluvian "giants," of whom together with their
descendants he would have thought as "the mighty ones
which were of old, men of name." From verse 4 may have
come the **iB»K and E&iy of Sir. xvi. 7 Heb. On Gen. vi.
11, 13 see below under d'*non.

He would also have thought of Josh. xiii. 1% All the
kingdom of Og . . . who remained of the remnant of
the giants, m . . . whom Moses smote with the princes
of Midian . . . which were dukes, of ('3'D") Sihon, dwelling
in the country. Compare Ezek. xxxii. 30 psv '3'DJ; Ps.
lxxxiii. 1 a 1D3'D3 i>3; Dan. xi. 8 DH'3D3 DJJ. Thus his 'i'D"
goes well both with Dtp and also with NBO tib, the Biblical
D'3'DJ being princes who are destroyed or carried captive,
except in Micah v. 4 DIN "O'DO ro»e>.

D'"llDn] Syr. qui mundum sua potentia repleverant, from
Gen. vi. 11, 13 ntOD, the earth was filled with violence.
With the old "mighty men" of violence who were "men
of name " Ben Sira probably means to compare the " men
of name in their might " of chap. xliv. If so, using rm in
both cases, he may have written in chap. xvi. 7 : —

He forgave not the princes of old time,
Who domineered in their might.

THE WISDOM OF BEN SIRA 473

From tWV\ would have come perhaps first Dillon
(Camb. B. 8., p. 30, n. 8) and then onion. The word rm,
on which see the Lexicons, is very appropriate here. It
is used of the men of old time (Gen. i. 38), and it may
imply the arbitrary use of power.

Sir. xvi. 14 A.V. Make way for every work of mercy;
for every man shall find according to his works.

Heb., with a letter in brackets in each hemistich suggested
by Syr. : —

-aw b w npix rmsn b[i>]

Gr., with variants : —

irda-rj i\er\p.o<rvvri Ttonrjcrei (? -asis, 348 iroCrfvov) totsov,
CKaoros (106, 348 yap ) (caret tcL epya avrov evprjtrei.

H. and P. add the readings, iroiei roitov 55, 354 : iroirj<nj
totiov 307.

Reading 73 ^ for Gr. Zkootos yap, we have a logical
relation between the two clauses. In the former substitute
Dlptt (Gr. tovov) for "QW; and in the latter omit V)tb as
certainly superfluous, and perhaps brought in from Isa.
xl. 10 Yltb , , , TOW. Then, making the first part of the
verse a precept, we get the sense of the A. V. rendering in
Heb. thus : —

j «ra wyoa DtK i>a *a aipo (or nwyn) nwy npnx W>

For a like absolute use of fSXKfi see Sir. xi. 10 Heb. vb OKI
twon fb cpan ; Matt. vii. 8, Luke xi. 10 (sec. Delitzsch)
nsd'» ehMni.

Sir. xvi. 23 pin pl¥K "O, Gr. ixanpav yap f\ 8io0j}ktj. Bacher
(/. Q. B. } XII, 280) well conjectures pin TttK (Ps. cxix. 145).
Note that this brings together pin '-\ which might be read
pin pini, and thus helps to account for Gr., with which Dr.
Schechter compares Micah vii. 11 pn pn*V. For the inter-
change of 1 and p see above on Sir. iii. 17, xi. 10 (p. 441 f.).

474 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW

Sir. xvi. 23-26 And a perverse man (?) will imagine
this . . . Hearken . . . and receive my proverbs (?)... When
God created his works from the beginning; According to
their parts (Heb. life). Here the fragment ends.

Verse 23] As a first approximation transpose a vau of
nnj? *im and read nniy -031 (Schechter). Then alter to
nyin "13)1 with njnn for Gr. irkavdixevos, comparing Prov.
xxi. 16 bwn "p-io njnn DIN, and for the whole verse read,
say with sing. (Gr.) for pi. (Syr.) at the beginning : —

jnsr 3W njnn -dji rb& pa 11 £ -idpi

Before the publication of the facsimiles Prof. Bacher,
misled by the spacing of the printed text, wrote of nny,
" The abbreviations nn and y must, in accordance with G
(&(f>pa>v Kal ir\av<&nevo$), be supplemented thus: [?1]J> "1331
ntw 3W n[jn]n. S reproduces only the first epithet, and
renders it by the similar term Jlax. G. read ^18."

Gr. (ap. Swete) in the first clause eKarrovixevos Kaphiq
btavoeirai ravra, and in the second Kal avrip &<f>p(av Kal
■nXav&fitvos biavoeirai. (248 a<\>puiv biavoeirat tsXav^>p.evos) jucopa.
Here biavoeiTat bis suggests a confusion of the two hemi-
stichs ; so that perhaps [iwp& came from n?N (Lat. inania)
taken over again and misread n|$*, folly, cf. Sir. iv. 25
Heb. &t6n for -\rhm (p. 447).

Verse 24] Perhaps the scribe wrote &JD for !?3B>, Gr.
Zmo-Trnirjv.

Verse 26] The fragment of A ends abruptly : —

dn«n bv twio wjno bx tn3»
the initial mem being perhaps for 3 or 3, but corresponding
to Gr. and in the latter half of the verse.

C. Taylor.
(To be continued.)