Commentary on the Book of Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 The Book of Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach was written after the conclusion of the Jewish canon of sacred books of the Old Testament, belongs to an uninspired person, and is one of the non-canonical books of the Old Testament. In the Greek copies of the biblical text: Alexandrian, Sinai, Ephraim the Syrian, it is inscribed: “The Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach”, which name was transferred to our Slavic and Russian translations. In the Vatican list: “The Wisdom of Sirach.” In the Vulgate: Ecclesiasticus. The titles: “The Wisdom of Jesus, the son of Sirach” and “The Wisdom of Sirach” indicate the writer of the book (L:29; LII), and “Ecclesiasticus” - the ecclesiastical teaching nature of it. Unlike other non-canonical books, the writers of which remain unknown, the writer of this book calls himself the Jerusalemite Jesus, the son of a certain Sirach (L: 29; LII). From the text of the book it is clear that he was a man who was very educated at that time, especially theologically, had practical experience, traveled a lot and studied the morals of people. The time of origin of the book cannot be established with indisputable accuracy. Based on the contents of Chapter L, one can guess that the writer of the book was a contemporary of the Jewish high priest Simon the First, called the Righteous and who lived under Ptolemy Lagas, c. 290 BC. The writer’s grandson and translator of his book from Hebrew into Greek lived, it is assumed, under Euergetes I, who ruled ca. 247 BC, and made his translation of the book around 230 BC (see the prologue of the book before the Greek and Slavic text). The content of the book of the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach is the teaching about divine wisdom in its manifestations in the world and man, and about God-given human wisdom as applied to various circumstances and cases of human life. Regardless of the non-canonical origin of the book, the general content of the latter has since ancient times been considered deeply instructive for those seeking lessons in wisdom and piety. The Fathers of the Church often used the expressions of the wise son of Sirach as confirmation of their teaching thoughts. In Apostolic Canon 85, young men are advised to study “The Wisdom of the Much Learned Sirach.” In the 39th Easter Epistle of St. Athanasius of Alexandria, the book of the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach is assigned for instructive reading by the catechumens. St. John of Damascus calls it a “wonderful and very useful” book. The first complete interpretation of the Book of Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach was compiled by Rabanus Maurus. Then, in the 16th century, the works of Jansen appear; in the XVII - Cornelia and Lyapida. Of the newest scientists who worked on the interpretation of the book: Horowitz, Lesetre, Keel, Multon Knabenbauer, Levi. Processing the found passages of the Hebrew text of the book: Halevy, Smend, Touzard König, Strack, Peters. From Russian works we can point out: an exegetical monograph by an unknown author, “The Book of Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach in Russian translation with brief explanations.” St. Petersburg 1860, and an article by prof. Rozhdestvensky “The newly discovered Hebrew text of the book of Jesus son of Sirach and its significance for biblical science.” St. Petersburg 1903 Detailed preliminary information about the book of the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach is available in op. prof. Kazan Spirit. Academy of P. A. Yungerov “Private historical-critical introduction to the sacred Old Testament books. Second issue." Prophetic and non-canonical books. Kazan, 1907, p. 227–239.