The Quarterly Journal of St. Philaret’s Institute

The book of Sirach, composed shortly before the Maccabees Wars, belongs to the so-called Inter-testamental literature and provides invaluable material for understanding the theological and historical context of this difficult era. The biographical information left by Ben Sira in the pages of his work suggests with a high degree of certainty that he was a scholar-writer, and his book was addressed to students, future scribes or, who were expected to be well educated in the Law, the books of the Prophets, and the writings of those who “followed the prophets”, as the grandson of the author, in the preface to the Greek translation, refers those books that we now name as Writings. The literary training of his audience allowed Ben Sira to actively develop many of the themes raised in other books of Scripture: the fear of God, education, observance of the Law, and Wisdom. Ben Sira addresses the pre-creation origin of Wisdom twice: at the beginning of the book and in the middle. The climax of the book is Chapter 24, in which Wisdom praises herself, which definitely indicates a connection with the book of Proverbs, and the images used in this chapter go back to the creation story from the book of Genesis. At the end of this chapter the author dares to inform the reader of his merits in spreading knowledge. This is not just another rhetorical device of the book, but a clear theological position, based on the contrast between the Wisdom of the Law and the Wisdom of revelation. This article deals with the development of the image of Wisdom in the book of Sirach in the context of Ben Sirach’s theological position.