Click Here To Return To The Home Page

The Wisdom of Sirach

 It is generally accepted that the author of Sirach was a teacher and scribe in the second century BC. He was well-versed in the Scriptures and wrote to help those who wanted to make progress in both knowing the Scriptures and doing them. References and allusions to other parts of the Old Testament abound. Sirach is also a practical guide, often similar to the style of James in the New Testament. The original time of writing is estimated to be between 190 BC and 180 BC, a time after Malachi of the Old Testament and before the New Testament.

Sirach was originally written in Hebrew. But over time, the Hebrew copies fell into disuse. In modern times, Sirach has generally only been found in Greek, Syriac, and Latin manuscripts. Practically no Hebrew existed. The errors that had crept into the non-Hebrew manuscripts made Sirach unsuitable for inclusion in the Bible. However, from 1896 AD to 1982 AD, significant Hebrew manuscripts of Sirach were identified.

Hebrew manuscripts now cover about two-thirds of Sirach. Even portions not available in Hebrew can be reviewed and corrected when necessary. This is done by carefully comparing the existing manuscripts; checking against parallel texts; and researching the Hebrew, Syriac, and Greek concordances of Sirach. As a further safeguard in places where no Hebrew text has been found, some verses are noted in the footnotes instead of the main body of text. This is done to avoid including text that is not likely to be original.

Examples of criteria used in this evaluation are:

-Variations between different manuscripts can suggest that a reading is not original.
-The pattern of vocabulary, grammar, and/or style of writing do not appear to be from the original author based on comparison to the rest of his writing.
-The text appears to uncharacteristically duplicate or explain another passage.
-The context and/or flow of thought seem unusually abrupt or out of place.

Sirach is now being included as part of the Biblical text in the UPDV Bible. Due to the complexity of this process, the UPDV Bible is making the text of Sirach available as it is completed on a chapter-by-chapter basis. The present version makes available only that part of Sirach which has been completed so far. When finished, there should be forty-three chapters. Chapters 44-51 are not planned to be included. They appear to be separate works from the main body of text in Chapters 1-43.

The historical chapter and verse numbering has generally been followed. This allows easier comparison to other versions and use of reference works. The book's title 'Wisdom of Sirach' is sometimes referred to as Sirach, Wisdom of Sirach, Ben-Sira, Wisdom of Ben-Sira, or Ecclesiasticus. The dash is sometimes omitted in Ben-Sira.

Sirach was not included in the ASV which was the starting point for the rest of this Bible.

For additional information on this subject, comprehensive Bible dictionaries may be consulted. However, dictionaries written before 1900 may not have information on the Hebrew discoveries. Examples of relatively current Bible dictionaries include:

-The article "Wisdom of Ben-Sira" in The Anchor Bible Dictionary; and
-The article "Sirach" in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE).
[An older version of the ISBE can be read online or downloaded from many free Bible software sites.]

Click Here To Return To The Home Page