The Wisdom of Yeshua Ben Sira

The Wisdom of Ben Sirach, also known as Ecclesiasticus, is one of the gems of Holy Scripture, but largely unknown to Protestants. It was composed in Hebrew and translated into Greek in the second century before Christ. It is among the last books of the Old Testament.


Alice C. Linsley


Jesus and the Apostles James, Peter and Paul quote from the Book of Ben Sirach and references to this book appear in the writings of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Scholars agree that Jesus was directly quoting Sirach 51:27 in Matthew 11:29, where we read: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

There are several allusions to the Wisdom of Sirach in the New Testament. These include the Magnificat of the Blessed Theotokos in Luke 1:52, which follows Sirach 10:14; the description of the seed in Mark 4:5,16-17, which follows Sirach 40:15, and also Christ's statement about knowing a man by his fruits in Matthew 7:16,20, which follows Sirach 27:6. James 1:19: “…let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath…” follows Sirach 5:11.

St. Jerome quotes from Sirach. He knew the book as it was written in Hebrew and Sirach informed Jerome’s Latin translation of the Old Testament (Vulgate).

Ben Sirach’s stress on righteous living, meditation on Scripture, and the illumination of the Holy Spirit are not uniquely Jewish. These are stressed by the Church, which probably explains why St. Cyprian named the book Ecclesiasticus, meaning “Churchman.” As a priest and bishop, St. Cyprian identified with Rabbi Ben Sirach’s concern that the people of God should grow in holiness (theosis).

It is evident from its use by these early authorities that Sirach was regarded as an important book and it was adopted early into the Christian canon, though the book was not read in the synagogues. The early Church recognized that the book had many Messianic references and that it presented a balanced approach to holiness, spiritual maturity and salvation.

St. Paul’s writings are the earliest Christian epistles in the Christian canon. It appears that Paul thought of the wisdom tradition of Judaism as a religious philosophical conversation. He appears uninterested in the debate of the philosopher-theologians, be they Greek or Jewish. He wrote, “For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ.” For the Apostle Paul, Christ crucified and risen was the sum of Divine Wisdom. He writes, “It is by Him that you exist in Christ Jesus, who for us was made wisdom from God.” (I Corinthians 1:30)

“Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross should be made of no effect. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (I Corinthians 1:17, 18)


Weaving Two Traditions

People often say “I read the Bible, but I don’t understand it.” They innately know that the Bible is important and should be read, but they have not invited the Holy Spirit to illuminate their reading. This is why it is important to pray for wisdom before reading the Bible. Without the Spirit’s guidance we are likely to misunderstand and misrepresent what is meant in Scripture. People who insist on using Bible verses as ammunition against those with whom they disagree are not under the Spirit’s guidance.

There are four approaches to wisdom in Judaism and in the Old Testament: Torah; the Spirit (charismatic); Apocalyptic, and Qumran. The first two are the most ancient approaches and carry the greatest authority. The Apocalyptic and Qumran traditions had their greatest following during the century in which our Lord lived among us. Only one copy of Sirach was found among the Dead Sea scrolls (compared to 24 copies of Genesis and 25 copies of 1 Enoch). The apocalyptic tradition speaks of dramatic events that exemplify God’s power in the cosmos. In this genre of literature, we find descriptions of the heavens burning up like a scroll that curls in the fiery furnace. In the Qumran tradition wisdom is the Spirit-revealed knowledge of the hidden meaning of the Torah. We find elements of this tradition in Mark’s Gospel.

The Torah tradition predates Moses and reflects the Nilo-Palestinian veneration of written texts (scrolls). In this tradition, no changes were permitted to the writings. They were to be preserved for all generations unchanged. It was the ruler’s responsibility to see that the sacred tradition of the fathers (horim) was not corrupted. The righteous ruler was a wise ruler. David was known to be wise and he prayed that his son Solomon would also be wise (1 Ch.22:12-13). Solomon became the prototypical wise king. He quotes the old proverbs by which a young man will learn to order his life according to God’s ways.

The Torah approach is reflected in Sirach’s statements which link wisdom and Torah. “All this [Wisdom] is the book of the covenant of the Most High God, the law that Moses commanded us as an inheritance for the congregations of Jacob.” (Sirach 24:23 and 45:5) In this view, Wisdom indwells the Torah or Torah embodies Wisdom. The rabbis taught that study and observance of the Torah leads to Wisdom, which in turn leads to blessedness (theosis/sanctification) and salvation.

The Spirit tradition reflects the Jews living in the Diaspora where they were influenced by Greek philosophy. In this tradition, which is linguistically removed from the ancient Hebrew or Afro-Asiatic roots, there must be some range of interpretation in order to preserve meaning of the Hebrew text in the Greek language. In this task, the elders were wise to seek the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit approach is evident in Sirach’s statements which link wisdom to the Spirit: Wisdom “came forth from the mouth of the Most High and covered the earth like a mist.” (Sirach 24:3) Here we have an allusion to Genesis 1:1 which speaks of the Spirit (ruach – breath) of God going forth to put in order the chaotic deep. Likewise, in Job 33:4, “the breath of Shaddai” speaks of the Spirit. In Job 32:8, Elihu declares that it is the spirit in a man, the breath of Shaddai, that gives him wisdom.

Wisdom is often personified. Wisdom tells us that she “came forth from the mouth of the Most High” as the first-born before all creatures. Wisdom is personified as a female who seeks a place to rest upon the earth and finds that place among the people of Jacob (Sirach 24:8) In this view, wisdom is associated with the Spirit’s presence and guidance. Loving Wisdom leads to blessedness (theosis/sanctification) and salvation. Those who despise Wisdom are cursed.


A Balanced Approach

Sirach reflects both Torah and Spirit in a unique way that appealed to the early Church Fathers and to the Orthodox. The Fathers and the Orthodox recognize that Scripture reading in worship, and Bible study under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, is essential to holy living. Both the Bible and the Holy Spirit are necessary if we are to know and love the Divine Three-in-One more fully.

Though Sirach draws on both approaches, he does not set them at odds. It is not a case or either Torah or Spirit. Instead, both approaches are tools to enable us to reach the ultimate goal of union with God.


Messianic References

Ben Sirach contains many Messianic references and this is another reason the book was adopted by the Church very early. Consider these verses: “The Lord took away his sins, and exalted his power [qeren/horn] forever; he gave him the covenant of kings and a throne of glory in Israel.” (Sirach 47:11) The same word appears in reference to Jesus as a direct descendant of David: “and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.” (Luke 1:69)

Wisdom is explicitly said to be eternal: “From eternity, in the beginning, he created me, and for eternity I shall not cease to exist.” (Sirach 24:9) This statement is similar to Christ’s being the Word, and the “first-born of all creation”. (Col 1:15b) At Sirach 24:19, Wisdom tells her listeners to “Come to me”, which is echoed in Christ’s saying “Come to me” in Matthew 11:28. Like Jesus the Messiah, Wisdom also keeps souls from sin (Sirach 24:22).


Jews Disagree on Ben Sirach

For at least three centuries before the Council of Jamnia (Yavne) in A.D. 90, many rabbis quoted Sirach as an authoritative work. After Jesus’ death and resurrection the book became suspect among the Jews because of its use by Christian apologists and evangelists.

The Jerusalem Talmud (c. 300 B.C.) lists the book of Ben Sirach as one of the “outside books” (sefarim ha-chitzonim) and Rabbi Akiba warned against those who read the outside books. Reading Homer and other such writings did not pose as great a threat as did reading Sirach because none claimed that these were divinely inspired writings.

In the Babylonian Talmud (c. 100 B.C.) "uncanonical books" are called "the books of the Sadducees." Yeshua Ben Sirach was a Sadducee and Ben Sira's wisdom is frequently quoted in the Babylonian Talmud. Yad Ramah (an early medieval source in the Babylonian Talmud) implies that Ben Sira was once an inside or canonical book which was later removed by the rabbis.

Rabbi Yosef attempted to ban most of Sirach, but other rabbis argued with him (Sanhedrin 100b), showing that Jewish tradition contains the same ideas which he disputes in Ben Sira. However, others say that Rabbi Yosef only forbade the public reading of Sirach.

Sirach is the basis for two parts of the Jewish liturgy. Recent scholarship indicates that the vocabulary and the framework of the Amidah 19 blessings draw heavily on Sirach. The Amidah is the central prayer of the synagogue liturgy. Observant Jews recite the Amidah morning, noon and night in a typical weekday service.


Related reading: Cornelis Bennema, The Strands of Wisdom in Intertestamental Judaism; The Ruach of God, The Chiastic Center of Ecclesiasticus; Seats of Wisdom

Dogs in the Bible

This pottery dish shows Nilotic hunting dogs on leashes. It dates to 4500-4000 BC. (Pushkin Museum)

Alice C. Linsley

The Canaan Dog is a recognized breed today. It is known as Kelev Kanani. Drawings of these dogs have been found in excavations at Beni-Hassan, on the east bank of the Nile, north of Minya, Egypt. They date from 2200-2000 BC. 

The Kanani breed has been employed for many centuries by Bedouin and Druze peoples as herd dogs for their flocks and guard dogs for their camps. From Jesus' statement to the Canaanite woman, we gather that domesticated dogs were fed scraps from the family table. He said, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." (Matthew 15:26; Mark 7:27)

Kelev Kanani

These are more domesticated than the pariahs who scavenged at the rubbish heaps outside the cities and roamed the streets in packs at night. We have a sense of the danger posed by packs of wild dogs in Psalm 59:6: "They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city."

The word kelbi in Tigrinya means dog. It is the cognate of kaleb/kelev in Hebrew, and holds the idea of a loyal heart, the ka-lib. The word lib is heart in Hebrew and Amharic. In ancient Nilotic mythology, the jackal, the wolf, and the dog were guides to paradise and the promise land. It is no coincidence that one of the scouts sent to open the way for the advancing Hebrews was named Caleb.

Dogs and Vultures

In the Bible, the pariah dog is likened to and paralleled with the vultures. The bodies of enemies were often left to be eaten by dogs. In this context, dogs were associated with vultures.

Dogs will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country. (1 Kings 14:11)

Dogs will eat those belonging to Baasha who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country." (1 Kings 16:4)

And also concerning Jezebel the LORD says: "Dogs will devour Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Dogs will eat those belonging to Ahab who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country." (1 Kings 21:23, 24)


Dogs and Swords

"I will send four kinds of destroyers against them," declares the LORD, "the sword to kill and the dogs to drag away and the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy." (Jeremiah 15:3)

The association of dogs and swords appears in the Psalms: "Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs." (Psalm 22:20)

The animal totem of the warrior clan of Caleb (Kelev) was the dog.

Dogs and Pigs

The dog was regarded with contempt as ritually unclean, especially during the time of the Second Temple. In this context the dog was associated with the pig. Consider these examples:

Of them the proverbs are true:  "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud." (2 Peter 2:22)

"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces." (Matthew 7:6)

Speaking of spiritual waywardness, the Prophet Isaiah said, "But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a man, and whoever offers a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig's blood, and whoever burns memorial incense, like one who worships an idol. They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations." (Isaiah 66:3)

Humbling Oneself as a Dog

Speaking of oneself as a dog was a way to humble oneself before a superior.  To call oneself a dead dog was to especially debase oneself, as a dead dog was doubly unclean.

Hazael said, "How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat?" "The Lord has shown me that you will become king of Aram," answered Elisha. (2 Kings 8:13)

Mephibosheth bowed down and said [to David], "What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?" (2 Samuel 9:8)

The Canaanite sought Jesus' help for her daughter. "Lord,' she said, 'help me.' He replied, 'I was set only to the lost sheep of Israel.' The woman had come and bowed low before Him. Jesus told her. "It is not right to give the children's bread to the dogs," to which she replied, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." (Matthew 15:27)

Dogs and Evil Men

Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. (Psalm 22:16)

Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain. (Isaiah 56: 10, 11)

Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. (Philippians 3:2)

Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (Revelation 22:15)

Dogs Among the Hebrew Clans

The oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship is Nekhen on the Nile (4200 BC). Burial sites at Nekhen include dogs. A child's body was found buried with 12 young dogs in a Nekhen cemetery. 

In the Nile Valley dogs were well treated as household pets, for protection, and for their skill in hunting. That they lived with the Nilotic Hebrew is evident from these verses:

But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal. Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. (Exodus 11:7)

You are to be my holy people. So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts; throw it to the dogs. (Exodus 22:31)

Long before the time of Moses dogs were kept to herd sheep, as is evident from this verse in Job: "But now they mock me, men younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained to put with my sheep dogs." (Job 30:1)

The Calebites

Caleb was the son of Jephunneh, a descendant of Kain which is why he was called a ‘Kenizzite’ הַקְּנִזּי haKenizi (cf. Gen. 15:19). The Kenizzites were a Hebrew clan according to Gen. 36:11 - "And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.”

Caleb's connection to the Kenites is explicitly stated in 1 Chronicles 2:55 which says that Caleb's sons were Kenites. Kenaz was a son of Eliphaz by Timna, daughter of Seir, a Horite Hebrew ruler named in Genesis 36. The dog was the totem of the Calebites. Caleb or Kelev means dog.

The Canaan Dog (Kelev) was a symbol of the warrior. The Hebrew word for warrior is Gid'on (Gideon). This allusion to the dog clan is found in Judges 7:4-7:

But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you, he shall go; but if I say, this one shall not go with you, he shall not go." So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. The Lord said to Gideon, "With the 300 men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place.

This information makes it possible to trace Gideon’s ancestry back to Caleb whose Horite Hebrew wife was Ephrathah. 1 Chronicles 2:50 tells us that the firstborn son of Caleb and Ephrathah was Hur or HR (a Horite name). Hur’s firstborn son was Shobal, the founder of Kiriath-jearim where the Ark resided until it was moved to Jerusalem in David’s time. Shobal was a Horite Hebrew chief, and the totem of his clan was the lion.

One of Caleb's grandsons was named Korah (1 Chron. 2:43). The term korah refers to a shaved priest. Moses' half-brother was Korah. The Hebrew ruler-priest caste served at the temples and shrines along the Nile. They were known to shave their bodies before their terms of service at the temples and shrines.

Related reading: The Hebrew Were a Caste, Horite and Sethtite Mounds, The Men Who Spied on Canaan; Using Totems to Trace Ancestry and Marriage Ties; Totemism in the Old Testament; Where and When Did Dogs Become Man's Best Friend?; Solving the Mystery of Dog Domestication; Mesolithic Iberian dogs: An archaeogenetic study; Dog Breeds of the Nile