SIRACH AND THE AUTHORITY OF THE WISDOM TEACHER
Abstract
The Wisdom Hymn in the 24th Chapter of Sirach is unique literary and theological
composition of the entire book. Wisdom describes herself in the first person, describing her
heavenly origin, her dominion over the entire universe and finally her settlement in Israel.
She is the very presence of God since she is depicted in the hymn with the very epithets of
Yahweh. This results in Wisdom’s entering the realm of history, namely the realm of the
sacred history of Israel. The traditional wisdom topos about the unknown place of the
Wisdom has been reinterpreted in Sirach historically in locating Wisdom in Israel and
theologically in encompassing various strands of biblical theologies. She became the
semantic frame for understanding and transmission of different biblical traditions
(historical, cultic, legal and prophetic), presenting the means of unification of
heterogeneous scriptural traditions. Presenting the origin and the importance of the Wisdom
and the wisdom theology the writer establishes her authority not for her own sake but in
order to bolster the authority of the wisdom teachers/sages. In the same way the Wisdom is
the presence of God among His people so also the Wisdom is present among Israelites in
the wisdom teachers/sages.
References
Snaith J. G., Ecclesiasticus, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1974.
von Rad G., Deuteronomy, SCM Press, London 1966.
von Rad G., Wisdom in Israel, Abingdon Press, Nashville and New York 1978.
Whybray R. N., The Book of Proverbs, The Cambridge Bible Commentary, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1972.
Winston D., The Wisdom of Solomon, The Anchor Bible 43, Doubleday, Garden City, New York 1979.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
a) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
