SIRACH (Ecclesiasticus). — The most notable of the sapiential books of the Old Testament, both for the number and diversity of its teachings; it may well be described as a fairly complete treatise on morals for all states and circumstances of life (St. Augustine, *Speculum de Scriptura Sacra*: PL 34, 948); hence the appellation *πανάκροις* (St. Jerome, *Comm. in Dan.*, 9: PL 25, 545), a collection of all virtues or *«virtutum omnium capax»* (Cassiodorus, *De instit. div. litt.*, V: PL 70, 1117). After the Psalms, it is the Old Testament book most frequently used in the liturgy.
The title *E.* (Sirach), taken from the Greek (ms. 248), dates back to the Latin version (2nd–3rd century); it is already found in St. Cyprian (*Testim. adv. Iudaeos*, 2, 1; 3, 1; etc.; PL 4, 696, 729). It reflects the use the Church made of the book in worship, for the preparation of catechisms, almost as its official catechism (Rufinus, *In symbolum apostolicum*, 38: PL 21, 374). Probably (the recovered manuscripts lack the beginning) the Hebrew title was *nēšātîn* (Proverbs of the son of Sirah 6; cf. Heb. 50, 27). The Greek manuscripts have: *Σοφία 'Ιησου υἱοῦ Σετράχ*, or *ὅσα λογία Σετράχ* (cod. B). Thus the ancient Latin title *Sapientia Salomonis*, since Sirach belongs to the sapiential literature cultivated by that king (St. Jerome, *Prolog. in L. Salom.*: PL 28, 1242; St. Augustine, *De doctrina christ.*, 2, 8: PL 34, 41); and in the liturgy, *Liber Sapientiae* (cf. St. Jerome, *Contra pelag.*, 1, 33: PL 23, 527). Moderns often cite Sirach by the author’s simple patronymic: “The Book of Sirach.”
Sirach takes its subject from Wisdom: “division.” It is divided into ten parts, each beginning with praise of Wisdom or with a hymn to God as its author.
I. Praise of Wisdom. Duties toward God, toward parents, toward one’s neighbor: humility and meekness, compassion for the unfortunate (chs. 1–4, 10).
II. Praise of Wisdom. Sincerity and candor, not presumption; friendship (4, 11–6, 17).
III. Invitation to the pursuit of Wisdom. Against ambition; behavior toward various classes of people. Duties of rulers; of the rich; not to trust in riches but in God. Persons to avoid. Against avarice (6, 18–14, 19).
IV. Fruits of Wisdom. Sin comes from free will, not from God, and is never unpunished (14, 20–16, 23).
V. Hymn “God the Creator.” Generosity and providence. Restraint of passions and proper use of the tongue: continence of the soul, discipline of the mouth (16, 24–23, 27).
VI. Hymn of Wisdom. Three lovable things; three hateful; three to be feared and two dangerous; on good and bad women. Loans, gifts, and usury; education of children; health and vices that destroy it; temperance; conversation at table. Fear of God; divine providence (24, 1–33, 17).
VII. Invitation to listen. How to treat servants. Superstitions: good and bad religion. Prayer for the triumph of the religion of Israel (33, 18–36, 22).
VIII. Choosing the best: a wife, a friend, a counselor. Care for health: how to conduct oneself in sickness and toward the dead. The noblest profession: the study of Wisdom (36, 23–39, 11).
IX. Hymn to God the Creator, who arranges all things well for the good of the just and for the punishment of the wicked. The misery of human life, especially for the impious. Shame: what is good and what is bad. The wonders of creation: another hymn (39, 12–43, 37).
X. Hymn of praise to the patriarchs who lived according to the Wisdom communicated to them by God, from Adam to Simon, son of Onias, high priest at the time of the author (44–50).
Two appendices follow: a hymn of thanksgiving “God for the fortunate liberation from many and grave evils” (51, 1–12); and an alphabetical poem in which the author describes the care he took in the study of Wisdom and invites others to imitate him (51, 13–30; cf. A. Vaccari, *I libri poetici...*, Rome 1925, pp. 327 sq.). Between the two appendices, the Hebrew manuscript “interposes a psalm similar to Ps. 135 (Heb. 136); though ancient, it is not genuine but derived from liturgical use.
In the Greek version, the translator—grandson of the author of Sirach—prefixed a prologue important for the information it provides about his grandfather, the time of composition and translation, and the canon of the Old Testament, whose books he says were already largely translated into Greek.
Sirach is the only book of the Old Testament, apart from the prophetic books, that, besides numerous indications about the person, securely gives the name of its author: Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sirah (50, 29; cf. prologue). The name “Simon” in the Hebrew (ibid.) is due to a gloss.
A native of Jerusalem (as the grandson specifies: 50, 27 Greek), Jesus spent most of his life there, and toward the end probably composed his work there (cf. his assiduity at the Temple: 50, 5 ff.; 51, 14). A man of deep faith, Sirach from childhood devoted himself to assiduous study of the sacred books (prologue; 38, 24) and was a keen seeker of Wisdom (51, 13–30), enriching his experience through travel; he observed men and things (cf. 34, 12; 51, 13). Perhaps in his youth he was at the court of some foreign king (cf. 8, 8; 11, 1; 41, 17); he experienced misfortune, but God delivered him from every danger (34, 12; 51, 2–12). His ardent fidelity to Yahwism impelled him to communicate his doctrine to others (24, 30–34). He gathered around him in his school (51, 23, 29) the aristocratic youth of Jerusalem, to whom he taught the worship of God, the traditions, the Law—in short, religion, morals, jurisprudence, and the ways of wisdom. This explains in Sirach his perfect mastery of Hebrew, his profound knowledge of sacred literature, his breadth of vision, his realistic sense of life, the didactic tone of his teaching, and above all the multiplicity of subjects treated according to revealed principles and human experience, all aimed at giving young people the civic and moral education necessary to live well and please God.
Two indications fix the period when Sirach lived: a) ch. 50 vividly and concretely describes the high priest Simon, son of Onias, so that all agree in considering him contemporary with the author. There were two high priests with this name, one around 300 B.C., the other from 218 to 198 B.C.; the passage 50, 1–5 fits almost exclusively the pontificate of Simon II (Flavius Josephus, *Antig. Jud.*, 12, 4), which coincided with the youth of Sirach, who saw him officiating in the Temple; b) in the prologue, the grandson says he came to Egypt in the 38th year of King Euergetes, i.e., Ptolemy II (246–221 B.C.); for Ptolemy Euergetes II reigned only 23 years (170–145). We are therefore in 132 B.C., “shortly after which the Greek version of Sirach began”—so the grandfather lived between the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., about two generations, i.e., ca. 60 years; this is the time of Simon II. Probably around 180 B.C. Sirach completed his book.
He wrote it in Hebrew; not all at once, but as circumstances allowed he composed its various parts. Sirach pursued the same goal as the prophets and the “wise men”: the moral and religious formation of the “remnant” returned to Judah, the new Israel; with particular regard—as the grandson writes in the prologue—to the Jews of the diaspora, to preserve them from the influence of Hellenism. Sirach meditated and reworked all previous Revelation and presented it in his literary genre, drawing on experience and human reason (A. Robert, in *Riv. bibl.*, 44 [1933], pp. 504–506; A. Drubbel, in *Biblica*, 17 [1936], pp. 414–28).
Initially understood in a universalistic sense (1, 10, 25), Wisdom is identified with Yahwism; for Sirach, as for Wisdom, salvation or wisdom is the privilege of Israel. For the same political and cultural circumstances (predominance of the Seleucids, invasion of Hellenism: Spicq, p. 532 sq.), Sirach explicitly teaches what is implicitly "hinted at" in Proverbs, concerning the election of Israel, the Sinai covenant, and the special relationship between Yahweh and Israel. Wisdom is the Yahwist moment; its rules are contained in the sacred books, especially in the Torah. Israel has the mission to enlighten the nations, which can participate in wisdom by adhering to Yahwism (cf. 17, 1-17; 24; 36, 17; etc.; Spicq, pp. 653, 684-86, 746 sq.; A. Vaccari, in DFC, IV, col. 1204 sq.). Moreover, true worship is in Jerusalem (32, 14 sqg.; 50); praise is given to the most Yahwist figures (44-50); the Philistines and Samaritans are cursed (50, 25 sqg.). The new Israel is the heir of Mosaic theocracy (50, 13 sqg.; etc.); its transition to the Messianic Kingdom is hinted at (36, 14-17). Other elements of messianic hope: the perpetuity of Israel (37, 25; 44, 13); the Davidic lineage (47, 11); the Messiah’s precursor (48, 10 sqg.), typically announced in the prophet Elijah (v.).
Yahweh, who governs the universe with wisdom (cf. 39, 12-40, 27), searches hearts (42, 18 sqg.), discerns His worshippers (cf. 16, 16-23; 33, 11 sqg.), and helps them remain faithful (2, 17 sg.; 22, 27-23, 6, etc.). The fear of God brings heavenly blessings (23, 1; 40, 26) and forms the happiness of life (23, 27). One must not be influenced by the prestige of the wicked (4, 27 sg.; 7, 14 sgg.; etc.), nor seek their friendship (9, 16). God forgives those who stray and repent (17, 24 sgg.; 18, 13), but will punish the wicked and glorify Himself by defending His people (35, 19-36, 17; 50, 23 sgg.).
Chapter 24, the culmination and doctrinal synthesis of the entire book, presents Wisdom as a reality that has always existed with God the Creator and supreme Legislator; and that God communicated to Israel as His inheritance. A reality that speaks, as if it were a person; it dwells permanently among the Israelites and produces its salutary effects in them.
The Jews, though not speculative, represent—by personifying—the Law, the Word, and the Spirit of Yahweh, entities not seen as mere abstractions but as concrete realities, to which, however, no personal existence is ever attributed, that is, one effectively distinct and independent from that of the subject who possesses them. This is a poetic personification of a divine attribute or of the essential divine wisdom; yet it orients the spirit toward the idea of an autonomous person (cf. Prov. 8; Wis. 7). After the coming of Christ, the eternal Word (John 1, 1-14; cf. 1 Cor. 1, 24 sg.; Col. 1, 15 sgg.), it was easy to recognize Him in the characteristics of eternal Wisdom described by Sirach, in a fuller sense. Finally, it became natural to apply to the Virgin Mary (seat of wisdom) what is said of wisdom shared by men, in a spiritual and allegorical sense.
The Hebrew text of Sirach (cf. the prologue), known to St. Jerome (Praef. in lib. Salom.: PL 28, 1242), cited in its Hebrew form and in Aramaic in Talmudic and rabbinic literature up to the 10th century, seemed definitively lost. Between 1896 and 1900, in the genizah or storeroom of the old synagogue of Moses in Cairo, some fragments of the Hebrew text were rediscovered, previously used in synagogue worship and now discarded.
The recovered manuscripts are classified as follows: M. (11th century), 6 ff.; 3, 6-16, 26; ms. B (12th century), 19 ff.; 30, 11-33, 3; 35, 11-38, 27; 39, 15-51, 30; ms. C (10th-11th century), 4 ff.; a florilegium of chaps. 4-7, 18-20, 23-27; ms. D 1 ff.; 36, 29-38, 1. In 1930, among the manuscripts of the E. Adler collection in New York, at the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, a new leaf was found, ms. of Sirach: 32, 16-33, 32; 34, 1. Thus, three-fifths of the original text have been discovered: 40 chapters out of 51, with approximately 100 verses out of the 1,616 contained in the Greek version. A complete edition of all the aforementioned fragments was produced by M. S. Segal (Liber Sapientiae filii Sira, Jerusalem 1933). The Hebrew text offered by these manuscripts is less perfect than that of the other sacred books. “Scribes and copyists allowed themselves with Sirach much more freedom or negligence than with the Sacred Scriptures of the Hebrew canon” (Vaccari). The Hebrew, Greek, and Syriac versions offer three independent recensions of the original text; they are precious and substantially reliable witnesses for its reconstruction.
The Greek version generally renders the Hebrew felicitously, from a codex of excellent textual form. It is pure in Codex Vaticanus B and many other manuscripts and recensions; interpolated in ms. 248 and a few others. In Greek manuscripts, it is common—due to a leaf transposition error—for 30, 26-33, 16a to be placed after 36, 13. Editors (H. B. Swete, A. Rahlfs) restore the order attested by the Hebrew, as well as by the Syriac, Old Latin, and internal evidence.
The Syriac version, made directly from the Hebrew but with little care and intelligence, presupposes a text less perfect than the previous one; it contains omissions and paraphrases, harmonizations, and readings from the less pure form of the Greek.
The Vulgate preserves the ancient Latin version, not even revised by St. Jerome; it derives from a Greek codex of the second recension, quite interpolated. Over time, it underwent additions, duplications, and glosses. Though emended—helped by patristic citations—it often offers excellent readings (Vaccari).
Sirach is among the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament, i.e., among the few sacred books whose canonicity was once doubted due to the lack of a definitive Church declaration. The cause of such doubts was its exclusion from the Jewish canon, fixed by the Pharisees toward the end of the 1st century AD, because it was considered later than the men of the "Great Synagogue," after whom—it was claimed—no more sacred books would have been written. A futile and arbitrary reason, since Ecclesiastes, for example, dates to the 3rd-2nd century BC, while the cessation of prophecy was conventionally placed in the 4th century. The Protestant stance, which adheres to the Jewish canon, is therefore unjustified. Sirach itself presents itself as prophetic and inspired (cf. 24, 33; 39, 12; 51, 16; etc.), and in the prologue the translator equates Sirach with the other sacred books and attests to its use among Palestinian Jews.
Moreover, Sirach is used as a divine book by Enoch, the Psalms of Solomon, Jewish liturgy (in the Eighteen Benedictions, in the Hymn for the end of the Sabbath), and especially by the Talmud, which cites it even with the solemn formula "it is written" (Bērākhōth, 48a). Some, without foundation, have detected a Sadducean tint in Sirach (cf. Spicq, p. 536 sq.) and believe the Pharisees excluded it for this reason.
The New Testament does not explicitly cite Sirach, but contains important references to it: cf. Matt. 11, 25-30 = Eccli. 51, 13 sg.; 1 Cor. 15, 8-10 = Eccli. 33, 16 sg.; 1 Cor. 7, 36 = Eccli. 42, 9; etc. (Spicq, p. 546); similarly in the Epistle of Barnabas and the Didache (cf. S.-M. Zarb, De historia canonis, Rome 1934, p. 130 sg.). The Fathers explicitly place Sirach among the Sacred Books, except for a few (St. Anastasius, St. Cyril of Jerusalem [4th century], St. Jerome [5th century]), who recognize its doctrinal and moral value and even cite it as Sacred Scripture (St. Anastasius, Contra arianos, 2, 79; PG 26, 313; St. Jerome, Epist. ad Iulian.: PL 22, 961; In Is., 3, 13; PL 24, 67), but when it comes to providing an undisputed list of sacred books for catechumens (or, for St. Jerome, under the influence of his rabbis), they give only the list of protocanonical books, confirmed by the Jewish canon. These doubts, which persisted into the 4th century in churches most in contact with the Jews, soon vanished.
Modern scholars agree on the non-inspiration of the prologue (with the exception of Spicq).