UC-NRLF $C 155 017 vm £sijlVlli, £>:. 'S^.«^I -/^ ?^(/tnbl v^Uo.iDIO 130 ? see our text, p. 10, 1. 8) similar in character to the book of Proverbs. '" The many passages in which the translator has misunderstood his original, written only some sixty years before his own time, may perhaps serve as a warning to those scholars who are inclined to overrate the authority of the LXX version of the Old Testament. ' It is remarkable that only five quotations are found in the Palestinian Talmud; see below, p. xix seqq. (Nos. \.b, XVII, XXVI, XXXII, LIV). b X PREFACE. In early times the book seems to have hovered on the verge of the canon, or to have been included among the D'lina (Hagiographa, see p. xxii below), since quotations from it are introduced by -iCNJC (as it is said), a phrase applied only to the sacred writings. Although afterwards excluded from the canon by the Rabbis, it continued to live and to be appreciated both in the Palestinian and the Babylonian schools, as is proved by the fact that the text was constantly quoted either in the original or in a Rabbinical or Aramaic form. The Rabbis who lived before the destruction of the Temple used it without acknowledgement in the ' Sentences of the Fathers' (nUN ''pis, the earliest production of Rabbinical literature), while others quote from it either expressly under the name of Ben Sira, or anonymously, or else base their maxims upon it^ Rabbi Akiba and Ben Azai borrowed from it verbatim ^ and there is reason to believe that some apocryphal books were influenced by it''. Thus the official exclusion from the canon did not involve destruction, as in the case of some Christian uncanonical Gospels and Acts : the book of Sirach was allowed to be freely read, but it was regarded merely as literature and not as sacred *. Passing on to the later history of the book, we find that S. Jerome '' (fourth century A. D.) possessed a Hebrew copy, although he did not translate it. That the book continued to be known, to individuals at least if not generally, is proved by the passages quoted from it (in a language already debased), by the Rabbis of the fifth and sixth centuries, in the later Midrashim of the seventh and eighth centuries (as the Tanhuma), and in the sayings collected by R. Nathan in the ninth century^. Zunz (op. cit., p. io8, end of note e) believes that the early liturgist, R. Eleazar haq-Qalir, borrowed from Sirach (1. 5-8) in his liturgy for the day of Atonement, in praise of the High Priest. Simultaneously some of the sayings of Sirach are quoted by the Babylonian doctors in an Aramaic form '. For the tenth century we are on even firmer ground as to the existence of the book in its original language. R. S^adyah (nn^o) Gaon, of Bagdad (920 A. D.), and of the Fayyum in Egypt, was blamed by the Qaraites* for sending out ' The quotations were first collected by Asaria de Rossi. For a list of them, see below, pp. xix to xxviii, and, for the literature dealing with them, Zunz, op. cit., pp. 108, 109, and notes. * Bacher, Die Agada der Tannaiten, i. p. 277, note 2; p. 417, notes I and 2. ' See e. g. the list of parallel passages cited by Mr. Charles in The Book of the Secrets of Enoch (Oxford, 1896), p. 96, Index I ; and Ryle and James, The Psalms of Solomon (Cambridge, 1891), p. Ixiii seq. ' mrsa N-npa pa Nllpn, J. T. Synhedrin X. 5. ' The well-known passage in his preface to the translation of the books of Solomon is as follows : ' Fertur et TraydpfTor Jesu fiHi Sirach liber at alius yjfev&eniypacfios, . qui Sapientia Salomonis inscribitur. Quorum priorem Hebraicum repperi, non Ecclesiasticum ut apud Latinos, sed Parabolas praenotatum, cui juncti erant Ecclesiastes et Canticum Canticorum, ut similitudinem Salomonis non solum librorum numero, sed etiam materiarum genere coaequaret.' S. Jerome simply adopted the old Latin version of the book ; see pp. xxxvii to xlvii. ' Critically re-edited by S. Schechter, Vindobonae, 1887. ' Dalman, Grammatik, p. 29. • * A Jewish sect which sprang up in the eighth century under Anan (pv), and denied the authority of oral tradition. See Harkavy in Gratz Geschichte d. Jiiden, 3rd ed., vol. v. p. 413 (note 17). PREFACE. xi missives -written in Hebrew provided with vowel-points and accents. They re- proached him with endeavouring to give to his correspondence an appearance of holiness equal to that of the Biblical text, since the vowel-points and accents were supposed, according to tradition, to have been given with the Law on Mount Sinai. In answer to this accusation S'adyah ^ states that these additions to the text are found also in copies of Ben Sira, in the book of the Wisdom of Eleazar ben Irai (Iri^), and in the scroll of the Hasmoneans^. In the course of his defence he quotes seven (or rather eight, see note 2 below) genuine sayings of Sirach* in classical Hebrew, so that it may be concluded that the book was at his disposal in the tenth century. The mentions of Ben Sira after this date are scanty and uncertain. R. Nissim ben Jacob (eleventh century) of Kairowan, in Tunisia, makes a quotation, which however he may have derived from S''adyah. In the eleventh century, according to Reifmann^, signs of Sirach's influence appear in the collection of sayings entitled D''3''32n in3D (Choice of Pearls), attributed to the famous poet and philosopher Solomon ben Gabirol® (Avicebron). The same scholar' also finds traces of the influence of Sirach (ii. 18) in the Jewish daily prayer*, and (xlix. 10 and 11) in the hymn" for the outgoing of the Sabbath. He contends further that Sirach has an allusion (i. 2) to Aristotle and the doctrine of the eternity of matter, and that even Spinoza was perhaps influenced by Sirach (xliv. 34). These suggestions, as well as the inference (from the-T*!:faiiiatc-'form oTlhe proverb, No. LIV below), that he was an Essene, are, to say the least, not convincing. There is no direct trace of the existence of the Hebrew Sirach in Ispain, i:'rovence, or among the Rabbis of France, the Rhine-land, and Germany. Rashi^", the authors of the glosses on the Talmud (maoin), and even Maimonides ^^, did not possess the book ; and later Rabbis, who mention sentences from it, most probably quoted second-hand from ' 'lijjn 130, p. 162. ° ''NT'J,* or •'I'V. It is curious to note that the saying . . . lOD K7B1D3 (p. xix), ascribed in the Talmud to Ben Sira and found in the Greek version, is quoted by 5'adyah (op. cit., p. 178, \. 18) as belonging to the Wisdom of Ben Irai. Of this Eleazar b. Irai, S''adyah also quotes two other sentences in classical Hebrew, but not in so easy a style as most of Sirach. He says Ben Irai's book of Wisdom is analogous to Ecclesiastes, while Ben Sira resembles the book of Proverbs. Of this enigmatical Eleazar ben Irai nothing further is known. Perhaps he is identical with the R. Eleazar who often reports sayings Nl'D [3 DC! (see p. xix). Bacher {Die Agada d. Paldstinischen Amoider, ii. 1896, p. 11, note 5) identifies him, not very plausibly, with Eleazar ben Pedath. ^ Edited by Dr. M. Caster; see Notice in Jewish Quarterly Review, vi. p. 570. * See pp. xix to xxiii. * In the Hebrew periodical tl'DNH, iii. p. 250. ^ See Steinschneider, Die Hebrdischen Ueberseizungen, p. 382 seqq. (§ 221). ' In the essay on Ben Sira in his D^tjnn ny3"lN (Prag, i860), p. 3 seqq. ' See the Authorised Daily Prayer Book, with a new translation by the Rev. S. Singer, p. 62, bi vcm Dim 13 nin*' 1^3 w n^jsj. ' Beginning ttt Jewish Quarterly Review, ix. p. 1 15 seqq. " Mr. Schechter (ibid., p. 4) considers it ' certainly not later than the beginning of the twelfth century.' * These are indicated in the MS. by a small circle ° over the word in the te.xt, which we reproduce. PREFACE. xiii incomplete, the marginal notes giving their variants only as far as chapter xlv. 8 (see note in loco), and on xlvii. 8 and 9. In the Bodleian fragment there are also at least two Persian glosses (ff. 1 and 5''), which point to its having been written in Bagdad or Persia, possibly transcribed from S'^adyah's copy. The MS. is written on oriental paper, and is arranged in lines, eighteen to the page (in Mrs. Lewis' leaf one line is cut ofl"), and the lines are divided into hemistichs. There is no indication of chapters, but a line is left blank occasionally, as shown in our printed text. The MS. is unfortunately damaged in many places, which we have marked by dots, showing approximately the number of letters missing, and by [ ] when letters are supplied. Our object being however to give the text of Sirach as we found it, we have carefully restricted conjecture to its narrowest limits. In some cases we have preferred to leave a lacuna, where either the space in the MS. did not allow of what seemed the obvious word, or some letter such as i?, j, or p was excluded; see e.g. xlv. i;^''. In every case a letter about which we felt there could be any reasonable doubt, has been marked with a horizontal stroke, thus S. On some orthographical peculiarities of the MS. see the note appended to the glossary, p. xxxvi. As regards the translation again, we have deemed it our duty as editors of a unique manuscript, to express the text faithfully, and not to adopt conjectural readings, except where the text yielded absolutely no sense. Usually, indeed, the meaning is clear; but passages occur which, from whatever cause, are obscure, and we cannot feel confident that we have seized the sense of all of them. A (?) in the translation indicates doubt either as to the reading or the rendering. There are sufficient indications that the text is not everywhere in its original purity, and we do not doubt that (as in many parts of the O. T.) cases will he found in which a purer reading has been preserved by one or other of the early versions ; but a detailed comparison of the Hebrew text and the versions, and a discussion of their comparative merits, must, we think, be left to a commentary, as well as to a time when, we may hope, more of the original shall have been recovered. We have noted, lastly, the more important places in which the language is coloured by reminiscences of the Old Testament. The language, as already observed, is classical Hebrew, the syntax displaying no traces of the peculiar New-Hebrew constructions, such as occur, for instance, so frequently in Ecclesiastes ', though the vocabulary has an admixture of late or Aramaic words or expressions, such as might be expected from the date at which the author wrote. The latter, together with other words not occurring in Biblical Hebrew, will be found collected in the glossary (p. xxxi). The style is occasionally a little heavy, but this may sometimes be due to corruption of the text. Otherwise (especially chap. xliv. ff.) it is remarkably easy and flowing. It stands throughout on an altogether higher level than that, for instance, of Chronicles, Ecclesiastes, or the Hebrew ' The relative B* never occurs; the imperfect with 1 consecutive occurs frequently; the perfect with 1 consecutive in 42, i". 8^ il<^; the perfect with simple 1 only in 39, 32. 44, 2. 16. 20^ 48, 11. 12''. xiv PREFACE. parts of Daniel. We know from Ecclesiastes that the New-Hebrew idiom was in process of formation at this time, and it is evident that both New- Hebrew and Aramaic ' words were current in the Hebrew with which the author was familiar ; but the pre- dominant character of his style is nevertheless pure and classical. The marginal readings are often interesting : the variations which they indicate are frequently considerably greater than those noted by the Massorites in the O. T., and resemble rather the various readings often presupposed by the LXX, while at other times they are noticeable as giving an Aramaic equivalent for a Hebrew word in the text. Sirach's position with regard to the New-Hebrew would no doubt be made clearer by the discovery of the originals of other apocryphal books, such as Judith, Maccabees i, Enoch, and the Psalms of Solomon. Finally the theory that he wrote his proverbs in metre is not supported by the newly-recovered text : the lines are very variable in length, and there is no indication that the author sought to adapt them to a uniform metrical scheme. In the present edition we give : — {a) The Hebrew text, with the marginal notes and glosses arranged as in the MS. {b) The English translation of the Hebrew, adopting as far as possible the diction of the revised version of^the-Or-T: — (zr) The Syriac version "(which was made from the Hebrewj^-aeeertiing^-tcr-iagarde's edition, a blank space indicating that the translator, or copyist, omitted a passage, {d) The Greek translation, according to Dr. Swete's edition, the blanks again indicating such omissions. The uncertain condition of the Greek text is well illustrated by Hatch ^, and will strike the reader on even a slight examination. Its value for comparative purposes is further lessened by the translator's tendency to paraphrase, as is the case also with the Syriac. (e) At the end, the Old Latin, according to Lagarde's edition of the Codex Amiatinus. For more convenient reference we have in all five texts numbered the chapters and verses as in Dr. Swete's edition, and indicated the hemistichs by letters of the alphabet in order. The Syriac, Greek, and Latin texts are reproduced exactly as in the editions followed. It did not fall within our plan to give the variants of these versions. (/) A glossary of noticeable words and expressions, [g) A list of proverbs attributed to Sirach in Talmudic and Rabbinical literature, with a translation, arranged in the order of the Greek version. Here again we resolved not to add the various readings, since the Talmudic dialect is not the original language of Sirach, and moreover, all the new Talmudic fragments found within the last two years have not yet been collated. For completeness sake we have added the so-called 'Alphabets' of Ben Sira, a late composition^probably of the eleventh century or perhaps even later, but containing som.e genuine proverbs of Sirach, both in the first and second parts ^. The stories given after each proverb in part i. are mostly indecent, and ' The strong Syriasms which sometimes occur, deserve notice, as 'I'.IJTD (4;, 5") and TinDfl (43, 12"). ' Op. cit., p. 258 seqq. ' In tlie Bodleian MS. No. 1466 the order is reversed. PREFACE. XV written in- mockery of Jewish literature. We reproduce the first 3N (MS. second), with a translation : for the second (MS. first), we only refer to the numbers in our list of proverbs with which it agrees, ignoring the rest as alien to Sirach. The Alphabets ^, though a late and unedifying compilation ■^, survived, whilst Ecclesiasticus was completely neglected. A Persian text of them was lately acquired by the British Museum (MS. Or. 4731), and another copy has just been brought by Mr. E. N. Adler from Persia, probably translated from the Constantinople edition (see below, p. xxix). {h) Some specimens of attempted restorations of the original Hebrew by modern scholars confronted with our text. The comparison will, we think, justify the caution and reservation which must be observed in attempting to restore lost works on the basis of ancient translations^. In the present instance, for example, both versions prove to be much freer than was assumed to be the case by those who so used them. In conclusion, we have great pleasure in acknowledging the help of friends who have enabled us to carry through the work in a short time in spite of difficulties. Mr. J. F. Stenning, of Wadham College, rendered valuable aid in deciphering the difficult parts of the MS., including the Cambridge leaf, and in all doubtful places he concurs in the readings which we have adopted in our text. He also revised the Syriac. Mr. E. N. Bennett, of Hertford College, read the Greek : Rev. F. E. Brightman, Librarian of the Pusey House, read the Latin. Professor D. S. Margoliouth has also shown an interest in the work in various ways. We feel, however, specially grateful to the Regius Professor of Hebrew, Dr. Driver. He revised the translation throughout, besides being entirely responsible for the glossary, with the note appended, and almost every page of the book owes something to the judgement and accuracy which he has been always ready to expend upon it. ' The Editio princeps is that of Constantinople, 1519. (The Bodleian copy is defective.) For the other editions, see Steinschneider's Catalogus Librorum Hebraeoruin in Bibliotheca Bodleiana, Berolini, 1852-1860; and Zedner's Catalogue of Hebrew Books in the British Museum (London, 1867), with Van Straalen's Supplement (1894). " See Reifmann, Hakarmel ii. p. 124 seq. * Cf. Driver in The Oxford Magazine, vol. viii (1890), no. 11, p. 182, and no. 12, p. 190 seq. A LIST OF WORKS USED. Backer (W.), Die Agada der babylonischen Amoraer. Strassburg, 1878. Die Agada der Tannaiten. Strassburg, 1884. Ball (C. J.), The Ecclesiastical or Deutero-Canonical Books of the Old Testament, commonly called the Apocrypha, edited with various renderings and readings from the best Authorities. [The Variorum Bible], Eyre and Spottiswoode, London, n. d. Ben Seeb (Wolfsohn, Jehuda Loeb), . . , nay ])^b2 pnVJ NT'D p ynn* noan. Wien, 18 14. BicKELL (G.), Die Strophik des Ecclesiasticus, in the Vienna Oriental Journal, vi. (1892), p. 87. Compare his restoration of the alphabetical poem (51, 13-20) in the Zeitschrift ftir Katholische Theologie, 1882, p. 326 seqq. CoRONEL (N. N.), D'Dit2:ip nccn (for the Baraitha Kallah). Vindobonae, 1864. Dalman (G.), Grammatik des Jiidisch-Palastinischen Aramaisch. Leipzig, 1894. Driver (S. R.) in the Oxford Magazine, vol. viii. no. 11 (p. 182), and no. 12 (p. 190). Oxford, 1890. Dukes (L.), Zur rabbinischen Spruchkunde. Wien, 1851. Rabbinische Blumenlese. Leipzig, 1844. Edersheim (A.) in the Holy Bible with an explanatory and critical commentary, &c. Apocrypha, edited by Henry Wace, D. D., vol. ii. London (Murray), 1888. EicHHORN, Bibliothek. Leipzig, 1787 &c. (vol. ii. p. 691 seqq.). Frankel (S. L), D'JnriN DUina, Hagiographa posteriora ... in linguam Hebraicam convertit . . . S. Isaac Frankel. Lipsiae, 1830. Fritzsche (O. F.), Libri Apocryphi Veteris Testamenti. Lipsiae, 1871. Gabirol (R. Salomon ibn), D'J''JSn nn3D nSD, A Choice of Pearls, originally compiled from the Arabic . . . translated into Hebrew by R. Jehuda ibn Tibbon, the Hebrew text . . . accompanied by a faithful English translation by the Rev. B. H. Ascher. London (Trubner), 5619-1859. Geiger (A.) in the Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, vol. xii. (p. 536 seqq.). Gratz (H.), Geschichte der Juden. Leipzig, 1874. Hamburger (J.), Real-Encyclopadie fiir Bibel und Talmud. Supplement, Band i. p. 77 seqq. (art. Jesus Sohn Sirach). Leipzig, 1886. Harkavy (A.), Studien u. Mittheilungen aus der Kaiserlichen Oeffentlichen Bibliothek zu St. Petersburg: fiinfler Theil, erstes Heft. St. Petersburg, 1891. Hatch (E.), Essays in Biblical Greek (p. 246 seqq.). Oxford, 1889. Horowitz (J.) in the Monatsschrift fiir Geschichte u. Wissenschaft des Judenthums, vol. xiv. (p. 1 01 seqq., p. 136 seqq., p. 178 seqq.). KoHUT (A.), Aruch completum. Viennae, 1 878-1 892. Lagarde (P. A. de), Libri Veteris Testamenti Apocryphi Syriace. Lipsiae, 1861. Mittheilungen. Gottingen, 1884 (p. 285 seqq.). A LIST OF WORKS USED. xvu Lambert (M.), Commentaire sur le Sefer Yesira . . . par le Gaon Saadya. Paris, 1891. Margoliouth (D. S.) in the Expositor, April and May, 1890. MiDRASH Tanhuma, cd. Warsaw, 1879. Rabba. Frankfurt, i 705. Neubauer (Ad.) in the Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. iv. (p. 162 seqq.). Catalogue of Hebrew MSS. in the Bodleian Library. Oxford, 1886. Rapoport (S. J.) in the Hebrew periodical D'ni'n *"i133, x. p. n6 seqq. (on Qalir). Wien, 1829. Reif.mann (J.) in the periodical ti'DNH, vol. iii. Warsaw, 1886. — D^enn nvais ncND. Prag, i860. in the periodical 7D^3^, ii. p. 124 seqq. Wilna, 1873. De Rossi (Asaria), □'<:'j; -mo, section n:u nr:N (p. 29 seqq.). Mantua, 1574. ScHECHTER (S.) in the Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. iii. no. 12 (July, 1891). in the Expositor, 5th series, no. xix. (July, 1896). Aboth de Rabbi Nathan. Vindobonae, 1887. SchDrer (E.) in the English translation, A History of the Je^vish People in the time of Jesus Christ, 2nd division, vol. iii. Edinburgh, 1886. in the Realencyclopadie fiir protes'tantische Theologie und Kirche, 3rd ed. Leipzig, 1896 (art. Apocryphen des Alten Testaments). SeADYAH, ^17jn nSD, in Studien u. Mittheilungen aus der Kaiserlichen Oeflfentlichen Bibliothek zu St. Petersburg, von Dr. A. Harkavy: funfter Theil, erstes Heft. St. Petersburg, 1891, Singer (S.), The Authorised Daily Prayer Book. London, 5655-1895. Steinschneider (M.), ni''D pT xnUNsi'N, Alphabetum Siracidis utrumque. Berolini, 1858. Die Hebraischen Uebersetzungen des Mittelalters. Berlin, 1893. Catalogus Librorum Hebraeorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana. Berolini, 1852-1860. Straalen (S. van). Catalogue of Hebrew Books in the British Museum. (London), 1894. Swete (H. B., D. D.), The Old Testament in Greek according to the LXX, vol. ii. Cambridge, 1891. Talmud, the Jerusalem. Krotoschin, 1866. the Babylonian. Frankfurt a. M., 1721. Tawrogi (a. J.), Derech Erez Sutta. Konigsberg, 1885. Taylor (C), Sayings of the Jewish Fathers, comprising Pirqe Aboth and Pereq R. Meir. Cambridge, 1877. WoLFSoHN, see Ben Seeb. Yetsira (Sepher), see Lambert. Zedner, Catalogue of Hebrew Books in the Library of the British Museum. (London), 1867. Zohar, ed. Lublin, 1882. ZuNZ (L.), Die gottesdienstlichen Vortrage der Juden . . . zweite . . . Auflage . . . herausgegeben von Dr. N. BrUll. Frankfurt a. M., 1892. SOME ATTEMPTS AT RECONSTRUCTING THE ORIGINAL OF SIRACH, Sir. 40, 14''. CONFRONTED WITH OUR TEXT. Ball. So shall transgressors come to nought. [Heb. perhaps, therefore (al-ken /or ken).] SiRACH. ;Dn'' TViib DNns "3 Sir. 40, 19. Edersheim (Margoliouth). Sons and daughters (mm pn) continue a man's name, &c. ('...the Syriac shows us that icoKfas is a gloss'). Frankel. Benzeeb (41, 20). : DB' un'' ip'i nu3 SiRACH. Sir. 44, 22. 23. BlCKELL. IVD^ D^pn pnya pi vni3-i33 nn'M apv' mr\y\ jvpi'n H^n' ijnri :i3-io'' : DVn^ IK'S? '3B> D*£23K' Sir. 45, 25. Fritzsche. 'E"-p mb nnnn-riNi maijon n^m mw navh : nni) po pi> Sir. 49, 9. Geiger. mj?D3 nar 2vs ns dj ; iiB" "'3-n ^DJ^ Frankel. in3n''i pnv'-riN innn m'Dv'i : px3 na-a^ rvff-h inana^i pinb apji'i' ! oats' Frankel (45, 29). ''B'^-p nn!? V3B': ns'Nai mwo DIB' ion TiS'ai' njnan moc'D ij'njn p FrXnkel. bi ntn fiDB' DCJ tvoni D^ona iai>in^i Nwnn : D'Diran lE'a Benzeeb (45, 14. 15). iiaya vac: pnv!» ?)« vni3N ni3-i3i vax nmax inn3 Dp"! : mas ^j3 N-ip in:n''i nuD ps ntn^ inx : t33B' Ityj? D'-JE'i' 3N Benzeeb (46, 18). 'B" p nnb yaB-: nB'K3 p ivira t23B' Ton ^nbi' : iviT^i 1^ njn3 pnx^ in: Benzeeb (49, 34). ^3 '3 noN avx h)^ ', D^E" vnimx SiRACH. p D''pn pRvij DJ1 J vas amax nnya (M. p) nanai i:n: jwkt b nna in::i3''l :^KnB''' B>Nn bv nm (M. misaa inja'i) n3i3a ina»y[i] Mn^m "h jn'i ; ne^y d':e' p^ni? D'uaB'i' SiRACH. 'B» p nn Dy inna dji '':ai' B'N nbn: mm' nDoi* nj?"it bab pns rhm niaa SiRACH. 31''^5 nx Tarn d:i BEN SIRA'S PROVERBS PRESERVED IN TALMUDIC AND RABBINIC LITERATURE'. I. Sir. 3, 21. ^aXfVwTepa. (tov fir) ^rjT€l, KOI l(T)(yp6T€pd (TOV fvq i^tra^e. 2 2. a TrpoariTayr] (Tol, ravTa StavooC" ov yap i(TTiv croi 'Xpua twv KpvTTTmv. a. S'adyah in ibOT "d (ed. Harkavy), p. 178, 1. 18, quotes as an extract from the Wisdom of Eleazar ben Irai (see Preface, p. xi) tlie following : .npnn bn noo nDi3»3 .Kmn ba idd N^Dica nnnD33 poy i^j ^ n^) .piann nn''Bnn ncxa This seems to be the original text of Ben Sira. Inquire not into that which is too difficult for thee ; and that which is concealed from thee search not out. Attend to that which is permitted to thee : thou hast no business with hidden things. 6. HDD HN'^s ; ni''D -\2 a^2 (1. e. -iry^x) irv^ '21 * nn-tinintj' n»3 .iipnn no S^incc npioy .SJin no npriDJi pay i? px .punn J. T. Haghigah, ii. (fol. 77°). That which is too difficult for thee, why shouldest thou know ? that which is deeper than Sheol, why shouldest thou search out ? Attend to that which is permitted to thee ; thou hast no business with hidden things. c. Ptna .M-nn iix loo bnsa ntd p "\bd3 nina * IDD nDi3K)3 .vnn b noo N^aioa .nipnn ba ico nnnon poy i? psi piann n''tnnB> n»3 .^Ktjri ^n B. T. Haghigah, fol. 13*. Inquire not into that which is too great for thee ; and that which is too hard for thee, search not out. ' The proverbs marked with an asterisk C That which is too difficult for thee do not know ; and that which is concealed from thee do not ask. Attend to that which is permitted to thee ; thou hast no business with hidden things. d. n»D ^nn (i. e. Ni'D p) 55 0^2 6x -irr5't< '">* b2 ^»D x^BiDD iipnn ba hdd pirna e^mn ^k punn n-anntJ' n»3 i'NB'n bn loo noism vnn nnriDja poy i? ps Midrash Rabba n'«)«i3, viii. (MS. vii, see Bodl. New Heb. Cat., No. 147, fol. 12''). II. Sir. 4, 30. /JLT] 'i eytvero ; 6 yap icvpios i(TTiv paKp6dv)iocu^)o us^o Great and small do not injure. Aboth, iv. 6. Despise not any man. VII. Sir. 6, 6. 01 €iprjv{vovT€i troi i S'adyah, p. 178, 1. 3. If thou gettest a friend, get him by proving, and be not hasty to trust in him ; for there is a friend according to the occasion ; and he will not abide in the day of adversity. IX. Sir. 6, 13. diro TU)V ixOpwv crov 8iax<^pio-6riTi, Kal CtTTO TWV i\(OV (TOV 7rp0(T£^€. nnrn T^niNoi h3n T'nje;«* S'adyah, p. 178,1. 8. Separate thyself from them that hate thee, and be careful of thy friends. X. Sir. 7, I. pi-r] iroiu KOKCt, Kal ov /atJ ae KaTaXd^rj KaKov. Cf 12, 2. t6 e'^31 n3yn xi? ^2b 3t2 .ntd 13 icn t6na* lb »DD' Bereshith R., p. 44"; Midrash Qoheleth v; Midrash Tanhuma npn § 1. Ben Sira said the proverb: Do not good to the evil, and evil will not befall thee. See Schechter,_/. Q. J^. iii. p. 694, No. 17 and note. XL Sir. 7, 10. p}) oXj.yoijrvx'^oyji iv rfj TrpocrtvpfjJ crov. Dico i'i'sn' bit vbv n^wc inyn pkb* b an ncN B. T. Erubin, fol. 65*. ' Text has mv ' to teach.' Rashi (Solomon of Troyes) says : I have searched to find this verse in the Hagiographa, but did not succeed. Perhaps it is in Sirach. Rab said : Let not a man pray whose mind is not at rest within him, because it is said : In adversity who shall give thanks ? Perhaps a reminiscence of Ps. 6, 6. XII. Sir. 7, 17. TaireivuxTov 6Spa ttjv i/'UX'?'' '^°^- oTi €k8ik7jctis dtrtySovs irvp Kal crKwXrji. [So NA arrange the lines.] n]ib)n DIN 131 nm mm nipntr nn bs^ ^n ind nxo Aboth, iv. 7. Cf. No. LVI below. Be humble exceedingly in spirit ; for the hope of man is a worm, and the son of man is a maggot (cf. Job 25, 6). BEN S IRA'S PROVERBS. XXI XIII. Sir. 8, 5. fiT] ov«'8i^€ avOpwirov a.Trou)V, (cat iv Tais irapoifniais avriav dvaarpiifiov' OTi Trap avTMV fiaO-qo-r) iraiSuav Kai XeiTovpyrjcrai fieyi<7Taia Tairuvov avvij/wcrev Kefj)aX-^v, Kai iv fJi€(rij) fi.iyiv KaOifru avrov. Tfli NTD pn N-1B''D3* (Prov. 4, 8) ^Donn1 nijo^D So in J. T. Berakhoth, vii. 2, and in Midrashim: the B. T. Berakhoth, fol. 48", quotes Proverbs 4, 8, entire, omitting the last three words of the saying. See Reif- mann's essay on Ben Sira in f^'cnh iii. p. 248, 3. In the book of Ben Sira it is written : Exalt her and she shall lift thee up (Prov. 4, 8), and set thee among princes. XVIII. Sir. II, 8. Trpiv 7] aKovfrai fxr] airOKplvov, Kai. Iv /xeo-U) Xoymv /ir] 7rap€p./3dXXov. 0:2: •\2''ii^ . . . Dana nyaci o^m D>im nyac a'OTij bn2: irxi n^an nan ^1ni' Aboth, V. 10. Seven things are in a clod, and seven in a wise man. (The wise man) . . . does not interrupt the words of his companion ; and is not hasty to reply . . . Cf. Prov. 18, 13. Monatsschrift, 1865, p. 186, note 8. Sir. II, 9. XIX. Trepi TrpayfiaTos ov ovk iuTiv (Tol xpeta firj cpi^e. |na imv i^ pIM t6& onana pDyrot}* Midrash Tanhuma (p. 73") N^«1, n. For he was busied with matters whereof he had no need. XX. Sir. II, 28. Trpo TeXevrtj's p/rj jxaKapi^e p,rjSiva, Kai iv TEKvois avTov yv(o(T$ij(TeTaL dvijp. E^N tajn'' innnNa 'a -irxn bn m» •':sh* S'adyah, p. 1 78, 1. 6. Call no one happy before (his) death, for by his end shall a man be known. XXll ECCLESIASTICUS. Sir. II, 29. XXI. inr) iravra av$pu)Trov eicraye el's Tov oikov (Tov. in*3 N'-an bn sh nnu iina D^n V30* B. T. Synhedrin, fol. 100" ; Yebamoth, fol. 63>>. Keep away many from the midst of thy house, and bring not every man into thy house. Sir. 13, 2. X^II- l(T)(ypoTfp^ 3->3 '3* S'atJyah, p. 178, 1. 15. For with much talk will he try thee, and will laugh at thee, and search thee out. Cf. No. XXXIV below. Sir. 13, 16. XXIV. iracra erap^ koto. yeVos (rvvdyeTm, Kai T(3 6p,oitp aitrov Trpo(TKoWr]Ori-^v. Tj yap SiaOrjKri dir alSjvo'S Oavdrw aTroOavy. 18. (!)s <^vXXov OdWov IttI SevBpov 8ar] TTVevfiaroi. min: Dy\ nv[:ni] XLII. [:N]Tcr DHD n^y n^i jD^in p'^T ccc nhV jpy nian miJDi nn''3K nxr mmi 2 D^iy niNi fp ni'B'D[o] : insipni n , j; j'sm nnwriB'na niij no nm^^TD w"* I'^o :!)« ''61103 THTD niNi m[n3i] mnw nxo 13 . . ja nno: ^°s< n^i nipn°nvjni V 1^1 b- jmvDi naiD iia[x njiay^r See xlii. 25 and xliii. i ; and for the 2^—XLni. i7\ nro nr d''jib' nb 24 non imx3° yao vov 2 i>an nTn' n\-ivna 3 piVD nn» niS3 iia 4 16 (fol. 3 verso.) u. ui 'i rt e " a 3-^ O j fcl -J o , e l3 y =) naCIJ IDjn niXO PSB'? 4<: a j ? if o » o H :£ d ^ intny 1" pnj '■as ^ ^ ^ - s mat}' ninj) m* ni'' dji 6 pin *:Dn nviD° na 7 Bnnno xin lanna tnn 8 Diio 'l^aj Nax 'b 8° 3313 -nm DICE' nwn 9 pn lejT' ba nana 10 irenv nnai nrp nsn n inniaaa°na''pn°pin 12 pna ninn inniaj 13 :i "3 ^ 3 o ^ !J ^ [n]viN sna fyoi? 14 ^ j n f o 'U i3 J » » t ' -. si ^ , ,0 :r ^ 3 J iriN bin" iDyn bip 17 ^i ^ ^ in«s3 r^BiD psia TO rw n? ■» •uooi 'to 11 Nlm TOUI3 riDvn Tin wo') XLIII. translation, p. 15, note 9. Job 25, 2. .j|>:^k.^ ^.so? rUo Uii)? ]l^cu.l .nM.-»«H^\o h«iV>\ U-iieLik. »A^ 2 XLIII. .|»CLi? );^ ^i ?*^o»^ 4° .00»JL>? •/ .a.^aoJ ).jufja i,.\ •