Ben Sira
Ben Sira was a scholar, who wrote the Sirach (or to -180. The only information we have of him are from this book. Written in Hebrew it was translated into Greek by his grandson, son in Egypt. This added a preface.
Who was he?
The prologue of the Greek version of Sirach calls him (l. 27) "Jesus son of Sira'h of Jerusalem." The copy in possession of Saadia Gaon door for its "Shim` on ben Yeshua ben Eleazar ben Sira, "in accordance with the Hebrew manuscript B. By interchanging "Shim'on" and "Yeshua", we get the same name in all the manuscripts.
The name "Shim` on "is confirmed by the Syriac version, which is" Yeshua son of Shim `on, surnamed Bar Asira. The difference between Bar and Bar Sira Asira is interesting to note, and "Asira" ("prisoner") is a folk etymology for Sira.
It finally seems that the author's name is Yeshua (, Frenchified in Jesus) ben Shimon ben Eleazar ben Sira.
As for the surname Sira means "thorn" in Aramaic. The addition of a chemical in Greek is a common procedure (cf. Acts 1:19, becomes Hakeldama hp).
According to the Greek version, but not the Syriac version, Ben Sira would have traveled a lot (xxxiv. 11) in hazardous conditions (ibid. 12). In the hymn of chapter li. He mentions the various perils which God has issued, but it could be an imitation of a poetic theme in the Psalms. The calumnies to which he was exposed in the presence of a king (probably Ptolemaic) are not mentioned elsewhere in the Greek version.
Finally, the only certainty that can be drawn from the text is that Ben Sira was a scholar, a scribe in the law, and particularly in what was later called the Wisdom Literature.
The alphabet of Yeshua Ben Sira
Hebrew writing of the tenth century, called the Alphabet of Ben Sira Yeshua tells the myth of Lilith , the first woman created by God as equal to Adam before Eve. Here is the beginning:
"God created Adam and saw he was alone. He said: "It is not good for man to be alone." Then He created a woman from the earth as Adam and he called Lilith. Adam and Lilith began quarreling. He said: "I do not lie down under you, but just above you. You're made to be below, because I am better than you." Lilith replied: "I do not lie down under you but you. We are equal, we were created in the same land." Neither would yield. When Lilith saw him, she pronounced the Ineffable Name and went into the air. "
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