Language and Interpretation in the Syriac Text of Ben Sira
Language and Interpretation in the Syriac Text of Ben Sira

Author: Willem Th. van Peursen

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2007-12-31

Total Pages: 491

ISBN-13: 9047423615

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This book is the result of an innovative linguistic study of the Syriac translation of Ben Sira. It contains both a traditional philological analysis, incorporating matters of text-historical interest and translation technique, and also the results of a computational linguistic analysis of phrases, clauses and texts. It arrives at new linguistic insights, including a proposal for a corpus-based description of phrase structure based on a so-called maximum matrix. The book also addresses the fundamentally different way in which a text is approached in a computer-assisted analysis compared with the way in which this is done in traditional philological approaches. It demonstrates how the computer-assisted analysis can fruitfully shed light on or supplement traditional philological research.

Language and Interpretation in the Syriac Text of Ben Sira
Language and Interpretation in the Syriac Text of Ben Sira

Author: W. Th Van Peursen

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 492

ISBN-13: 9004163948

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After subjecting the Syriac translation of Ben Sira to traditional philological analysis the author conducts computer-assisted linguistic studies of phrases, clauses and texts. He reaches particularly interesting proposals for a corpus-based description of phrase structure based on a so-called maximum matrix.

The Texts and Versions of the Book of Ben Sira
The Texts and Versions of the Book of Ben Sira

Author: Jean-Sébastien Rey

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2011-06-09

Total Pages: 364

ISBN-13: 900420718X

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The Book of Ben Sira comes to us in a bewildering variety of ancient textual forms. Each version shows how the book was received and interpreted in a new situation and by another community of readers. The present volume contains studies by some of the best specialists in this field of research. Each of the ancient text forms of Ben Sira—Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, and Latin—is studied in its proper context and analysed in regard to what explains the typical changes it contains.

The Verbal System in the Hebrew Text of Ben Sira
The Verbal System in the Hebrew Text of Ben Sira

Author: Willem Th. van Peursen

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2017-07-03

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 9047412303

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This volume is a revised and enlarged version of the author's Ph.D. dissertation (1999). It gives a comprehensive analysis of the morphosyntax and syntax of the tenses in the Hebrew text of Ben Sira. Due attention is paid to the heterogeneous character of the textual evidence (three manuscripts from the Desert of Judah and six mediaeval manuscripts from the Cairo Geniza), which complicates any linguistic study of Ben Sira. A descriptive analysis is complemented by a comparison with other contemporaneous, earlier, and later forms of Hebrew. It is argued that the Hebrew of Ben Sira is a literary language in its own right, rather than an imitation of Biblical Hebrew or a predecessor of Mishnaic Hebrew.

Texts and Contexts of the Book of Sirach / Texte und Kontexte des Sirachbuches
Texts and Contexts of the Book of Sirach / Texte und Kontexte des Sirachbuches

Author: Gerhard Karner

Publisher: SBL Press

Published: 2017-09-15

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 0884142299

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Now available from SBL Press Thirteen essays, some in German and others in English, tackle the complicated history of textual transmission of Sirach. This book presents the proceedings of an international conference held in 2014 in Eichstaett, Germany on the text of Ben Sira within its historical contexts.Contributors include James K. Aitken, Pierre-Maurice Bogaert, Franz Böhmisch, Anthony J. Forte SJ, Jan Joosten, Otto Kaiser, Siegfried Kreuzer, Jean-Sébastien Rey, Werner Urbanz, Knut Usener, Oda Wischmeyer, Markus Witte, Benjamin G. Wright, and Burkard M. Zapff. Features: A sociocultural and theological history of Sirach Philological and textual problems of the Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions Translation strategies based on Greek, Syriac, and Latin text traditions and related hermeneutical questions

Discovering, Deciphering and Dissenting
Discovering, Deciphering and Dissenting

Author: James K. Aitken

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2019-01-29

Total Pages: 452

ISBN-13: 3110612976

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The discovery of Hebrew manuscripts of Ben Sira in the Cairo Genizah has shaped and transformed the interpretation of the book. It is argued here that a proper appreciation of the manuscripts themselves is also essential for understanding this ancient work. Since their discovery 120 years ago and subsequent identification of leaves, attention has been directed to the interpretation of the ancient book, the Wisdom of Ben Sira. Serious consideration should also be given to the Hebrew manuscripts themselves and their particular contributions to understanding the language and transmission of the book. The surprising appearance of a work that was preserved by Christians and denounced by some Rabbis raises questions over the preservation of the book. At the same time, diversity among the manuscripts means that exegesis has to be built on an appreciation of the individual manuscripts. The contributors examine the manuscripts in this light, examining their discovery, the codicology and reception of the manuscripts within rabbinic and medieval Judaism, and the light they throw on the Hebrew language and poetic techniques. The book is essential reading for those working on Ben Sira, the reception of the deuterocanon, and Medieval Hebrew manuscripts.

Figures who Shape Scriptures, Scriptures that Shape Figures
Figures who Shape Scriptures, Scriptures that Shape Figures

Author: Géza G. Xeravits

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2018-02-19

Total Pages: 252

ISBN-13: 3110593092

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The papers of the volume investigate how authoritative figures in the Second Temple Period and beyond contributed to forming the Scriptures of Judaism, as well as how these Scriptures shaped ideal figures as authoritative in Early Judaism. The topic of the volume thus reflects Ben Wright’s research, who—especially with his work on Ben Sira, on the Letter of Aristeas, and on various problems of authority in Early Jewish texts—creatively contributed to the study of the formation of Scriptures, and to the understanding of the figures behind these texts.

Like an Everlasting Signet Ring
Like an Everlasting Signet Ring

Author: Bradley C. Gregory

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 397

ISBN-13: 311022366X

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This work explores the theological and social dimensions of generosity in the book of Sirach and contextualizes them within the culture and thought of Second Temple Judaism. Ben Sira's understanding of generosity is predicated on the tension between affirming the classic wisdom principle of retributive justice and recognizing its breakdown in the socio-economic circumstances of Seleucid Judea. He forges a new Wisdom-Torah ethic of mercy in which giving generously is an integral part of living "the good life". While loans and surety are essential practices, almsgiving is the preeminent act of generosity. The fundamental theological logic at work consists in viewing the poor as proxies for God and is based on the economic structure of Proverbs 19:17. Giving to the poor is, in reality, a deposit in a heavenly treasury and will pay future dividends. By situating Ben Sira's view of almsgiving within the wider framework of retributive justice and its breakdown, new light is shed on the practical tensions regarding the extent of almsgiving and its relationship to the support of the Jerusalem priesthood. The various dynamics of Ben Sira's thought on generosity are situated within the broader Hellenistic world and in their foundational role for later Jewish and Christian thought.

The Temple in Text and Tradition
The Temple in Text and Tradition

Author: R. Timothy McLay

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2015-02-26

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 0567658287

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The Second Temple period is an era that marked a virtual explosion in the world of literature, with the creation, redaction, interpretation, and transmission of Jewish texts that represented diverse languages and ideologies. The creation of many of these writings coincided with the growth of the Jewish community beyond the borders of Israel; therefore, among those for whom the Temple played a diminishing role. The transition period from Temple to texts was accompanied by conflicting interpretations about the role of the Temple as well as diverse theological understandings about God and the Jewish people. Drawing on the expertise of leading specialists in Second Temple Judaism, Temple, Texts, and Traditions explores the rich traditions of the Jewish people as they were expressed and interpreted in their writings in that period, which included writings that later became recognized as Scriptures.