Lady Wisdom in the Book of Ben Sira, Chapter 24

260 Pages·2009·21.02 MB·English

by  Juana L. Manzo

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
Lady Wisdom in the Book of Ben Sira, Chapter 24
A DISSERTATION
Submitted to the Faculty of the
School of Theology and Religious Studies
Of The Catholic University of America
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
©
Copyright
All Rights Reserved
Juana L. Manzo
Washington, D.C.
2009
UMI Number: 3361328
Copyright 2009 by
Manzo, Juana L.
INFORMATION TO USERS
The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy
submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations
and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper
alignment can adversely affect reproduction.
In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized
copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.
UMI
UMI Microform 3361328
Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC
All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
ProQuest LLC
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346
Lady Wisdom in the Book of Ben Sira, Chapter 24
Juana L. Manzo, Ph.D.
Director: Christopher Begg, S.T.D., Ph.D.
The personification of Wisdom is one of the most intriguing topics of Old
Testament scholarship. Scholars have debated a great deal about the origin of personified
Wisdom and her theological significance within wisdom literature. She is a figure
described through many different allusions. Lady Wisdom is portrayed as more beautiful
than the sun or any constellation (Wis 7:29), as Yhwh’s partner in creation (Prov 8:22-30;
Wis 8:4; 9:9), as Yhwh’s delight (Prov 8:30), as a lover (Prov 8:17; Wis 6:12), and as
wife (Wis 7:28; 8:2, 17). The many-sided characteristics of Lady Wisdom are nowhere
better illustrated than in Sirach 24. This dissertation will provide a detailed study of the
tradition-historical background of the imagery in Sirach 24.
Chapter One discusses such preliminary matters as the text of Sirach 24, the date
and place of composition, and the literature dealing with the origins of personified
Wisdom. Chapter Two presents a rhetorical analysis of the text so as to bring out the
imagery of the text. Chapter Three focuses on the motifs of the tree and the goddess in
the Ancient Near East and the Hebrew Scriptures. Chapter Four centers on an exegetical
analysis of Sirach 24 to determine the theological significance of the vegetative,
ornamental, and perennial imagery associated with Lady Wisdom there.
Through his depiction of Lady Wisdom as Law, Ben Sira reminds his
contemporaries that they still are the chosen people of Yhwh, who remains present to
them in the personification of Lady Wisdom residing in the Jerusalem Temple. Lady
Wisdom/ Law is presented as the means though which the Jewish people find their
identity and the true source of their fulfillment as a people.
This dissertation by Juana L. Manzo fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral
degree in biblical studies approved by Prof. Christopher Begg, S.T.D., Ph.D., as Director,
and Joseph Jensen, S. S. L., S.T.D., and Francis T. Gignac, D.Phil., as Readers.
Christopher Begg, S.T.D., Ph.D., Director
Francis T. Gignac, D.Phil., Reader
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................iii
ABBREVIATIONS AND CRITICAL TEXTS USED........................,..........................vi
FOREWORD AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.............................................................viii
CHAPTER 1: HISTORY OF EXEGESIS...........................................................................1
I. Introduction..........................................................................................................1
1. Ben Sira’s Author and Date of Composition........................................2
2. The Text of Ben Sira and Its Canonicity..............................................3
3. Purpose, Structure, and Content.................:......................................7
4 Sirach 24 and Its Textual Variants........................................................9
5. English Translation of Sirach 24.........................................................13
6. Dependence of Sirach 24 on Proverbs 8.............................................14
II. The Origin of Personified Wisdom.................................................................17
1. The Historical Approach: Ancient Near Eastern Influence................18
2. The Sociological Approach................................................................22
3. The Literary Approach.......................................................................26
III. Wisdom and Creation......................................................................................31
CHAPTER 2: RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF BEN SIRA............................................40
I. History of Rhetorical Analysis.........................................................................40
II. The Context of Sirach 24..................................................................................43
1. The Placement of Sirach 24 within the Book of Ben Sira...................43
iii
2. The Immediate Context of Sirach 24.....................................................47
III. The Structure of Sirach 24: 1-34...................................................................54
1. The Introduction: w. 1-2.......................................................................54
2. Wisdom’s self-praise: w. 3-22..............................................................54
3. Ben Sira’s Comments on Wisdom’s Speech: w. 23-29........................58
4. Ben Sira’s Path to Wisdom: w. 30-34...................................................59
5. Analysis of the Structure........................................................................60
6. Conclusion.............................................................................................79
CHAPTER 3: WISDOM IN THE IMAGE OF THE TREE GODDESS:
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND BIBLICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE IMAGERY OF THE
TREE..................................................................................................................................81
I. Archaeological Evidence....................................................................................83
1. The Iconography of the Tree and the Goddess in Syro-Palestine.........83
2. Archaeological Evidence of the Image of the Tree and the Goddess
within the Israelite Cult...........................................................................94
3. Asherah in the Hebrew Scripture..........................................................98
4. The Influence of Asherah Imagery on Lady Wisdom’s Portrayal........104
II. Literary Evidence for the Tree of Life............................................................104
1. The Tree of Life in Jewish Literature..................................................104
2. The Motif of the Tree of Life in Sirach 24 and Related Imagery.........109
3. Conclusion............................................................................................Ill
CHAPTER 4: EXEGESIS OF SIR 24:1-34....................................................................123
I. Introduction.....................................................................................................123
II. Exegesis of Sirach 24.......................................................................................123
1. Presentation of Lady Wisdom: w. 1 -2....................................................126
2. The Heavenly Origin of Lady Wisdom: w. 3-7......................................135
3. Lady Wisdom’s Inheritance : w. 8-12......................................................151
4. Lady Wisdom’s Beauty: w. 13-14..........................................................165
5. Lady Wisdom in the Liturgy: w. 15-17..................................................179
6. Lady Wisdom’s Invitation: w. 19-22......................................................187
7. Ben Sira’s Interpretation of Wisdom’s Speech: w. 23-29.......................191
8. Ben Sira as a Wisdom Teacher: w. 30-34...............................................197
III. Wisdom and the Law in Ben Sira...................................................................199
IV. Conclusion.............................................................................................. 202
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION.........................................................................................205
BIBLIOGRAPHY...........................................................................................................218
v
Abbreviations and Critical Texts Used
All abbreviations used in the notes can be found in “The Instructions for
Contributors to the Catholic Biblical QuarterlyCBQ 65 (2003) 682-710. These
instructions are also available online at http://cba.cua.edu/cbqinstructions.cfm.
Abbreviations not found on the CBQ guidelines are listed under abbreviations.
The primary source for the Greek text (= Gk) of the Book of Sirach is taken from
the edition of J. Ziegler, Sapientia Iesu Filii Sirach (Septuaginta 12/2; Gottingen:
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1965). The Syriac text (= Syr) is that of the British Library
Codex 12142, printed in P. A. de Lagarde, Libri veteris testamenti apocryphi syriace
(Leipzig / London: F. A. Brockhaus / Williams & Norgate, 1861). For the Old Latin
translation (= VL), I use Biblica Sacra ivxta latinam vulgatam versionem, 12: Sapientia
Salomonis. Liber Hiesu Filii Sirach (Rome: Typis Polygottis Vaticanis, 1964). I also
consulted D. Barthélémy and O. Rickenbacher, Konkordanz zum Hebräischen Sirach:
Mit Syrisch-Hebräischem Index (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1973); Flavius
Josephus, the Jewish War: Newly Translated with Extensive Commentary and
Archaeological Background Illustrations (ed. G. Comfeld, B. Mazar and P. L. Maier;
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982); and F. Vattioni, Ecclesiastico. Testo ebraico con
apparatö critico e versioni greca, latina e siraca (Naples: Seminario di Semitistica,
1968).
All other biblical texts are from BHS and A. Rahlfs, Septuaginta (Stuttgart:
Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1979).
Abbreviations
Akk Akkadica
AUS American University Studies
BLS Bible and Literature Series
BTFT Bijdragen: Tijdschrift voor Filosofie en Theologie
BSAE British School of Archaeology in Egypt, London
CA Connaître la Bible
CC Corpus Christianorum
CHANE Culture and History of the Ancient Near East
EB Encyclopedia Britannica
FTS Feiburger Theologische Studien
HDB Hastings Dictionary of the Bible
LAI Library of Ancient Israel
Lev Levant
Numen Numen
PMLA Publications of the Modern Language Association ofAmerica
SHR Studies in the History of Religions
Syr Syria
UAVA Untersuchungen zur Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie