Texts in Conversation
The Dead Sea Scroll text 11Q5 parallels the closing hymn of Sirach, where wisdom is like a romantic partner. The scroll presents this in a collection attributed to David, suggesting it circulated independently before being associated with Ben Sira.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sirach 51:13
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
13 When I was yet young, before I went abroad, I sought wisdom openly in my prayer. 14 Before the temple I asked for her. I will seek her out even to the end. 15 From the first flower to the ripening grape my heart delighted in her. My foot walked in uprightness. From my youth I followed her steps. 16 I inclined my ear a little, and received her, and found for myself much instruction. 17 I profited in her. I will give glory to him who gives me wisdom. 18 For I determined to practice her. I was zealous for that which is good. I will never be put to shame.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
11Q5 21:11
The Great Psalms Scroll
Dead Sea Scrolls, Prayers, Hymns, and Liturgy
11 I was a young man, before I had gone astray, and I sought her. She came to me in her beauty, and to 12 her end I will seek her. Even as the blossom falls when the grapes ripen, making the heart glad, 13 my foot walked on level ground, for from my youth I have known her. I inclined 14 my ear a little, and I found much teaching. And she became a nurse for me; to my teacher I give 15 my honor. I resolved to make sport; I was zealous for good and would not turn back. I kindled 16 my soul for her and did not turn my face away. I stirred up my soul for her, and on her heights I would not 17 be at ease. I opened my hand [… and] I perceive her nakedness. I cleansed my palms for
Date: 50 BCE – 50 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... 11QPs 3 21:11-17 contains a Hebrew version of Sirach 51:13-30. Verses 13-20 correspond to 11Q5 21:11-17. The first two words of 1QPs 22:1 accord with Sirach 51:30b. The material in column 21 after line 17, which has not survived, was probably similar to Sirach 51:20-30. The B text, one of the manuscripts of Ben Sira discovered in the Cairo Geniza in 1896, contains another Hebrew recension of this poem. The version from 11Q5 is probably more authentic than the B text. 11QPs 3 follows an easily discernable acrostic format, whereas the B text attests substantial corruptions of this pattern. The poem in 11Q5 21:11-17 and 22:1 is located between Psalm 138:1-8 and Apostrophe to Zion. There is no mention of Ben Sira whatsoever and the Psalms Scroll as a whole is attributed implicitly to David (27:2-11). At the very least, 11QPs 3 does not endorse Ben Sira's authorship of Sirach 51:13-30. Although the evidence is ambiguous, the Jerusalem sage probably did not compose this work. The work has been dated to the third or second century BCE. The composition contains no evidence that it was composed by a member of the movement associated with the Teacher of Righteousness. Even if Ben Sira did not write Sirach 51:13-30, the poem is an appropriate conclusion to his instruction ..."
Matthew J. Goff, Discerning Wisdom: The Sapiential Literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 247–257.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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