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Sirach

Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus

About this book
Chapter 15

1 He who fears the Lord will do this. He who has possession of the law will obtain her.⁠ 2 She will meet him like a mother, and receive him like a wife married in her virginity.⁠ 3 She will feed him with bread of understanding and give him water of wisdom to drink. 4 He will be stayed upon her, and will not be moved. He will rely upon her, and will not be confounded. 5 She will exalt him above his neighbors. She will open his mouth in the midst of the congregation. 6 He will inherit joy, a crown of gladness, and an everlasting name. 7 Foolish men will not obtain her. Sinners will not see her. 8 She is far from pride. Liars will not remember her. 9 Praise is not attractive in the mouth of a sinner; for it was not sent to him from the Lord.⁠ 10 For praise will be spoken in wisdom; The Lord will prosper it.

Human Freedom and Responsibility

11 Don’t say, “It is through the Lord that I fell away;” for you shall not do the things that he hates.⁠ 12 Don’t say, “It is he that caused me to err;” for he has no need of a sinful man. 13 The Lord hates every abomination; and those who fear him don’t love them.⁠ 14 He himself made man from the beginning and left him in the hand of his own counsel.⁠ 15 If you choose, you can keep the commandments. To be faithful is a matter of your choice. 16 He has set fire and water before you. You will stretch forth your hand to whichever you desire. 17 Before man is life and death. Whichever he likes, it will be given to him.⁠ 18 For the wisdom of the Lord is great. He is mighty in power, and sees all things. 19 His eyes are upon those who fear him. He knows every act of man. 20 He has not commanded any man to be ungodly. He has not given any man license to sin.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 98:4 and Sirach 15:11

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Deuterocanon

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Summary

1 Enoch and Sirach share a tradition about the origin of sin, with both rejecting the idea that God is responsible for evil and describing sin as the result of human disobedience, showing a developing theological perspective in Jewish thought.

Passages

1 Enoch 98:4

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
3 So they will lack teaching and wisdom, and will perish along with their possessions; and with all their glory and splendor, and in shame, slaughter, and great poverty, their spirits will be thrown into the furnace of fire. 4 I have sworn to you, sinners, that just as a mountain has not become a servant, nor a hill the maidservant of a woman, so sin was not sent upon the earth, but man created it himself, and those who commit it will fall under a great curse. 5 Barrenness was not given to the woman, but she dies without children because of the deeds of her own hands. 6 I have sworn to you, sinners, by the Holy Great One, that all your evil deeds are revealed in the heavens, and none of your deeds of oppression are concealed or hidden.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Sirach 15:11

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
9 Praise is not attractive in the mouth of a sinner; for it was not sent to him from the Lord. 10 For praise will be spoken in wisdom; The Lord will prosper it. 11 Don’t say, “It is through the Lord that I fell away;” for you shall not do the things that he hates. 12 Don’t say, “It is he that caused me to err;” for he has no need of a sinful man. 13 The Lord hates every abomination; and those who fear him don’t love them.
195–180 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sirach

References

"... Eve was deceived by the serpent, disobeyed God’s prohibition, and bore the consequences of her own transgression (Gen 3:1-6,13, 16; 1 Enoch 69.4-7; Jubilees 1:38-45; Apocalypse of Moses 15:1; 30:1). The Hebrew Bible never blames her for bringing sin and death into the world. Some rabbis blame her (Sirach 25.24; 2 Baruch 48:42-43; Apocalypse of Moses 10:2; 11.1-3; 14.1-2; 21.5-6; Vita 44.2-4; Genesis Rabbah 17:8; 20:11; 22:2; 28:2) and Adam (2 Baruch 17:3; 23:4; 56:5-6; 4 Ezra 3:20-22, 25, 26; 4:30-31; 7:92, 116-118; Apocalypse of Moses 24:1; 27:2-5; 39:1; Genesis Rabbah 16:6; Exodus Rabbah 30:3; Deuteronomy Rabbah 9:8; Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:13) for bringing death to the human race, but some blame Satan (1 Enoch 54.6; 69.5; Wisdom of Solomon 2.23; Apoclypse of Moses 21:1-5), the Watchers (1 Enoch 6:1-6; 7:1-6; 15:2-12; 16.1; Jubilees 4:15, 22, 23; 5:1-2, 6-11; CD 2.16-18), and the evil yezer (Sirach 17:30-32; 21:11; 2 Enoch 30:8-16; 2 Baruch 54:15, 19; 56:6; 4 Ezra 3:4-11, 21-27; 4:30; Genesis Rabbah 17:6; b. Shabbat 145b-146a). Nonetheless, they also emphasize human free will and individual responsibility for personal actions (Ezekiel 18; Sirach 15:15, 17; 16:12; 21:27; 27:10; 1 Enoch 16; 98:4; 9:14; Wisdom of Solomon 11:16; 12:15; 16:9; 30:15; 2 Enoch 30:13-16; 2 Baruch 17-19). The theory of original sin or individual hereditary sinfulness derived from Eve (or Adam) cannot be adequately traced or justified in early Judaism ..."
Sariah Yau-wah Chan, “1 Timothy 2:13–15 in the Light of Views Concerning Eve and Childbirth in Early Judaism” (PhD diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 2006), 189–195.

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1 Enoch 98:4 and Sirach 15:11

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