Re: Wisdom of Sirach

From: Maurice A. O'Sullivan (mauros@iol.ie)
Date: Sat Jul 04 1998 - 08:38:33 EDT


At 07:20 01/07/98, Peter Phillips wrote:
>In Sirach 1:10 does META PASHS SARKOS mean "among all living things" or
>"upon all living things". The latter is given in the NRSV translation but
>seems to go beyond the normal meanings of META. I have another translation
>printed by S. Bagston & Sons which suggests a period after ERGA AUTOU and
>then "She is with all flesh". I don't think this is justifiable.

Pete:
Just a couple of preliminary points:
I think you are quoting from the Bagster (sic) edition of 1851, which was
followed by the RSV -- as against, as you point out, the NRSV.
And the punctuation you cite is not supported in Rahlfs, A. 1935.
Septuaginta, id est Vetus Testamentum Graece iuxta LXX interpretes. Stuttgart.

But long before the NRSV, R.H. Charles had published (in 1913) his volume
on the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the O.T, with the translation:
"upon all flesh" and footnoted it: " ..... that Gentile leaders were
believed to have some share in Wisdom is seen from Pr. 8:15-16"/

One of the major modern translations of Sirach is the Anchor Bible vol.
39 (Doubleday, New York 1987) [ translation and notes by Patrick W. Skehan,
commentary and introduction by Alexander D. Di Lella ] which also renders
it " upon every living thing".

>Does the
>phrase imply Wisdom among the people rather than in/upon the people?

Perhaps 10b, with " to those who love him" parallels a direct ( and
'directed' ) "upon" rather than a generalized "among"?.

Also, when you say:
>seems to go beyond the normal meanings of META.<
remember that nearly 100 years ago, Conybeare and Stock ( in their 'Grammar
of Septuagint Greek' ) wrote:
"We have therefore to deal with a work of which the vocabulary is Greek
and the syntax Hebrew"

Like many thins said _that_ long ago, it bears reptition !

Regards,

Maurice A. O'Sullivan
[Bray, Ireland]

"Apply yourself wholly to the text; apply the text wholly to yourself."
- Johann Albrecht Bengel

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