Ecclesiasticus The Book of Sirach

Author: Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sirach Date Written: 200-175 BC Sirach was written by a Jewish scribe who lived in Jerusalem in the early third century BC. His name was Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sirach. He is often called simply "Ben Sira." The book has taken several different titles including "The Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sira" and "Liber Ecclesiasticus" (Church book). Ben Sira wrote in Hebrew, but his grandson later translated the book into Greek. Most Bibles include the grandson's preface even though it is not canonical. The Hebrew of Sirach was lost about a thousand years ago, but in the late 19th century and early 20th century Hebrew fragments of Sirach were found which comprise about two-thirds of the book. Sirach is a deuterocanonical book of wisdom literature. Sirach is very similar to Proverbs in that the majority of the material is presented in short sayings. The sayings are generally grouped by theme, so the book is loosely organized.