Like an Everlasting Signet Ring: Generosity in the Book of Sirach (Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies) (Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies, 2)

This volume is a slightly revised version of my Ph.D. dissertation, submitted to the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame in the spring of 2009. The title of the work, which is derived from a conflation of Sir 17:22 and 40:17, reflects the dual focus of my study. While primarily interested in Ben Sira's thinking on the topic of generosity and its contextualization in Seleucid Judea, I also go beyond this to explore the way that generosity is represented in the book as it exists in its multiple textual forms. Gary A. Anderson served as my advisor through all stages of my doctoral work and during his direction of this dissertation he was a constant source of patience, insight, and encouragement. At crucial points in the process he frequently had more confidence in the project than I did and he always seemed to have the wisdom to balance helpful suggestions for how to move forward with allowing and encouraging me to find my own voice in sorting through the material. Over the past four years he has truly been an ideal mentor. I am also very thankful for the kind and generous participation in this work by the members of my committee: David Aune, Eugene Ulrich, and James VanderKam. I cannot imagine a group of scholars that better combines rigorous scholarship and high standards with graciousness; and I have no doubt that the work has benefited substantially from their careful readings. I would also like to extend my appreciation to Jeremy Corley of Ushaw College, who provided me with a copy of Baldauf's unpublished, and difficult to acquire, Salzburg dissertation. Josephine Dru kindly gave of her time to read the manuscript and offer suggestions. Any shortcomings in the work remain my own. I would also like to thank the Graduate School and the Department of Theology for the financial support given to me during the time this work was completed. The faculty and students in this department have provided an extremely fruitful and enjoyable environment in which to study and they have shaped me in substantial ways. Thanks also are due to our chair, John Cavadini, for the opportunity to teach, research, and bring this work into monograph form during a year-long appointment as a Visiting Assistant Professor. In addition, the staff at Hes-VIII Preface burgh Library, especially the ILL staff, were extremely helpful in locating materials essential to this study. I would also like to thank Dr. Friedrich V. Reiterer and Walter de Gruyter for accepting this manuscript into the Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Studies series and Albrecht Döhnert and Manfred Link for their generous editorial assistance. There are a few friends who made my graduate school journey particularly enriching by their friendship: Dan O'Hare and Molly Zahn, who were my classmates in Hebrew Bible here at Notre Dame, Samuel Boyd, Justin Dombrowski, Rick Gilmartin, and especially my brother Bryan Gregory. Thanks also to my parents and in-laws for their constant support over the past eight years. Finally, I am profoundly grateful to my wife, Mendy, and our two kids, Ben and Addie, for their untiring support and encouragement during these months of work. Since our departure from our home in Georgia in 2001, Mendy sacrificed more than I did to get to this point and all of them ensured that my most exciting moments of researching and writing this work are not my best memories of 2008.

This work explores the theological and social dimensions of generosity in the book of Sirach and contextualizes them within the culture and thought of Second Temple Judaism. Ben Sira’s understanding of generosity is predicated on the tension between affirming the classic wisdom principle of retributive justice and recognizing its breakdown in the socio-economic circumstances of Seleucid Judea. He forges a new Wisdom-Torah ethic of mercy in which giving generously is an integral part of living “the good life”.
While loans and surety are essential practices, almsgiving is the preeminent act of generosity. The fundamental theological logic at work consists in viewing the poor as proxies for God and is based on the economic structure of Proverbs 19:17. Giving to the poor is, in reality, a deposit in a heavenly treasury and will pay future dividends. By situating Ben Sira’s view of almsgiving within the wider framework of retributive justice and its breakdown, new light is shed on the practical tensions regarding the extent of almsgiving and its relationship to the support of the Jerusalem priesthood.
The various dynamics of Ben Sira’s thought on generosity are situated within the broader Hellenistic world and in their foundational role for later Jewish and Christian thought.

This work explores the theological and social dimensions of generosity in the book of Sirach and contextualizes them within the culture and thought of Second Temple Judaism. Ben Sira's understanding of generosity is predicated on the tension between affirming the classic wisdom principle of retributive justice and recognizing its breakdown in the socio-economic circumstances of Seleucid Judea. He forges a new Wisdom-Torah ethic of mercy in which giving generously is an integral part of living "the good life". While loans and surety are essential practices, almsgiving is the preeminent act of generosity. The fundamental theological logic at work consists in viewing the poor as proxies for God and is based on the economic structure of Proverbs 19:17. Giving to the poor is, in reality, a deposit in a heavenly treasury and will pay future dividends. By situating Ben Sira's view of almsgiving within the wider framework of retributive justice and its breakdown, new light is shed on the practical tensions regarding the extent of almsgiving and its relationship to the support of the Jerusalem priesthood. The various dynamics of Ben Sira's thought on generosity are situated within the broader Hellenistic world and in their foundational role for later Jewish and Christian thought. Main description: This work explores the theological and social dimensions of generosity in the book of Sirach and contextualizes them within the culture and thought of Second Temple Judaism. Ben Sira's understanding of generosity is intertwined with issues of justice and its breakdown in his own socio-economic environment. Ben Sira believes that giving generously is an essential part of a Wisdom-Torah ethic of mercy. By relieving the plight of the poor the generous person imitates God's own special care for the poor and will receive future blessings in return Frontmatter 1 Table of Contents 9 Abbreviations 13 Chapter 1. Introduction 19 Chapter 2. Wealth, Poverty, and the Problem of Justice 43 Chapter 3. Death, Generosity, and the Good Life 109 Chapter 4. Generosity through Loans and Surety 146 Chapter 5. Generosity through Almsgiving 189 Chapter 6. Almsgiving and Sacrifice in Sirach 240 Chapter 7. The Extent of Almsgiving in Sirach 272 Chapter 8. Synthesis & Conclusions 309 Backmatter 313