Sirach Chapter 2 and the Temple
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Jeremy Corley
Abstract
The opening of Ben Sira’s second chapter, calling the student to be ready for testing, hints at the story of Abraham’s greatest test (Gen 22:1). The chapter’s conclusion quotes David’s words to the punishing angel in the story of the census (2 Sam 24:14; 1 Chr 21:13). Both biblical stories are etiological narratives explaining the choice of the temple site: “Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David” (2 Chr 3:1). The article explores how far a temple context for Sirach Chapter 2 can shed light on the poem.
Abstract
The opening of Ben Sira’s second chapter, calling the student to be ready for testing, hints at the story of Abraham’s greatest test (Gen 22:1). The chapter’s conclusion quotes David’s words to the punishing angel in the story of the census (2 Sam 24:14; 1 Chr 21:13). Both biblical stories are etiological narratives explaining the choice of the temple site: “Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David” (2 Chr 3:1). The article explores how far a temple context for Sirach Chapter 2 can shed light on the poem.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Preface of the Editorial Board of Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Yearbook vii
- Preface ix
- Contents xi
- How did Early Judaism Understand the Concept of ʿAvodah? 1
- The Garland: A Sign of Worship and Acknowledgement 17
- Temples and Sanctuaries within Their Apocalyptic Setting 41
- Solomon’s Temple and Israel’s Earlier Cultic Traditions in 2 Chronicles 1−8 63
- Sirach Chapter 2 and the Temple 77
- Ben Sira on the Piety of Men and the Piety of Women 107
- Word and Prayer in the Book of Ben Sira 117
- Worship in the Restored Second Temple in Sirach 50 141
- The Temple as a Place of Worship and the God of Heaven in 2 Maccabees 167
- A Narrative-Therapeutic Reading of the Martyr Narrative in 2 Maccabees 6 and 7 181
- Bodily Signs of Penitence in the Book of Baruch 197
- Piety without the Temple according to the Book of Baruch 215
- Babylonian Priests in the Description of the Epistle of Jeremiah 225
- No Place for Worship 247
- Gestures and Locations of Worship in the Book of Tobit 261
- Charity and Cult in the Book of Tobit 277
- Worship and Holy Places in the Wisdom of Solomon 289
- Aspects of Worship in the Letter of Aristeas 305
- Die kosmische Bedeutung des jüdischen Hohenpriesters im Denken Philos von Alexandrien 319
- Temple and Synagogue in Late Antiquity 341
- Worship in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 365
- Worship and Creation 389
- Contributors 421
- Index of References 423
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter i
- Preface of the Editorial Board of Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Yearbook vii
- Preface ix
- Contents xi
- How did Early Judaism Understand the Concept of ʿAvodah? 1
- The Garland: A Sign of Worship and Acknowledgement 17
- Temples and Sanctuaries within Their Apocalyptic Setting 41
- Solomon’s Temple and Israel’s Earlier Cultic Traditions in 2 Chronicles 1−8 63
- Sirach Chapter 2 and the Temple 77
- Ben Sira on the Piety of Men and the Piety of Women 107
- Word and Prayer in the Book of Ben Sira 117
- Worship in the Restored Second Temple in Sirach 50 141
- The Temple as a Place of Worship and the God of Heaven in 2 Maccabees 167
- A Narrative-Therapeutic Reading of the Martyr Narrative in 2 Maccabees 6 and 7 181
- Bodily Signs of Penitence in the Book of Baruch 197
- Piety without the Temple according to the Book of Baruch 215
- Babylonian Priests in the Description of the Epistle of Jeremiah 225
- No Place for Worship 247
- Gestures and Locations of Worship in the Book of Tobit 261
- Charity and Cult in the Book of Tobit 277
- Worship and Holy Places in the Wisdom of Solomon 289
- Aspects of Worship in the Letter of Aristeas 305
- Die kosmische Bedeutung des jüdischen Hohenpriesters im Denken Philos von Alexandrien 319
- Temple and Synagogue in Late Antiquity 341
- Worship in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 365
- Worship and Creation 389
- Contributors 421
- Index of References 423
