The Covenant with Phinehas in Ben Sira (Sirach 45:23–26; 50:22–24)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
THE COVENANT WITH PHINEHAS IN BEN SIRA (SIRACH 45:23–26; 50:22–24) Kenneth E. Pomykala Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI In the prologue to the Greek translation of his grandfather’s book of wisdom, Ben Sira’s grandson traces the process of tradition leading up to his own work. First, he states that “many great teachings have been given to us through the Law and the Prophets (. .)” He explains further that his grandfather, “who had devoted himself especially to the reading of the Law and the Prophet (. .) was himself also led to write something pertaining to instruction and wisdom”. Finally, he writes, “it seemed highly necessary that I should myself devote some diligence and labor to the translation of this book (. .) for those living abroad who wished to gain learning (. .)” Here, then, Ben Sira’s grandson nicely marks out three stages in the tradition process: 1) the biblical texts; 2) Ben Sira’s presentation of wisdom based on those texts; and 3) his own presenta- tion of Ben Sira’s work in translation. And like all tradents—certainly the tradents of biblical traditions in the Second Temple period—Ben Sira and his grandson not only passed on the traditions to which they were heirs, but transformed those traditions in accordance with their own purposes and audiences. In this essay, therefore, I will examine one of the biblical traditions used in Ben Sira’s work: God’s covenant with Phinehas referred to in Num 25:1–18. I will trace how this biblical tradition was interpreted by Ben Sira in the original Hebrew edition of his work, along with its relevance for Ben Sira’s historical context. Then I will describe how Ben Sira’s presentation of this subject was reinterpreted by his grandson in his Greek translation of Sirach as he sought to address a changed set of circumstances some 60–70 years later. In this way, I hope to illustrate how one of the narrative traditions about Israel in the wilderness continued to function in the changing historical and social contexts of the Second Temple period. 18 kenneth e. pomykala The Hebrew Sirach and the Covenant with Phinehas Biblical Background Ben Sira refers to the covenant with Phinehas in the section of his work known as the Hymn in Praise of the Ancestors (chs. 44–50). In this hymn Ben Sira offers praise to selected fi gures from the Hebrew Bible, drawing his words of praise from an assortment of biblical texts in which a given ancestor played a role in the life of Israel. In this sense, the hymn is “biblical”.1 On the other hand, Ben Sira had his own intentions, and his intentions determined the selection of fi gures to be praised, the amount of attention devoted to each, and most importantly, the characterization of each fi gure.2 In this regard, it is well known that Ben Sira focused particular attention on priestly fi gures and priestly affairs.3 So, for example, while he devotes a mere fi ve verses to Moses (45:1–5), ten verses to Joshua (46:1–10), and eleven verses to David (47:1–11), he offers seventeen verses on Aaron (45:6–22), followed by two on Phinehas (45:23–24), and then twenty-four on Simon II (50:1–24), the high priest who died shortly before Ben Sira composed his work. It is in his praise of Phinehas (45:23–24) and his praise of Simon (50:22–24) where Ben Sira invokes the covenant with Phinehas. Phinehas is a relatively minor fi gure in the Hebrew Bible. Outside of genealogical references he is mentioned in seven passages:4 1) Num 25:6–13, where he kills an Israelite man and Midianite woman at Baal Peor and receives a covenant from God; 2) Num 31:6, where Moses sends the Israelites into battle against the Midianites along with Phinehas, who brings the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpet for sounding an alarm; 3) Josh 22:13–33, where Phinehas leads a delega- tion of Israelite tribal heads to deal with an altar built by the tribes 1 On Ben Sira’s use of scripture in general, see R. J. Coggins, Sirach (Sheffi eld: Sheffi eld Academic Press, 1998) 62–69; B. G. Wright, No Small Difference (SBLSCS 26; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1989) 122–131. 2 For studies on the Hymn in Praise of the Ancestors, see B. L. Mack, Wisdom and the Hebrew Epic (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985); T. R. Lee, Studies in the Form of Sirach 44–50 (SBLDS 75; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986). 3 See S. M. Olyan, “Ben Sira’s Relationship to the Priesthood,” HTR 80 (1987) 261–286; B. G. Wright, “Fear the Lord and Honor the Priest: Ben Sira as Defender of the Jerusalem Priesthood,” The Book of Ben Sira in Modern Research (BZAW 255; ed. P. C. Beentjes; Berlin/New York: De Gruyter, 1997) 189–222. 4 Phinehas is named in genealogies in Exod 6:25; 1 Chr 5:30 (Eng. 6:4), 6:35 (Eng. 6:50); Ezra 7:5; 8:2..