Bill East wrote:
>
> If I might however insert a "Libellus pro insipiente": I entirely agree
> that "Siracides" is a better name than "Ecclesiasticus"; however, the
> non-specialists, for whom these notes are written, will all have
> "Ecclesiasticus" in their Bibles (if they have it at all - if they have
> Protestant Bibles it will of course be omitted, or relegated to the
> "Apochrypha"). Most of my parishioners would not know the difference
> between Ecclesiasticus [ = Siracides] and Ecclesiastes [ = Qoheleth], if
> indeed they've ever heard of either. I dare say there are many on the list
> who would have to admit the same. I'm trying to keep things simple.
Good point. But the problem is more acute, I'm afraid, since it would
depend on what Bible any given person might be using. Here is a sampling
of what I have within reach:
AV/KJV Ecclesiasticus (subtitle at start "Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach")
RSV (1957) "Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach"
in table of contents, but "SIRACH" throughout the book itself
RSV Common Bible (1973) similarly, but abbreviation given as "Sir"
NRSV (1989) as RSV Common Bible
NEB similar to RSV, and "ECCLESIASTICUS" throughout the book itself
REB (1989) as NEB, with abbreviation Ecclus
On the "texts and tools" side, we have:
Clementine Vulgate Ecclesiasticus (subtitle at start, Jesu Filii Sirach),
abbreviated Eccli
Brenton's English/Greek LXX/OG (1851) Sofia Seirax, Wisdom of the Son of
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) on contents page, Ecclesiasticus as page headers
on the English side, Sofia Seirax on the Greek side
Goettingen LXX (1965) Sapientia Iesu Filii Sirach (page headings, Sirach)
Bauer, Greek-English Lexicon of the NT (1979\2) Sir = Jesus Sirach
Concordance to Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical Books of the RSV (1983) lists
only "Sir Sirach" in Abbreviations list
Lust, et al., Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint (1992), Wisdom of
Sirach = Sir
I don't have a copy of any of the more recent Roman Catholic translations
such as the Jerusalem Bible or the New American Version, but I think (from
contacts with Alex DiLella, who has published widely on Sirach) that they
would also reflect similar shifts in terminology. We are in a transition
period, it seems, away from the Latin (Ecclesiasticus) towards the Greek
(Sirach), and should probably be sure to list both options in attempting
to communicate to a general public.
Bob
--
Robert A. Kraft, Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania
227 Logan Hall (Philadelphia PA 19104-6304); tel. 215 898-5827
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http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rs/rak/kraft.html
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