TY - BOOK ID - 67068859 TI - Foreign nations in the wisdom of Ben Sira : a Jewish sage between opposition and assimilation PY - 2012 VL - 13 SN - 9783110270105 9783110270112 3110270102 3110270110 1280596899 9786613626721 9783110270129 3110270129 9781280596896 PB - Berlin ; Boston : De Gruyter, DB - UniCat KW - Gentiles in the Old Testament KW - Bible KW - Criticism, interpretation, etc KW - 223.7 KW - Wijsheid. Wijsheid van Jesus Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) KW - Gentiles in the Old Testament. KW - Bible. KW - Ben Sira (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Book of Ben Sira (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Book of Sirach (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Ecclesiasticus (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Ḥokhmat Shimʻon ben Sira (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Ḥokhmat Yehoshuʻa ben Sira (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Jesus Sirach (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Sefer Ben Sira (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Sefer Ḥokhmat Yehoshuʻa ben Sira (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Sirach (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Sirachbuch (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Wisdom of Ben Sira (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Wisdom of Sirach (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Words of Simeon ben Jeshua (Book of the Apocrypha) KW - Criticism, interpretation, etc. KW - Apocrypha. KW - Ben Sira. KW - Hellenism. KW - Jews and Gentiles. KW - Wisdom Literature. UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:67068859 AB - Ben Sira lived in an era when Hellenistic influences continued to spread in Palestine. The supreme political power was in the hands of foreign rulers. Under these circumstances it is no wonder that Ben Sira discusses the position of foreign nations in several passages. The tone varies due to the given context. This study demonstrates that Ben Sira's relationship to foreign nations is best defined as "balanced", as his attitude is neither thoroughly hostile nor that of uncritically embracing Gentiles. On the basis of certain passages, one can get the impression that even the foreigners could be recipients of the Torah. On the other hand, some nations were regarded by earlier biblical authors as archenemies of Israel, and these anti-elect people caused also Ben Sira's anger to be provoked. Ben Sira was deeply rooted in Judaism but this did not prevent him from being open toward foreign influences as far as they were compatible with his religious and cultural heritage. ER -