The Origin of the 'Original Hebrew' of Ecclesiasticus (Classic Reprint)

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Excerpt from The Origin of the 'Original Hebrew' of Ecclesiasticus The discovery of the fragments of the 'Original Hebrew' of the Wisdom of Ben-Sira is too familiar a story to need recapitulation. Since the time when it was first announced in The Guardian some three years ago, there have been at least five editions of the Hebrew text, and a number of translations, reviews, and dissertations by scholars of varying fame and ability. Most of these have accepted the supposition that these fragments contain an original and not a retranslation, without even discussing the other possibility, Israel Levi in his treatise (Quelques Notes &c., ) is perhaps the only writer who has endeavoured to demonstrate it at length. In his elaborate discussion of this matter it is natural, and perhaps unavoidable, that he should mingle arguments that are weighty with others that are of no weight. Where it appears that the 'Original Hebrew' gives certainly what the author intended, whereas the Greek is clearly wrong, there is undoubtedly a strong presumption in favour of the originality of the former, but where the Greek is probably or even possibly right, there is no such presumption. A considerable number of the passages which he cites will unfortunately be found to come under the latter rather than the former head. Such a passage as xli. II 'the sorrow of men is about their bodies' (Greek), 'the vanity of man is in his body' ('Original Hebrew'), where the difference certainly turns on the confusion of the Hebrew words ebel and hebel, ought not, for example, to be cited in arguing this question. For the notion conveyed by the Greek is certainly more intelligible, even though it be less profound, than that conveyed by the Hebrew. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.