Lending and Borrowing in the Teaching of Sirach (Sir 29:1–7)

Q2 Arts and Humanities Verbum Vitae Pub Date : 2023-12-19 DOI:10.31743/vv.16224
Andrzej Piwowar
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Abstract

Among the various topics and issues that Ben Sira discusses in his book is the issue of borrowing. The sage covers it in detail and at length in Sir 29:1–7, presenting it not from a financial and economic perspective, but from a sapiential viewpoint, appropriate to the nature of his work. The purpose of this article is to explore Sirach’s teaching on the subject of borrowing and lending of material goods. As a preliminary matter, the issue of borrowing in the setting of the ancient Near East and in biblical Israel is presented in a highly synthetic manner. Next, the boundaries of the literary unit that is the subject of the presented analyses and its structure are defined. In the remainder of the article, the Greek text of Sir 29:1–7 (the Hebrew version of this pericope is not known) is exegetically analyzed drawing on the historical-critical method. The examined literary unit is divided into two main parts. The first is a discussion of the general rules concerning lending and borrowing, i.e. based on the texts of the Torah, the obligation to grant a loan also reminds one of the obligation to return the debt according to the terms agreed upon. The second part of the pericope depicts the difficulties associated with not returning borrowed goods on the part of dishonest borrowers (delay in returning the loan, making excuses, even aggression towards the creditor). Fundamental to the sage’s teaching on the subject of borrowing are the texts of the Pentateuch saying that one should give loans. However, the author is a realist and therefore devotes much of his reflection on the issue to the difficulties involved in returning borrowed goods, with a view to encouraging his disciples to adopt an attitude of prudence and caution lest they suffer the loss of some of their possessions. Yet, despite these risks, he encourages them to support those in need with loans.
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西拉教学中的借贷(爵士书 29:1-7)
本-西拉在他的书中讨论了各种主题和问题,其中包括借贷问题。圣人在《爵士书》29:1-7 中详细而又长篇地论述了这一问题,他不是从金融和经济的角度,而是从与其作品性质相适应的智慧的角度来阐述这一问题的。本文旨在探讨西拉对物质财富借贷问题的教导。首先,以高度综合的方式介绍了古代近东和圣经中以色列的借贷问题。接着,界定了本文所分析的文学单元的边界及其结构。在文章的其余部分,我们将采用历史批判的方法对爵士书 29:1-7 的希腊文文本(这段经文的希伯来文版本不详)进行训诂分析。所研究的文学单元分为两个主要部分。第一部分是关于借贷一般规则的讨论,即根据《圣经》文本,给予借贷的义务也提醒人们有义务按照约定的条件归还债务。这段经文的第二部分描述了不诚实的借款人不归还借款时遇到的困难(拖延归还借款、找借口,甚至攻击债权人)。圣人在借贷问题上的基本教义是《摩西五经》中关于 "借贷 "的经文。然而,作者是一个现实主义者,因此他对这一问题的思考主要集中在归还借来的物品所涉及的困难上,目的是鼓励他的弟子们采取谨慎小心的态度,以免损失自己的一些财产。然而,尽管存在这些风险,他还是鼓励弟子们通过借贷来帮助那些需要帮助的人。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Verbum Vitae
Verbum Vitae Arts and Humanities-Religious Studies
CiteScore
0.70
自引率
0.00%
发文量
46
审稿时长
16 weeks
期刊介绍: Published since 2002, "Verbum Vitae" is issued biannually by the Institute of Biblical Studies of the Faculty of Theology, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland. Each issue of the journal includes scholarly articles dedicated to a specific biblical theme and presented in three sections: (I) Old Testament, (II) New Testament, and (III) Patristics and the Life of the Church. The final "Life of the Church" perspective tries to broaden out each issue''s given topic into its multiple connections and implications, mostly dogmatic, moral, pastoral, liturgical, or sociological. The forth section of the journal always consists of reviews of recently published monographs and collections on biblical themes. Because of the journal''s interdisciplinary character, it seeks to include among the contributors not only biblical scholars but also theologians of various specializations.
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