Ben Sira on Family, Gender, and Sexuality

Description

The book investigates Ben Sira’s attitudes toward all matters pertaining to sexuality in the context of family relations and gender issues. The author’s seemingly negative attitude to women, the anxiety expressed in the discussions of marital and extramarital relations, and the disciplining of children can lead to the assumption that the work has a negative attitude toward sexuality. Ben Sira’s book is a combination of carefully composed wisdom poems and of teachings on everyday issues, including marriage, family life, self-control, desires, and sexual promiscuity. The sage dedicates a greater number of passages than other wisdom books to the discussion of social relations especially in regard to family. In so doing his regular point of departure seems to be what benefits or damages these relations mean, and whether they bring disgrace to a person, especially through sexuality. In addition, we have to make a distinction between the attitudes of the writer of the original Hebrew text of the book and that of the Greek translator. The two texts, produced in different social settings, times and places, differ at times in regard to sexuality. This book examines the wisdom poems, some characterized by openness about issues of eroticism, and all sayings that concern matters pertaining to sexuality found in discussions of passions, family relations and gender issues, and warnings against sexual wrongdoing. All this is done with a special regard to the differences between the Hebrew original text and the Greek translation. Acknowledgments Table of contents Introduction with literature review and methodology Chapter 1: Respect for fathers and mothers and the treatmentofwidows 1.1 Attitude toward fathers and mothers Sir 3:1-16 Sir 7:27-28 Sir 23:14 Sir 41:17a 1.2 The treatment of widows (and orphans) Sir 4:10 Sir 35:17-18[=32(35):17-19] 1.3 Condusion Chapter 2: The anxiety of bringing up children: teachings on sons and daughters Sir 7:23-25 Sir 22:3-5 Sir 42:9-14 Sir 26:10-12 in the context of 26:7-12 2.1 Condusion Chapter 3: Teachings on marital relationships 3.1 Good relations between husband and wife Sir 25:ld;25:8c(8a) Sir 26:1-4.13-18 Sir 36:21(26)-26(31) Sir 40:19.23 3.2 Wicked wives and bad marriages Sir7:19.26 Sir 25:13-26 Sir 42:6a 3.3 Women who have influence or power over men Sir 9:1.2 Sir 33:20ab 3.4 Rivalry between wives Sir 26:5-6 Sir 37:11a 3.5 Miscellaneous parallels concerning both virtuous and wicked women Sir 26:22-27 3.6 Conclusion Chapter 4: Teachings on sexual behaviour that is either illicit and/or discouraged, including adultery and approaching prostitutes, virgins, maidservants 4.1 Prostitution, adultery, and the idea of "strangeness" with special attention to the issue of the "strange woman" Sir 9:3I.3II 46-7.8-9 Sir 23:16-27 Sir 25:2d Sir 26:19-21 Sir 41:20b.21c Sir 42:8b Sir 47:19-21 4.2 Teachings on virgins/young women and maidservants Sir 9:5 Sir 20:4; 30:(19-)20 Sir 41:22ab 4.3 Unruly passions and self-control Sir 6:l(2)-3(4) Sir 18:30-19:3 Sir 23:4-6 4.4 Conclusion Chapter 5: Wisdom poems Sir l:l-l0 Sir 4:11-19 Sir 6:18-31 Sir 14:20-15:10 Sir 24:1-22 Sir 51:13-30 5.1 Conclusion Chapter 6: Conclusion Appendix Bibliography Index of modern authors Index of ancient texts