Image of the Prophet Elijah in the Book of Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach (Sir. 48, 1–11)

Abstract

The fragment Sir. 48, 1–11 contains many textological and exegetical problems, that demand a special investigation. Also, the parallels in other books of the old and new Testament are important, where the prophet Elijah is mentioned directly or indirectly: 1 and 2 books of Kings, books of the prophets Malachiah and Isaiah, Gospel and Apocalypse. There is also an author’s translation of this fragment from the Hebrew version, that differs from the Synodal translation, that was made from the Greek version. Using the textological and exegetical methods the attempt was made to loose the difficult questions of the interpretation of the text Sir. 48, 1–11. Among the exegetical questions are examined the connections of this fragment with the previous text, with the prophecy from the book of Malachiah, the theme of reconciliation of fathers and sons within the context of the restoration of the connections of Israel and God, eschatological problems and problems of the book’s author about the future life. As a result of the investigation it was determined, that the image of the prophet Elijah war very important for the author of the book of Sirach and also in the intertestamental literature in general. In this fragment the close connection with the book of Malachiah can be followed. The image of Elijah runs all through the most part of the sacred history down to the apocalyptic events.