The short answer
- What it is: Sirach, also called Ecclesiasticus, is an ancient Jewish wisdom book combining practical teaching with praise of wisdom and Israel's ancestors.
- Origins: Usually dated to around 180 BC, it was written in Hebrew in Jerusalem and translated into Greek by the author's grandson.
- Biblical status: It belongs to Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Old Testaments, but not the Jewish canon or most Protestant canons.
- Hebrew evidence: Manuscripts from the Cairo Geniza, Qumran and Masada preserve substantial portions, though not the complete Hebrew text.
The Book of Sirach, also called Ecclesiasticus, is a Jewish wisdom book written in Hebrew around 180 BC that connects everyday conduct with reverence for God and obedience to the law of Moses. Its author's grandson translated it into Greek. The book belongs to Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Old Testaments, but not the Jewish or most Protestant canons; rediscovered Hebrew manuscripts preserve substantial portions of its original-language tradition.
This guide explains the book's names and character, then its author, date and place of composition. It next outlines the teachings and major sections, explains its differing biblical status, and traces the manuscript discoveries. Related guides and answers to common questions follow.
What is the Book of Sirach?
Sirach belongs to the wisdom literature of ancient Judaism. Its central concern is the relationship between religious wisdom and daily conduct, at home and in the wider community. Rather than presenting wisdom only as an abstract subject, the book connects it with practical responsibilities. Scholars study it as evidence for Jewish ethical teaching and scribal culture during the Second Temple period.
Its several names can cause confusion. Sirach and Ecclesiasticus refer to the same work, while Ecclesiastes is a different book. Sirach is also distinct from the Wisdom of Solomon, a work composed in Greek. The Jesus associated with Sirach's title is not Jesus of Nazareth. These distinctions identify the work without treating similarly named books as interchangeable.
When, where and by whom was it written?
The author is known as Jesus ben Sira, a name also rendered Joshua ben Sira. His work was composed in Jerusalem and is usually dated to the early second century BC, around 180 BC. Hebrew was its original language. The author's grandson subsequently translated the book into Greek, so the author and the translator represent distinct stages in its transmission.
The grandson's prologue places his arrival in Egypt in the thirty-eighth year of King Euergetes, generally understood as 132 BC. That date concerns his arrival, not the original composition. His introduction acknowledges the difficulty of reproducing Hebrew meaning in another language and refers to the Law, the Prophets and other ancestral writings. The prologue is the translator's contribution, rather than part of the author's original Hebrew work.
What does Sirach contain?
In its customary division, Sirach has fifty-one chapters combining short proverbial sayings with longer instructional poems. Reverence for God underlies its account of wisdom, which it closely connects with obedience to the law of Moses. Its practical subjects range from friendship and responsible speech to lending, debt and guaranteeing another person's obligations. It also addresses care for poor and vulnerable people, duties toward parents and the education of children.
Chapter 24 presents personified Wisdom speaking in her own voice. Chapter 38 discusses physicians and medicines as part of God's provision for human life; elsewhere, the book contrasts scribal leisure with the demands of manual occupations. Chapters 42–43 praise divine wisdom through nature. Chapters 44–50, the Praise of the Ancestors or Praise of Famous Men, survey Israel's sacred history, culminating in chapter 50's celebration of the high priest Simon and temple worship. Chapter 51 contains thanksgiving and a poem about seeking wisdom.
Why is Sirach absent from most Protestant Bibles?
Sirach's biblical status differs among religious traditions. It is a deuterocanonical book in the Catholic Old Testament and also belongs to Eastern Orthodox Old Testaments. It is not part of the Jewish biblical canon. Most Protestant canons likewise do not recognize it as an Old Testament book, although some Protestant Bibles print it in a separate Apocrypha section.
Its absence from a canon does not mean that a tradition never encountered or cited it. Rabbinic literature sometimes cites Ben Sira despite the book's exclusion from the Jewish canon. Similarly, its appearance in a Protestant Bible's Apocrypha section differs from its status in Catholic and Orthodox Old Testaments. The distinction concerns the place assigned to the work, not simply whether a Bible prints it.
How did Sirach survive, and how was its Hebrew found?
Sirach survives in ancient Greek, Latin and Syriac textual traditions. The Greek manuscript tradition itself contains more than one form: a longer form has additions absent from the shorter Greek form. These differences are part of the book's textual history. The surviving translations, together with Hebrew manuscripts, provide material through which scholars investigate how its wording was transmitted.
Medieval Hebrew manuscripts began to be identified among material from the Cairo Geniza in 1896. Hebrew fragments were subsequently discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran, and an ancient Hebrew manuscript preserving portions of Sirach was found at Masada. Together, the Hebrew witnesses preserve substantial portions, but not the complete text. Comparison with the ancient translations helps scholars reconstruct the book's textual history.
Where to go next
The guide to the Wisdom of Solomon covers the separate Greek wisdom work whose name is sometimes confused with Sirach. The guide to the Apocrypha provides a related subject for the question of Sirach's placement in Protestant Bibles.
The edition on this site is titled Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach.
Keep exploring
Hear it before you decide
Every book’s page plays the opening of its audiobook. Open Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach below and press play.
Wisdom of Jesus ben SirachAttributed to Joshua ben SiraHear a sample
The Wisdom of SolomonAttributed to King SolomonHear a sample
The Complete 88-Book Ethiopian BibleHear a sample
Questions about the Book of Sirach
What is the Book of Sirach about?
Sirach is about wisdom expressed through daily conduct and reverence for God. It discusses friendship, speech, family responsibilities, debt and care for vulnerable people. Alongside practical instruction, it presents personified Wisdom, praises the natural world and surveys figures from Israel's sacred history in the Praise of the Ancestors.
Why is Sirach not in Protestant Bibles?
Most Protestant canons do not recognize Sirach as an Old Testament book, though some Protestant Bibles print it separately among the Apocrypha. Its status varies by tradition: it is deuterocanonical in Catholic Bibles and belongs to Eastern Orthodox Old Testaments, while it is absent from the Jewish biblical canon.
Who wrote the Book of Sirach?
The author is known as Jesus ben Sira, also rendered Joshua ben Sira, who composed the Hebrew work in Jerusalem around 180 BC. His grandson translated it into Greek and supplied a translator's prologue. The Jesus associated with this book is not Jesus of Nazareth.
What is the difference between Sirach and Ecclesiastes?
Sirach and Ecclesiastes are different books; Ecclesiasticus is another name for Sirach, not for Ecclesiastes. Sirach combines proverbial teaching and instructional poems with praise of wisdom and Israel's ancestors. Its similar-sounding alternative title is therefore a naming issue, not evidence that the two works are the same text.
Is Sirach the same as the Wisdom of Solomon?
No. Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon are separate Jewish wisdom works. Sirach was composed in Hebrew and translated into Greek by the author's grandson, whereas the Wisdom of Solomon was composed in Greek. Both address wisdom, but their related subject does not make them alternative titles for one book.
