The Book of Ben Sira in Modern Research: Proceedings of the First International Ben Sira Conference, 28-31 July 1996, Soesterberg, Netherlands.

• Author: SEGERT, STANISLAV
• Position: Review

The Book of Ben Sira in Modern Research: Proceedings of the First International Ben Sira Conference, 28-31 July 1996, Soesterberg, Netherlands. Edited by PANCRATIUS C. BEENTJES. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, vol. 255. Berlin: WALTER DE GRUYTER, 1997. Pp. x + 233. DM 152.

The introduction (pp. v-viii) by the editor informs us about the purpose and content of this volume. The conference was held one hundred years after the discovery of the Hebrew text of Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus) among the manuscripts from the Cairo geniza. In 1964 ancient manuscripts of this book were found at Masada. Since 1980 about six hundred publications have been devoted to Ben Sira.

Ten scholars contributed to this volume, three from America, seven from European countries (p. 233). Five contributions deal with general matters, five with individual topics.

The volume ends with lists of abbreviations (pp. 223, 225-27), an index of references to the Bible and other literature (pp. 229-32) and personalia (p. 233).

Stefan C. Reif discusses the discovery of the Genizah fragments in 1896 (pp. 1-22), Friedrich Vinzenz Reiterer reviews recent research on the Book of Ben Sira (pp. 23-60). Elements of structure and redaction history are studied by Johannes Marb[ddot{o}]ck (pp. 61-79). Corrado Martone evaluates the manuscripts discovered in Qumran caves 2 and 11 and at Masada (pp. 81-94).

In "Reading the Hebrew Ben Sira Manuscripts Synoptically: A New Hypothesis" (pp. 95-111), Pancratius C. Beentjes, the editor of this volume, presents a preview of a new text edition that he is preparing. It will contain all texts from the manuscripts and a synopsis of all extant Hebrew Ben Sira material. In manuscripts written stichometrically about one thousand verses are preserved; in those written continually, about five hundred fifty verses. Beentjes plans to combine interlinear and "block" models in the synopsis. Traces...