Ben Sira lived in an era when Hellenistic influences continued to spread in Palestine. The supreme political power was in the hands of foreign rulers. Under these circumstances it is no wonder that Ben Sira discusses the position of foreign nations in several passages. The tone varies due to the given context. This study demonstrates that Ben Sira's relationship to foreign nations is best defined as "balanced", as his attitude is neither thoroughly hostile nor that of uncritically embracing Gentiles. On the basis of certain passages, one can get the impression that even the foreigners could be recipients of the Torah. On the other hand, some nations were regarded by earlier biblical authors as archenemies of Israel, and these anti-elect people caused also Ben Sira's anger to be provoked. Ben Sira was deeply rooted in Judaism but this did not prevent him from being open toward foreign influences as far as they were compatible with his religious and cultural heritage.

The articles in this volume investigate changes in texts that became to be regarded as holy and unchangeable in Judaism and Christianity. The volume seeks to draw attention to the "empirical" evidence from Qumran, the Septuagint as well as from passages in the Hebrew Scriptures that have been shaped by the use of other texts. The contributions are divided into three main sections: The first section deals with methodological questions concerning textual changes. The second section consists of concrete examples from the Hebrew Bible, Qumran and Septuagint on how the texts were changed, corrected, edited and interpreted. The contributions of the third section will investigate the general influence and impact of Deuteronomistic ideology and phraseology on later texts.

Das Buch Jesus Sirach stellt eine gewaltige Synthese weisheitlicher, kultischer, prophetischer, rechtlicher und historiographischer Traditionen des antiken Israel und des frühen Judentums dar. Um 180 v.Chr. in Jerusalem als Lehrbuch verfasst, verbindet sein auf Hebräisch schreibender Autor das jüdische Gesetz mit der kosmischen Weisheit und formuliert Maximen zum gelingenden Leben in der vielfältigen Welt des Hellenismus. Der vorliegende Band präsentiert alle bis heute bekannten hebräischen Fragmente dieses Buchs samt deutscher Übersetzung sowie ausgewählte Texte der um 120 v.Chr. in Alexandria erstellten griechischen Übertragung. Einzelne Essays führen in die literarischen und kulturellen Kontexte des Sirachbuchs ein, beleuchten zentrale in ihm behandelte Themen wie die rechte Lebensführung, die Gerechtigkeit Gottes, die Bedeutung des Gebets oder die Auslegung der heiligen Schriften Israels und skizzieren exemplarisch die Rolle dieses jüdischen Werkes in der christlichen Frömmigkeitsgeschichte.