Emotions in the Prayer of Sir 22:27–23:6
4 The language of emotion
Then the Lord heard my voice; listened to my plea! He redeemed me from evil of every kind and kept me safe in time of crisis” (vv. 9–10, 11cd, 12ab).31
4 The language of emotion
As do many other Old Testament prayers and Psalms, Sir 22:27–23:6 describes the supplicant’s inner experience with the language of emotion. Such a lan-guage, as W. Urbanz has rightly noted,32 is concentrated in the last verses of the second stanza, i.e. vv. 4–6. In these verses, the author depicts unruly passions and some of their symptoms by way of the following expressions: μετεωρισμὸν ὀφθαλμῶν, ἐπιθυμίαν, κοιλίας ὄρεξις, συνουσιασμός and ψυχῇ ἀναιδεῖ. This is not the first time that Ben Sira warns against uncontrolled passions. He has done so in 6:1–3H (6:2–4G) in a rather general way and, more specifically, in 18:30–19:3. Let us now consider the five expressions mentioned in 23:4–6.
4.1 Μετεωρισμὸν ὀφθαλμῶν
That the eyes reflect the feelings of the heart is well illustrated in the expression μετεωρισμὸν ὀφθαλμῶν (lit.: “a raising up of the eyes”), usually translated as
“haughty eyes”. Although arrogance, pride or haughtiness is its usual meaning (cf. Isa 2:11; 5:15; Ps 131:1 and Prov 21:4), in our text μετεωρισμὸν ὀφθαλμῶν should be interpreted differently, i.e. with a sexual connotation.33 This is sup-ported by the context of the prayer (23:2–6 and 23:16–26) and the vocabulary of the last verses. Hence “haughty eyes” refers to the brazen eyes that fuel the fire of lust in the heart.34 For instance, in 26:9 the same expression concerns the sensual woman who arouses men’s desire with her enticing eyes and (probably decorated) eyelids.35 The connection between eyes and desire is also attested, among others, in Prov 6:25 and in 4Q184/4QWiles.36 In Prov 6:25 the youth is warned to avoid being seduced by the beauty and by the staring look of the
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31 The translation is taken from Skehan/DiLella, Wisdom, 561.
32 Cf. Urbanz, Emotionen, 150.
33 Cf. Smend, Weisheit, 204: „Der Uebermut ist der Anfang aller Sünde (Ps. 18,28. Pr. 6,17), namentlich auch der Unzucht“.
34 Cf. Skehan/Di Lella, Wisdom, 322.
35 Cf. Balla, Ben Sira, 52 and 222.
36 Cf. Balla, Ben Sira, 52.
adulteress: “Do not desire her beauty in your heart, or let her take you in with her glances (lit. “eyelids”)”. In 4Q184/4QWiles, the wicked woman, just by looking at him with a seductive gaze, captivates her victim: “Her eyes glance keenly hither and thither, and she wantonly raises her eyelids to seek out a righteous man and lead him astray and … to make him stumble” (1:13–14).37
4.2 Ἐπιθυμίαν
In the Septuagint ἐπιθυμία (and also ἐπιθυμέω) usually has a neutral meaning, i.e. desire, passion, or appetite. Only in certain cases does it acquire moral or sexual overtones as, for instance, in Num 11:34; Prov 6:25 or in the story of Su-sanna.38 In the book of Ben Sira ἐπιθυμία occurs nine times, most of them in the first part of the book (3:29; 5:2; 6:37; 14:14; 18:30, 31; 20:4 and 23:5). In our view, only on four occasions (5:2 and 36:27 are not clear enough) is the term used with a sexual meaning: in 18:30, 31 (warnings against lustful appetites), in 20:4 (the example of a eunuch lusting for intimacy with a maiden) and in 23:5. As far as our text is concerned, the addition by Clement of Alexandria confirms what we have just said: “Remove always from your servant vain hopes (ἐλπίδας κενάς), and indecent desires (ἐπιθυμίας ἀπρεπεῖς) turn aside from me, and sustain al-ways him who wishes to serve you.”39 Perhaps the Alexandrian author consid-ered that ἐπιθυμία denoted a notion too general and decided to add the adjec-tive ἀπρεπής (improper, indecent, unseemly) to render it more specific and thus unequivocal. The short annotation by Rudolf Smend in his commentary seems to take the same line: „[ἐπιθυμίαν] ist ungenügend‟.
4.3 Κοιλίας ὄρεξις
The expression κοιλίας ὄρεξις, which literally means “longing of the belly”, is generally interpreted in two different ways. Some authors understand it as glut-tony, i.e. either the habit of eating or drinking to excess, or the inordinate desire that moves somebody to behave in such a way40 (cf. the warning in Prov 23:20).
Many others, following Syr. (“lasciviousness of the flesh”) and Lat. (ventris
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37 On 4Q184/4QWiles; cf. the recent study by Lesley, Wiles, 107–142.
38 Cf. Dan (LXX) 13:32, 56 and DanTh 13:8, 11, 14, 20, 56.
39 See Hart, Text, 341. The addition is also found in GII, but here ἀπρεπεῖς is lacking. See Ziegler, Sapientia, 231.
40 Alonso Schökel, Sauer, Reiterer, Balla.
concupiscentias), interpret the expression as referring to lustful or carnal de-sires, and translate accordingly.41 See, for example, the translation by Skehan/
Di Lella: “the lustful cravings of the flesh”. In the light of the context, the se-cond interpretation is in our view to be preferred.42 Most illuminating is Fox’s observation on drunkenness and gluttony when commenting on Prov 23:20:
“These two vices may represent dissolute behaviour generally and include sexual wantonness.”43
4.4 Συνουσιασμός
The noun συνουσιασμός is a hapax not only in Ben Sira but also in the Septua-gint. Like συνουσία, it derives from the verb σύνειμι (to be/live with), its first meaning being “cohabitation”. This is, however, a neutral meaning that does not fit in the context of Sir 23:4–6. Should we perhaps consider καὶ συνουσιασμός as a later addition to the text?44 From a stylistic point of view, it introduces an irregularity in the sentence pattern, i.e. 6a is the only colon in which the verb has two objects. Further, the second object makes the colon excessively long compared with the others. In any case, what must be decided is the meaning of the hapax in our text. For most authors συνουσιασμός has sexual connotations and, according to Gilbert, it is a euphemism for coitus (cf. the use of ὕπνος in Wis 4:6 and 7:2).45 Such an interpretation is supported by the context of the prayer.
Apart from Sir 23:6, συνουσιασμός is also attested in two later pseude-pigrapha.46 In both writings it refers to sexual intercourse. The first attestation is found in 4 Maccabees, a philosophical book on the primacy of reason over the emotions (gluttony, lust, malice, anger, fear and pain). In chap. 2, the author praises the temperate Joseph because through mental effort he overcame sexual desire: “For when he was young and in his prime for intercourse (πρὸς συνουσιασμόν), by his reason he nullified the frenzy of the passions” (2:3). The
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41 Peters, Minissale, Skehan/Di Lella, Morla Asensio, Gilbert, Kaiser, Schreiner, Marböck, Urbanz.
42 Cf. also Sir 18:30: “Do not follow your lusts (τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν σου), but restrain your desires (τῶν ὀρέξεών σου)”.
43 Fox, Proverbs, 735.
44 So Smend, Weisheit, 205.
45 Gilbert, Sexualité, 1031.
46 Cf. Balla, Ben Sira, 166.
second attestation belongs to the Aramaic Levi Document,47 traditionally known as the Aramaic Testament of Levi or Aramaic Levi. In chap. 6, devoted to priestly teaching on purity, Levi teaches his son with these words: “First of all, beware my son of all fornication (ἀπὸ παντὸς συνουσιασμοῦ/
זחפ לכ ןמ
) and impurity and of all harlotry”.4.5 Ψυχῇ ἀναιδεῖ
In this expression the noun ψυχή acquires a negative connotation due to the adjective ἀναιδής48 which means “wanting in self-respect and restraint”.49 This connotation is made evident in the translations. Instead of soul, mind or spirit, scholars tend to use terms such as appetite, passion or desire. In the book of Ben Sira, ἀναιδής occurs 3 times (23:6; 26:11 and 40:30), two of which are in a sexual context. We are referring to 23:6 and 26:11 (cf. Prov 7:13). The latter verse belongs to 26:5–12, a passage where the sage combines his instruction on the evil wife with fervent warnings addressed to the young disciple. This is an ex-ample: “Be on guard against her bold eye (ἀναιδοῦς ὀφθαλμοῦ), and do not wonder if she betrays you” (v. 11). The bold eye stands for seduction. As far as 23:6 is concerned, it is our contention that, like the terms previously examined, ψυχῇ ἀναιδεῖ also refers to the sexual domain and can be rendered with impu-dent or shameless appetite. Once more the context of the prayer has proved to be decisive.