Abstract
Animals play an important role in Ancient Near Eastern literature and in the Bible, especially in the prophetic and wisdom writings. Among the latter, Proverbs and Sirach, two wisdom books with an essentially didactic aim and framework, stand out. Unlike the book of Proverbs, where animal images appear as models to be imitated (cf. Prov 6:68; 30:25, about the ant), Ben Sira often uses them to illustrate reprehensible forms of human behavior in family and social circles. In some texts Ben Sira uses animal images to refer to social categories present in human societies. The metaphorical instances of animal imagery in the book of Ben Sira are, as we have seen, inserted in a broad range of literary forms. Except for one (the bee), all the instances are distinguished by their negative connotations. Keywords: animal imagery; Ben Sira; book of Proverbs
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