Abstract
Israelite sages classified human beings into two groups; a person was either wise or foolish. In this chapter, author states that Ben Sira distinguishes human beings based on a nonoppositional understanding of election, a notion he derives from older biblical traditions and from a cosmological observation. According to Ben Sira, YHWH poured out a first allocation of wisdom upon all of his creations, including all human beings. Only a few studies offer a systematic treatment of theme of creation in book of Sirach. Leo Perdue focuses his study of Ben Sira on twin themes of creation and history, and describes purpose of Ben Sira's creation theology as establishment of God's providence, which Perdue defines as the continuing governance of reality. Ben Sira's understanding is effectively illustrated in his distinction between ordinary time and festivals, which he respectively associates with sun and moon.Keywords: Ben Sira; Israelite sages; moon; sun; wisdom; YHWH
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