Preexistent Wisdom as Torah

Ben Sira 24:1–12, 23, 28–29

ca. 180–132 BCE

¹Wisdom praises herself,

and tells of her glory in the midst of her people.

²In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth,

and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory:

³“I came forth from the mouth of the Most High,

and covered the earth like a mist.

⁴I dwelt in the highest heavens,

and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.

⁵Alone I compassed the vault of heaven

and traversed the depths of the abyss.

⁶Over waves of the sea, over all the earth,

and over every people and nation I have held sway.

⁷Among all these I sought a resting place;

in whose territory should I abide?

⁸“Then the Creator of all things gave me a command,

and my Creator chose the place for my tent.

He said, ‘Make your dwelling in Jacob,

and in Israel receive your inheritance.’

⁹Before the ages, in the beginning, he created me,

and for all the ages I shall not cease to be.

¹⁰In the holy tent I ministered before him,

and so I was established in Zion.

¹¹Thus in the beloved city he gave me a resting place,

and in Jerusalem was my domain.

¹²I took root in an honored people,

in the portion of the Lord, his heritage.” [ . . . ]

²³All this is the book of the covenant of the Most High God,

the law that Moses commanded us

as an inheritance for the congregations of Jacob. [ . . . ]

²⁸The first man did not know wisdom fully,

nor will the last one fathom her.

²⁹For her thoughts are more abundant than the sea,

and her counsel deeper than the great abyss.

Translation from the New Revised Standard Version.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 2: Emerging Judaism.