Sunday, February 18, 2024

Athanasios Despotis on Sirach 26:29b as a Parallel to Romans 6:7

  

 

Sirach 26:29b

 

In a context where Ben Sira expresses his anger about those who turn from righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) to sin (ἁμαρτία) he stresses that a shopkeeper cannot be separated from sin: οὐ δικαιωθήσεται κάπηλος ἀπὸ ἁμαρτίας. This proverb refers to the common moral danger involved in commerce and mainly denotes cheating. Kάπηλος refers to a retail dealer or tavern keeper, and in antiquity, the conduct of a κάπηλος was synonymous for cheating. The author uses the very same expression that Paul also uses: δικαιοῦσθαι ἀπὸ ἁμαρτίας. The verb δικαιοσθαι appears parallel to the verb ξαιρεσθαι (to be moved from) in a context where also eschatological punishment is mentioned (Sir 26:28 cf. 23:11). As such, the semantics of δικαιοῦσθαι in Sir 26:29b are very close to the semantics of Rom 6:7, although here sin is not a personified power. In both cases, δικαιοῦσθαι means primarily to be separated from but also to be justified. The original forensic meaning of δικαιόω remains in the background of both statements. Furthermore, the same forensic metaphor δικαιωθῆναι ἀπὸ occurs in T.Sim. 6:1. The patriarch Simeon gives the reason for his predictions, i.e. to get justified from the sin of their souls: πως δικαιωθῶ ἀπτς μαρτας τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν (cf. Herm. Vis. 3.9.1). (Athanasios Despotis, "ο γαρ αποθανων δεδικαιωται απο της αμαρτιας: Rethinking the Application of the Verb δικαιουσθαι in Baptismal Contexts from the Perspective of Rom 6:7,” in Participation, Justification, and Conversion: Eastern Orthodox Interpretation of Paul and the Debate between "Old and New Perspectives on Paul," ed. Athanasios Despotis [Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe 442; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017], 34)