The Figure of Enoch as a Model of Wisdom in Sirach’s Praise of the Fathers” the author tries to show how Sirach, through the figure of Enoch, presents the reader with the fundamental characteristics of the wise, which are then concretely manifested in the lives of other great figures in the history of Israel, and to highlight its theological meaning from the perspective of contemporary Church teaching.
In the first chapter, author presents the origin and development of the Book of Sirach and defines its structure and content, with a special focus on the definition of the wise man. In the second chapter, the author conducts an exegetical analysis of the passages Sir 44:16 and 49:14, which mention Enoch, and demonstrates that Sirach focuses the description primarily on the relationship between Enoch and God. A comparative analysis of these passages with parallel canonical texts at the end of the exegetical analysis, along with an evaluation of the relationship between Sirach’s portrayal of Enoch and prophetic and apocalyptic literature at the beginning of the third chapter, demonstrates that Sirach incorporated the motif of walking with God into his wisdom tradition. Through Enoch, he developed the image of the wise person, which embodies the fundamental values of Sirach’s ethics: the fear of the Lord, integrity, obedience to the Law and life in obedience to God’s will. In the final part, author offers a theological commentary, at the end of which he indicates that an individual’s relationship with God opens the way to a communal way of life and an attitude of self-giving, which is in the New Testament fully realized in Christ.
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