Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Ian Hutchesson" <mc2499 AT mclink.it>]

>> Yes, I said it was an argument from silence, I would call it a glaring
>> silence. Ben Sira makes an attempt to mention the illustrious men in the
>> Hebrew tradition. The claims about Ezra is that he re-established the 
>> temple
>> cultus, purified the blood of the population from foreign uncleanness, 
>> regave
>> the law, and Ben Sira knows nothing of this, yet Ezra was seen a few 
>> hundred
>> years after his time as just that saviour of the Jewish race that Ben SIra
>> knows nothing about.
>>
>Ian, since you have been such a stickler for what we can clearly demonstrate
>and not making assumptions I find you statements that "no-one in second
>temple times knows..." and "Ben Sira knows nothing of this" amusing. At best
>you can say nothing more than Ben Sira does not mention Ezra. Why is pure
>conjecture. To say that "no-one" in the second Temple period knew about Ezra
>is equally ludicrous. It is un-provable and, by most estimates extremely
>unlikely.

Most estimates which don't consider the data mean little. Consider the data. 
Not
your personal dispositions against the idea. I really find this 
backs-to-the-wall
type *aggressive* reluctance to consider such ideas at all except to try to 
rubbish
them is not reflective in any way of a scholarly approach to analysis of the
problems presented to us.

But to make your semantics happy:

Ben Sira *shows* no knowledge of "the claims about Ezra, [..] that he 
re-established
the temple cultus, purified the blood of the population from foreign 
uncleanness,
regave the law" This is a glaring omission and the best one can do, 
considering the
key role attributed to Ezra as the traditon came down to us, is to say that 
well,
ummm, you know, he wasn't of the same party!

No-one in second temple times *shows* any knowledge of Ezra. Get the point? 
The
refounder of the religion of the second temple passes totally unnoticed in the
second temple.

This would be like talking about the causes of the second world war without 
talking
about hitler at all.


Ian