Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Kevin P. Edgecomb" <kevin AT bombaxo.com>]

Quoting George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>:
> But do bear in mind that the Babylonian Talmud is not contemporary   
> with Solomon. So, the argument, James, does not hold much clout.

I write:
Likewise, James, it says nothing of Ben Sira on page 14b of Baba  
Batra, though a lengthy discussion of the authors of Scripture begins  
on 14b, continuing through 16b (with most of that being an excursus on  
Job).  The book is consistently referred to throughout the Babylonian  
Talmud as the book of Ben Sira, not a book of Solomon.  The book of  
Ben Sira is likewise forbidden for reading in bSanh 100b, though  
several quotations are viewed as consistent with Rabbinic  
interpretation.  This would hardly be the case if Solomon were  
considered its author.

Perhaps, James, you have another work in mind and have misremembered  
the citation?

Regards,
Kevin P. Edgecomb
Berkeley, California