便西拉的字母

《便西拉的字母》（The Alphabet of Ben-Sira），又譯本司拉的知識，是中世紀時期一份佚名文獻，講述《舊約聖經》的次經《便西拉智訓》的作者、希伯來先知便西拉的生平，由受孕、出生、受教育到長大成人。《便西拉的字母》用希伯來語書寫，另外還有以亞蘭語書寫的古版，但內容略有不同。成書時間估計在公元7世紀至11世紀，很可能在10世紀。

在文獻中，便西拉以先知耶利米的兒子的身份被帶到巴比倫國王尼布甲尼撒二世的面前。尼布甲尼撒二世在法庭上向便西拉揭示四道神諭，並要求便西拉解釋這四道神諭的意思。便西拉於是利用了希伯來語的22個字母作開首，講述了22個故事來回應國王的問題。

有關莉莉絲的記述

本文獻宣稱猶太人在被虜到巴比倫的這段時期，曾一度有過莉莉絲的信仰。這在本書的結尾部份出現，內容記述如下。

漢語譯文（譯自英語譯文）

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後來國王的小兒子病了。尼布甲尼撒二世對便西拉說：「把我的兒子治好，不然你就得死」。便西拉立刻坐了下來並將神的名字寫在護身符上，並同時記下負責醫療的天使的名字、外型、肖像以及他們的翅膀、手腳。尼布甲尼撒看着這個護身符問：「這些是誰？」 負責醫療的三個天使：Snvi、Snsvi以及Smnglof。上帝創造了孤獨的亞當之後，他說「那人獨居不好、我要爲他造一個配偶幫助他。」（《創世記》第2章第18節）於是，他利用創造亞當的方法，用泥土爲亞當創造了一個女人，喚她做莉莉絲。亞當和莉莉絲打鬥起來。莉莉絲說「我不可在下」，而亞當說「我當在上，不可在你之下；你當在下，我在你之上」。莉莉絲回答說：「我們皆是從土裏生的，故而你我無差」。他們兩個都不接受對方的意見。莉莉絲見狀，說了上帝隱秘的名字後逃走了。亞當向造物主祈禱：「萬物的主啊！你賜給我的女人跑了。」主立刻給了他祝福，派三個天使把莉莉絲帶回來。 神對亞當說，「如果她願意回來最好，否則，以後每天就會有她的100個子孫死掉」。天使告別了神去追莉莉絲。他們在紅海中央找到了她。他們將神的話告訴她，但是她還是不願回來。天使說「我們要將你溺死在大海之中」。 「躲開！」她說，「我以致初生小兒於病而受造，若爲男孩，我當主他生後8天，若爲女孩，則20天」。 天使聽到了莉莉絲的話，他們堅持要她回去。但是莉莉絲以永恆之神的名向他們起誓：「無論何時當我在護身符上看到你們的名字、形象，我會失去了給小兒致病的力量」。並且，她同意日後每天有100個她的子孫死去。從此，每天有100個魔鬼死去，並由於同樣的原因，我們將天使的名字寫在小孩子的護身符上。當莉莉絲看到他們的名字時，她便記起了她的誓言，於是小孩就痊癒了。

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英語譯文

Soon afterward the young son of the king took ill. Said Nebuchadnezzar, "Heal my son. If you don't, I will kill you." Ben Sira immediately sat down and wrote an amulet with the Holy Name, and he inscribed on it the angels in charge of medicine by their names, forms, and images, and by their wings, hands, and feet. Nebuchadnezzar looked at the amulet. "Who are these?"

"The angels who are in charge of medicine: Snvi, Snsvi, and Smnglof. After God created Adam, who was alone, He said, 'It is not good for man to be alone' (Genesis 2:18). He then created a woman for Adam, from the earth, as He had created Adam himself, and called her Lilith. Adam and Lilith immediately began to fight. She said, 'I will not lie below,' and he said, 'I will not lie beneath you, but only on top. For you are fit only to be in the bottom position, while I am to be the superior one.' Lilith responded, 'We are equal to each other inasmuch as we were both created from the earth.' But they would not listen to one another. When Lilith saw this, she pronounced the Ineffable Name and flew away into the air. Adam stood in prayer before his Creator: 'Sovereign of the universe!' he said, 'the woman you gave me has run away.' At once, the Holy One, blessed be He, sent these three angels to bring her back.

"Said the Holy One to Adam, 'If she agrees to come back, fine. If not, she must permit one hundred of her children to die every day.' The angels left God and pursued Lilith, whom they overtook in the midst of the sea, in the mighty waters wherein the Egyptians were destined to drown. They told her God's word, but she did not wish to return. The angels said, 'We shall drown you in the sea.'

"'Leave me!' she said. 'I was created only to cause sickness to infants. If the infant is male, I have dominion over him for eight days after his birth, and if female, for twenty days.'

"When the angels heard Lilith's words, they insisted she go back. But she swore to them by the name of the living and eternal God: 'Whenever I see you or your names or your forms in an amulet, I will have no power over that infant.' She also agreed to have one hundred of her children die every day. Accordingly, every day one hundred demons perish, and for the same reason, we write the angels names on the amulets of young children. When Lilith sees their names, she remembers her oath, and the child recovers."

_{כתב תחתי}

參考文獻

引用

來源

• Eisenstein, J.D., Alpha Beta Ben Sira, in: Otsar Midrashim vol. 1 (1915).
• Steinschneider, Moritz Alphabeticum Syracidis, Berlin (1854).
• Steinschneider, Moritz Alphabeticum Syracidis utrumque, cum expositione antiqua (narrationes et fabulas continente), Berlin (1858).
• David Stern,, Mark Jay Mirsky (eds.), Rabbinic Fantasies : Imaginative Narratives from Classical Hebrew Literature, Yale Judaica Series (1998). ISBN 0-300-07402-6
• Taylor, C., The Alphabet of Ben Sira, in: JQR 17 (1904/05) 238-239.
• Taylor, C., The Alphabet of Ben Sira, in: Journal of Philology 30 (1907) 95-132.
• Tobias Lachs, Samuel, The Alphabet of Ben Sira, Gratz College Annual of Jewish Studies 11 (1973), 9-28.

外部連結

• SIRACH, THE ALPHABET OF（頁面存檔備份，存於互聯網檔案館） T. Witton Davies (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
• The Alphabet Of Ben Sira - A Not So Divine Comedy（頁面存檔備份，存於互聯網檔案館） Rabbi Josh Yuter
• Ben Sira, The Alphabet of, Crawford Howell Toy, Louis Ginzberg, Jewish Encyclopedia.
• Straight Dope Article on Lilith（頁面存檔備份，存於互聯網檔案館）
• Fragment from the Alphabet of Ben Sirah（頁面存檔備份，存於互聯網檔案館）