FORGIVENESS IN BEN SIRA AND IN PHILO OF ALEXANDRIA

This article compares the positions of Ben Sira and Philo of Alexandria on the topic of obtaining pardon in Hellenistic Judaism. The study attempts to determine whether Philo was able to find proposals related to his own concerns in the positions of Ben Sira. There are cases in which it is possible to observe the same tradition in the two authors. Furthermore, the study of their terminology reveals a manifest network of relations. Having carried out an analysis of vocabulary, the study then comparatively examines the conceptions developed by each of the authors, in the following sections: 1) the relation between sacrifice for sin and ethical attitude; 2) the path to conversion and the example of Enoch; 3) from the example of the Fathers to the intercession of the Patriarchs; 4) the God of grace and pardon. The conclusion sets out the results of the study, placing emphasis on the extent to which Ben Sira is one of Philo's sources in the question that concerns us here, and also on the extent to which Philo, in accordance with his cultural and philosophical positions, develops some of Ben Sira's own traditions.