04_Reymond_224_246 15/07/14 12:18 Pagina 231 THE WISDOM OF WORDS 231 called “repugnant”, while in (the Hebrew to) 23b what the rich says is labeled “insight” (lkX, though the Greek has the more generic lo,goj and the Syriac has a different sense). Is Ben Sira reflecting the fact, as explained above, that what a rich person speaks is not entirely wrong (and ugly), but usually contains a degree of truth, or is he illustrating in a subtle manner how what is untrue can be- come thought of as true among unmindful listeners? It is difficult to be sure. But, in either case, the shift from “repugnant” to “in- sight” implies that what is X can be called Y; words do not always represent what they purportedly describe. The homonymous rela- tionship between lkX “insight” (either sēḵel or seḵel according to Tiberian pronunciation [< *śikl or *śakl]) and lks “folly” (seḵel ac- cording to Tiberian pronunciation [< *sikl or *sakl ?]) only further highlights this point. Nevertheless, it should be mentioned, we cannot be certain that Ben Sira intends wordplay in this case since it would be impossible to use the word “folly” or “insight” without somehow conjuring the antonym/homonym, and in such cases the native ear might have been preconditioned to disambiguate the two words. In addition to biases and skewed perspectives due to social hi- erarchies, Ben Sira recognizes that the context of when and where something is said can alter its significance or meaning. For exam- ple, although Ben Sira advocates reproving a friend or associate in relation to rumors (Sir 19,15-16, quoted below), he warns against an admonition at the wrong time (20,1) and any kind of admonition at a festive occasion. At a banquet, do not reprove a friend, do not cause him agony in his joy; Do not speak a word of reproach to him, do not press him by approaching (him) (hXgnb) (Sir 31,31; Ms F) 14. Thus, the same words of admonition said at two different times might imply two different things. At the right time, an admonition conveys respect and love, but at the wrong time it may imply dis- respect, or, even more damagingly, it may communicate a secret and hence constitute betrayal, the effects of which Ben Sira character- 14 I have translated the last word assuming it is from the root vgn “to ap- proach”. Alternatively, this might be an otherwise unattested noun related to fgn “to oppress” or an infinitive of this same verb.