04_Reymond_224_246 15/07/14 12:18 Pagina 240 240 ERIC D. REYMOND Here, it is conceivable that what Ben Sira means is simply that one must learn what past sages have said about proper etiquette as an administrator and be able to act in accordance with these instruc- tions in order to be successful. More likely, however, something more complex is being expressed. The word hdyx usually refers to texts that are difficult to understand at first hearing, texts that re- quire concentration and thinking and that may involve ambiguous syntax or grammar, as well as metaphor 36. No doubt Ben Sira means to imply that proverbial literature provides a student with basic knowledge about how one should act and behave, but it also suggests a linguistic sensitivity and dexterity, something that would have come from studying riddles. The inference that linguistic dexterity is one goal of wisdom training is further supported by the way Ben Sira writes of the scribe in his discussion of different vocations, where it seems texts that incorporate ambiguity, like riddles, provide the grist for medi- tation and cogitation. He will seek out the hidden things (avpo,krufa) of parables, and the riddles of proverbs he will dwell upon (Sir 39,3; Gr). Such “hidden things” in Ben Sira likely refer not to “occult” knowledge, as a similar phrase might if found in a Dead Sea Scroll (e.g., hyhn zr), but rather to the multiple meanings of a passage or assertion that are, in part, communicated through wordplay, which in turn often depends on ambiguity. The ambiguity that is often part of texts like “proverbs” and “riddles” would have heightened their pedagogical usefulness by forcing the reader to engage with the text in a dynamic way (here reflected in the verbs “seek out” [evkzhte,w] and “dwell upon” [avnastre,fw]), training the student that had a reflexive sense in the Hithpael. Alternatively, we should view the verb Xjr as secondary, included by a scribe due to its similarity (both semantic and phonetic) with Xjn. Notice, e.g., that in post-biblical Hebrew, the Qal pas- sive participle Xwjr occurs meaning “an emigrant”, and is used as a pair with the Qal passive participle of Xjn. Although some earlier scholars have sug- gested reading Xrd for the root Xjr following the Syriac, another possibility is to see the Greek verb, avnastre,fw, as a translation of hgh “to meditate”, as in Sir 50,28, where the Hebrew verb is accompanied by the beth preposition. 36 See, V. HAMP, “hdyx”, TDOT IV, 320-323.