04_Reymond_224_246 15/07/14 12:18 Pagina 241 THE WISDOM OF WORDS 241 to be sensitive to the many meanings that words can have especially in crucial contexts with superiors. The goal of such study seems to be not only knowledge of what the proverb says, but also how it is said. This is implied not only in the passages quoted above that connect language use with character and intelligence, but also in other places. Ben Sira makes the as- sertion that linguistic intelligence can lead to (or, at least, is asso- ciated with) wisdom. sunetoi. evn lo,goij kai. auvtoi. evsofi,santo kai. avnw,mbrhsan paroimi,aj avkribei/j Those intelligent in words become wise (or, display wisdom), and pour forth exact proverbs (Sir 18,29) 37. Of course, what Ben Sira means by “intelligent in words” is not patently obvious. However, the suggestion that this involves being conscious of the multivalency inherent in individual lexemes and roots is encouraged by the way that Ben Sira calls attention to links between related words. In perhaps as many as four places Ben Sira calls attention to a link between words with the phrase “like its/his/her name” (i.e., kaph preposition + ~X + pronoun). In two of these cases, Ben Sira conveys a comparison between etymologically related words that are phonetically distinct. The clearest example of this is found in Sir 43,8, which highlights the associations between the word “new moon” and the verb “to make new”: ÎwtwntXhb arwn-hmÐ ÎXdxÐtm awh wmXk Xdx The new moon, as its name (implies), [renews] itself; [how breath-taking when it alters] (Sir 43,8; Mas [Ms B]) 38. 37 The verb sofi,zw in the middle voice indicates either being wise, gain- ing wisdom, or displaying the same (see LEH, s.v.). The Syriac translation, ḥkymy ywlpn’ “wise in instruction”, may point to a Hebrew phrase rswm ymkx, suggesting, at least for this verse, that the Greek expression evn lo,goij modifies the preceding noun. See the discussion on the similar phrase in 20,13, quoted above. Note also that Sir 32,8 stresses the necessity of saying much in few words. 38 REYMOND, Innovations in Hebrew Poetry, 65-66. Note that a comparison between shifting month names and the moon’s renewal does not seem likely.