Sirach 1: 1-10

All wisdom is from the Lord and with him it remains forever. (Sirach 1:1)

The writer uses the Greek Σοφíα,or wisdom. In many Greek Bibles Sophia is the name of this book. This is the same sophia found in philosophy (love of wisdom).

Sirach - or sometimes Ecclesiasticus - is a very Greek book of scripture. It was almost certainly written under the influence of Hellenistic notions of wisdom as developed by Socrates and Plato.

In the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible sophia is the typical translation of חכמות or chokmah. This is a very different notion of wisdom as skillful, shrewd, and prudent.

This wisdom (chokmah), as found in the book of Proverbs, is much more the wisdom of the Sophists than Socrates. But Sirach makes a significant shift toward a wisdom that exists on its own and for its own purposes.