In his Prologue to the Greek translation of the book Ben-Sira’s grandson tells us that “in the eight and thirtieth year under Euergetes the king, having come into Egypt and continued there, I found opportunity for no small instruction. I, therefore, deemed it most necessary myself to devote some zeal and love-labour to (the task of) translating this book; devoting, indeed, much watchful care and skill during the time at my disposal in order that, having completed the book (i.e. its translation), I might publish it for the benefit of those who in the land of their sojourning were desirous to learn, being already prepared in respect of their moral culture to live by the Law.” Those words enable us to fix the date, approximately, of the translation of the book; for there was only one Egyptian king of the name of Euergetes to whom the translator’s words could apply, namely Euergetes II, surnamed Physcon, who reigned altogether fifty-four years; first he was joint-ruler with his elder brother, Philometor (B.C. 170-145), and then he reigned alone (B.C. 145-116).[348] The thirty-eighth year of his reign would be B.C. 132; soon after this date, therefore, the Greek translation was made. Having got this date it is not difficult to fix an approximate date for the original work; it would be about fifty or sixty years earlier. At the end of chapter xlix. and beginning of l., according to the Hebrew of our book, it says: Great among his brethren, and the glory of his people Was Simeon, the son of Jochanan, the priest. This Simeon, the second of the name, was high-priest from B.C. 219-199; Ben-Sira was clearly a contemporary of his (see l. 1 ff.), but the way in which he writes about him suggests that Simeon must have been dead some time when Ben-Sira wrote; we shall, therefore, not be far wrong in assigning the year B.C. 180, or thereabouts, as the date of the composition of the book in its original form. It is, however, certain that the book was in preparation for some years before this; for since, as we have already seen, Ben-Sira had his own house of instruction where he gave lectures to his pupils, we may justly assume that the contents of his book represent the pith of these lectures. IV. THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE OF THE BOOK; THE RECENTLY FOUND HEBREW MANUSCRIPTS