Göttliche Providenz und menschliche Verantwortung bei Ben Sira und in der Frühen Stoa

The author deals with the Jewish scholar Ben Sira and with Stoic philosophy. She analyzes their various views concerning God's foresight and care of the world. These are illuminated in their relationship of tension to the freedom and responsibility of man.
Ben Sira's position to the context of Hellenism is the object of this study, which is located in the border area between exegesis and systematic theology. The ancient Stoa is the central point of reference. The comparison shows in many points a closeness of Ben Sira to Stoic thought. Ben Sira's dealing with the Stoa, however, does not lead to a loss of Jewish identity, but to a re-establishing of it.