THE ALPHABET OF BEN SIRA

Mizote hi kan mak angreng khawp mai! Kum 1995 vêlah khân tual ṭo kohhran pakhat chuan ‘Chanchin Ṭha bu ngana’ tih chu a rawn châwi vul chiam a; mi la hriat ngâi loh hre thar ang hrim khân thutak khûkin an rawn khûkpui hlut a nih kha! ‘Chanchin ṭha bu ngana’ an tih chu Grik ṭawnga ziah ‘Gospel of Thomas’ a ni. Bible-a pawm loh Thuthlung Thar apocrypha zînga mi, Gnostic zirtîrna pawmtute ziah a ni a. Isua naupan lâi chanchin, Aigupta rama an awm lâia a thil tih mak eng emaw zah chuanna bû a ni. Isua kha a mak thei anga bera sawi a ni a; mihring famkim a nihna pawm thei lo, tu emaw ziah a ni. A ngaihawm dangdãi angreng phian tih bák chu Bible-a tel pha lo a nih miau avàngin thu taka lák chî a ni lo!

Tûn hnaiah ‘Lilith-i’ chungchâng a lo lãr leh ta hluai a; hei pawh hi thil thar teh vak a ni lo. ‘Lilith-i’ tih hming tak phei hi chu Isua pian hma kum 2000 hma lama Gilgamesh Epics-a lo lang tawh a ni. Youtube-ah mi pakhatin tãwi fel takin ‘Lilith chungchâng thu dik hai lanna’ leh ‘Lilith chungchâng chhui chianna’ tih a dah a. Pastor PL Biakchhàwnan ‘Adama nupui hmasa Lilith chungchâng’ a sawi pawh Youtube-ah ngaihthlák theih a ni bawk. Lilith chungchâng hre chiang duh chuan hêngte hi ngaihthlak a ṭha hle ang.

Ben Sira chu tu nge ni? Juda-te leh Protestant-in Bible-a kan pawm loh apocrypha lehkhabu zîngah lehkhabu pakhat Sirach an tih chu a awm a; sâp ṭawng Bible ṭhenkhatah chuan ‘The Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)’ an ti bawk. Apocrypha zîngah ngaihnawm ber pâwl leh zirtîr pawh nei ṭha angreng tak a ni. ‘Siraka fapa Isua Finna’ tih tùr a ni ang a; a tãwi zâwngin ‘Sirach’ (Siraka) emaw ‘Ecclesiasticus’ emaw an ti mai ṭhin.

He lehkhabu ‘Siraka’ hi eng vàngin nge Juda-ten Bible-a an pawm loh? He lehkhabu hi a tîrah Hebrai ṭawnga ziah a ni a; a ziah hun chu kum BC 180 vêl kha a ni ang. A ziaktu Joshua (Isua) tupain kum BC 132-ah khân Grik ṭawngin a letling a. Kum AD 90 vêla Juda mi thiamten Jamnia Council-a Bible-a pawm tùr an thliar fel lâi khân an tehna pawimawh tak pakhat chu “Hebrai ṭawnga ziak ‘copy’ hmuh tùr a awm em?” tih a ni a. Siraka chu Hebrai ṭawnga ziak ‘copy’ hmuh tùr a awm tawh lo a; chuvàng chuan apocrypha lehkhabu dang ang bawkin hnãwl zîngah a tel ta a ni.

Ben Siraka hming pum chu ‘Shimon ben Yeshua ben Eliezer ben Sirach’ tih a ni a. Juda mi ṭhenkhat hming chu an pû pû lehchhâwng thlengin an sawi zawm duah ṭhin a. He hming pawh hi ‘Simona, Josua fapa, Eliezera fapa, Siraka fapa’ tihna a ni mai a; a tãwi zâwngin ‘Yeshua Ben Sirach’ an ti mai ṭhin. A lai ah hming chu Simona a ni ang a; Yeshua (Josua–Isua), Siraka fapa tih hi a làrpui tak chu a ni a. ‘Ben Sirach’ tih chu an sawi dàn ber a ni. Kum BC zabi hnihna láia mi a ni a. Juda-te zînga ziaktu pakhat, Temple pahnihna (Second Temple period) hun chhûnga Jerusalem-a chêng a ni.

Hun a lo kal zêl a, Ben Sira chu Jeremia hun lâia mi ang daih khân sawi a ni ta a. Chutiang chuan ‘The Alphabet of Ben Sira’ tihah pawh hian Jeremia hun lâia mi angin lantîr a ni a; hei tak hian he lehkhabu hi rin tlâk a nih lohzia a tilang chiang tâwk hle.

Eng vàngin nge ‘Alphabet of Ben Sira’ an vuah? Hebrai leh Aramaik A, Aw, B-ah chuan hawrawp (consonant) 22 a awm a. Hebrai A, Aw, B hawrawp hmasa pahnih chu ‘Aleph’ leh ‘Beth’ a ni. Hebrai A, Aw, B tin hian awmzia a nei vek a; ‘Aleph’ chu ‘bâwngpa’ tihna a ni a; hmànlaia milem hmanga hawrawp an ziah ṭhin lâi chuan ‘Aleph’ chuan bâwngpa lû a ang deuh a. ‘Beth’ chu ‘in’ tihna a ni a; hmànlai hawrawp hmasaah Beth chuan ‘in’ a ang deuh bawk a ni. Grik A, Aw, B hawrawp hmasa pahnih chu Hebrai A, Aw, B aṭanga lâk ni àwm takin ‘Alpha, Beta’ tih a ni a; chumi hawrawp hmasa pahnih chu la kawpin English thumal ‘Alphabet’ tih hi a lo chhuak a ni.

‘The Alphabet of Ben Sira’ (The Alphabet of Jesus ben Sirach) hi hun laihãwl, kum AD 700–1000 inkâra ziah a ni a. ‘The First Alphabet’-ah chuan thufing 22, Aramaik A, Aw, B indawta ziah a ni a. Chumi awmzia chu thufing mal mal bulah Aramaik A, Aw, B chu a indawtin hman a ni. ‘The First Aphabet’-a thufingte chu he lehkhabu thu ken zînga upa deuh bera ngaih a ni a; chûng zînga 5 chu Talmud aṭanga khàr chhàwn a ang deuh ber!

‘The Second Alphabet’ chu Hebrai thufing 22, Hebrai A, Aw, B indawta ziah a ni ve thung a; chûngte chu ‘The First Alphabet’-a Aramaik thufingte nèn a kal hmang a danglam hle thung. A zahve vêl chu Juda-te lehkhabu hmingthang tak Talmud aṭanga khàr chhàwn a ni.

‘The Second Alphabet’-ah chuan Ben Sira chu zàwlnei Jeremia fapa anga sawi a ni ta thung a! Ben Sira chu mi fing tak a ni a; a finzia chuan Nebukadnezzara beng a lo thleng a. Nebukadnezzaran Ben Sira chu a ko a, thil tam tak a lo zâwt a; Ben Sira chuan thawnthu 22 hmangin a chhâng a. Ṭhenkhat chu Kristiante thawnthu aṭanga khàr chhàwn leh Indian thawnthu ‘Panchatantra’ aṭanga lák chhàwn a ni!

The Alphabet of Ben Sira-a lãr ta ber chu ‘Lilith-i’ chungchâng hi a ni a. Lilith-i chungchâng hi Nebukadnezzara zawhna chungchânga Ben Sira chhànna pangana a ni a; ngial ngan taka lehlin ni loin a awmze tlángpui chu hetiang hi a ni:

Nebukadnezzara fapa chu a damlo a; Nebukadnezzara chuan Ben Sira hnênah, “Ka fapa hi tidam rawh; i tihdam loh chuan ka that ang che,” a ti a. Ben Sira chu a ṭhu vat a; a thil awrh (amulet)-ah chuan Hming Thianghlim (Pathian hming tihna) a ziak a; damdawi changtu (incharge of medicine) vàntirhkohte hming leh an lem te, an thla (wing) te, an kut leh kête nèn chuan a ziak a.

Nebukadnezzara chuan chûng thil chu a han en a, Ben Sira hnênah chuan, “Hêngte hi tute nge ni?” a ti a. Ben Sira chuan, “Hêngte hi damdawi changtu vàntirhkoh pathum Senoy-a, Sansenoy-a leh Semangelof-a te an nih hi,” tiin a chhâng a.

Pathianin Adama a siam khân amah chauhin a awm a. Pathian chuan, “Mihring hi amah chauha a awm chu a ṭha lo,” a ti a; lei aṭangin hmeichhia a siam ve ta a. Adama a siam ang bawka a siam a ni a, a hmingah chuan ‘Lilith-i’ a sà a. Adama leh Lilith-i chu a tîr aṭangin an inngeih lo nghâl a.

Zàna an inpàwl dáwn chuan Lilith-in Adama hnênah, “A hnuai záwkah ka mu duh lo,” a ti a; Adaman, “I hnuaiah ka mu duh bîk lo; a chung zâwkah chauh ka mu ang. Nang âiin ka chungnung zâwk a; nang chu a hnuai zâwka mu táwk lek i ni,” a ti a.

Lilith-i chuan, “Lei aṭanga siam ve ve kan ni a, kan intluk reng alâwm” a ti ve ta tlat a. An pahnih chuan thû an inngaithla duh lo tawn a. Chutiang chu a lo nih tâkah chuan Lilith-i chu Hming Chungnung (Pathian) lamin boruakah a thlâwk bo ta daih a.

Siamtu hmâah Adama chu a ṭawngṭai a, “Lei leh vàn Lalpa, i hmeichhe min pék kha a thláwk bo ta daih mai,” a ti a. Mi Thianghlima (Pathian) chuan vàntirhkoh pathum chu Lilith-i hruai tûrin a tîr ta a. Mi Thianghliman Adama hnênah chuan, “Lilith-i a lo kîr leh duh a nih chuan a ṭhaah ngâi i la; a lo kìr duh loh erawh chuan a fate zînga 100 chu ni tin an thih a remti tùr a ni,” a ti a.

Vàntirhkohte chuan Pathian chu chhuahsanin Lilith-i chu an zawng ta a. Hmâna Israel-te ûmtu Aigupta sipaite tlâk hlumna Tuipui Sen lâi takah khân an va ûm phák a. Pathianin thû a chahte chu vàntirhkohte chuan Lilith-i chu an hrilh a; ani chuan a pawm duh chuang lo! Vàntirhkohte chuan, “Tuipuiah hian kan tlák hlumtîr ang che,” tiin an vau a. Lilith-i erawh chuan, “Min kalsan rawh u. Nausênte chunga natna thlen tùra siam ka ni a; nausên chu mipa a nih chuan a pian aṭanga ni 8 chhûng a chungah thû ka nei ang a, hmeichhia a nih erawh chuan ni 20 chhûng a chungah thû ka nei ang,” a ti a.

Lilith-i thusawi an hriatin vàntirh­kohte chuan lo kîr leh hrãm tùrin an nawr a; nimahsela, Lilith-i chuan Pathian nung, chatuan Pathian hming chhâlin, “Eng hunah pawh an thil awrh (amulet)-ah i hming emaw i lem emaw ka hmuh chuan nausên chungah thiltihtheihna ka nei lo ang,” a ti a.

Lilith-i chuan ni tin a fate 100 an thih chu a remti bawk a. Chutiang chuan ni tin ramhuai fa 100 an thi ta ziah a; naupang thil awrhah vàntirhkoh hming an ziak ṭhin a. Lilith-in chûng hming chu a hmuh chuan a thutiam kha a hre reng a, naupangte chu an dam chhuak leh ṭhin a ni.

Hei hi ‘The Alphabet of Ben Sira’ lehkhabûa Lilith-i chanchin chu a ni; hmun dangah pawh Lilith-i chanchin sawi belh tùr a awm nual bawk. Lilith-i chungchâng hi Kristian leh Juda zirtîrna do záwnga ziah a ni a; Bible pawm fel hnû daih, kum AD 700–1000 inkâra ziah a ni. Babulon (Gilgamesh Epics) thawnthu beh chhana ziah a ni bawk a; rin tlák a ni lo a, Kristiante tân phei chuan pawm chi a ni lo lehzual.

Bible chuan mihring siam chungchângah Adama leh Evi siam thû bák min hrilh lo. Hmànlai thawnthûah erawh chuan ‘Lilith-i’ chu ramhuai nèn an lo sawi zawm ṭhin. Lilith-i chanchin chu thawnthu phuah chawp satliaha ngaih chi a ni a; Isua Krista ringtute chu thawnthu lamah an pêng bo tùr a ni lo (2 Tim 4.4; cf. Tita 1.13, 14; 2 Pet 1.16).

Gen 5.1-3 ṭan chhanin mi ṭhenkhat chuan Pathianin mihring a siam khân ‘thû ngawta siam’ leh ‘leia siam’ a nei a; mihring siam chi hnih an awm an ti ṭhin. Tûn hma khân zirtîrna dik lo páwl siper pakhat chuan he thû hi an vawrh darh ṭhin a; tûnah pawh mi ṭhenkhatin chutiang chuan an vawrh darh a ni àwm e.

Mizo Bible hman laiah khân O.V. Re-edited ’13 thleng khân Gen 5.1-3-ah hian mihring siam thû sawinaah khân ‘thû ngawta siam’ tih kha vawi 3 a awm a. Kha kha a dik tâwk lo a; a letlingtuten an ngaih dàn an thun tel mai a ni. Mizo Bible (O.V. Re-edited ’13) buatsaih lâi khân ‘thû ngawt’ tih kha paih ka rawt a; BSI hotuten, “A lehlin chu khawih lo mai ang u,” an ti a. Chuvàng chuan Mizo Bible (O.V. Re-edited, ’13)-ah khân a ngâi ngâiin a lo chhuak leh a ni.

Mizo Bible (O.V. Re-edited ’17) buatsaih lâi khân Genesis 5.1-3-a ‘thu ngawt’ vawi thum awm kha paih ka rawt leh a; lehlin thar (C.L)-ah pawh a awm tawh lo tih ka ṭan chhan a. BSI Translation Cell chuan ‘thû ngawt’ tih paih chu a remti ta a; Mizo Bible O.V. Re-Edited ’17-ah kha chuan Gen 5.1-3-a ‘thu ngawt’ vawi 3 awm kha paih a ni ta!

Tûn hmâa ‘thu ngawt’ ti-a an lo dah belh chhan ni àwm tak chu Hebrai ṭawnga ‘siam’ tihna ‘bara’ kha ‘awm lo ata awma siam’ tihnaah an ngaih ṭhin vàng a ni ang. Hei hi tûn hma chuan Bible zir mi thiam zîngah pawh sawi fiah dàn chi khat a ni ṭhin rêng a! Amaherawhchu, thiamna a lo ṭhang zêl a; Hebrai ṭawnga ‘bara’ chu ‘awm lo aṭanga siam’ sawina bîk a ni lo a, thil ‘awm tawh sâ aṭanga siam’ sawi nân pawh hman a ni tih hriat chhuah a lo ni ta a.

Thil pakhat chhinchhiah tùr erawh chu Hebrai Bible-ah chuan ‘bara’ hmanna apiangah a titu (subject) chu Pathian a ni zêl a; a titu chu mihring a nih erawh chuan ‘bara’ hman a ni ngâi lo thung a ni.

‘Lilith’ tih hi Bible-ah a awm rêng rêng em? Hmun khat Isaia 34.14-ah khân ‘Lilith’ tih chu a awm ve. Mizo Bible hman lâiah chuan “zàn thil hlauhawm pui” tih a ni a; lehlin thar (CL)-ah chuan ‘Ṭaunû’ tih a ni thung. English Bible hrang hranga an dah dàn chu:–

Authorised Version (KJV): screech owl

Revised Version (RV): night monster

Revised Standard Version (RSV): night hag

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV): lilith

English Standard Version (ESV): night bird

New English Bible (NEB): night jar

New American Standard Bible: night monster

Tanakh (Jewish): lilith (footnote: a kind of demon)

Jerusalem Bible (JB–Catholic): lilith

New Jerusalem Bible (NJB–Catholic): lilith

New King James Version (NKJV): night creature

New International Version (NIV): night creature

Good News Bible (TEV): demons

English Bible tam ber chuan zàna thil hlauhawm eng emaw thlentu angah an ngâi a; a hming an vuah dàn erawh chu a thuhmun vek lo. English Bible ṭhenkhatah chuan Hebrai ṭawnga ziah dàn angin ‘lilith’ an ti ve mai bawk!

Isaia 34 hi hnamte chunga Pathian rorêlna lo thleng tùr sawina a ni a; 34.5–17 bîk hi Edom chunga chhiatna lo thleng tùr sawina a ni. Esaua thlah Edom leh Israel-te inngeih loh thu hi Thuthlung Hlui-ah a lo lang ṭhin. Kum BC 587-a Babulon-in Judai ram a lâk lâi khân Edom-hoin Babulon-hote an lo ṭanpui a (Obad 10-14). Juda-te chuan Pathianin Edom-ho chu haw hle tùrah an ngâi (Mal 1.3-4).

Isaia 34.5-17-ah hian Edom ram tihchhiat hnûa a awm dàn tùr a chuang a. Edom chu tihram a ni dâwn a; an ram ruakah chuan tuivalawng leh sakuh, chhimbuk leh choâk (34.11), sihal leh chingpirinu (34.13), sanghar leh ching­hnia, sathâr leh ṭaunû (34.14), rûl thláwk thei leh mulukawlh (34.15) te an chêng tawh záwk ang. A awmzia tak chu Edom ram ruak chu ramsa, sava leh ramhuaite chènna a ni tawh ang tihna a ni.

Lilith-i chu Adama nupui hmasa, Evi áia siam hmasak a ni lo; kum AD 700–1000 inkâra Juda pa pakhatin thawnthu a phuah chawp mai a ni. Adama nupui hmasa anga Lilith-i sawi hi Bible zirtîrna nèn a inkalh a; Kristian thurin nèn a inrem lo a ni.