Ben Sirach's views on Elijah

Ben Sirach means 'Son of Sirach'. When the Jewish rabbis met at Jamnia around 100 AD to define the canon of Hebrew Scripture, the Hebrew version of Ben Sirach was lost. Only the Greek version was available. Therefore, Ben Sirach was not included in the Hebrew Scripture and during Reformation ever since Martin Luther followed the Jamnia Council to throw out the Greek books in the Bible, Ben Sirach has been excluded from the Protestant Bible. Later in the twentieth century when fragments of Hebrew Ben Sirach were recovered from two different places, it is too late for the Protestant churches to put Ben Sirach back into their Bibles. Too bad.
Ben Sirach belongs to the genre of Wisdom literature. It is similar to the Proverbs except that it is not a collection of aphorisms. It is an extensive exposition on Wisdom. The second half of the book is a commentary on the lives of OT figures (Ben Sirach 44:1-50:21). Today, we read of his commentary on the life of Elijah. It is worth quoting in full.
Then the prophet Elijah arose like a fire, and his word burned like a torch.
He brought a famine upon them, and by his zeal he made them few in number.
By the word of the Lord he shut up the heavens, and also three times brought down fire.
How glorious you were, O Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! And who has the right to boast which you have?
You who raised a corpse from death and from Hades, by the word of the Most High;
who brought kings down to destruction, and famous men from their beds;
who heard rebuke at Sinai and judgments of vengeance at Horeb;
who anointed kings to inflict retribution, and prophets to succeed you.
You who were taken up by a whirlwind of fire, in a chariot with horses of fire;
you who are ready at the appointed time, it is written, to calm the wrath of God before it breaks out in fury, to turn the heart of the father to the son, and to restore the tribes of Jacob.
Blessed are those who saw you, and those who have been adorned in love; for we also shall surely live.
It was Elijah who was covered by the whirlwind, and Elisha was filled with his spirit; in all his days he did not tremble before any ruler, and no one brought him into subjection.
Nothing was too hard for him, and when he was dead his body prophesied.
As in his life he did wonders, so in death his deeds were marvelous.
For all this the people did not repent, and they did not forsake their sins, till they were carried away captive from their land and were scattered over all the earth; the people were left very few in number, but with rulers from the house of David.
Some of them did what was pleasing to God, but others multiplied sins (Ben Sirach 48:1-16).
It sounds very much an eulogy, a hymn listing his wonderful deeds, omitting his killing of 550 men. There are also things he did which are not recorded in the books of Kings. For example, when did he calm the wrath of God before it breaks out in fury (Ben Sirach 48:10a)? How did he turn the heart of the father to the son and to restore the tribes of Jacob (Ben Sirach 48:10b)? Where was his dead body which prophesied (Ben Sirach 48:13)? A band of men were dispatched to look for his corpse for three days after he was taken up to heaven. Of course, nothing was found (2 Kings 2:17-18). What other wonders did Elijah do in death (Ben Sirach 48:14)? What was in the mind of the author when he wrote this? Or were there some other folklore which did not enter the canon?
Ben Sirach began commenting on the lives of these OT figures with Noah up to the Maccabees. He wrote of them in the third person except for two, Solomon and Elijah. These two were addressed in the second person and in immediate succession with no other person in between. The use of the second person shows his admiration for these two figures. However, he did not gloss over the stains of Solomon (Ben Sirach 27:19-21). It is understandable because Solomon was supposed to be the fountainhead of the wisdom tradition. Ben Sirach saw his work a continuation of Solomon's work in the Greek Empire. Once more, I have raised more questions than reflecting on the inspired word of God. I hope I am on the right path.

My Advocate, allow me to listen to the wisdom of Yours through Ben Sirach. I know that You have been very patient in waiting for my repentance. Help me hold on to my faith in good times and bad. Allow me to repent before it is too late. Amen.