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The Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria uses Sirach as an authoritative guide for how people should live wisely and fear God. He repeats its teaching that respect for God leads to peace and self-control, warning that anger brings harm.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sirach 1:18
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
18 The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom, making peace and perfect health to flourish. 19 He both saw and measured her. He rained down skill and knowledge of understanding, and exalted the honor of those who hold her fast. 20 To fear the Lord is the root of wisdom. Her branches are length of days. 21 [The fear of the Lord drives away sins. Where it resides, it will turn away all anger.] 22 Unjust wrath can never be justified, for his wrath tips the scale to his downfall.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor 1.8
Paedagogus
Early Christian
But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous, who takes vengeance? God forbid. He says, therefore, threatening, I will sharpen my sword, and my hand shall lay hold on judgment; and I will render justice to mine enemies, and requite those who hate me. I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh from the blood of the wounded. It is clear, then, that those who are not at enmity with the truth, and do not hate the Word, will not hate their own salvation, but will escape the punishment of enmity. The crown of wisdom, then, as the book of Wisdom says, is the fear of the Lord. Very clearly, therefore, by the prophet Amos has the Lord unfolded His method of dealing, saying, I have overthrown you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha; and you shall be as a brand plucked from the fire: and yet you have not returned to me, says the Lord .
Date: 198 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Within early Christianity, the Letter of Barnabas echoes Sirach 5:12–14 about the danger of a double tongue, as well as the warning in Sirach 4:31 against an ungenerous attitude (Barnabas 19:7–9). Origen (d. 254 ce) quotes Ben Sira as scriptural when commenting on several Old Testament passages (Genesis 12:5; Joshua 15:6; Jeremiah 16:6). Clement of Alexandria (d. 215 CE) quotes about eighty Sirach verses, while John Chrysostom (d. 407 CE) includes about three hundred citations from the book. Augustine (d. 430 CE) not only cites Sirach about 300x, but also preached sermons on Sirach passages. Rabanus Maurus (d. 856 CE), abbot of Fulda in Germany, composed the earliest surviving Latin commentary on Sirach ..."
Jeremy Corley, “Sirach,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Apocrypha, ed. Gerbern S. Oegema (New York: Oxford University Press, 2021), 284–305.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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