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The Christian theologian Ambrose uses Sirach as a trustworthy source for teaching, referring to its discussion about trusting a wise and capable guide even when the path is hard, showing how it influenced early Christian tradition.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sirach 22:26
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
23 Gain trust with your neighbor in his poverty, that in his prosperity you may have gladness. Stay steadfast to him in the time of his affliction, that you may be heir with him in his inheritance. 24 Before fire is the vapor and smoke of a furnace, so insults precede bloodshed. 25 I won’t be ashamed to shelter a friend. I won’t hide myself from his face. 26 If any evil happens to me because of him, everyone who hears it will beware of him. 27 Who will set a watch over my mouth, and a seal of shrewdness upon my lips, that I may not fall from it, and that my tongue may not destroy me?
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Early Christian
42 But if we have found a man that by the vigour of his character, by his strength of mind and influence, stands forth above all others, and further, is better fitted by example and experience than others; that can put an end to immediate dangers, foresee future ones, point out those close at hand, can explain a subject, bring relief in time, is ready not only to give advice but also to give help — in such a man confidence is placed, so that he who seeks advice can say: Though evil should happen to me through him, I will bear it.
Date: 390–395 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The Book of Ecclesiasticus [Sirach] has been honored still more highly among the Christians, being cited in the Epistle of James (Edersheim, in Wace, 'Apocrypha,' p. 21), the Didache (4:5), and the Epistle of Barnabas (19:9), while Clement of Alexandria and Origen quote from it repeatedly, as from a γραφή, or holy book. In the Western Church, Cyprian frequently appeals to it in his 'Testimonia,' as does Ambrose in the greater number of his writings. In like manner the Catalogue of Cheltenham, Damasus I., the Councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397), Pope Innocent I., the second Council of Carthage (419), and Augustine all regard it as a canonical book. This is contrary, however, to the opinions of the Council of Laodicea, of Jerome, and of Rufinus of Aquileia, which authorities rank it among the ecclesiastical books. It was finally declared canonical by the Council of Trent; and the favor with which the Church has always regarded it has preserved it in its entirety. ..."
Crawford Howell Toy, The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach (Jewish Encyclopedia, 2021), 1–10.
* 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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