Texts in Conversation
The Psalms of Solomon use the image of the children of the unrighteous as unhealthy roots on rock, echoing Sirach where the offspring of the unrighteous are compared to shallow roots that cannot endure.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sirach 40:15
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
13 The goods of the unjust will be dried up like a river, and like a great thunder in rain will go off in noise. 14 In opening his hands, a man will be made glad; so lawbreakers will utterly fail. 15 The children of the ungodly won’t grow many branches, and are as unhealthy roots on a sheer rock. 16 The reeds by every water or river bank will be plucked up before all grass. 17 Kindness is like a garden of blessings. Almsgiving endures forever.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Psalms of Solomon 14:4
Pseudepigrapha, Wisdom and Poetry
2 to those who walk in the righteousness of His commandments, In the law which He commanded us so that we might live. 3 The Lord’s faithful people shall live by it forever; The Paradise of the Lord, the trees of life, are His faithful people. 4 Their planting is rooted forever; They shall not be uprooted as long as the heavens last: 5 For Israel is God’s portion and inheritance. 6 But this is not true of sinners and those who break the law, who love (the brief) day (spent) in the company of their sin;
Date: 65–30 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The point is reinforced by a sequence of forceful metaphors. These traditions of Jesus as Christ and Lord provide for the new community both a root for the new plant and a foundation for the new building. The verb 'cause to take root,' only here and in Ephesians 3:17 in the New Testament) vividly images the preaching / teaching as an effective sowing that results in a well-rooted plant (perfect participle; compare Sirach 24:12 - of wisdom; Psalms of Solomon 14:4; Odes of Solomon 38:17-22). The importance of deep roots was well understood in Jewish tradition (e.g., Jeremiah 17:8; Ezekiel 31:7; Sirach 40:15). Naturally the image is complementary to the 'fruit-bearing' metaphor of 1:10, which allows the same emphasis on a 'walk' determined by reference to 'the Lord.' Equally it makes a natural partner in Jewish tradition ..."
James D. G. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon: A Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 141–142.
* 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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