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Sirach 17 echoes Deuteronomy 32, describing the nations divided under the rule of patron deities with Israel as God's particular people. Sirach presents Israel’s election as part of the structure of the cosmos established from creation.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Deuteronomy 32:9
Hebrew Bible
7 Remember the ancient days; bear in mind the years of past generations. Ask your father and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you. 8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly. 9 For the Lord’s allotment is his people, Jacob is his special possession. 10 The Lord found him in a desolate land, in an empty wasteland where animals howl. He continually guarded him and taught him; he continually protected him like the pupil of his eye. 11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, so the Lord spread out his wings and took him, he lifted him up on his pinions.
Date: 750–400 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Sirach 17:17
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
14 He said to them, “Beware of all unrighteousness.” So he gave them commandment, each man concerning his neighbor. 15 Their ways are ever before him. They will not be hidden from his eyes. 17 For every nation he appointed a ruler, but Israel is the Lord’s portion. 19 All their works are as clear as the sun before him. His eyes are continually upon their ways. 20 Their iniquities are not hidden from him. All their sins are before the Lord. 22 With him the alms of a man is as a signet. He will keep a man’s kindness as the pupil of the eye.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Sirach 17 closely connects the story of creation with the establishment of the Deuteronomic vision of the cosmos. Beginning with the creation of humankind ... Sirach continues his recounting of Yahweh's election of Israel in Sirach 17:17 through the lens of the Deuteronomic scriptural matrix ... echoing Deuteronomy 32:8-9 ..."
David A. Burnett, A Neglected Deuteronomic Scriptural Matrix for the Nature of the Resurrection Body in 1 Corinthians 15:39–42? (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, 2019), 187–212.
* 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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