Texts in Conversation
Sirach teaches that the world was created through God’s word, reflecting a Jewish view that divine speech has creative power. John echoes this idea and applies it to Jesus, presenting him as the Word that participated in creation.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sirach 42:15
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
13 For from garments comes a moth, and from a woman comes a woman’s wickedness. 14 Better is the wickedness of a man than a pleasant woman, a woman who puts you to shame and disgrace. 15 I will make mention now of the works of the Lord, and will declare the things that I have seen. The Lord’s works are in his words. 16 The sun that gives light looks at all things. The Lord’s work is full of his glory. 17 The Lord has not given power to the saints to declare all his marvelous works, which the Almighty Lord firmly settled, that the universe might be established in his glory.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
John 1:3
New Testament
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. 2 The Word was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. 5 And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.
Date: 90–110 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... As a preparation for the Praise of the Ancestors (44:1–50:24), Ben Sira celebrates God’s marvelous creation. According to 42:15, the purpose of the hymn is to recall God’s actions (Psalm 77:12) and recount what the sage has seen (Job 15:17). God created the universe through the word (Genesis 1:3; John 1:3), and the divine glory shines as clearly as sunlight (Psalm 19:2-7; Romans 1:20). Despite being in God’s presence, angels (“holy ones”) are not fully aware of the marvels of divine power (Job 15:15). The omniscient God searches inscrutable regions (42:18), not only the depths of the sea (Job 38:16), but also the human heart (Proverbs 15:11; Judith 8:14). According to 42:18-22, God’s knowledge includes the past and the future (Isaiah 41:21-23), since God sees all the ages (39:20) while remaining unchanging. Hence there is no addition or subtraction with God (Ecclesiastes 3:14), nor is there any need for an advisor (Isaiah 40:13; Romans 11:34). Ben Sira next acknowledges the beautiful harmony of creation (42:23-25), in which everything created has a stable form of existence. Ben Sira does not mean that every creature lives forever, since both humans and animals die (14:17-18; 41:3). Rather, each creature exists for a particular purpose. In fact, God has created the world with a balance of opposites (11:14; 33:14-15), such as light and darkness (Genesis 1:3-5; Isaiah 45:7) ..."
Daniel Durken, ed., The New Collegeville Bible Commentary: In One Volume (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2017), 1277.
* 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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