Texts in Conversation
In 2 Thessalonians, the leaders emphasize that they work night and day to avoid becoming dependent on anyone, using language that echoes Sirach’s description of artisans who are constantly working.
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Sirach 38:27
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
25 How can one become wise who handles the plow, and who glories in the shaft of a goad, who drives oxen and is occupied with their work, and whose talk is about bulls? 26 He sets his heart on plowing furrows, and he is careful about fodder for the heifers. 27 So it is with every artisan and master artisan who labors by night as well as by day; those who cut the signets of seals, each is diligent in making a great variety; they set their heart on painting a lifelike image, and they are careful to finish their work. 28 So it is with the smith, sitting by the anvil, intent on his iron-work; the breath of the fire melts his flesh, and he struggles with the heat of the furnace; the sound of the hammer deafens his ears, and his eyes are on the pattern of the object. He sets his heart on finishing his handiwork, and he is careful to complete its decoration.
Date: 195-175 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
2 Thessalonians 3:8
New Testament
6 But we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who lives an undisciplined life and not according to the tradition they received from us. 7 For you know yourselves how you must imitate us, because we did not behave without discipline among you, 8 and we did not eat anyone’s food without paying. Instead, in toil and drudgery we worked night and day in order not to burden any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give ourselves as an example for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we used to give you this command: “If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat.”
Date: 51-52 C.E. (If authentic), 80-90 C.E. (If anonymous) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Choosing to support himself through his trade, Paul was forced to work longer hours than other artisans and to face even worse deprivation. The observation of Jesus ben Sirach that all craftsmen could be found “toiling day and night” (Sirach 38:27) would have been even more true of a bivocational evangelist. Paul labored “night and day” (1 Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:7–10) in the cities he evangelized in order to be a model for the Christian communities he established. His policy was to “gladly spend … and expend [himself]” on behalf of his spiritual children ..."
* 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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