Texts in Conversation
Sirach describes hail and other destructive elements stored up for the time of judgment, drawing from ancient Near Eastern cosmological traditions. Job similarly describes snow and hail kept in divine storehouses, reserved for days of battle.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Job 38:22
Hebrew Bible
20 that you may take them to their borders and perceive the pathways to their homes? 21 You know, for you were born before them; and the number of your days is great! 22 Have you entered the storehouse of the snow or seen the armory of the hail, 23 which I reserve for the time of trouble, for the day of war and battle? 24 In what direction is lightning dispersed, or the east winds scattered over the earth?
Date: 500–401 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Sirach 39:29
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
27 All these things are for good to the godly, but for sinners, they will be turned into evils. 28 There are winds that are created for vengeance, and in their fury they lay on their scourges heavily. In the time of reckoning, they pour out their strength, and will appease the wrath of him who made them. 29 Fire, hail, famine, and death— all these are created for vengeance— 30 wild beasts’ teeth, scorpions, adders, and a sword punishing the ungodly to destruction. 31 They will rejoice in his commandment, and will be made ready upon earth when needed. In their seasons, they won’t disobey his command.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In Jeremiah 29:17-18, sword, famine, and pestilence are mentioned together as punishments for infidelity to Yahweh. Famine and pestilence were the usual accompaniments of a prolonged siege; compare Leviticus 26:25-26; Jeremiah 21:2-9; Ezekiel 5:12; 7:15. 'Ravenous beasts' (literally 'beasts of tooth') and reptiles (39:30) are agents of destruction also in Deuteronomy 32:24. "Scorpions" (39:29) are an image of chastisement in 1 Kings 12:11, 14 (= 2 Chronicles 10:11, 14). "The avenging sword" (39:30) is an allusion to Leviticus 26:25. All these instruments of destruction God created "to meet a need" (39:30), i.e., to requite the evil of the wicked, for the Deuteronomic theology insisted that the wicked would not go unpunished in their lifetimes. The image of God's 'storehouse' occurs again in 43:14; compare Job 38:22-23. 'The proper time' (39:30) is the moment of retribution, which will come sooner or later ..."
Patrick W. Skehan and Alexander A. Di Lella, The Wisdom of Ben Sira: A New Translation with Notes (New York: Doubleday, 1987), 460–461.
* 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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