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Sirach uses the language of Isaiah 35, preserving a version of it that is different from the Greek translation of Isaiah, possibly based on an earlier form of Ben Sira that would not have known a Greek translation of Isaiah.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Isaiah 35:3
Hebrew Bible
1 Let the wilderness and desert be happy; let the arid rift valley rejoice and bloom like a lily! 2 Let it richly bloom; let it rejoice and shout with delight! It is given the grandeur of Lebanon, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the grandeur of the Lord, the splendor of our God. 3 Strengthen the hands that have gone limp, steady the knees that shake. 4 Tell those who panic, “Be strong! Do not fear! Look, your God comes to avenge; with divine retribution he comes to deliver you.” 5 Then blind eyes will open, deaf ears will hear.
Date: 740–450 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Sirach 25:23
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
22 There is anger, impudence, and great reproach if a woman supports her husband. 23 A wicked woman is abasement of heart, sadness of face, and a wounded heart. A woman who won’t make her husband happy is like hands that hang down, and weak knees. 24 The beginning of sin came from a woman. Because of her, we all die. 25 Don’t give water an outlet, and don’t give a wicked woman freedom of speech.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Ben Sira had a positive view of the Jerusalem temple and its priesthood. This is especially clear in chapters 44–50, where Aaron and Phinehas feature prominently in the hymn in praise of the ancestors and Simon features in the climactic chapter 50. Temple symbolism appears in chapter 24, a poem in praise of wisdom, no longer extant in Hebrew, and in parts of the song of praise of the ancestors (44–50). There are indications that some New Testament writers, particularly Matthew (or perhaps Q), James and possibly the author of Hebrews were familiar with Sirach, at least in its Greek form. (Hebrews 12:12 cites a line from Isaiah 35:3 in a form identical to Sirach 25:23, but different from the LXX of Isaiah) ..."
Philip Church, Hebrews and the Temple: Attitudes to the Temple in Second Temple Judaism and in Hebrews, NovTSup 171 (Leiden: Brill, 2017), 30.
* 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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