Texts in Conversation
Sirach compares the children of the unrighteous to plants with weak roots, symbolizing their instability. Jesus in Matthew 13 uses a similar image in the parable of seeds that fall on rocky ground and fail to grow.
Share:
Sirach 40:15
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
12 All bribery and injustice will be blotted out, but good faith will last forever. 13 The wealth of the unjust will dry up like a river, and crash like a loud clap of thunder in a storm. 14 As a generous person has cause to rejoice, so lawbreakers will utterly fail. 15 The children of the ungodly put out few branches; they are unhealthy roots on sheer rock. 16 The reeds by any water or river bank are plucked up before any grass; 17 but kindness is like a garden of blessings, and almsgiving endures forever.
Date: 195-175 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Matthew 13:3
New Testament
3 He told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. 7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them. 8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 The one who has ears had better listen!”
Date: 70-90 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Search:
Notes and References
"... There are some intriguing features about Matthew’s use of Sirach: Most of these parallels are unique to Matthew among the gospels. Included here are the structuring of the beatitudes (5:3–12), the makarism concerning those who mourn (5:4), the antithesis against adultery (5:27–28), the warning against prayers that use empty phrases (6:7), warnings against laying up treasure on earth (6:19–24), advice about judging good from bad fruit (7:16), the allusions to Elijah (11:14) and (17:11), Jesus’ teaching concerning the heavy yoke (11:28–30), the parable of the treasure hidden in the field (13:44), the warning that the son of man will repay grievances (16:27), and the separation of the sheep and goats (25:34–40). In other words, these texts and themes are singular to the Matthean mindset and thus are not typical of the remaining evangelists. (2) The vast majority of these usages are related to the topic of wisdom and instruction, a theme naturally derived from Sirach that clearly adds to Matthew’s standing as a gospel focused on teachings and contemplative sayings. But these lessons are not simply sapiential in orientation. In many cases they are associated with eschatological concerns, as with those parallels that appear (6:14), (6:20), (11:14), (16:27), (17:11), and (25:34–40). Thus, regardless of whether Jesus of Nazareth was actually concerned for a futuristic eschatology, Matthew finds within the materials of Sirach a working source by which to portray his teachings as such ..."
Jefford, Clayton N.
"The Wisdom of Sirach and the Glue of the Matthew–Didache Tradition" in Bingham, D. Jeffrey, editor. Intertextuality in the Second Century
(pp. 8-23) Brill, 2016
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.