Texts in Conversation
The Didache teaches to not be eager to receive and reluctant to give, echoing Sirach’s teaching that your hand should not be open for taking and closed when giving. Both emphasize generosity, following Jewish wisdom and ethical traditions.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sirach 4:31
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
25 Don’t speak against the truth and be shamed for your ignorance. 26 Don’t be ashamed to confess your sins. Don’t fight the river’s current. 27 Don’t lay yourself down for a fool to tread upon. Don’t be partial to one who is mighty. 28 Strive for the truth to death, and the Lord God will fight for you. 29 Don’t be hasty with your tongue, or slack and negligent in your deeds. 30 Don’t be like a lion in your house, or suspicious of your servants. 31 Don’t let your hand be stretched out to receive, and closed when you should repay.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Didache 4:5
Early Christian
3 Don't seek division but reconcile those in conflict. Make fair judgments; don't show favoritism when correcting wrongs. 4 Don't be double-minded about whether something should be or not. 5 Don't be someone who is eager to receive but reluctant to give. 6 Give a portion of what you've earned with your hands as a ransom for your sins. 7 Don't hesitate to give, and don't complain when you do, for you'll know who rewards you well.
Date: 90–120 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The book of Sirach is not quoted directly in the New Testament. The strongest parallel is Matthew 11:28-30 (= Sirach 6:24-25; 51:26-27). But even there it may be a matter of common terminology and conceptuality. Yet Sirach is a precious resource for understanding the presuppositions of Judaism in the late Second Temple period and for discerning what was or was not innovative about Jesus and early Christianity. The earliest patristic evidence for Sirach occurs in Didache 4:5 and Barnabas 19:9, which appear to cite Sirach 4:31. The book was translated into Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Ethiopic, Armenian, and Arabic, thus insuring a wide circulation. Many Greek church fathers (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem) and Latin fathers (Tertullian, Cyprian, Jerome, Augustine) quoted or incorporated material from Sirach in their own works. Throughout the late patristic and medieval periods, Sirach generated a rich commentary tradition ..."
Daniel J. Harrington, Invitation to the Apocrypha (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1999), 90.
* 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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