Texts in Conversation
The epistle of Barnabas quotes Sirach 4, listing a series of ethical instructions including the command not to withhold generosity. This represents one of the earliest known authoritative uses of Sirach in Christian tradition.
Share:
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)
Barnabas 19:9
Epistle of Barnabas
Early Christian
8 ‘You shall share in everything with your neighbor and not say that anything is your own. For if you are joint-heirs of what is imperishable, how much more of perishable things? You shall not be quick with your tongue, for the mouth is a snare of death. As far as you can, be pure for your soul’s sake.’ 9 ‘Do not be someone who stretches out his hands to take but draws them back when it comes to giving. You shall love as the apple of your eye everyone who speaks to you the word of the Lord.’ 10 ‘You shall remember the day of judgment night and day, and you shall search every day for the faces of the saints, either laboring by word and going to encourage them and meditating on how you can save souls by the word, or you shall work with your hands as a ransom for your sins.’
Date: 70–135 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
Search:
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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.
User Comments
,