Texts in Conversation
The epistle of Barnabas quotes Sirach 4:31, 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.
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Sirach 4:31
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
25 Never speak against the truth, but be ashamed of your ignorance. 26 Do not be ashamed to confess your sins, and do not try to stop the current of a river. 27 Do not subject yourself to a fool, or show partiality to a ruler. 28 Fight to the death for truth, and the Lord God will fight for you. 29 Do not be reckless in your speech, or sluggish and remiss in your deeds. 30 Do not be like a lion in your home, or suspicious of your servants. 31 Do not let your hand be stretched out to receive and closed when it is time to give.
Date: 195-175 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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: 80-120 C.E. (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 Larin, 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 ..."
Harrington, Daniel J.
Invitation to the Apocrypha
(p. 90) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999
* 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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