Texts in Conversation
The Christian theologian Methodius uses Sirach as an authoritative source to teach about wisdom, using its language to emphasize discipline and study and demonstrating how Christian tradition was influenced by Jewish wisdom traditions.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sirach 6:36
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
30 For there is a golden ornament upon her, and her bands are a purple cord. 31 You shall put her on as a robe of glory, and shall put her on as a crown of rejoicing. 32 My son, if you are willing, you will be instructed. If you will yield your soul, you will be prudent. 33 If you love to hear, you will receive. If you incline your ear, you will be wise. 34 Stand in the multitude of the elders. Attach yourself to whomever is wise. 35 Be willing to listen to every godly discourse. Don’t let the proverbs of understanding escape you. 36 If you see a man of understanding, get to him early. Let your foot wear out the steps of his doors. 37 Let your mind dwell on the ordinances of the Lord and meditate continually on his commandments. He will establish your heart and your desire for wisdom will be given to you.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Methodius, Banquet of the Ten Virgins 1.1
Early Christian
And hence some who have longed for it, and considering only the end of it, have come, by reason of coarseness of mind, ineffectually with unwashed feet, and have gone aside out of the way, from having conceived no worthy idea of the virginal manner of life. For it is not enough to keep the body only undefiled, just as we should not show that we think more of the temple than of the image of the god; but we should care for the souls of men as being the divinities of their bodies, and adorn them with righteousness. And then do they most care for them and tend them when, striving untiringly to hear divine discourses, they do not desist until, wearing the doors of the wise, they attain to the knowledge of the truth. For as the putrid humours and matter of flesh, and all those things which corrupt it, are driven out by salt, in the same manner all the irrational appetites of a virgin are banished from the body by divine teaching.
Date: 270–310 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Turning to the Western Church, the earliest evidence comes from Irenaeus (died 202), who, although he never quotes from the Book of Sirach, includes quotations from Baruch and the Additions to Daniel in his Against Heresies. He cites these as the works of 'Jeremiah the prophet' and 'Daniel the prophet,' respectively, and also quotes from the Wisdom of Solomon. This suggests that he likely considered the books of the Apocrypha as canonical. Tertullian (died 220) also quotes from our book in works such as Against the Gnostics and On the Exhortation of Chastity, using the same formula, "as it is written," that he employs for the Hebrew Canon. Cyprian (died 258), in his Testimonies and letters, frequently quotes from the Book of Sirach and introduces them with phrases like "as it is written" or "Divine Scripture says." Methodius (circa 311), bishop of Lycia and later Tyre, freely quotes from the Book of Sirach, the Wisdom of Solomon, and Baruch, treating them as 'Scripture.' Hilary of Poitiers (died 368) lists the books of the Old Testament in his Prologue to the Book of Psalms, including only the Epistle of Jeremiah from the Apocrypha but adds that some also count the Book of Tobit and the Book of Judith, totaling 24 books to align with the number of Greek letters. Nonetheless, he cites Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon as 'prophets,' implying his belief in their canonicity ..."
R. H. Charles, The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament (Oxford University Press, 1913), 302.
* 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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