The Origin of Wisdom

Chapter 1

1 All wisdom comes from the Lord, and is with him forever.⁠ 2 Who can count the sand of the seas, the drops of rain, and the days of eternity?⁠ 3 Who will search out the height of the sky, the breadth of the earth, the deep, and wisdom? 4 Wisdom has been created before all things,⁠ and the understanding of prudence from everlasting. 6 To whom has the root of wisdom been revealed? Who has known her shrewd counsels? 8 There is one wise, greatly to be feared, sitting upon his throne: the Lord. 9 He created her. He saw and measured her. He poured her out upon all his works.⁠ 10 She is with all flesh according to his gift. He gave her freely to those who love him.

Reverence for God and Wisdom

11 The fear of the Lord is glory, exultation, gladness, and a crown of rejoicing. 12 The fear of the Lord will delight the heart, and will give gladness, joy, and length of days. 13 Whoever fears the Lord, it will go well with him at the last. He will be blessed in the day of his death. 14 To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It was created together with the faithful in the womb. 15 She laid an eternal foundation with men. She will be trusted among their offspring. 16 To fear the Lord is the fullness of wisdom. She inebriates men with her fruits. 17 She will fill all her house with desirable things, and her storehouses with her produce. 18 The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom,⁠ making peace and perfect health to flourish. 19 He both saw and measured her. He rained down skill and knowledge of understanding, and exalted the honor of those who hold her fast. 20 To fear the Lord is the root of wisdom. Her branches are length of days. 21 [The fear of the Lord drives away sins.⁠ Where it resides, it will turn away all anger.] 22 Unjust wrath can never be justified, for his wrath tips the scale to his downfall.⁠ 23 A man that is patient will resist for a season, and afterward gladness will spring up to him. 24 He will hide his words until the right moment, and the lips of many will tell of his understanding. 25 A wise saying is in the treasures of wisdom; but godliness is an abomination to a sinner. 26 If you desire wisdom, keep the commandments and the Lord will give her to you freely; 27 for the fear of the Lord is wisdom and instruction. Faith and humility are his good pleasure.⁠ 28 Don’t disobey the fear of the Lord. Don’t come to him with a double heart. 29 Don’t be a hypocrite in men’s sight. Keep watch over your lips. 30 Don’t exalt yourself, lest you fall and bring dishonor upon your soul. The Lord will reveal your secrets and will cast you down in the midst of the congregation, because you didn’t come to the fear of the Lord and your heart was full of deceit.

Texts in conversation

Compare Sirach 1:22 and John Chrysostom, Homily 29 on Acts

Deuterocanon · Early Christian

Summary

The Christian theologian John Chrysostom uses Sirach as an authoritative source for teaching when he repeats its warning that uncontrolled anger leads to self-destruction, showing how Jewish wisdom traditions were incorporated into Christian tradition.

Passages

Sirach 1:22

Deuterocanon · Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus

19 He both saw and measured her. He rained down skill and knowledge of understanding, and exalted the honor of those who hold her fast. 20 To fear the Lord is the root of wisdom. Her branches are length of days. 21 [The fear of the Lord drives away sins. Where it resides, it will turn away all anger.] 22 Unjust wrath can never be justified, for his wrath tips the scale to his downfall. 23 A man that is patient will resist for a season, and afterward gladness will spring up to him. 24 He will hide his words until the right moment, and the lips of many will tell of his understanding. 25 A wise saying is in the treasures of wisdom; but godliness is an abomination to a sinner.

195–180 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Sirach

John Chrysostom, Homily 29 on Acts

Early Christian

I beg and urge you not to think it enough to have invaded the Church, but to leave having taken something, some medicine to cure your own illnesses. If not from us, at least from the Scriptures you have the remedies appropriate to each. Is someone hot-tempered, for example? Let him pay attention to the Scripture readings, and he will certainly find such remedies, either in history or in exhortation. In exhortation, when it says, The surge of his fury is his destruction; and, A hot-tempered man does not behave respectably, and similar things. Again, A man full of words will not prosper; and Christ again, Whoever is angry with his brother without a cause; and again the Prophet, Be angry and do not sin; and, Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce. In histories, you hear of Pharaoh full of anger, and the Assyrian. Again, is someone held captive by the love of money? Let him hear that There is nothing more wicked than a greedy man, for this man puts even his own soul up for sale; and how Christ says, You cannot serve God and wealth; and the Apostle, The love of money is a root of all evils; and the Prophet, If riches flow in, do not set your heart on them, and many similar sayings. From the histories you hear of Gehazi, Judas, the chief scribes, and that gifts blind the eyes of the wise. Is someone else proud? Let him hear that God resists the proud; and, Pride is the beginning of sin; and, Everyone with an arrogant heart is impure before the Lord. In the histories, the devil and all the rest. In a word, since we cannot recount everything, let each person choose from the Divine Scriptures the remedies for his own wounds.

387–400 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in John Chrysostom, Homily 29 on Acts

References

"... The golden age of Greek patristic literature, that is, the fourth and fifth centuries, are no exception as far as the popularity of Sirach. Besides John Chrysostom, nearly all of the most prominent authors of this period cite from Sirach, including, inter alia, Clement of Alexandria, Ambrose, and Augustine. Clement of Alexandria even believed that Sirach had influenced the Greek philosopher Heraclitus (Stromata 2:5). Sirach was also popular with authors such as Tertullian, Origen and Cyprian. Jerome, however, rejected the canonical status of Sirach. The first full commentary on Sirach was only completed in the ninth century by Rabanus Maurus. The citations in John’s homilies are often sporadic proof-texts. But what is interesting is the constant repetition of certain citations, citations that seem to have remained in John’s memory. The homilies on the books of the New Testament come in the guise of a sermonic commentary, with verse-by-verse expositions. But inside these expositions one finds many other citations which were probably quoted from memory and not necessarily from a text. It is therefore problematic to speculate from which text or version a citation originates, since John probably memorized many Sirachic proverbs during his monastic retreat or ministerial period. This obviously does not rule out the possibility that John probably had a written text at his disposal (which he may have read for study and devotion). Some proverbs are cited or alluded to more often than others. The more popular citations, which occur frequently in the homilies, are Sirach 1:22; 5:6; and 18:16-17. Other citations occurring more than once include Sirach 2:4; 3:30; 4:8; 9:9, 13, 15; 10:9, 12-13; 11:3; 13:15; 15:9; 16:3, 12; 18:30; 19:10-11; 21:2; 23:10, 17; 28:3; and 34:23. There are a total of 65 individual verses cited from Sirach in John’s New Testament homilies, only slightly fewer than the 77 verses cited from Proverbs ..."

Chris de Wet, “John Chrysostom's Use of the Book of Sirach in His Homilies on the New Testament,” (2010): 1–6.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

The Origin of Wisdom

Reverence for God and Wisdom

Sirach52 chapters

Compare Sirach 1:22 and John Chrysostom, Homily 29 on Acts

Summary

Passages

Sirach 1:22

John Chrysostom, Homily 29 on Acts

References

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