"... According to Ben Sira, wealth is a feature of the present age and should be used to help others ... Storing up almsgiving in one’s storehouse meets with favor in the eyes of God (Sirach 17:20–3) and atones for sin (Sirach 3:30). The idea that one should appoint their goods to friends and relatives denotes some degree of negotiating wealth to their own benefit. While Ben Sira’s rhetoric may well be sincere, the idea of ‘storing up almsgiving’ seems somewhat oxymoronic. Moreover, while he exhorts his students to give ‘according to the command’ he also offers some personal benefits for doing so. The background for this command is probably Deuteronomy 15:7–11, in which verse 10 states, ‘Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.’ Thus, the references, ‘it will profit you more than gold’ and ‘it will save you from every evil’ have a this-worldly perspective. What is in mind here is the promise of material blessing for obedience, which giving to the poor reflects ..."