Proverbs 8:15
Hebrew Bible
13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; I hate arrogant pride and the evil way and perverse utterances. 14 Counsel and sound wisdom belong to me; I possess understanding and might. 15 By me, kings reign, and by me, potentates decree righteousness; 16 by me, princes rule, as well as nobles and all righteous judges. 17 I will love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Sirach 10:4
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
3 An undisciplined king ruins his people, but a city becomes fit to live in through the understanding of its rulers. 4 The government of the earth is in the hand of the Lord, and over it he will raise up the right leader for the time. 5 Human success is in the hand of the Lord, and it is he who confers honor upon the lawgiver.
Date: 195-175 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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Notes and References
"... In addition to explicit instruction, there are a few important, though subtle claims that Ben Sira makes about God’s appointment of leaders by means of his distinctive poetic style. In verses 4–5 one finds semantic and syntactic parallelism between two entire bicola, i.e., verse 4a forms a parallel with 5a, as does verse 4b with 5b. The parallel arrangement of these lines points to two important connections: first, God’s dominion over the world (verse 4a) and his activity of prospering every person are linked (verse 5a); and second, God’s appointment of human leaders at the right time (verse 4b) is somehow congruous with his bestowal of splendor upon said leaders ... This sapiential outlook on human leadership was particularly helpful during Ben Sira’s own lifetime because it provided a way for the Jewish people to understand their situation as subjects within an empire without abandoning their heritage ..."
* 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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