Texts in Conversation
The Christian theologian Origen, in a sermon on Joshua, quotes Sirach as an authoritative source alongside other texts, demonstrating how the wisdom tradition of Sirach was incorporated into Christian teaching and theology.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sirach 21:27
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
22 The foot of a fool rushes into a house, but a man of experience will be ashamed of entering. 23 A foolish man peers into the door of a house, but a man who is instructed will stand outside. 24 It is rude for someone to listen at a door, but a prudent person will be grieved with the disgrace. 25 The lips of strangers will be grieved at these things, but the words of prudent men will be weighed in the balance. 26 The heart of fools is in their mouth, but the mouth of wise men is their heart. 27 When the ungodly curses an adversary, he curses his own soul. 28 A whisperer defiles his own soul, and will be hated wherever he travels.
Origen, Homilies on Joshua 15.6
Early Christian
For this seems to me to be shown in Wisdom as well, where it says that the wicked man who curses Satan is cursing his own soul. And in a certain small book called the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, although it is not held to be part of the canon, we nevertheless find a sense of this kind: that individual satans are to be understood in individual sinners. And the meaning of the name itself shows the same thing more plainly, as students of the Hebrews report; for Satan means adversary. So all who set themselves against the will of God can be called satans.
Date: 235–245 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... authoritative citation of Sirach 21.27 ..."
Bruce, Barbara J.
Origen: Homilies on Joshua
(p. 149) The Catholic University of America Press, 2002
* 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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