Sirach
About this date: Dates are broad scholarly estimates of composition or final editing, not dates of the events narrated. Traditional attributions and scholarly assessments can differ.
Sirach offers extended practical instruction on speech, wealth, friendship, worship, care, and the pursuit of wisdom. Its praise of Israel's ancestors locates wise living within a remembered community and its worship.
Historical context
The Greek prologue identifies the translator's grandfather Jesus as the author and reflects explicitly on translation from Hebrew. This is unusually direct ancient evidence about the work's transmission, not a closed list of every scriptural book.
Key points
- The prologue distinguishes composition, translation, and the difficulty of carrying meaning between languages.
- Personified Wisdom finds a home in Israel and is connected with Torah.
- Instruction about physicians resists setting prayer and practical medical care against each other.
Scripture
- Sirach 6:5-17 — The instruction distinguishes casual companions from trustworthy friendship.
- Sirach 24:1-23 — Wisdom's journey culminates in a connection with Israel's covenant instruction.
- Sirach 38:1-15 — Physicians, remedies, prayer, and moral reflection are placed within one account of care.
Sources and further reading
- Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles: canonical books and Apocrypha
- Catholic Catechism §120: canon and book list
- Orthodox Church in America: canon of Scripture
- Orthodox Church in America: Old Testament historical books
- Sirach's Greek translator prologue, before chapter 1
The translator explicitly discusses Hebrew, Greek, and differences of expression; the prologue is not a modern scholarly reconstruction. - Sirach: public-domain WEB text
- USCCB Bible introductions: historical and literary notes