The Wisdom of Ben-Sira (Ecclesiasticus) #245380

E cclesiasticus is a Moral guide-book to right living. It is a striking example of the Wisdom Literature. In one marked respect it shows an advance upon all previous examples of this literature which have come down to us; the writer is not content with giving a simple proverb, but he expands it by way of emphasizing its point and driving home its force; in the case of an obscure reference this is sometimes helpful; but, generally speaking, it does not enhance the value of what is written; a good proverb will often lose force by explanatory expansion, and its diverse application is in danger of restriction if the range of its content be circumscribed; and this seems not infrequently to be the case in our book.