lled my wine-press as one
who gathers grapes.

It was natural, therefore, that he should write down his teachings in the
language of his fathers. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he possessed
a classical Hebrew style. Like the wise men whose teachings are preserved
in the book of Proverbs, he put his thought into poetic, proverbial form.
In his book there is a definite, logical arrangement of ideas. The first
part consists of a series of essays on various topics. The same subject is
often dealt with in many different settings (e.g., choice of friends,
6:5-17, 7:18, 12:8-12, 37:1-5). These brief essays are grouped together,
and each group is provided with a brief introduction, usually in
commendation of wisdom. Apparently the first half of the book consists of
notes based on Ben Sira's early teachings. Each group of sayings may
well represent his teachings on a given occasion. In 31:21 through 50:24
is found the roll call of Israel's spiritual heroes, beginning with a
psalm in praise of Jehovah's majesty and power and concluding with the
description of Simon the high priest. This latter part of the book is
clearly a pure literary creation, and was probably added by him as a
conclusion to the collection of his wisdom teachings.

III. History of the Book. The book containing the writings of Ben Sira
was known under a variety of titles. The Latin Church followed the Greek
in calling it Ecclesiasticus. This term was applied to those books which
were not in the canon, but were held to be edifying and proper for public
use in the churches. The Hebrew text of Ben Sira enjoyed wide currency,
was frequently quoted by the later rabbis, and was often referred to by
later Jewish and Christian writers. It was almost completely supplanted in
time, however, by the Greek version. Jerome was acquainted with the Hebrew
version, but most of the Church fathers followed the Greek. Ben Sira was
apparently quoted by Jesus, by Paul, and by the authors of the Epistle of
James and of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Twenty or thirty such references
or allusions are found in the New Testament. It was also a great favorite
with the Church fathers, who quoted from it even more frequently than from
the other Old Testament writings. It was adopted in the canon of the Greek
and Latin Church; but, in common with the other apocryphal books, was
given a secondary place by the Protestant reformers. Unfortunately, during
the earlier part of the last century