at
the period when the wise man was turning scribe. He himself had a
profound respect for the law:

A man of understanding will put his trust in the law,
The law is faithful to him as when one asks at the oracle.

One of his fundamental teachings is formulated in the proverb:

Fear the Lord and glorify his priests,
And give him his portion even as it is commanded.

Elsewhere he declares:

The leisure of the scribe increases his wisdom,
And he who has no business becomes wise.

In his famous description of the typical wise man in 39:1-11 may be
recognized many of the traits of the later scribes. As the law and the
ritual gained greater prominence in the life of Judaism, it was inevitable
that it should command the attention of the practical teachers of the
people. Thus gradually the wise devoted themselves to its study and
interpretation, ever emphasizing, however, thought and conduct as well
as conformity to the ritual. Scribism was greatly enriched by its lineal
inheritance through the earlier wise, and long retained the proverbial,
epigrammatic form of teaching and that personal attitude toward the
individual and his problems which was one of their greatest sources of
strength. The honor which the early scribes enjoyed was well deserved.
Their methods were free from the casuistry that characterized many of
the later scribes. They not only copied and guarded the law, but were
its interpreters, applying it practically to the every-day problems of the
people as well as to their duties in connection with the temple service.
Their influence upon the Jews in this early period was on the whole
exceedingly wholesome, and from their ranks rose the martyrs that a
generation later were ready to die for the law.

VI. The Teachings of Ben Sira. Ben Sira was acquainted with Greek
culture and shows at several points familiarity with Greek ideals and
methods of thinking, but his point of view in general was distinctly
Jewish. He gathered together all that was best in the earlier teachings
of his race. In many ways he represents an advance beyond all that had
gone before and a close approximation to the spirit and teachings of Jesus
of Nazareth. The God of his faith was omnipotent, majestic, omniscient,
just, and merciful. He was the God of all mankind, although it was through
Israel that he especially revealed himself. Ben Sira did not, like
Ezekiel, think of God as far removed from the life of men and as
communicating with