[Sidenote:  B. Sir. 7:20, 21]
Do not treat badly a servant who serves you faithfully,
Nor a hired servant who gives to you his best. 
Love a sensible servant as your own self,
Defraud him not of liberty.

[Sidenote:  B. Sir. 7:22, 23]
Honor your father with your whole heart,
And forget not the pangs of your mother. 
Remember that of them you were born,
And now you can recompense them for what they have done for you.

[Sidenote:  B. Sir. 7:29, 30]
Fear the Lord with all your soul,
And regard his priests with reverence. 
Love your Creator with all your strength,
And do not neglect his ministers.

I. Date and Character of Jesus, the Son of Sirach.  Out of the large number of anonymous books that come from the Persian and Greek periods one stands forth unique.  It is the Wisdom of Ben Sira.  With the exception of the Psalter and Isaiah, it is the largest book that has come to us from ancient Israel.  Fortunately, its date and authorship may be determined with reasonable certainty.  In the prologue to the Greek translation, its translator describes himself as the grandson of Jesus, the son of Sirach, and states that he went to Egypt in 132 B.C.  Hence it is probable that his grandfather wrote some time during the early part of the second century B.C.  The appreciative description of Simon the high priest in the fiftieth chapter of Ben Sira indicates that its author was a contemporary as well as an admirer of that famous head of the Judean community.  From the references in the rabbinical writings, as well as from the definite statement of Eusebius, it is reasonably certain that this Simon lived between 200 and 175 B.C.  Furthermore, the quotations in the writings of Ben Sira from Ecclesiastes in its original form imply that he wrote during the latter part of the Greek period.  The complete absence of any reference to the Maccabean struggle also proves beyond question that he lived before 168 B.C.  These facts indicate that the date of his writing was somewhere between 190 and 175 B.C.

In the Hebrew version the name of this famous sage appears as Jesus, the son of Eleazar, the son of Sira.  In the Greek version, however, he is known simply as Jesus, the son of Sirach.  Ben Sira, or Sirach, was apparently his family name, while Jesus is the Greek equivalent of Jeshua or Joshua.  From his writings it may be inferred that he belonged to a well-known Jerusalemite family.  It is also not improbable that he was connected with the high-priestly line.  His references to Simon the high priest reveals his deep sympathies with the ecclesiastical rulers of Jerusalem.  The closing words in the Hebrew version of 51:12 are equally significant:  “Give thanks to him who chose the sons of Sadok to be priests.”  In his teachings Ben Sira is in some respects a forerunner of the later Sadducees.  Evidently he was a man of influence in the Judean community.  His fame as a wise man doubtless attracted