Chapter XXIV: Part I: But there are some other ways, also useful, though of less

importance, whereby these books can be utilized for New Testament study. Some of them, and above all Ecclesiasticus, throw much light on the customs and manner of life of the Jews which helps us in a number of particulars to understand the Gospels better; others, such as Judith, illustrate the intensely national feeling of the Jews which helps to explain much that we read in the Acts, especially St. Paul’s treatment by the Jews; or, again, the early part of Baruch gives us some insight into the long prayers which were in vogue among the Jews; Wisdom shows us, among other things, the Hellenistic spirit whereby not a few Jews, especially those of the Dispersion, were animated; this is important for the understanding of much that we read in the Pauline epistles. Other points will suggest themselves to thoughtful readers of these books. It is not, however, with matters of this kind that we can deal here, for space would not permit of it. What we intend to touch upon briefly in the final section of each of these introductions to the Apocryphal books, when called for, is chiefly (though not exclusively) their use for the study of the New Testament from a literary point of view, the main purpose being to try and show that the writers of the New Testament books had read and studied those of the Apocrypha; not, of course, that these writers were as familiar with them as with the canonical books of the Old Testament, but that they valued them and utilized them, some more than others. This is to be expected from the outset, both because the Old Testament they used contained these books as integral parts of the “Scriptures,” and because the early Church Fathers held them in high estimation; this latter is not likely to have been the case unless that attitude towards these books had been handed down.

There are, firstly, a few examples, among many, of parallel thoughts between Ecclesiasticus and the Gospels which may be pointed out:

Ecclesiasticus. St. Matthew.

xxviii. 2. Forgive thy neighbour vi. 14. For if ye forgive men
the injury done to thee. their trespasses, your heavenly
And then, when thou prayest, Father will also forgive you.
thy sins will be forgiven.

St. Luke.

xlviii. 10. [Speaking of Elijah] i. 17. And he shall go before his
... To turn the heart of face in the spirit and power
fathers unto the children. of Elijah, to turn the hearts
of the fathers unto the
children.

The verbal identity between the two passages here suggests either direct influence, or else that a current saying (from Mal. iv. 6) has been adopted in each.

xi. 19. What time he saith, I xii. 19, 20 ... And I will say
have found rest, to my soul, Soul, thou hast
And now will I enjoy my much goods laid up for
goods,— many years; take thine ease,
He knoweth not what lot eat, drink and be merry.
shall befall; But God said unto him,
He shall leave them to others, Thou foolish one, this
and die. night is thy soul required of
thee; and the things which
thou hast prepared, whose
shall they be?

Cp. also Ecclesiasticus xxxi. 3 with the Lucan passage last quoted.

Examples of other small details illustrative of the usefulness of Ecclesiasticus for this purpose are i. 1-20, which offers an interesting commentary on Matthew xi. 19: “Wisdom is justified by her works” (cp. the various reading in Luke vii. 35). The visitation of the sick referred to in Matthew xxv. 39 is illustrated by Ecclesiasticus vii. 35:

Forget not to visit the sick,
For thou wilt be loved for that.

Evidently this was a duty laid upon all good Jews. And, once more, the custom of wagging the head in sign of mockery mentioned in Matthew xxvii. 39 is also referred to in Ecclesiasticus xii. 18. Numbers of similar, small but interesting, points offer themselves to students of the book.

But the most striking fact in this connection is that of the many parallel thoughts and passages between Ecclesiasticus and the Epistle of St. James; these are of such a nature as to justify belief in the direct influence of the former on the latter. A few examples are appended[372]:

Ecclesiasticus. St. James.

i. 26. If thou desire Wisdom, i. 5. But if any of you lacketh
keep the commandments, Wisdom, let him ask of God,
And the Lord will give her Who giveth to all liberally
freely unto thee. and upbraideth not; and it
shall be given unto him.

xv. 11-13. Say not, From God i. 13, 14. Let no man say when
is my trangression, he is tempted, I am tempted
For that which He hateth of God; for God cannot be
made He not. tempted with evil, and
Say not, It is He that made He Himself tempteth no
me to stumble. man; but each man is
For there is no need of evil tempted, when he is drawn
men. away by his own lust, and
Evil and abomination doth enticed.
the Lord hate,
And He doth not let it come
nigh to them that fear Him.

v. 11. Be swift to hear, i. 19. But let every man be
But with patience make reply. swift to hear, slow to speak,
slow to wrath.

vii. 35, 36. Forget not to visit i. 27. Pure religion and undefiled
the sick, before God and Father
For thou wilt be loved for that. is this, to visit the fatherless
In all thy doings remember and widows in their
thy last end, affliction, and to keep himself
Then wilt thou never do unspotted from the
corruptly. world.

A large number of other examples could be given; among them the following will be found instructive:

Compare Ecclesiasticus
xiv. 1, xix. 16, xxv. 8 with James iii. 2
” ” v. 13, 14, viii. 3, xxviii. 11 ” ” iii. 5, 6.
” ” xxviii. 16-18 ” ” iii. 8.
” ” xxviii. 12 and context ” ” iii. 10.
” ” iv. 1-6, xxxiv. 22 ” ” v. 4.
” ” vi. 19 ” ” v. 7.
” ” iv. 26 ” ” v. 16.
” ” xlviii. 3 and context ” ” v. 17.