King James Version · Under the Greeks
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 44
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1Let us now famous men, and our fathers that begat us. 2 hath wrought great by them through his great . 3Such as did bear rule in their kingdoms, men renowned for their , giving by their understanding, and declaring prophecies: 4Leaders of the people by their counsels, and by their knowledge of learning meet for the people, and eloquent are their instructions: 5Such as found out musical tunes, and recited verses in writing: 6Rich men furnished with ability, living peaceably in their habitations: 7All these were honoured in their generations, and were the of their times. 8There be of them, that have left a name behind them, that their might be reported. 9And some there be, which have no memorial; who are , as though they had never been; and are become as though they had never been born; and their children after them. 10But these were merciful men, whose hath not been forgotten. 11With their shall continually a good , and their children are within . 12Their standeth , and their children for their sakes. 13Their shall for ever, and their shall not be blotted out. 14Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore. 15The people will tell of their , and will shew forth their . 16 pleased , and was translated, being an example of . 17Noah was found perfect and ; in the time of he was taken in exchange for the world; therefore was he left as a unto the earth, when the flood came. 18An was made with him, that should no more by the flood. 19 was a great of many people: in was there none like unto him; 20Who kept of , and was in with him: he established in his ; and when he was proved, he was found . 21Therefore he assured him by an , that he would the nations in , and that he would multiply him as of the earth, and exalt as the stars, and cause them to from sea to sea, and from the river unto the utmost part of the land. 22With did he establish likewise for his ’s sake the of all men, and , And made it rest upon the head of . He acknowledged him in his , and gave him an heritage, and divided his portions; among the twelve tribes did he part them.
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under the Greeks, 332 BC to 63 BC ›
Alexander's conquest and the kingdoms of his successors. Greek language and custom press in everywhere, and the crisis under Antiochus IV provokes the Maccabean revolt.
- The successors
- Alexander dies at thirty-two and his generals carve up the empire. Judea sits on the border between the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria, and is fought over by both for a century and a half, which is the ordinary condition of the corridor.
- Hellenism
- Not just conquest but a culture: the gymnasium, the theatre, Greek names, Greek dress, Greek as the language of anyone with ambitions. Some Jews embraced it, some resisted it, and the argument between them is the real subject of the Maccabean books. In Alexandria the Hebrew scriptures are translated into Greek, producing the Septuagint, which is the Bible most New Testament writers quote.
- The crisis
- Antiochus IV bans the practice of Judaism, plunders the temple, and sets up a pagan altar in it in 167 BC. The revolt under the Maccabees wins, the temple is rededicated in 164 BC, which is the origin of Hanukkah, and Judea has about eighty years of independence under the Hasmoneans before Rome arrives.
- Further afield
- Rome fights Carthage three times and ends up master of the Mediterranean. Euclid writes the Elements and Archimedes does his work at Syracuse. In China the Qin unify the country in 221 BC and the Han follow, opening what becomes the Silk Road.
All of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)