Ecclesiasticus
(sometimes known as Sirach and The Wisdom of Ben Sira) is from
the Apocrypha, fifteen books (or parts of books) not considered
Scripture by Jews and many Protestants Christians. After referring to the Old
and New Testaments as the Bible, our Catechism refers to the
Apocrypha as "other books...often included in the Bible" and as "a
collection of additional books written by people of the Old Covenant, and used
in the Christian Church." (p.853) From the body of Jewish wisdom literature,
Ecclesiasticus (possibly meaning "to be read in church") was written
between 195 and 171 BC by Ben Sira, a scholar-author, who reflects on life
often eloquently in loosely related maxims. The book may be a compilation of
his lecture notes. One of his purposes was to show that reflection on the
conduct of life could be accomplished in a superior way within a Covenant
context. [Ecclesiastes is a different Old Testament book.]