John Barton speaks out for an undervalued and little-read wisdom book of the Old Testament.
‘Let us now praise famous men.” These words, from Sirach 44:1, begin what was once the favourite biblical reading at memorial services in the UK for the great and the good. I even heard it, absurdly, at a service to mark the centenary of a women’s college. But where do the words come from? In an episode of University Challenge notorious among biblical scholars, though noticed by almost no one else, the answer “Ecclesiastes” was awarded the standard five points, on the grounds that it was not significantly different from the correct answer, “Ecclesiasticus”.
