Current reading in the Apocrypha is the Wisdom of Yeshua ben Sira, also known as Sirach or Ecclesiasticus. This work was long known only in the Greek translation by ben Sira's grandson, made in Ptolemaic Egypt in 132 BCE, but much of the original Hebrew has now been assembled from various sources, including the Cairo Genizah and the Dead Sea Scrolls. I've still got a ways to go -- it's a pretty long book -- but I do have some initial thoughts:
In some respects, ben Sira comes across as very conservative. The opening chapters put heavy stress on filial piety and respect for the wisdom of the aged. There's certainly nothing unprecedented about this in the Hebrew Bible, but the degree of emphasis is notable. It reminds me a little of Confucianism.
On the other side of the coin, ben Sira also repeatedly stresses the importance of almsgiving, the obligation to care for the poor and sick, and the need to give right judgments. This is very much in the social justice tradition found in (e.g.) the Minor Prophets.
Chapter 11, verse 28, immediately leapt out at me: "Call no one happy before his death; by his end, a person becomes known." (NRSV) Classics aficionados will recognize this as the exact sentiment voiced by Solon to Croesus before the latter's disastrous war with Cyrus in Herodotus's Histories. I have no idea whether ben Sira was actually familiar with Herodotus, but the coincidence is striking.
All in all, I'm enjoying the book. Wisdom literature just fascinates me, whether it comes from the Bible, Ancient Egypt, or Mesopotamia. I've even toyed with the idea of writing a monograph on it. Maybe one day.
