1 Timothy 6:10 to Sirach 31:1
1 Timothy 6:10 to Sirach 31:1
Our first example from Stewart:
While Ecclesiastes does not have any direct quotes from it in the New Testament, there are a number of passages that allude to it. For example, Paul wrote to Timothy: “For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:10 NLT)” This seems to depend upon the following verse in Ecclesiastes. It reads: The lover of money will not be satisfied with money; nor the lover of wealth, with gain. This also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 5:10 NRSV)
But the notes included with the original KJV actually say otherwise. There is no cross-reference between Ecclesiastes and 1 Timothy 6:10. Instead, it is Sirach 31:1 (“Watching for riches consumeth the flesh, and the care thereof driveth away sleep”) that was cross-referenced with 1 Timothy 6:10. Thus, the website’s claim that “there seems to be direct dependence upon this book in a number of places in the New Testament” should apply to Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), not Ecclesiastes, per the KJV. The KJV, in this instance, is effectively a panel of Protestant judges, dismissing the reference to Ecclesiastes and accepting this as a reference to Sirach. I submit that it is a strong indication that neutral judges would also see it that way.
