“‘I grew tall
Like a cedar in Lebanon.
I grew tall
Like a cypress on the heights of Hermon.
I grew tall
Like a palm tree in En-gedi.
I grew tall
Like rosebushes in Jericho.
I grew tall
Like a fair olive tree in the field.
I grew tall
Like a plane tree beside water.’”
Sirach continues with his personification of wisdom in the first person singular. Wisdom points out how she has grown tall like the various trees around Israel. First, she was tall like the cedar and cypress trees in the northern area of Lebanon and Hermon. Then she was like the palm trees on the west side of the Dead Sea in En-gedi and the rosebushes nearby in Jericho. Finally, she was tall like the various planted olive trees and the trees that were planted beside water. Wisdom was a like a tall tree, no matter where she was.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 