<p>The letter Lamed marks a sharp turn. After several proverbs about daughters, Ben Sira pivots to marriage itself:</p>
<p>"Do not sleep in your youth, and when you are old, do not marry an old wife. Because an old wife drains your energy even if you are a youth, but a virgin wife adds strength and power to you."</p>
<p>The first half is about wasted time — don't be lazy when you're young, because those are the years for building something. The second half is the kind of earthy, blunt marital advice that runs through the Alphabet of Ben Sira like a vein of copper. It's practical. It's unapologetic. And it reflects a set of assumptions about marriage and vitality that were commonplace in the medieval Jewish world where this text was composed (roughly 700–1000 CE).</p>
<p>Is it uncomfortable by modern standards? Absolutely. The text treats marriage as a transaction measured in energy gained or lost, and it's remarkably frank about the physical dimension of the relationship. But that frankness is actually part of what makes the Alphabet distinctive. While other wisdom texts dress up their advice in elevated language, Ben Sira — a character who was, remember, born talking and refused his own mother's breast in favor of fine bread and aged wine — doesn't bother with politeness.</p>
<p>The teacher accepts this proverb without comment, simply moving to the next letter. Perhaps he's thinking about his own situation: an older man with seven daughters, contemplating a new marriage. Ben Sira's words might be landing closer to home than the text lets on.</p>