The whole of this section is unsourced and thus unique to Ælfric. However, Chapter VIII (3.b) of the full edition points to parallel discussions in patristic material. There is no parallel to this section in the surviving remnants of the Old English poem Judith, although it could be argued that similar themes are presented there. Furthermore, the notes for this section suggests St Jerome as the possible source for the (now lost) Life of St Malchus.