Commentaires bibliques

The Epistle of James

According to the oldest arrangement of the New Testament, the epistle of James stands first in order of all the apostolical epistles. The most competent critics generally agree in designating as its author James, the president of the church at Jerusalem, and known as the Lord's brother.

"No doubt," says Dean Stanley, "if we look at James' influence and authority from the more general point of view, whether of the whole Jewish Christian world or of the whole Gentile Christian world, it sinks into nothing before the majesty of Peter and Paul;" but within the circle of the purely Palestinian Christians, and in Jerusalem, James is the chief representative of the Christian society. The later traditions of the Jewish Christians invest him with a priestly sanctity. His austerities and devotions are described in extravagant terms. He is said to have kneeled until his knees were as hard as the knees of camels, and to have been constant in prayer in the temple. He went barefoot, and practised abstinence from wine, and wore the long hair, the linen ephod, and the unshorn beard of the Nazarites, and even abstained from washing. He was known as "The Just." The people vied with each other to touch the hem of his garment; and he is reputed to have called down rain in the drought, after the manner of Elijah. His chair was preserved as a relic until the fourth century, and a pillar in the valley of Jehoshaphat marked the spot where he fell.

The account of his martyrdom is given by Eusebius from the lost work of Hegesippus, by Josephus, and in the Clementine Recognitions. In Hegesippus and the Recognitions, the story is dramatic and deeply tinged with romance. The narrative of the former "is," says Dr. Schaff, "an overdrawn picture of the middle of the second century, colored by Judaizing traits, which may have been derived from 'the Ascents of James' and other apocryphal sources." It is, substantially, as follows: Having been asked, "What is the gate of Jesus?" he replied that he was the Saviour; from which some believed that Jesus is the Christ. The Jews and Scribes and Pharisees, becoming alarmed, came to James, and besought him to restrain the people from going after Jesus, to persuade against him all that came to the Passover, and, with this view, to stand on the pinnacle of the temple, where he might be seen and heard by all the people. They accordingly placed him there, and said, "O Just One, to whom we all give heed, inasmuch as the people is gone astray after Jesus who is crucified, tell us what is the gate of Jesus?" He answered, with a loud voice, "Why ask ye me concerning Jesus, the Son of man? He sits in heaven, on the right hand of the mighty power, and he is also about to come in the clouds of heaven." Many being convinced, and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" the Scribes and Pharisees said, "We have done ill in furnishing so great a testimony to Jesus. Let us go and cast him down." They went up then and threw him down, and as he was not killed by the fall they began to stone him. And he, turning round, knelt and said, "I beseech thee, Lord God and Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." But while they were thus stoning him, one of the priests, of the sons of Rechab, cried, saying, "Stop! what do ye? The Just One prays for you;" and one of them, one of the fullers, took the club with which he used to press the cloths, and struck it on the head of the Just One. And so he bore witness, and they buried him on the place by the temple.

The epistle was probably written from Jerusalem, where James would be likely to become acquainted with the condition of the Jews, through those who came up at the feasts. Certain allusions in the epistle go to confirm this. The comparison of the double-minded man to a wave of the sea (James 1:6), and the picture of the ships (James 3:4), might well be written by one dwelling near the sea and familiar with it. The illustrations in James 3:11, James 3:12 - the figs, the oil, the wine, the salt and bitter springs - are furnished by Palestine, as are the drought (James 5:17, James 5:18), the former and the latter rain (James 5:7), and the hot, parching wind (James 1:11), for which the name καύσων, was specially known in Palestine.

The epistle is written from a Jewish stand-point. "Christianity appears in it, not as a new dispensation, but as a development and perfection of the old. The Christian's highest honor is not that he is a member of the universal church, but that he is the genuine type of the ancient Israelite. It reveals no new principle of spiritual life, such as those which were to turn the world upside down in the teaching of Paul or of John, but only that pure and perfect morality which was the true fulfilment of the law" (Stanley). Twice only the name of Christ occurs (James 1:1; James 2:1); the word "gospel" not at all; and there is no allusion to Redemption, Incarnation, Resurrection, or Ascension. The rules of morality which he lays down are enforced by Jewish rather than by Christian motives and sanctions. The violation of the "royal law" is menaced with the sentence of the law (James 2:8, James 2:13); and uncharitable judgment is deprecated on the ground of the law's condemnation, and not as alien to the spirit of Christ.

At the same time, the very legalism of the epistle is the outgrowth of the Sermon on the Mount, the language of which it reflects more than any other book of the New Testament. It meets the formalism, the fatalism, the hypocrisy, the arrogance, insolence, and oppression engendered by the sharp social distinctions of the age, with a teaching conceived in the spirit, and often expressed in the forms of the Great Teacher's moral code. "The epistle," says Dr. Scott, "strikes the ear from beginning to end as an echo of the oral teaching of our Lord. There is scarcely a thought in it which cannot be traced to Christ's personal teaching. If John has lain on the Saviour's bosom, James has sat at his feet."

The following correspondences may be noted:

Matthew James Matthew 5:3 James 1:9; James 2:5 Matthew 5:4 James 4:9 Matthew 5:7, Matthew 5:9 James 2:13; James 3:17 Matthew 5:8 James 4:8 Matthew 5:9 James 3:18 Matthew 5:11, Matthew 5:12 James 1:2; James 5:10, James 5:11 Matthew 5:19 James 1:19 seq., James 1:25; James 2:10, James 2:11 Matthew 5:22 James 1:20 Matthew 5:27 James 2:10, James 2:11 Matthew 5:34 seq. James 5:12 Matthew 5:48 James 1:4 Matthew 6:15 James 2:13 Matthew 6:19 James 5:2 seq. Matthew 6:24 James 4:4 Matthew 6:25 James 4:13-16 Matthew 7:1 seq. James 3:1; James 4:11 seq. Matthew 7:2 James 2:13 Matthew 7:7, Matthew 7:11 James 1:5, James 1:17 Matthew 7:8 James 4:3 Matthew 7:12 James 2:8 Matthew 7:16 James 3:12 Matthew 7:21-26 James 1:22; James 2:14; James 5:7-9

The style and diction of the epistle are strongly marked. Links connecting them with the historic individuality of the writer, which are so numerous in the case of Peter, are almost entirely wanting. The expression, "Hearken, my beloved brethren" (James 2:5), suggests the similar phrase, Acts 15:13; and the ordinary Greek greeting, χαίρειν, hail (Acts 15:23), is repeated in James 1:1; the only two places where it occurs in a Christian epistle. The purity of the Greek, and its comparative freedom from Hebraisms, are difficult to account for in a writer who had passed his life in Jerusalem. The style is sententious and antithetic; the thoughts not linked in logical connection, but massed in groups of short sentences, like the proverbial sayings of the Jews; with which class of literature the writer was evidently familiar. His utterance glows with the fervor of his spirit; it is rapid, exclamatory, graphic, abrupt, sometimes poetical in form, and moving with a rhythmical cadence. "It combines pure and eloquent and rhythmical Greek with Hebrew intensity of expression."

List of Greek Words Used by James Only

ἄγε go to James 4:13; James 5:1 ἀδιάκριτος without doubting James 3:17 ἀκατάστατος unstable James 1:18; James 3:8 ἁλυκός salt James 3:12 ἀμάω reap down James 5:4 ἀνέλεος unmerciful James 2:13 ἀνεμίζω to drive with the wind James 1:6 ἀπείραστος that cannot be tempted, or unversed James 1:13 ἁπλῶς liberally, simply James 1:5 ἀποκυέω bring forth, beget James 1:15, James 1:18 ἀποσκίασμα shadow James 1:17 αὐχέω to boast James 3:5 ἀφυστερέω to keep back by fraud James 5:4 βοή cry James 5:4 βρύω to send forth James 3:11 γέλως laughter James 4:9 δίψυχος double-minded James 1:8; James 4:8 εἴκω to be like James 1:6, James 1:23 ἔμφυτος implanted James 1:21 ἐνάλιος in the sea James 3:7 ἐξέλκω to draw away James 1:14 ἐπιλησμονή forgetfulness James 1:25 ἐπιστήμων knowing James 3:13 ἐπιτήδειος needful James 2:16 ὁ εὐθύνων steersman James 3:4 εὐπειθής easy to be intreated James 3:17 εὐπρέπεια grace James 1:11 ἐφήμερος daily James 2:15 θανατηφόρος deadly James 3:8 θρῆσκος religious James 1:26 ἰός poison, rust James 3:8; James 5:3 κακοπάθεια suffering James 5:10 κατήφεια heaviness James 4:9 κατιόω to canker James 5:3 κατοικίζω to cause to dwell James 4:5 κενῶς in vain James 4:5 μαραίνω to fade James 1:11 μετάγω to turn about James 3:3, James 3:4 νομοθέτης lawgiver James 4:12 ὀλολύζω to howl James 5:1 ὄψιμος latter James 5:7 παραλλαγή variation James 1:17 πικρός bitter James 3:11, James 3:14 ποίησις doing James 1:25 πολύσπλαγχνος full of pity James 5:11 προσωπολημπτέω to have respect to persons James 2:9 πρώΐμος early James 5:7 ῥιπίζω toss James 1:6 ῥυπαρία filthiness James 1:21 σήπω to corrupt James 5:2 σητόβρωτος moth-eaten James 5:2 ταλαιπωρέω to be afflicted James 4:9 ταχύς swift James 1:19 τροπή turning James 1:17 τροχός wheel James 3:6 τρυφάω to live daintily James 5:5 ὕλη wood, forest James 3:5 φιλία friendship James 4:4 φλογίζω to set on fire James 3:6 φρίσσω to shudder James 2:19 χαλιναγωγέω to bridle James 1:26; James 3:2 χρή ought James 3:10 χρυσοδακτύλιος adorned with gold rings James 2:2

Jesus Christ

Only here and in James 2:1; nowhere in the speeches of James (Acts 15:14, Acts 15:15; Acts 21:20 sq.). Had he used Jesus' name it might have been supposed to arise from vanity, because he was the Lord's brother. In all the addresses of epistles the full name, Jesus Christ, is given.

Servant (δοῦλος)

Properly, hired servant. Compare Philippians 1:1; Jde 1:1.

That are scattered abroad (ἐν τῇ διασπορᾷ)

Lit., in the dispersion; on which see on 1 Peter 1:1. Rev., which are of the dispersion.

Greeting (χαίρειν)

Lit., rejoice. The ordinary Greek salutation, hail! welcome! Also used at parting: joy be with you. Compare the same expression in the letter from the church at Jerusalem, Acts 15:23; one of the very few peculiarities of style which connect this epistle with the James of the Acts. It does not occur in the address of any other of the Apostolic Epistles.

All joy (πᾶσαν χαρὰν)

Joy follows up the rejoice of the greeting. The all has the sense of wholly. Count it a thing wholly joyful, without admixture of sorrow. Perhaps, as Bengel suggests, the all applies to all kinds of temptations.

When (ὅταν)

Lit., whenever: better, because it implies that temptation may be expected all along the Christian course.

Ye fall into (περιπέσητε)

The preposition περί, around, suggests falling into something which surrounds. Thus Thucydides, speaking of the plague at Athens, says, "The Athenians, having fallen into (περιπεσόντες) such affliction, were pressed by it."

Divers (ποικίλοις)

Rev., manifold. See on 1 Peter 1:6.

Temptations (πειρασμοῖς)

In the general sense of trials. See on Matthew 6:13; and 1 Peter 1:6.

Trying (δοκίμιον)

Rev., proof; but the American Revisers insist on proving, and rightly. See on 1 Peter 1:7.

Worketh (κατεργάζεται)

The compound verb with κατά, down through, indicates accomplishment. The proving will work successfully and thoroughly. This harmonizes with a perfect work, James 1:4.

Patience (ὑπομονήν)

See on 2 Peter 1:6, and James 5:7.

Perfect work (ἔργον τέλειον)

"This is followed by a perfect man. The man himself is characterized from his condition and work" (Bengel). Work (ἔργον) is the word with which κατεργάζεται, worketh, is compounded. It is the accomplished result of patience in moral purification and ennobling. Compare work of faith, 1 Thessalonians 1:3.

Perfect and entire (τέλειοι καὶ ὁλόκληροι)

The two words express different shades of thought. Τέλειοι, perfect, from τέλος, fulfilment or completion (perfect, from perfectus, per factus, made throughout), denotes that which, h has reached its maturity or fulfilled the end contemplated. Ολόκληροι, from ὅλος, entire, and κλῆρος, a lot or allotment; that which has all which properly belongs to it; its entire allotment, and is, therefore, intact in all its parts. Thus Peter (Acts 3:16) says of the restored cripple, "faith has given him this perfect soundness (ὁλοκληρίαν). Compare the familiar phrase, an accomplished man. Note, also, James' repetition of the key-words of his discourse, rejoice, joy, patience, perfect.

Wanting nothing (ἐν μηδενὶ λειπόμενοι)

Rev., more literally, lacking in nothing. Note James' characteristic corroboration of a positive statement by a negative clause: entire, lacking in nothing ; God that giveth and upbraideth not; in faith, nothing doubting. The conditional negative μηδενὶ, nothing, is used, rather than the absolute negative οὐδενὶ, as implying nothing which may be supposed ; no possible thing.

But

Omitted in A. V. In pursuing this perfection you will find yourselves lacking in wisdom. One may say, "I know not how to become perfect;" but, if any man, etc.

Lack

Note the repetition.

Of God that giveth (τοῦ διδόντος Θεοῦ)

The Greek puts it so that giving is emphasized as an attribute of God. Lit., "Ask of the giving God," or of "God the giver."

Liberally (ἁπλῶς)

Only here in New Testament. Literally the word means simply, and this accords with the following negative clause, upbraiding not. It is pure, simple giving of good, without admixture of evil or bitterness. Compare Romans 12:8, where a kindred noun is used: "He that giveth let him do it with simplicity (ἐν ἁπλότητι)." Compare, also, Proverbs 10:22. Men often complicate and mar their giving with reproach, or by an assumption of superiority.

Doubting (διακρινόμενος)

Compare Matthew 21:21. Not equivalent to unbelief, but expressing the hesitation which balances between faith and unbelief, and inclines toward the latter. This idea is brought out in the next sentence.

A wave (κλύδωνι)

Rev., surge. Only here and Luke 8:24; though the kindred verb occurs at Ephesians 4:14. The word is admirably chosen, as by a writer who lived near the sea and was familiar with its aspects. The general distinction between this and the more common κῦμα, wave, is that κλύδων describes the long ridges of water as they are propelled in horizontal lines over the vast surface of the sea; while κῦμα denotes the pointed masses which toss themselves up from these under the action of the wind. Hence the word κλύδων here is explained, and the picture completed by what follows: a billow or surge, driven by the wind in lines, and tossed into waves. Both here and in the passage in Luke the word is used in connection with the wind. It emphasizes the idea of extension, while the other word throws forward the idea of concentrating into a crest at a given point. Hence, in the figure, the emphasis falls on the tossing; not only moving before the impulse of the wind, but not even moving in regular lines; tossed into rising and falling peaks.

Driven by the wind (ἀνεμιζομένῳ)

Only here in New Testament.

Tossed (ῥιπιζομένῳ)

Only here in New Testament. From ῥιπίς, a fan. Anyone who has watched the great ocean-swell throwing itself up into pointed waves, the tops of which are caught by the wind and fanned off into spray, will appreciate the vividness of the figure.

That man (ἐκεῖνος)

Emphatic, and with a slightly contemptuous force.

Anything

i.e., which he asks for.