James 2:19

ὅτι εἶς ἐστὶν ὁ θεός; the reading of אA, the Vulgate, Peshitto and other versions: εἶς ὁ θεός ἐστιν B: εἶς ὁ θεός, some versions: ὁ θεὸς εἶς ἐστίν K2L.

19. The ineffectiveness of faith regarded as merely intellectual assent is shewn by the example of belief in the unity of God, a belief which even devils hold.

ὅτι εἶς ἐστὶν ὁ θεός, that God is one. The central belief of Judaism, Deuteronomy 6:4 ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, Κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἶς ἐστιν, the fundamental principle of faith. For reading see crit. notes.

καλῶς ποιεῖς, thou art right. See above, James 2:8.

τὰ δαιμόνια, the evil spirits who by their submission to the word of Christ recognised the One true God. δαιμόνιον is the neuter of the adj. δαιμόνιος and means literally that which proceeds from a δαίμων or god. εἰ μή τι δαιμόνιον εἴη, ‘unless there were some hindrance from the gods,’ Xen. Mem. I. 3. 5. So Demosthenes, Phil. III. § 54, speaks of the divine power or force which seems to be hurrying on the Hellenic race to destruction: ἐπελήλυθε καὶ τοῦτο φοβεῖσθαι μή τι δαιμόνιον τὰ πράγματα ἐλαύνῃ. The δαιμόνιον of Socrates is the divine warning voice which apart from his own reasoning faculties checked him from entering on dangerous enterprises. See Xen. Mem. I. 1. 2. It is defined Plat. Symp. 202 D πᾶν τὸ δαιμόνιον μεταξύ ἐστι θεοῦ τε καὶ θνητοῦ … ἑρμηνεῦον καὶ διαπορθμεῦον θεοῖς τὰ παρʼ ἀνθρώπων καὶ�. Hence δαιμόνια are deities of an inferior order. One of the accusations against Socrates is, καινὰ δαιμόνια εἰσφέρειν, Xen. Mem. I. 1. 2, Comp. Acts 17:18 ξένων δαιμονίων δοκεῖ καταγγελεύς εἶναι. In the LXX. δαιμόνια is used to designate the false gods of the surrounding nations: Deuteronomy 32:17 ἔθυσαν δαιμονίοις καὶ οὐ θεῷ, a sense attributed by some to the word in this passage; but certainly not on good grounds, for how could faith in the true God be predicated of them?

In N.T. language τὸ δαιμόνιον is the unseen evil force or influence (comp. δαιμονίη ὁρμή, Hdt. VII. 18) which, gaining possession of a man, like a separate personality, impelled him to evil and afflicted him with disease. See note on S. Matthew 9:33.

φρίσσουσιν. ἄπ. λεγ. in N.T.; properly to be rough, to bristle, then to shudder with fear: in Plutarch especially of awe in the presence of a god.

A faith which involves ‘shuddering fear’ is widely removed from the justifying faith of St Paul which brings peace, Romans 5:1, and which is closely allied with that perfect love which casts out all fear, 1 John 4:18.