ΙΑΚΩΒΟΥ [52] [52] Inscr. + επιστολη BKP, curss., om. א επιστολη καθολικη του αγιου αποστολου ιακωβου L, Epistola Catholica beati Jacobi Apostoli Vulg. (Epistulae Catholicae Vulg A), επ. του απ. ιακωβου Pesh.... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἰάκωβος : A very common name among Palestinian Jews, though its occurrence does not seem to be so frequent in pre-Christian times. Some noted Jewish Rabbis of this name lived in the earliest centuries of Christianity, notably Jacob ben Ḳorshai, a “Tanna” (_i.e._, “teacher” of the Oral Law) of the se... [ Continue Reading ]
Πᾶσαν χαράν : _Cf._ Philippians 2:29, μετὰ πάσης χαρᾶς : the rendering in Syr lec, which is rather a paraphrase than a translation, catches the meaning admirably: בכל חדוא הוו חאדין אח̈י, “With all joy be rejoicing my brethren.” ἡγήσασθε : the writer is not to be understood as meaning that these tri... [ Continue Reading ]
γινώσκοντες : “recognising”; this seems to be the force of the word γιγνώσκω in Hellenistic Greek (see Lightfoot, _Ep. to the Galatians_, p. 171); if so, it comes very appositely after ἡγήσασθε. τὸ δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως : according to instances of the use of the word δοκίμιον given by Deissmann... [ Continue Reading ]
ἡ δὲ ὑπομονὴ ἔργον τέλειον ἐχέτω : “But let endurance have its perfect result”; the possibility of losing heart is contemplated, which would result in something being lacking; the words recall what is said in the _Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs_, Joshua 2:7. “For endurance (μακροθυμία) is a mig... [ Continue Reading ]
There is no thought-connection between this verse and what has preceded, it is only by supplying something artificially that any connection can be made to exist, and for this there is no warrant in the text as it stands (see Introduction III.). In James 1:4 ὑπομονή has as its full result the making... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν πίστει : πίστις, as used in this Epistle, refers to the state of mind in which a man not only believes in the existence of God, but in which His ethical character is apprehended and the evidence of His good-will towards man is acknowledged; it is a belief in the beneficent activity, as well as in... [ Continue Reading ]
μὴ γὰρ οἰέσθω, etc.: γὰρ almost in the sense of διὰ τοῦτο. The verb occurs very rarely, see John 21:25; Philippians 1:17. There is a ring of contempt in the passage at the idea of a man with halting faith expecting his prayer to be answered. ἄνθρωπος is used here in reference to men in general; ἀνήρ... [ Continue Reading ]
δίψυχος : Although this word is not found in either the Septuagint or elsewhere in the N.T. (excepting in James 4:8) its occurrence is not rare otherwise; Clement of Rome, quoting what he calls ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος, says: ταλαίπωροί εἰσιν οἱ δίψυχοι, οἱ διστάζοντες τῇ καρδίᾳ … (Resch., _Agrapha_, p. 3... [ Continue Reading ]
καυχάσθω : it is noticeable that this word is only used in the Pauline Epistles, with the exception in this verse and in James 3:14; James 4:16; it is used, generally, in a good sense, as here and James 3:14, though not in James 4:16. ὁ ἀδελφός : see note on James 1:2. ταπεινός : _cf._ Luke 1:52, re... [ Continue Reading ]
An entirely new subject is now started, which has no connection with what has preceded; such a connection can only be maintained by supplying mental links artificially, for which the text gives no warrant. James 1:9-11 deal with the subject of rich and poor; they may be interpreted in two ways; on t... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ πλούσιος : equally a “brother”; _cf._ the whole section James 2:1-13 below. ὡς ἄνθος χόρτου …: these words, together with ἐξήρανεν τὸν χόρτον, etc., in the next verse, are adapted from the Sept. of Isaiah 40:5-8, … καὶ εἶπα τί βοήσω; Πᾶσα σὰρξ χόρτος, καὶ πᾶσα δόξα ἀνθρώπου ὡς ἀνθος χόρτου · ἐξηρά... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀνέτειλεν : the “gnomic” aorist, _i.e._, expressive of what always happens; it gives a “more vivid statement of general truths, by employing a distinct case or several distinct cases in the past to represent (as it were) all possible cases, and implying that what has occurred is likely to occur agai... [ Continue Reading ]
ff. The section James 1:12-16 is wholly unconnected with what immediately precedes; it takes up the thread which was interrupted at James 1:4. In James 1:2-4 the brethren are bidden to rejoice when they fall into temptations because the purifying of their faith which this results in engenders ὑπομον... [ Continue Reading ]
Μηδεὶς πειραζόμενος λεγέτω : In view of the specific doctrine which is being combated in these verses, it is probable that the verb πειράζω is here used in the restricted sense of temptation to lust, and not in the more general sense (πειρασμοῖς ποικίλοις) in which πειρασμός is used in James 1:2. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
ἕκαστος δὲ πειράζεται ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας ἐπιθυμίας : according to this the evil originates in man himself, which would be the case more especially with the sin of lust; with regard to temptation to sin of another character see 1 Thessalonians 3:5, … μή πως ἐπείρασεν ὑμᾶς ὁ πειράζων, who is doubtlessly to... [ Continue Reading ]
εἶτα : continuing the description of the method of the working of ἐπιθυμία. ἡ ἐπιθυμία συλλαβοῦσα τίκτει ἁμαρτίαν : With this idea of personification, _cf._ Zechariah 5:5-11, where the woman “sitting in the midst of the ephah” is the personification of Wickedness; and for the metaphor see Psalms 7:1... [ Continue Reading ]
The following saying of R. Chaninah (first century, A.D.) is preserved: א״ר חנינא אין דבר רע יורד מלמעלה׃ (“R. Chaninah said, ‘No evil thing cometh down from above' ”.). On the possible connection between this verse and the preceding section, see Introduction IV., § 1. πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθὴ καὶ πᾶν δώρημ... [ Continue Reading ]
Again we have a verse without any connection between what precedes or follows; the words ἴστε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί of James 1:19 seem to belong to James 1:18. As we have seen, James 1:17 most probably contains a quotation; the possibility of James 1:18 being also a loose quotation, from some other... [ Continue Reading ]
ταχὺς εἰς τὸ ἀκοῦσαι βραδὺς εἰς τὸ λαλῆσαι : _Cf._ Sir 5:11, γίνου ταχὺς ἐν ἀκροάσει σου, καὶ ἐν μακροθυμίᾳ φθέγγου ἀπόκρισιν; see Sir 4:29, Sir 20:7. A similar precept is quoted in _Qoheleth Rabba_, James 1:5 (Wünsche): “Speech for a shekel, silence for two; it it is like a precious stone”; _cf._ T... [ Continue Reading ]
Another isolated saying, strongly reminiscent of the Wisdom literature; the frequent recurrence (see below) of words of this import suggests that here again the writer is recalling to the minds of his hearers familiar sayings.... [ Continue Reading ]
ὀργὴ γὰρ, etc.: Man's wrath is rarely, if ever, justifiable; even “just indignation” is too often intermixed with other elements; and frequently the premisses on which it is founded are at fault. Man, unlike God, never knows all the circumstances of the case. On the subject of anger, see Matthew 5:2... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀποθέμενοι : used in Hebrews 12:1 of putting off every weight preparatory to “running the race that is set before us”; the metaphor is taken from the divesting oneself of clothes. ῥυπαρία : not elsewhere in the N.T. or Septuagint; the Syriac has טנפולא which is the same word used in Ezekiel 44:6 for... [ Continue Reading ]
James 1:21-25 form a self-contained section. By putting away all impurity the “implanted word” can influence the heart; but it is necessary not only to hear the word but also to act in accordance with it.... [ Continue Reading ]
γίνεσθε : perhaps best expressed by the German “Werdet,” though Luther does not render it so. ποιηταὶ λόγου, καὶ, etc.: Taylor quotes an appropriate passage from the Babylonian Talmud: “On Exodus 24:7 which ends (lit.), _We will do and we will hear_, it is written (_Shabbath_, 88 _a_) that “when Isr... [ Continue Reading ]
οὗτος ἔοικεν ἀνδρὶ. ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ : With the thought here contained, _cf._ Pseudo-Cyprian in _De duobus mont._, chap. 13: “Ita me in vobis videte, quomodo quis vestrum se videt in aquam aut in speculum” (Resch., _op. cit._, P. 35), _cf._ 1Co 13:12; 2 Corinthians 3:18. τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ : _... [ Continue Reading ]
κατενόησεν … ἀπελήλυθεν : gnomic aorists, see note on ἀνέτειλεν, James 1:11.... [ Continue Reading ]
παρακύψας : in Sir 14:20 ff. we read, Μακάριος ἀνὴρ ὂς ἐν σοφίᾳ τελευτήσει … ὁ παρακύπτων διὰ τῶν θυρίδων αὐτῆς. The word means literally to “peep into” with the idea of eagerness and concentration, see Genesis 26:8; Mayor says that the παρὰ “seems to imply the bending of the upper part of the body... [ Continue Reading ]
Although these verses are organically connected with the preceding section, they are self-contained, and deal with another aspect of religion. While the earlier verses, 19 _b_ 25, emphasise the need of doing as well as hearing, these speak of self-control in the matter of the tongue. At the same tim... [ Continue Reading ]
θρησκεία καθαρὰ … αὕτη ἐστίν …: As illustrating this, Dr. Taylor (_Expos. Times_, xvi. 334) quotes the Ποίμανδρος of Hermes Trismegistos: καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ὁ θεός, τὸ πᾶν … τοῦτον τὸν λόγον, ὦ τέκνον, προσκύνει καὶ θρήσκευε. θρησκεία δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ μία ἐστί, μὴ εἶναι κακόν. _Cf._ too, the following from... [ Continue Reading ]