James 4:8

ἐγγίσατε τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐγγίσει ὑμῖν : here, again, we have what to Christian ears sounds rather like a reversal of the order of things; we should expect the order to be that expressed in such words as, “Ye did not choose me, but I chose you” (John 15:16). The words before us seem to be a quotation (inexact) from Hosea 12:6 (Sept.), … ἔγγιζε πρὸς τὸν θεόν σου διὰ παντός. The Hebrew phrase נגשׁ אל־ is a technical term for approaching God for the purpose of worship, e.g., Exodus 19:22; Jeremiah 30:21; Ezekiel 44:13. There is an extraordinary passage in Test. of the Twelve Patriarchs, Dan. vi. 1, 2 which runs, “And now, fear the Lord, my children, and beware of Satan and his spirits. Draw near unto God and to the angel that intercedeth for you, for he is a mediator between God and man” (the latter part here is not a Christian interpolation). καθαρίσατε χεῖρας : Cf. Psalms 24:4, ἀθῷος χερσὶ καὶ καθαρὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ …; in Is. James 1:16 we have, λούσασθε, καθαροὶ γένεσθε, and in Sir 38:10, ἀπόστησον πλημμελίαν καὶ εὔθυνον χεῖρας, καὶ ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας καθάρισον καρδίαν. In each case it is a metaphorical use of language which otherwise expressed the literal ritual washing; the former, taken from the latter, was in use at least as early as exilic times. ἁμαρτωλοί : the close connection with this word and the δίψυχοι which follows almost immediately recalls the language in Sir 5:9, … οὕτως ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς ὁ δίγλωσσος. ἁγνίσατε καρδίας : the thought of these, as well as of the preceding words, is an adaptation of Psalms 72 (73) 13, Ἄρα ματαίως ἐδικαίωσα τὴν καρδίαν μου, καὶ ἐνιψάμην ἐν ἀθῴοις τὰς χεῖράς μου. The verb ἁγνίζω (התקדשׁ) means originally to sanctify oneself preparatory to appearing before the Lord by separating oneself from everything that might cause uncleanness; the idea of separating oneself is still present in the passage before us, because mourning implied temporary withdrawal from the world and its doings. Mayor quotes in connection with this verse, Hermas, Mand., ix. 7, καθάρισον τὴν καρδίαν σου ἀπὸ τῆς διψυχίας. δίψυχοι : Cf. Hosea 10:2, and in addition to the passages referred to above, James 1:8, cf. Barnabas xix. 5, οὐ μὴ διψυχήσῃς, πότερον ἔσται ἢ οὔ, and the identical words in Did. iv. 4.