James 5:3

κατίωται : in Sir 12:11 we have καὶ γνώσῃ ὅτι οὐκ εἰς τέλος κατίωσεν in reference to a mirror; the Hebrew, which is followed by the Syriac, is corrupt, but evidently read חלאה, which is the same word used in the preceding verse (ἰοῦται); the Hebrew word may perhaps be used in the sense of “filth” (see Oxford Hebrew Lexicon, s.v.), and possibly this more general term is what was originally intended in the verse before us, since gold cannot strictly be said to rust. The word occurs in one other passage viz., in Sir 29:10, but unfortunately the Hebrew for this is wanting. The force of the κατα is intensive. ὁ ἰὸς : used in James 3:8 of the poison of the tongue, in a figurative sense; the meaning “rust” is secondary. εἰς μαρτύριον ὑμῖν ἔσται : this metaphor is quite in the Hebrew style; עד (= μαρτύριον), though generally used of persons, is in a fair number of instances used of inanimate things in the O.T.; cf. in the N.T. Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5. φάγεται : a Hellenistic form, unclassical, cf. Sir 33:23 (Sept.) πᾶν βρῶμα φάγεται κοιλία, cf. Sir 11:19, Sir 45:21 (Sept.). τὰς σάρκας ὑμῶν : “The plural σάρκες is used for the fleshy parts of the body both in classical and later writers … while the singular σάρξ is used for the whole body” (Mayor); in the Septuagint we meet with a similar phrase in a number of cases, e.g., Micah 3:3.… κατέφαγον τὰς σάρκας τοῦ λαοῦ μου; 2 Kings 9:36; in these and other instances the Hebrew בשׂר (= σάρξ) is always in the singular (unlike “blood,” which is often used in the plural). ὡς πῦρ : this comparison must probably have been suggested by the fact that fire, in a literal sense, often figures in apocalyptic pictures, cf., e.g., Enoch, cii. 1, “And in those days when He brings a grievous fire upon you, whither will ye flee, and where will ye find deliverance?” xcvii. 3, where mention is made of “the furnace of fire,” x. 13, “the abyss of fire”; this idea arose originally because “Gehenna” was conceived of as the place of torment, and a fire in the literal sense was constantly burning in the valley of Hinnom; the fire in the place of torment is referred to in Matthew 25:41 τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον, Mark 9:44 ὅπου ὁ σκώληξ αὐτῶν οὐ τελευτᾷ καὶ τὸ πῦρ οὐ σβέννυται, Jude 1:7 πυρὸς αἰωνίου … See Carr's interesting note on ὡς πῦρ. ἐθησαυρίσατε. ἐν ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις : see prefatory note to this chapter.