James 5:7

Μακροθυμήσατε οὖν : the verb, as well as the adjective, is used both of God and man, e.g., Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 6:6; it expresses the attitude of mind which is content to wait; when used of God it refers to His long-suffering towards men (e.g., Sir 18:11); it is possible that in the present connection this is also implied in view of James 5:9. Perhaps οὖν was added in order to join it on to the preceding section; it is omitted by the OL MS. s. ἕως τῆς παρουσίας τοῦ Κυρίου : see above, introductory words to this section. Παρουσία does not occur in the Septuagint, being (with τοῦ Κυρίον) specifically Christian; but with τοῦ Θεοῦ, instead of τοῦ Κυρίου, it occurs in Test. of the Twelve Patriarchs, Jud. xxii. 2, ἕως παρουσίας τοῦ Θεοῦ τῆς δικαιοσύνης (the words are omitted in the Armenian Version). ὁ γεωργός : Cf. Sir 6:18; Test. of the Twelve Patriarchs, Issach. James 5:3 ff. καρπόν : used in the sense of “produce of the soil”. ἕως λάβῃ : the context shows that the subject must be “the earth,” not “the fruit,” for the simple reason that the fruit is not in existence when the “former” rains descend; the great importance of the “former” rains (called both יורה and מורה) was that they moistened the earth (commencing about the month of October) after it had been hardened by the blazing summer sun, and thus enabled it to receive the seed; without the “former” rains to moisten the earth one might as well sow seed on rocks. The subject might possibly be “the husbandman” as he may be said in a certain sense to receive the rain, but the most obvious subject, and that upon which the meaning of the verse most naturally depends, is the earth. πρόϊμον καὶ ὄψιμον : Cf. Deuteronomy 11:14, and often, יורה ומלקושׁ.