James 1:1

THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES.

Chronological Notes relative to this Epistle.

-Year of the Constantinopolitan era of the world, or that used by the Byzantine historians, and other eastern writers, 5569.

-Year of the Alexandrian era of the world, 5563.

-Year of the Antiochian era of the world, 5553.

-Year of the world, according to Archbishop Usher, 4065.

-Year of the world, according to Eusebius, in his Chronicon, 4289.

-Year of the minor Jewish era of the world, or that in common use, 3821.

-Year of the Greater Rabbinical era of the world, 4420.

-Year from the Flood, according to Archbishop Usher, and the English Bible, 2409.

-Year of the Cali yuga, or Indian era of the Deluge, 3163.

-Year of the era of Iphitus, or since the first commencement of the Olympic games, 1001.

-Year of the era of Nabonassar, king of Babylon, 810.

-Year of the CCXth Olympiad, 1.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Fabius Pictor, 808.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Frontinus, 812.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to the Fasti Capitolini, 813.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Varro, which was that most generally used, 814.

-Year of the era of the Seleucidae, 373.

-Year of the Caesarean era of Antioch, 109.

-Year of the Julian era, 106.

-Year of the Spanish era, 99.

-Year from the birth of Jesus Christ according to Archbishop Usher, 65.

-Year of the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 61.

-Year of Porcius Festus, governor of the Jews, 1.

-Year of Vologesus, king of the Parthians, 12.

-Year of Domitius Corbulo, governor of Syria, 2.

-Jesus, high priest of the Jews.

-Year of the Dionysian period, or Easter Cycle, 62.

-Year of the Grecian Cycle of nineteen years, or Common Golden Number, 5; or the second embolismic.

-Year of the Jewish Cycle of nineteen years, 2, or the year before the first embolismic.

-Year of the Solar Cycle, 14.

-Dominical Letter, it being the first after the Bissextile, or Leap Year, D.

-Day of the Jewish Passover, according to the Roman computation of time, the XIth of the calends of April, or, in our common mode of reckoning, the twenty-second of March, which happened in this year on the day after the Jewish Sabbath.

-Easter Sunday, the IVth of the Calends of April, named by the Jews the 22d of Nisan or Abib; and by Europeans in general, the 29th of March.

-Epact, or age of the moon on the 22d of March, (the day of the earliest Easter Sunday possible,) 14.

-Epact, according to the present mode of computation, or the moon's age on New Year's day, or the Calends of January, 22.

-Monthly Epacts, or age of the moon on the Calends of each month respectively, (beginning with January,) 22, 24, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 28, 0, 0.

-Number of Direction, or the number of days from the twenty-first of March to the Jewish Passover, 1.

-Year of the reign of Caius Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar, the fifth Roman monarch, computing from Octavianus, or Augustus Caesar, properly the first Roman emperor, 8.

-Roman Consuls, C. Caesonius Paetus and C. Petronius Turpilianus.

CHAPTER I.

He addresses the dispersed of the twelve tribes, 1.

Shows that they should rejoice under the cross, because of the

spiritual good which they may derive from it, especially in

the increase and perfecting of their patience, 2-4.

They are exhorted to ask wisdom of God, who gives liberally to

all, 5.

But they must ask in faith, and not with a doubting mind, 6-8.

Directions to the rich and the poor, 9-11.

The blessedness of the man that endures trials, 12.

How men are tempted and drawn away from God, 13-15.

God is the Father of lights, and all good proceeds from him,

16-18.

Cautions against hasty words and wrong tempers, 19-21.

We should be doers of the word, and not hearers merely, lest we

resemble those who, beholding their natural face in a glass,

when it is removed forget what manner of persons they were,

22-24.

We should look into the perfect law of liberty, and continue

therein, 25.

The nature and properties of pure religion, 26, 27.

NOTES ON CHAP. I.

Verse James 1:1. James, a servant of God] For an account of this person, or rather for the conjectures concerning him, see the preface. He neither calls himself an apostle, nor does he say that he was the brother of Christ, or bishop of Jerusalem; whether he was James the elder, son of Zebedee, or James the less, called our Lord's brother, or some other person of the same name, we know not. The assertions of writers concerning these points are worthy of no regard. The Church has always received him as an apostle of Christ.

To the twelve tribes - scattered abroad] To the Jews, whether converted to Christianity or not, who lived out of Judea, and sojourned among the Gentiles for the purpose of trade or commerce. At this time there were Jews partly travelling, partly sojourning, and partly resident in most parts of the civilized world; particularly in Asia, Greece, Egypt, and Italy. I see no reason for restricting it to Jewish believers only; it was sent to all whom it might concern, but particularly to those who had received the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ; much less must we confine it to those who were scattered abroad at the persecution raised concerning Stephen, Acts 8:1, c. Acts 11:19, c. That the twelve tribes were in actual existence when James wrote this epistle, Dr. Macknight thinks evident from the following facts:

"1. Notwithstanding Cyrus allowed all the Jews in his dominions to return to their own land, many of them did not return. This happened agreeably to God's purpose, in permitting them to be carried captive into Assyria and Babylonia for he intended to make himself known among the heathens, by means of the knowledge of his being and perfections, which the Jews, in their dispersion, would communicate to them. This also was the reason that God determined that the ten tribes should never return to their own land, Hosea 1:6; Hosea 8:8; Hosea 9:3; Hosea 9:15.

2. That, comparatively speaking, few of the twelve tribes returned in consequence of Cyrus's decree, but continued to live among the Gentiles, appears from this: that in the days of Ahasuerus, one of the successors of Cyrus, who reigned from India to AEthiopia, over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces, Esther 3:8, The Jews were dispersed among the people in all the provinces of his kingdom, and their laws were diverse from the laws of all other people, and they did not keep the king's laws; so that, by adhering to their own usages, they kept themselves distinct from all the nations among whom they lived.

3. On the day of pentecost, which happened next after our Lord's ascension, Acts 2:5; Acts 2:9, There were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven; Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, c. so numerous were the Jews, and so widely dispersed through all the countries of the world.

4. When Paul travelled through Asia and Europe, he found the Jews so numerous, that in all the noted cities of the Gentiles they had synagogues in which they assembled for the worship of God, and were joined by multitudes of proselytes from among the heathens, to whom likewise he preached the Gospel.

5. The same apostle, in his speech to King Agrippa, affirmed that the twelve tribes were then existing, and that they served God day and night, in expectation of the promise made to the fathers, Acts 26:6.

6. Josephus, Ant. i. 14, cap. 12, tells us that one region could not contain the Jews, but they dwelt in most of the flourishing cities of Asia and Europe, in the islands and continent, not much less in number than the heathen inhabitants. From all this it is evident that the Jews of the dispersion were more numerous than even the Jews in Judea, and that James very properly inscribed this letter to the twelve tribes which were in the dispersion, seeing the twelve tribes really existed then, and do still exist, although not distinguished by separate habitations, as they were anciently in their own land.

Greeting.] χαιρειν. Health; a mere expression of benevolence, a wish for their prosperity; a common form of salutation; see Acts 15:23; Acts 23:26; 2 John 1:11.