THE OLD TESTAMENT IN JAMES

You might think that such a devout pillar in the Jerusalem church as James would draw heavily on the Hebrew OT in writing his epistle. He is certainly acquainted with it, but his letter shows the equal influence of his half-brother Jesus' teachings, the Greek Septuagint version of the OT, and a number of intertestamental Jewish writings. We will only deal with his use of the Jewish Scriptures.

1:1 In his opening greeting to his audience, he refers to them as “the twelve tribes of the Dispersion.” On the surface this appears to identify them as Jews scattered among the nations as the result of the various waves of exile they underwent much earlier in their history. But it is equally possible, and actually probable in the minds of many commentators, that James is applying that term to Christians, both Jew and Gentile, who were scattered throughout the Roman Empire or whose “exile” consisted of the fact that earth was not their true home.

1:5 The advice to ask God for wisdom should remind the reader of the one request King Solomon made of Him (see I Kings 3).

1:6 James compares doubters to waves of the sea tossed to and fro. This is an example of the NT use of an OT phrase, appearing also in Isaiah 57:20 where it is applied to the wicked. The use here illustrates the principle that you can't just assume that because similar language in the NT occurs in the OT that it must refer to the same thing or is a fulfillment of an earlier prophecy. This is especially true in the case of the Book of Revelation which is replete with OT phraseology.

1:10 The transitory position of the rich is compared to the limited lifetime of wildflowers in a field. This same simile appears numerous times in the OT in passages such as Job 14:2; Psalm 90:5-6; Psalm 103:15; and Isaiah 40:6-8 where it is applied to humanity in general. In Psalm 37:2 it refers to the fate of the wicked.

1:11 This continuation of the same thought also draws upon the Greek version of I Samuel 7.

1:12a The opening of this verse “blessed are” is familiar to all of us through the Beatitudes, but it also is utilized in OT texts such as Psalm 1:1.

1:12b The promise to those who love God alluded to in the rest of v. 12 may refer back to texts such as Exodus 20:6.

1:17 God is called the “Father of Lights” in this verse. It is actually refers back to His role as the Creator, as seen in Genesis 1:15-16 and Psalm 136:7.

1:27 “Widows and orphans” are given as the prime examples of the needy in society in Psalm 68:5 and are prime recipients of some of the legislation found in Deuteronomy, chapters 10 to 18.

James 2:5 The idea of God choosing the poor of the earth to be heirs of the kingdom is not only found in the Sermon on the Mount, but also in such OT texts as I Samuel 2:8.

2:8 James labels the great commandment in Leviticus 19:18 as “the royal law,” probably because it comes from God the King.

2:9 See Deuteronomy 15 and Leviticus 19.

2:10-12 “The One who said” is, of course, God; and the rest of the verses quote two of the Ten Commandments is reverse order. This phenomenon occurs elsewhere in the Bible when someone is commenting on a pre-existing document or saying. The net effect is to create a sort of chiasm, a mirror-image arrangement:

Source:

A

        B

Comment:

        B'

A'

2:21 Abraham is the first of four OT personages who will be cited as James as examples. The specific event referred to here is his willingness to sacrifice his son.

2:23a This is the first example of an actual OT quotation found in this epistle, and it is introduced by the familiar formula: “In this way the scripture was fulfilled which said.” The source of the quotation is found in Genesis 15:6, which interestingly appears before Abraham's offering, not before. D.A. Carson explains that Abraham's faith was completed in the obedience shown by the later sacrifice.

2:23b The expression “friend of God” also appears in Isaiah 41:8, where it refers to Abraham. What a honor to be called God's friend!

2:25 The next OT example offered is that of Rahab the prostitute. She is not commended for her sexual behavior or the lie she told to save the Jewish spies, but for her protection of them. Her story is recounted in Joshua 2. The author of Hebrews similarly commends her for her faith (Heb. 11:31). It should be gratifying to us that her sins are not remembered anymore, only her faith in God.

James 3:9 “Those made in the likeness of God” refers back to Genesis 1:26; 9:6.

3:13 This is an echo of the Greek version of Deuteronomy 1:13, according to Felder.

3:18 This agricultural metaphor is similar to language found in Isaiah 32:15-17.

James 4:4 The image of adultery to portray one who deserts God for anything or anyone else is common in the OT. See Hosea 3:1; Exodus 20:3; and Deuteronomy 5:7; 6:13.

4:5 Strangely, although this is only the second time in the letter that a citation formula has been used, no one has yet identified where the actual quotation comes from. However, the general idea is also expressed in passages such as Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 4:24; and Zechariah 8:2. Carson feels that no particular quotation was actually in mind here (just the general concept of God being a jealous God), and therefore no quotation marks should be used in translation.

4:6 The simple formula “It says” is used to introduce Proverbs 3:34.

James 5:4 For this idea, see Deuteronomy 24:14-15 and Isaiah 5:9.

5:5 The expression “Day of slaughter” also appears in Isaiah 30:25 and Jeremiah 12:3.

5:6 This verse may possibly allude to the murder of Abel, whose blood cried out from the earth.

5:10 As examples of patient and suffering OT prophets, look at I Kings 19:10; II Chronicles 24:21; and Jeremiah 26:20-23.

5:11 Job is given as the third OT person in the letter to emulate, this time for his patience in the midst of trials (see Job 1:20-22; 2:10 especially).

5:14 The use of oil as a medicinal aid appears in the Parable of the Good Samaritan and earlier in Isaiah 1:6.

5:17-18 The prophet Elijah is the last cited OT personage in the letter, mainly for his faith in prayer (as in I Kings 17:1; 18:1,41-45). Carson points to two inconsistencies between these I Kings passages and the discussion here in James.

    1. The OT never actually mentions that Elijah prayed for the rain to start, only for it to start again. However, that fact was inferred by early rabbis whose writings were probably familiar to James.

    2. In I Kings it says that the rain lasted three years. James says it was 3 ½ years instead. The probable reason that James rounded up the number was that 3 ½ is half of the number 7, symbolic of completion. Therefore it is symbolic of an interim time of limited duration during which humanity may undergo trials. This is the meaning in passages such as Daniel 7:25; 9:27;12:7,11-12; Luke 4:25; and Revelation 11:2,9,11; 12:14.