James 1 is the first
chapter of the
Epistle of James
The Epistle of James). is a general epistle and one of the 21 epistles ( didactic letters) in the New Testament.
James 1:1 identifies the author as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" who is writing to "the twelve tribes ...
in the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
of the
Christian Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
. The author identifies himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" and the epistle is traditionally attributed to
James the brother of Jesus, written in Jerusalem between AD 48 and 61. Alternatively, some scholars argue that it is a
pseudographical work written after AD 61.
This chapter contains the letter prescript, an exposition about the joy in temptations, related to three connected actions: hearing, speaking and doing.
Text and interpretation
![CodeAlexandrinusFolio76rExplActs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/CodeAlexandrinusFolio76rExplActs.jpg)
The original text was written in
Koine Greek
Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...
.
This chapter is divided into 27 verses.
Verse 1
"James": identified by early church leaders (Eusebius, Origen, etc.) to be
James the Just
James the Just, or a variation of James, brother of the Lord ( la, Iacobus from he, יעקב, and grc-gre, Ἰάκωβος, , can also be Anglicized as "Jacob"), was "a brother of Jesus", according to the New Testament. He was an early lead ...
(the brother of Jesus) (), who was a distinguished leader of the first-century church in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
(; ; ). He was the oldest of the four
brothers of Jesus
The brothers of Jesus or the adelphoi ( grc-gre, ἀδελφοί, adelphoí, of the same womb)Greek singular noun ''adelphos'', from a- ("same", equivalent to homo-) and delphys ("womb," equivalent to splanchna). are named in the New Testament a ...
either born from
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
(; ) or
Clopas and
Mary, aunt of Jesus if identified as
James the Less
James the Less ( grc-gre, Ἰάκωβος ὁ μικρός ) is a figure of early Christianity, one of the Twelve chosen by Jesus. He is also called "the Minor", "the Little", "the Lesser", or "the Younger", according to translation. He is not to ...
(; ). He did not believe in Jesus as Christ until after the
resurrection
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
(), perhaps as a result of a special
post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to him ().
"Servant": is 'a title of authority' (cf. ; ; ;
Philippians 1:1). Bauckham suggests that James does not state his family relationship to
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
because he does not see it as a basis for authority (cf. ).
Verse 4
"Perfect" (Greek: ; used two times here) and "complete" point to the theme of "maturity".
Verse 5
"Wisdom" can be rendered as "skill for living", not 'primarily knowledge', but 'godly behavior in difficult situations' (cf. ).
Verse 12
"Blessed" here is in the sense of "to be richly rewarded by God" both in the current world (after character development in
1:4), and the next (
Matthew 5:11–
12).
Verse 13
"Tempted": different from the previous use, as 'exercising grace' in relation to joy and boasting, here the "temptations" are the 'issue of shame and death', that is 'to be watched against'.
"Tempted by God" (NKJV; KJV: "Tempted of God"): A holy God without iniquity does not delight in sin, being contrary to his nature and perfection, so he will not tempt another to sin.
Sinful men often charge God for their sins, or temptations to sin, similar to Adam, when fallen () who, to excuse himself, lays the blame to Eve ("the woman"), and ultimately to God, who gave her to him; suggesting that if it had not been for the woman (had God not given him the woman to be with him), he should not have eaten of the forbidden fruit, nor should he have had any temptation to it, and therefore it was God's fault.
"God cannot be tempted with evil" or "evils": the Israelites tempted God at Massah and Meribah, with their murmuring, distrust and unbelief, poking God's patience and his power; and Jesus has been tempted by evil men, and by evil things, but he cannot be tempted "to evil" (as rendered in the Ethiopian version), nor can he be tempted by anything in himself, who is pure and holy, or by anything, to do any sinful action:
"Nor does He Himself tempt anyone": that is, 'to sin'.
God tempted Abraham, to try his faith, love, and obedience to God; he tempted the Israelites in the wilderness, to humble them, and prove what was in their hearts; and he tempted Job, and tried his faith and patience; and so God 'tempts and tries' his righteous people, by afflictions, more or less: but he never tempts or solicits them to sin; temptations to sin come from another direction.
[''John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible'' - James 1:13](_blank)
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Verse 27
"Keep oneself from being polluted by the world": in the sense of not looking for security or advancement in the things valued by the people in the world, such as 'no need to hold on to money', so Christians can be give freely and generously.
Textual witnesses
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Greek are:
* Papyrus 23 (~AD 250; extant verses 10–12, 15–18)
*Codex Vaticanus
The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...
(325-350)
*Codex Sinaiticus
The Codex Sinaiticus (Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts) ...
(330-360)
*Codex Alexandrinus
The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...
(400-440)
*Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus
The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) designated by the siglum C or 04 {in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 3 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a ma ...
(ca. 450; extant verses 3-27)
An ancient manuscript containing this chapter in the Coptic language
Coptic (Bohairic Coptic: , ) is a language family of closely related dialects, representing the most recent developments of the Egyptian language, and historically spoken by the Copts, starting from the third-century AD in Roman Egypt. Coptic ...
is:
* Papyrus 6 (~AD 350; extant verses 13–27).
Latter Day Saint usage
James 1:5 has particular importance in the Latter Day Saint tradition. The reading of it by the young Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
is often cited as the precipitating event for the First Vision
The First Vision (also called the grove experience by members of the Community of Christ) refers to a theophany which Latter Day Saints believe Joseph Smith experienced in the early 1820s, in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, called the ...
, and thus of the Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
.
David O. McKay
David Oman McKay (September 8, 1873 – January 18, 1970) was an American religious leader and educator who served as the ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1951 until his death in 1970. Ordain ...
, ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
, said that in "this scripture lies the secret of Joseph Smith's emergence from obscurity to world-wide renown." Russell M. Nelson
Russell Marion Nelson Sr. (born September 9, 1924) is an American religious leader and retired surgeon who is the 17th and current president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Nelson was a member of the LDS Church ...
, the 17th and current president of the Church, has cited it stating that "Joseph Smith set a pattern for us to follow in resolving our questions."
See also
* Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
* Temptation
Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...
References
Sources
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External links
* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate
''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)
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