Saint James

Author and genuineness

The author is commonly identified with the Lord's brother, the Bishop ofJerusalem (see ST. JAMES THE LESS; the view that theLord's brother must be identified with James, the son of Alpheus, is by far the most probable). Internal evidence (contents of theEpistle, its style, address,date, and place of composition) points unmistakably to James, theLord's brother, the Bishop ofJerusalem, as the author; he exactly, and he alone, fulfils the conditions required in the writer of the Epistle. External evidence begins at a comparatively late date. Some coincidences, oranalogies, exist between theEpistle and the Apostolic Fathers (Clement of Rome, the Pastor of Hermas, St. Justin, St. Irenæus; seeMienertz, "Der Jacobusbrief",Freiburg im Br., 1905, p. 55 sqq.). The literary relation between the Epistle of James and the Epistle to the Romans is doubtful. Its later recognition in the Church, especially in the West, must be explained by the fact that it was written for JewishChristians, and therefore not widely circulated among theGentile Churches. From the middle of the third century,ecclesiastical authors cite the Epistle as written by St. James, the brother of theLord. See the testimonies in the section following. The greater number of theFathers in the Western Church identify the author with James the Apostle. In the Eastern Church, however, the authority of Eusebiusand St. Epiphanius may explain some ecclesiasticaldoubts about the Apostolicorigin of the Epistle, and consequently about itscanonicity.

Tradition as to canonicity

In the first centuries of theChurch the authenticity of the Epistle was doubted by some, and amongst others by Theodore of Mopsuestia; it is thereforedeuterocanonical. It is wanting in the MuratorianCanon, and because of thesilence of several of theWestern Churches regarding it, Eusebius classes it amongst the Antilegomena or contested writings (Church History III.25 and II.23); St. Jerome gives the like information (Illustrious Men2), but adds that with time itsauthenticity became universally admitted. In the sixteenth century its inspirednature was contested byErasmus and Cajetan; Lutherstrongly repudiated theEpistle as "a letter of straw", and "unworthy of theapostolic Spirit", and this solely for dogmatic reasons, and owing to his preconceived notions, for theepistle refutes his hereticaldoctrine that Faith alone isnecessary for salvation. TheCouncil of Trentdogmatically defined theEpistle of St. James to becanonical. As the solution of this question of the historyof the canonicity of theEpistle depends chiefly on the testimony of the ancientFathers, it remains to be seen whether it is quoted by them as Scripture. (a) In theLatin Church it was knownby St. Clement of Rome(before A.D. 100), the PastorHermas (about A.D. 150), St. Irenæus (125?-202?, 208),Tertullian (d. about 240), St. Hilary (d. 366), St. Philaster(d. 385), St. Ambrose (d. 397), Pope Damasus (in thecanon of about A.D. 382), St. Jerome (346-420), Rufinus(d. 410), St. Augustine (430), and its canonicity is unquestioned by them. (b) In the Greek Church, Clement of Alexandria (d. 217), Origen(d. 254), St. Athanasius (d. 373), St. Dionysius the Areopagite (about A.D. 500), etc., considered it undoubtedly as a sacredwriting. (c) In the SyrianChurch, the Peshito, although omitting the minorCatholic Epistles, gives that of St. James; St. Ephraemuses it frequently in his writings. Moreover, the mostnotorious heretics of Syriarecognised it as genuine. Thus we find that Nestoriusranked it in the Canon ofSacred Books, and James of Edessa adduces the testimony of James, v, 14. The Epistle is found in theCoptic, Sahidic, Ethiopic, Arabic, and Armenianversions. Although, therefore, the canonicity of the Epistle of St. James was questioned by a few during the first centuries, there are to be found from the very earliest ages, in different parts of the Church, numerous testimonies in favour of its canonicity. From the end of the third century its acceptance asinspired, and as the work of St. James, has beenuniversal, as clearly appears from the various lists of theSacred Books drawn up since the fourth century.

Analysis and contents of the epistle

The subjects treated of in theEpistle are many and various; moreover, St. James not infrequently, whilst elucidating a certain point, passes abruptly to another, and presently resumes once more his former argument; hence it is difficult to give a precise division of theEpistle. It is doubtful whether the sacred writer intended any systematic arrangement of subject; indeed, it is more probable that he did not, for in the Hebrew SapientialBooks of the Old Testament,Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,Ecclesiasticus, to which the present Epistle may in many ways be likened, the order in which the moral sentencesstand does not seem to suggest any connection between them. It will therefore be more expedient to give a simple enumeration of the subjects treated in theEpistle:

Inscription (i, 1);persecutions are to be borne with patience andjoy (2-4);wisdom must be asked ofGod with confidence (5-8);humility is recommended (9-11);God is not the author ofevil but of good (12-18);we must be slow to anger(19-21);not faith only, but alsogood works are necessary(22-27).Against respect of persons(ii, 1-13);another exhortation togood works (14-26).Against the evils of the tongue (iii, 1-12);against envy and discord, 13-18.Against wars and contentions (iv, 1-3);against the spirit of this world and pride (4-10);against detraction (11-13a);against vain confidence in worldly things (13b-16).Against the rich that oppress the poor (v, 1-6);exhortation to patience in the time of oppression (7-11), and to avoid swearing(12);of the anointing of the sick (13-15);of prayer (16);we must have at heart theconversion of sinners (19-20).This enumeration shows that St. James inculcates especially: patience andperseverance in adversity,temptations, andpersecutions; the necessityof good works, mercy, andcharity. For the question of apparent opposition between St. James and St. Paul with regard to "faith and works" see EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

Occasion and object

Occasion

St. James seems to have been moved to write hisEpistle on witnessing that the first fervour of theJewish Christians had grown cold, and that, owing to various causes, both external and internal, a certain spirit of discouragement had declared itself amongst them.

(1) External Causes. The newChristian converts found themselves at first the object of the indifference only of their fellow townsfolk, the greater number of whom still remained in unbelief; but this attitude very soon changed to one of hostility and evenpersecution. These earlyconverts, belonging as they mostly did to the poorer classes, found themselves oppressed by the wealthyunbelievers; some were refused employment, others were denied their wages (v, 4); at other times they were mercilessly dragged before the tribunals (ii, 6); they werepersecuted in thesynagogues, and were, besides, reduced to extreme want and even starvation (ii, 15-17).

(2) Internal Causes. In the midst of these trials the faithof many began to languish (ii, 14, 20, 26), and the evilways they had abandoned at their conversion were gradually indulged in once more. Thus it came to pass that the poor were despisedin the sacred assemblies (ii, 1-9); there were breaches of brotherly charity (ii, 7); some arrogated to themselves the office of teacher who were unfitted (iii, 1, 13); many were guilty of detraction and other sins of the tongue (iii, 1-12; iv, 11-13); there were contentions and lawsuits (iv, 1-2); some indulged inswearing (v, 12); others neglected assiduous prayer(v, 13, 17-18); pride and vainglory were yielded to (iv, 6-10); even some of thesacred rites seem to have been overlooked (v, 14-16). Such were the evils that theEpistle sought to remedy.

Object

St. James wrote his Epistlefor a moral purpose, and addressed his co-religionists as their pastor, in his qualityof Bishop of Jerusalem, in order: (1) to exhort them to constancy in the faith in spite of the persecutions and trials they were undergoing, and to give them comfort in their tribulations; (2) to correct the abuses and extirpate the evils amongst them, by urging them to make their conduct conformable to their faith, and by earnestly reminding them that faith alone would not save them unless they added good works.

To whom addressed

St. James wrote his Epistlefor the Jewish Christiansoutside Palestine, who, for the greater part, were poorand oppressed. This we gather with certitude from the inscription (i, 1), and from various indications in the text.

A. The words, i, 1, "to the twelve tribes" can mean the whole Jewish nation; but the words following, "which are scattered abroad", designate clearly the Jews of theDispersion. The Jews in Palestine, surrounded byGentiles, were not considered as "scattered abroad". That he addressed the Jewish Christians only becomes evident by the fact that the author styles himself "the servant of God, and ofour Lord Jesus Christ", and by this title he indicates clearly that he writes to thedisciples of Christ only.

B. That the readers wereJewish appears still more evidently from the Epistleitself. St. James takes for granted that those whom he addressed were well versed in the writings of the Old Testament. Moreover, he calls them not only his "brethren", which name taken by itself does not remove alldoubt, but he so clearly shows them to be Christiansthat it is incomprehensible how any critics understand unconverted Jews to be the "brethren" to whom theEpistle was written. Thus in i, 18, he writes to those whomGod "of his own will hath begotten by the word oftruth, that they might be some beginning of his creature"; in ii, 1, headmonishes them as follows: "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with respect to persons"; in ii, 7, he refers to them when he writes of "the good name [ofChrist] that is invoked upon you"; in v, 7, they are to be patient "until the coming of the Lord"; etc. Further proofis afforded by the date of composition.

C. The context does notreveal who were the particular Jewish converts, to whom the Epistle was addressed. We gather, however, that St. Jamesappeals to certain Christians, labouring under the stress of particular circumstances, in order to warn them against special perils; no one willeasily admit that the vicesagainst which he inveighs and the errors which he condemns were to be met with in each and every community of Jewishconverts. Therefore the conclusion that he addressed some particularChurches forces itself upon our minds. As, according to the most probable opinion, the Epistle was not written later than about A.D. 50, we may conclude that it was written to some of theChurches of Syria or of another country not far distant from Jerusalem.

Style

The style is sententious, figurative, often poetical, and may be compared to that of the Prophetical and Sapiential Books of the Old Testament. It is rapid, betrays emotion, and is not wanting in those vehement outbursts of feeling customary with the writers of that period, and which so powerfully set the force of the argument before the reader. It has already been noticed that the differentsentences of the Epistle may be divided into hemistichs of parallel meaning; this is quite in keeping with the distinctly Hebraic style of the whole Epistle; it is a well known fact that the classical period is not found inHebrew, but that the short members of a proposition are continually in juxtaposition.

Time and place of composition

Time

The Epistle was probably written about A.D. 47. The reference to thepersecutions (ii, 6) is in the present tense, and indicates a stage of suffering which has not yet receded into the past of history. Now, in A.D. 44 the Churches of Judeawere exposed to thepersecution inflicted byHerod Agrippa, in whichJames, the son of Zebedee, was murdered (Acts 12:1 sqq.). Moreover, the author could not have written after the Council of Jerusalem(A.D. 51), where Jamesacted as president, without some allusion to his decision unanimously accepted (Acts 15:4 sqq.). Another indication also derived from indirect internal evidence, is an allusion to the hungry and naked poor (of Jerusalem, ii, 15 sqq.); they suffered probably from the famine foretold by Agabus (Acts 11:28-30), and usually identified with one mentioned by Josephus(Antiq., XX, ii, 5), A.D. 45.

Place of composition

The Epistle was probably written by St. James inJerusalem; this we may conclude from the study of the life of the author (seeSAINT JAMES THE LESS), and this opinion finds favour with nearly all its critics.

Sources

Consult Introductions to the New Testament. It will suffice to indicate some recent commentaries and special studies in which the earlier bibliography is mentioned. CATHOLIC WORKS:-ERMONI IN VIGOUROUX, Dict. de la Bible, s.vv. Jacques (Saint) le Majeur, Jacques (Saint) le Mineur, Jacques (Epître de Saint); JACQUIER, Histoire des livres de Nouveau Testament (Paris, 1909); MEINERTZ, Der Jacobusbrief und sein Verfasser in Schrift und Ueberlieferung (Frieburg im Br., 1905); CALMES, Epître catholiques, Apocalypse (Paris, 1905); VAN STEENKISTE-CAMERLYNCK, Commentarius in Epistolas Catholicas (Bruges, 1909). NON-CATHOLIC WORKS:-LIPSIUS, Die apocryphen Apostelgeschichten und Apostellegenden (Braunschweig, 1883-1890); SPITTA, Der Brief des Jacobus (Göttingen, 1896); MAYOR, The Epistle of St. James (London, 1892); IDEM in HASTINGS, Dict. of the Bible, s.vv. James and James, The General Epistle of; PLUMPTRE, The General Epistle of St. James (Cambridge, 1901); EMMETT in HASTINGS-SELBIE, Dict. of the Bible, s.v. James, Epistle of.