A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle of St. James (International Critical Commentary)

U N D E R T H E P R E S E N T EDITORSHIP O F THE

REV.

A L F R E D

PLUMMER,

M.A.,

D.D.

Sometime Master of University College, Durham AND THE

REV.

FRANCIS

BROWN,

D.D.,

D.LITT.,

LL.D.

President and Professor of Hebrew and Cognate Languages, Union Theological Seminary, New York P L A N N E D A N D FOR Y E A R S E D I T E D BY T H E L A T E R E V . PROFESSOR S A M U E L R O L L E S D R I V E R , T H E REV. A L F R E D P L U M M E R ,

D.D., D.LITT.

M.A., D.D,

T H E L A T E R E V . PROFESSOR C H A R L E S A U G U S T U S

BRIGGS, D.D., D.LITT.

THE EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES

T H E INTERNATIONAL CRITICAL COMMENTARY

A CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL

COMMENTARY

ON

THE

EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES BY

JAMES H A R D Y

ROPES

HOLLIS PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY I N HARVARD

UNIVERSITY

E D I N B U R G H T.

&

T.

CLARK,

38

GEORGE

STREET

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1991

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PREFACE.

A

C O M M E N T A R Y like the present draws frankly from its predecessors, just as these in their turn used ma­ terials quarried b y earlier scholars, whom they do not

name on each occasion.

T h e right to do this is won b y con­

scientious effort in sifting previous collections and reproducing only what is trustworthy, apt, and instructive for the under­ standing of the text.

If new illustrations or evidence can be

added, that is so much to the good. So far as I am aware, the solution I have given of the textual problem of

17

i , the "shadow of turning," is strictly new.

It

is a matter of no consequence in itself, but acquires interest because it bears directly on the relation of the Sinaitic and Vatican manuscripts, and because Dr. Hort candidly recognised this reading of

and B , as hitherto understood, to present a

grave, although unique, obstacle to his and Dr. Westcott's theory. T o some other discussions, of the nature of detached notes, in which material is freshly or fully collected, I have ventured to call the reader's attention in the T a b l e of Contents.

It may

also be not improper to remark that the account of extant ancient commentaries on James in Greek and Latin

(pages

110-113) runs counter to some recent statements. T h e explanation offered of

a

18

t h o u " and " I " in 2 , which

seems to me to solve the problem of that

passage, is

not

strictly new, but has been overlooked in most current works on the epistle.

In the light of modern geographical knowledge

the reference in 5

7

to "the early and latter rain" gains a

greater importance than has generally been observed. T h e summary of the epistle vii

(pages 4/.)

m a y make more

viii

PREFACE

clear and intelligible than I have been able to do elsewhere the measure of unity which the epistle shows, and the relation of its parts. A marked defect of this commentary, although one

not

peculiar to it, is that its rabbinical illustrations ought to be fuller.

T h e glaring technical inconsistencies

in the mode of

referring to such passages as are cited will betray at once that they are drawn from various secondary sources and not from original and systematic research.

I t would be a great service

to N e w Testament scholars to provide them with a new and adequate set of Home hebraicae, and nowhere is the need so great as in James and the Gospel of M a t t h e w . These two writings are sources from which a knowledge of primitive Palestinian Christianity can be drawn, and they rep­ resent a different line of development from that of the Hel­ lenistic Christianity which finds expression in Luke, Paul, and John.

T h e grounds of the distinction are other than those

which the Tubingen School believed to have controlled early Christian history, but they are no less clear or far-reaching. A just understanding of these tendencies

requires a

sound

view not only of the origin and meaning of the Epistle of James, but of its history in the church.

A n d here the critical question

is that of the Shepherd of Hermas.

T h e view stated below

that Hermas betrays no knowledge of James and is not de­ pendent on him was forced on me, I am glad to say, b y the study of the facts, against a previous prejudice and without at first recognising where it led; but it is in truth the k e y to the history.

If Hermas really read the Epistle of James so often

that he knew b y heart its most incidental phrases, now working them into his own writing and again making them the text for long expansions, the place of the epistle in early Chris­ tianity becomes an insoluble riddle. T h e notes on textual criticism in the commentary are intended to treat chiefly those selected variants which make a difference in the sense; the materials employed do not ordinarily go be­ yond the apparatus of Tischendorf.

I hope later to treat the

criticism and history of the text of James in the light of all the

ix

PREFACE

evidence, including as nearly as m a y be the whole body of extant minuscule Greek manuscripts. T o many friends who have helped me in countless ways and from great stores of thought and knowledge I would gratefully express the obligation that I owe them. JAMES HARDY Harvard University.

ROPES.

CONTENTS. PAGE

ABBREVIATIONS

'.

. xi-xiii

INTRODUCTION I.

1-116

T H E EPISTLE

1-74

§ 1. T H E P U R P O S E A N D C O N T E N T S O F T H E E P I S T L E

.

.

2-5

§ 2. T H E L I T E R A R Y T Y P E O F T H E E P I S T L E O F J A M E S .

.

6-18

(a) P u r p o s e , p . 2; (b) C o n t e n t s , p p . 2-5.

Epistle, p p . 6-10; Diatribe, p p . 10-16; Wisdom-litera­ t u r e , p p . 1 6 - 1 7 ; P r o t r e p t i c u s , p . 18. § 3. L I T E R A R Y R E L A T I O N S H I P S

18-24

(a) W i s d o m - l i t e r a t u r e , p p . 1 8 / . ; (b) O t h e r J e w i s h w o r k s ; A p o s t o l i c F a t h e r s , p p . 1 9 - 2 1 ; (c) N e w T e s t a ­ m e n t b o o k s , p p . 21-23. §4. LANGUAGE § 5. T H E I D E A S

24-27 AND HISTORICAL

BACKGROUND

OF THE

EPISTLE

27-43

(a) T h e i d e a s , p p . 28-39 *> (W T h e s i t u a t i o n , p p . 39-43. § 6. T H E O R I G I N O F T H E E P I S T L E

43-52

(a) H i s t o r y of o p i n i o n a s t o t h e a u t h o r , p p . 4 3 - 4 7 ; (6) C o n c l u s i o n s , p p . 47-52. APPENDIX PERSONS

ON JAMES NAMED

THE LORD'S

BROTHER

AND OTHER

JAMES

JJ.3-74

§ 1. N e w T e s t a m e n t p e r s o n s n a m e d J a m e s , p p . 5 3 / . § 2. T h e h i s t o r y of o p i n i o n , p p . 54-59. § 3. T h e d e c i s i v e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , p p . 59-62. § 4. T h e t r a d i t i o n c o n ­ cerning James the L o r d ' s brother, (a) T h e N e w T e s t a m e n t , p p . 62-64. (W O t h e r t r a d i t i o n , p p . 64-74. II.

TEXT

74-86

§ 1. G R E E K M A N U S C R I P T S

74-75

§ 2. V E R S I O N S

75-84

§ 3. U S E O F T H E A U T H O R I T I E S

84-86

xii

CONTENTS PAGE

III.

HISTORY OF T H E EPISTLE I N THE CHURCH

.

.

.

86-109

§ 1. A B S E N C E O F M E N T I O N I N W R I T E R S B E F O R E O R I G E N

87-92

§ 2. T H E G R E E K C H U R C H

9 ~95

§3.

T H E SYRIAN

§ 5. O R D E R

2

CHURCH

§ 4. T H E W E S T E R N

IV.

.

96-100

CHURCH

100-103

OF T H E CATHOLIC EPISTLES

103-104

§ 6. L A T E R H I S T O R Y

104-109

COMMENTARIES, ANCIENT AND MODERN

110-115

§ 1. P A T R I S T I C A N D M E D L E V A L

(a) G r e e k , p p . 1 1 0 - 1 1 2 ; (c) S y r i a c , p . 1 1 3 .

110-113

(b) L a t i n ,

§ 2. M O D E R N COMMENTARY

pp. 112/.;

113-115 117-316

CHAPTER I

117-185

xa