Epistle of James: Difference between revisions

The author is identified as “James"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”Christ" (James 1:1). James ([[Jacob (name)|Jacob]], {{lang-he|יַעֲקֹב|Ya'aqov}}, {{lang-elgrc|Ιάκωβος|Iakobos}}) was an extremely common name in antiquity, and a number of early Christian figures are named James, including: James the son of [[James the Great|Zebedee]], James the son of [[James, son of Alphaeus|Alphaeus]], and [[James, brother of Jesus|James the brother of Jesus]] (reported to also be the son of Alphaeus). Of these, James the brother of Jesus has the most prominent role in the early church, and is often understood as either the author of the epistle,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Johnson |first=Luke Timothy |title=The Letter of James |publisher=Doubleday |year=1996 |isbn=9780300139907 |location=New York |pages=93}}</ref> or the implied author.

The earliest recorded references to the Epistle of James highlight the contentious nature of the epistle’s authorship. [[Origen]] may be the first person to link the epistle to "James the brother of Lord",<ref>Origen, (''Comm.Commentary on Romans'' 4.8.2),</ref> though this is only preserved in Rufinus’sRufinus's Latin translation of Origen.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brooks |first=James A. |date=2000 |title=Introduction to James |journal=Southwestern Journal of Theology |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=13 n. 9}}</ref> [[Eusebius]] writes that "James, who is said to be the author of the first of the so-called catholic epistles. But it is to be observed that it is disputed".<ref>Eusebius, (''[[Church History (Eusebius)|Historia ecclesiae]]'' 2.23.25).</ref> Jerome reported that the Epistle of James "is claimed by some to have been published by some one else under his name, and gradually, as time went on, to have gained authority".<ref>Jerome, (''[[De Viris Illustribus (Jerome)|De viris illustribus]]'' 2).</ref>

The link between James the brother of Jesus and the epistle continued to strengthen, and is now considered the traditional view on the authorship of the work. The traditional view can be divided into at least three further positions that relate also to the date of the epistle:<ref>{{Cite book |last=McCartney |first=Dan |title=James, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament |publisher=Baker Academic |year=2009 |isbn=978-0801026768 |location=Grand RapidsMichigan |pages=14–18}}</ref>

# The historical James wrote the letter prior to the Galatians controversy (GalGalatians 2:11–14), and prior to the Jerusalem council (Acts 15);

Many who affirm traditional authorship think James had a sufficient proficiency in Greek education to write the letter himself.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bauckham |first=Richard |title=James: Wisdom of James, disciple of Jesus the sage |publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |isbn=9780415103701 |location=London |pages=24}}</ref> Some argue that James the brother of Jesus made use of an [[amanuensis]], which explains the quality of Greek in the letter. Dan McCartney notes this position has garnered little support.<ref>McCartney, ''James'', 28-29.</ref> Others have advocated for a two-stage composition theory, in which many sayings in the epistle originate with James the brother of Jesus. They were collected by James’James' disciples and redacted into the current form of the letter.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Davids |first=P. H. |title=The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and His Mission |publisher=John Knox Press |year=2001 |isbn=0664222994 |veditors= |location=LouisvilleKentucky |pages=66–67 |chapter=James’sJames's Message: The Literary Record}}</ref>

{{See also|Antilegomena|}}

A prevalent view within scholarship considers the Epistle of James to be [[pseudonym]]ous.{{sfn|Perkins|2012|pp=19ff}} The real author chose to write under the name James, intending that the audience perceive James the brother of Jesus as the author. Scholars who maintain pseudonymous authorship differ on whether this was a deceitful<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ehrman |first=Bart D. |title=Forged: Writing in the Name of God – Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are |publisher=HarperOne |year=2012 |isbn=978-0062012623 |location=New York |pages=192–99}}</ref> or pious<ref>{{Cite book |last=David R. |first=Nienhuis |title=The Catholic Epistles and Apostolic Tradition: A New Perspective on James and Jude, ed. Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr and Robert W. Wall |publisher=Baylor University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-1602582156 |location=WacoTexas |pages=185 |chapter=James as Canon-Conscious Pseudepigraph}}</ref> practice.

The following arguments are often cited in support of pseudepigraphy:

# The Greek in the Epistle of James is rather accomplished, leading many scholars to believe that it could not have been written by Jesus’ brother. While it has been noted that James’sJames's hometown of Galilee was sufficiently Hellenised by the first century CE to produce figures such as the rhetorician [[Theodorus of Gadara|Theodorus]] and the poet [[Meleager of Gadara|Meleager]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=deSilva |first=David A. |title=The Jewish Teachers of Jesus, James, and Jude: What Earliest Christianity Learned from the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0195329001 |location=Oxford |pages=46}}</ref> there is no evidence (outside the Epistle of James) to suggest that James attained a Greek education.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jackson-McCabe |first=Matt |title=Pseudepigraphie und Verfasserfiktion in frühchristlichen Briefen |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |year=2009 |isbn=978-3-16-150042-8 |editor-last=Frey |editor-first=Jörg |location=Tübingen |pages=622 |chapter=The Politics of Pseudepigraphy and the Letter of James}}</ref>