James
The Epistle of James, usually referred to simply as James, is
a book in the New Testament. The author identifies himself as
"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ". The
epistle may not be a true piece of correspondence between
specific parties, but rather an example of wisdom literature
formulated as a letter for circulation. The work is considered
New Testament wisdom literature because, "like Proverbs and
Sirach, it consists largely of moral exhortations and precepts
of a traditional and eclectic nature."[1] Similarly, the
Catholic Encyclopedia says, "the subjects treated of in the
Epistle 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."...
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Ja...
jamz (Iacobos): English form of Jacob, and the name of 3 New
Testament men of note:
(1) The Son of Zebedee, one of the Twelve Apostles (ho tou
Zebedaiou):
A) The Son of Zebedee:
I. In the New Testament.
1. Family Relations, etc.:
To the Synoptists alone are we indebted for any account of
this James. He was the son of Zebedee and the brother of
John (Mt 4:21; Mk 1:19; Lk 5:10). As the Synoptists
generally place the name of James before that of John, and
allude to the latter as "the brother of James," it is
inferred that James was the elder of the two brothers. His
mother's name was probably Salome, the sister of the mother
of Jesus (compare Mt 27:56; Mk 15:40; Jn 19:25), but this is
disputed by some (compare BRETHREN OF THE LORD). James was a
fisherman by trade, and worked along with his father and
brother (Mt 4:21). According to Lk, these were partners with
Simon (5:10), and this is also implied in Mk (1:19). As they
owned several boats and employed hired servants (Lk 5:11; Mk
1:20), the establishment they possessed must have been
considerable.
2. First Call:
The call to James to follow Christ (Mt 4:18-22; Mk 1:16-20;
Lk 5:1-11) was given by Jesus as He was walking by the sea
of Galilee (Mt 4:18). There He saw "James the son of
Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee
their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And
they straightway left the boat and their father, and
followed him" (Mt 4:21,22). The account of Luke varies in
part from those of Matthew and Mark, and contains the
additional detail of the miraculous draught of fishes, at
which James and John also were amazed. This version of Luke
is regarded by some as an amalgamation of the earlier
accounts with Jn 21:1-8...
Link: https://bible-history.com/isbe/J/JAMES/...
LITERATURE
I. Characteristics of the Epistle.
1. Jewish:
The Epistle of James is the most Jewish writing in the New
Testament. The Gospel according to Matthew was written for
the Jews. The Epistle to the Hebrews is addressed explicitly
to them. The Apocalypse is full of the spirit of the Old
Testament. The Epistle of Jude is Jewish too. Yet all of
these books have more of the distinctively Christian element
in them than we can find in the Epistle of James. If we
eliminate two or three passages containing references to
Christ, the whole epistle might find its place iust as
properly in the Canon of the Old Testament as in that of the
New Testament, as far as its substance of doctrine and
contents is concerned. That could not be said Of any other
book in the New Testament. There is no mention of the
incarnation or of the resurrection., the two fundamental
facts of the Christian faith. The word "gospel" does not
occur in the epistle There is no suggestion that the Messiah
has appeared and no presentation of the possibility of
redemption through Him. The teaching throughout is that of a
lofty morality which aims at the fulfillment of the
requirements of the Mosaic law. It is not strange therefore
that Spitta and others have thought that we have in the
Epistle of James a treatise written by an unconverted Jew
which has been adapted to Christian use by the interpolation
of the two phrases containing the name of Christ in 1:1 and
2:1. Spitta thinks that this can be the only explanation of
the fact that we have here an epistle practically ignoring
the life and work of Jesus and every distinctively Christian
doctrine, and without a trace of any of the great
controversies in the early Christian church or any of the
specific features of its propaganda. This judgment is a
superficial one, and rests upon superficial indications
rather than any appreciation of the underlying spirit and
principles of the book. The spirit of Christ is here, and
there is no need to label it. The principles of this epistle
are the principles of the Sermon on the Mount. There are
more parallels to that Sermon in this epistle than can be
found anywhere else in the New Testament in the same space.
The epistle represents the idealization of Jewish legalism
under the transforming influence of the Christian motive and
life. It is not a theological discussion. It is an ethical
appeal. It has to do with the outward life for the most
part, and the life it pictures is that of a Jew informed
with the spirit of Christ. The spirit is invisible in the
epistle as in the individual man. It is the body which
appears and the outward life with which that body has to do.
The body of the epistle is Jewish, and the outward life to
which it exhorts is that of a profoundly pious Jew. The Jews
familiar with the Old Testament would read this epistle and
find its language and tone that to which they were
accustomed in their sacred books. James is evidently written
by a Jew for Jews...
Link: https://bible-history.com/isbe/J/JAMES,+...
(the Greek form of Jacob, supplanter).
1. James the son of Zebedee, one of the twelve
apostles. He was elder brother of the evangelist John. His
mother's name was Salome. We first hear of him in A.D. 27,
Mr 1:20 when at the call of the Master he left all, and
became, one and forever, his disciple, in the spring of 28.
Mt 10:2; Mr 3:14; Lu 6:13; Ac 1:13 It would seem to have
been at the time of the appointment of the twelve apostles
that the name of Boanerges was given to the sons of Zebedee.
The "sons of thunder" had a burning and impetuous spirit,
which twice exhibits itself. Mr 10:37; Lu 9:54 On the night
before the crucifixion James was present at the agony in the
garden. On the day of the ascension he is mentioned as
persevering with the rest of the apostles and disciples, in
prayer. Ac 1:13 Shortly before the day of the Passover, in
the year 44, he was put to death by Herod Agrippa I. Ac
12:1,2
2. James the son of Alpheus, one of the twelve
apostles. Mt 10:3 Whether or not this James is to be
identified with James the Less, the son of Alphaeus, the
brother of our Lord, is one of the most difficult questions
in the gospel history. By comparing Mt 27:56 and Mark 15:40
with John 19:25
we find that the Virgin Mary had a sister named,
like herself, Mary, who was the wife of Clopas or Alpheus
(varieties of the same name), and who had two sons, James
the Less and Joses. By referring to Mt 13:55 and Mark 6:3
we find that a James the Less and Joses, with two
other brethren called Jude and Simon, and at least three
sisters, were sisters with the Virgin Mary at Nazareth by
referring to Lu 6:16 and Acts 1:13
we find that there were two brethren named James and
Jude among the apostles. It would certainly be natural to
think that we had here but one family of four brothers and
three or more sisters, the children of Clopas and Mary,
nephews and nieces of the Virgin Mary. There are
difficulties however, in the way of this conclusion into
which we cannot here enter; but in reply to the objection
that the four brethren in Mt 13:55 are described as the
brothers of Jesus, not as his cousins, it must be
recollected that adelphoi, which is here translated
"brethren," may also signify cousins.
Link: https://bible-history.com/smiths/J/James...
The author of this epistle was in all probability James the
son of Alphaeus, and our Lord's brother It was written from
Jerusalem, which St. James does not seem to have ever left. It
was probably written about A.D. 62, during the interval
between Paul's two imprisonments. Its main object is not to
teach doctrine, but to improve morality. St. James is the
moral teacher of the New Testament. He wrote for the Jewish
Christians, whether in Jerusalem or abroad, to warn them
against the sins to which as Jews they were most liable, and
to console and exhort them under the sufferings to which as
Christians they were most exposed.
Link: https://bible-history.com/smiths/J/James...
(1.) The son of Zebedee and Salome; an elder brother of John
the
apostle. He was one of the twelve. He was by trade a
fisherman,
in partnership with Peter (Matt. 20:20; 27:56). With
John and
Peter he was present at the transfiguration (Matt.
17:1; Mark
9:2), at the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark
5:37-43), and in
the garden with our Lord (14:33). Because, probably,
of their
boldness and energy, he and John were called
Boanerges, i.e.,
"sons of thunder." He was the first martyr among the
apostles,
having been beheaded by King Herod Agrippa (Acts
12:1, 2), A.D.
44. (Comp. Matt. 4:21; 20:20-23).
(2.) The son of Alphaeus, or Cleopas, "the brother"
or near
kinsman or cousin of our Lord (Gal. 1:18, 19),
called James "the
Less," or "the Little," probably because he was of
low stature.
He is mentioned along with the other apostles (Matt.
10:3; Mark
3:18; Luke 6:15). He had a separate interview with
our Lord
after his resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7), and is
mentioned as one of
the apostles of the circumcision (Acts 1:13). He
appears to have
occupied the position of head of the Church at
Jerusalem, where
he presided at the council held to consider the case
of the
Gentiles (Acts 12:17; 15:13-29: 21:18-24). This
James was the
author of the epistle which bears his name.
Link: https://bible-history.com/eastons/J/Jame...
(1.) Author of, was James the Less, the Lord's brother, one
of
the twelve apostles. He was one of the three pillars
of the
Church (Gal. 2:9).
(2.) It was addressed to the Jews of the dispersion,
"the
twelve tribes scattered abroad."
(3.) The place and time of the writing of the
epistle were
Jerusalem, where James was residing, and, from
internal
evidence, the period between Paul's two
imprisonments at Rome,
probably about A.D. 62.
(4.) The object of the writer was to enforce the
practical
duties of the Christian life. "The Jewish vices
against which he
warns them are, formalism, which made the service of
God consist
in washings and outward ceremonies, whereas he
reminds them
(1:27) that it consists rather in active love and
purity;
fanaticism, which, under the cloak of religious
zeal, was
tearing Jerusalem in pieces (1:20); fatalism, which
threw its
sins on God (1:13); meanness, which crouched before
the rich
(2:2); falsehood, which had made words and oaths
play-things
(3:2-12); partisanship (3:14); evil speaking (4:11);
boasting
(4:16); oppression (5:4). The great lesson which he
teaches them
as Christians is patience, patience in trial (1:2),
patience in
good works (1:22-25), patience under provocation
(3:17),
patience under oppression (5:7), patience under
persecution
(5:10); and the ground of their patience is that the
coming of
the Lord draweth nigh, which is to right all wrong
(5:8)."
"Justification by works," which James contends for,
is
justification before man, the justification of our
profession of
faith by a consistent life. Paul contends for the
doctrine of
"justification by faith;" but that is justification
before God,
a being regarded and accepted as just by virtue of
the
righteousness of Christ, which is received by faith.
Link: https://bible-history.com/eastons/J/Jame...
