James 3:6

καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα: so אcABCKLP &c. Tischendorf omits καὶ on the authority of א*, and on the same unsupported authority reads καὶ σπιλοῦσα for ἡ σπιλοῦσα below.

6. καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα πῦρ. For the general sense of the difficult passage which follows, comp. Proverbs 16:24-30, especially the expressions: ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ χειλέων θησαυρίζει πῦρ, Proverbs 16:27; λαμπτῆρα δὸλου πυρσεύσει κακοῖς (not in Hebr.), Proverbs 16:28; κάμινός ἐστι κακίας (not in Hebr.), Proverbs 16:30 : and Sir 28:10-26, especially ψίθυρον καὶ δίγλωσσον καταράσασθε, πολλοὺς γὰρ εἰρηνεύοντας�. γλῶσσα τρητὴ πολλοὺς ἐσάλευσε καὶ διέστησεν αὐτοὺς�, καὶ πόλεις ὀχυρὰς καθεῖλε, καὶ οἰκίας μεγιστάνων κατέστρεψε, James 3:13-14.

A consideration of the structure of the sentence, the poetical form in which the thoughts are cast, also throws light on the meaning. From this it appears that the first thought is resumed and expounded in the last two lines, while the centre doublet contains a parallelism in itself. The effect is that of an underground flame concealed for a while, then breaking out afresh. Thus φλογίζουσα and φλογιζομένη refer to πῦρ, and σπιλοῦσα to κόσμος, though grammatically these participles are in agreement with γλῶσσα. A somewhat similar relation between the beginning and end of a clause may be noted in ch. James 2:5 ἀγαπητοί … τοῖς�. The subjoined arrangement of the words may assist the reader:

καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα πῦρ,

ὁ κόσμος τῆς�, ἡ γλῶσσα καθίσταται ἐν τοῖς μέλεσιν ἡμῶν,

ἡ σπιλοῦσα ὄλον τὸ σῶμα
καὶ φλογίζουσα τὸν τροχὸν τῆς γενέσεως
καὶ φλογιζομένη ὑπὸ τῆς γεέννης.

ὁ κόσμος τῆς�, universitas iniquitatis V., i.e. the sum total of iniquity. ‘The world of iniquity’ R.V., ‘that world …’ R.V. marg. This rendering, adopted by most editors ancient and modern, is open to question, (a) from the abruptness and difficulty of the expression itself, (b) from its want of relation to what follows, (c) from the presence of the article, (d) from the want of N.T. parallels for this signification. In the O.T., Proverbs 17:6 is cited as the only instance: τοῦ πιστοῦ ὄλος ὁ κόσμος χρημάτων. The expression occurs in the LXX. only, not in the Hebr. It is true that as Beyschlag remarks κόσμος is used to translate צָבָא; but in these passages it refers to the order of the heavenly host, not to the number or mass of it.

But ὁ κόσμος τῆς� may also be rendered ‘the adornment’ or ‘embellishment of iniquity,’ that which gives it its fair outward show and yet conceals its inner foulness, the tongue or speech “robed to allure and fanged to rend and slay” (W. Watson). Comp. “Vice no longer made repulsive by grossness, but toned down by superficial refinements and decked in the tinsel of false chivalry.” Bp Stubbs, Const. Hist. II. 336. In favour of this rendering it may be urged (a) that it offers no strain on the sense of this passage, but falls in naturally with the context: (b) that it is the prevailing meaning of κόσμος in the O.T. and is so used in 1 Peter 3:3-4 ὁ ἔξωθεν ἐμπλοκῆς τριχῶν καὶ περιθέσεως χρυσίων ἢ ἐνδύσεως ἱματίων κόσμος: (c) that the guile and deceitfulness of the tongue, though the most obvious and dangerous evils of speech, if not included in this expression would be absent from St James’ description. This is indeed the predominant meaning of ‘to gloze’ and ‘gloss,’ words directly derived from γλῶσσα: “glozing the evil that is in the world” Jer. Taylor: “so glozed the tempter” Milton: “lay these glozes by” Shakspere: “a false glozing paradise” South. Comp. with this Eur. Troad. 981 μὴ� | τὸ σὸν κακὸν κοσμοῦσα: Med. 576 εὖ μὲν τούσδʼ ἐκόσμησας λόγους: Ion 834 οἱ συντιθέντες τἄδικʼ εἶτα μηχαναῖς | κοσμοῦσι. See also Cramer’s Catena ad loc. ὡσανεὶ ἔλεγεν, ὁ τῆς εὐγλωττίας πυρσός, ὅταν τοὺς μεγάλα πταίοντας κοσμεῖ, ἐγκαλλώπισμα δοκεῖ τῆς�. χρὴ τοιγαροῦν τῇ δεινότητι κεχρῆσθαι, οὐ πρὸς τὸ τὴν�, τὴν καὶ χωρὶς λόγων ὑπέρλαμπρον. Comp. also 1 Thessalonians 2:5 οὔτε γάρ ποτε ἐν λόγῳ κολοκίας ἐγενήθημεν, καθὼς οἴδατε, οὔτε προφάσει πλεονεξίας and in Latin: Aen. IV. 172 conjugium vocat, hoc praetexit nomine culpam; Ov. Met. VII. 69 speciosaque nomina culpae │ imponis. Comp. also Psalms 5:9 (with this Matthew 23:29), Psalms 12:2; Psalms 28:3; Psalms 62:4; Isaiah 5:20; Jeremiah 9:8. The sentence thus interpreted might have been written ἡ γλῶσσα … κοσμοῦσα τὴν�. The evil tongue adorns and embellishes iniquity and yet it denies and stains the whole body or personality of a man.

σπιλοῦν from the post-classical σπίλος, a stain, for which the classical word is κηλίς: Lob. Phryn. 28.

With φλογίζουσα there is a return to the metaphor of πῦρ. φλογίζουσα is ἄπ. λεγ. in N.T.

τὸν τροχὸν τῆς γενέσεως, rotam nativitatis V. τροχός, a wheel, is to be distinguished from τρόχος, a course. Comp. ἐκ τρόχων πεπαυμένοι Eur. Med. 46, and σύριγγες τʼ ἄνω τροχῶν ἐπήδων, Eur. Hipp. 1235. Here τὸν τροχὸν τῆς γενέσεως is the wheel or revolution of a man’s life to which he was destined from his γένεσις, that for which he was created in the image of God, the natural life in the highest sense, comp. Tennyson’s “I was born to other things,” In Mem. cxx. Or, in a wider sense, the world’s divinely appointed course. This ordered life of the individual or of society the tongue has often set aflame by speech that curses (see below James 3:9) or stirs passion or suggests evil or creates slander and suspicion. On such words and their results, tragedies like Othello and Romola are founded. The metaphor suggests fierce and violent disturbance and ruin, φλόξ being often used of fire in its destructive aspect: Ζηνὸς ἄγρυπνον βέλος | καταιβάτης κεραυνὸς ἐκπνέων φλόγα, Aesch. P. v. 359: ναυσὶν ἐμβαλεῖν φλόγα, Eur. Rh. 120: τὰν φόνιον ἔχετε φλόγα, Eur. Troad. 1318.

For this sense of τροχός comp. τροχὸς ἅρματος γὰρ οἶα βίοτος τρέχει κυλισθείς Anacreon, IV. 7.

Some have seen in this passage a reference to the astrological use of γένεσις. Comp. Lat, ‘nativitas’ and Eng. ‘nativity’ in such expressions as ‘to cast a man’s nativity’—his destined life. The Clementine Homilies shew how prevalent such thoughts were in early times.

φλογιζομένη ὑπὸ τῆς γεέννης. Gehenna, valley of Hinnom, or of the sons of Hinnom, a valley to the south of Jerusalem, where in the days of Ahaz children were made to pass through fire to Moloch. Hence in after times accursed and regarded as the earthly type of the place of torment for the ungodly. See Matthew 5:22 τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός. Comp. also Book of Enoch, ch. liii, ‘I beheld a deep valley burning with fire; to this valley they brought monarchs and the mighty.’

For the poetical form of the whole of this passage see Bishop Jebb’s Sacred Literature, § 14.