James 5 - Introduction

Chap. 5 contains five distinct sections; of great interest is the fact that the first two 1 6, 7 11 deal respectively with Jewish and Christian Eschatology; this subject will be dealt with presently; James 5:12 is a short section containing an adaptation of some words from the “Sermon on the Mount”; 13 18 deals with the subject of the visitation of the sick in the early Church; while James 5:19-20 bring the Epistle to an abrupt termination with a very pronounced utterance upon the Jewish doctrine of works. Each of these sections is self-contained, and it would be impossible to have a clearer or more pointed illustration than this chapter offers of the “patchwork” character of our Epistle.

It will not be necessary, in dealing with the very large subject of Jewish Eschatology, to do more than indicate very briefly its connection with the section James 5:1-6 of this chapter; at the same time, a slight reference to its leading ideas is essential, as some of these are referred in this passage; one of these is the punishment about to overtake the wicked who are often identified with the rich in the “last days”. Jewish Eschatology, or the “Doctrine of the last things,” is based on the teaching of the O.T. prophets regarding the “Day of the Lord,” or, as the phrase runs, “the last day,” or “last time”; another formula which occurs frequently is “in those days”. “By the time of the New Testament period Judaism was in possession of most, if not all, of its eschatological ideas. These had been developed during the two eventful centuries that immediately preceded the rise of Christianity. It was these centuries which saw the rise of the Apocalyptic Movement with its vast eschatological developments that were essentially bound up with the doctrine of a future life, and a belief in a judgment after death, with rewards and punishments” (Oesterley and Box, op. cit., p. 211). The four outstanding subjects that the doctrine of the last things comprises are: (1) The signs of the approach of the “Messianic Era” this latter took the place of the “Day of the Lord” in the development of eschatological thought, (2) the actual advent of the Messiah, together with the great events that should then come to pass, viz., the ingathering of Israel and the resurrection of the dead; (3) The judgment upon the wicked; (4) The blessedness of the righteous (Cf. the writer's The Doctrine of the Last Things). In the passage before us (James 5:1-6) three of the above are referred to, viz., the Messianic Era; the punishment of the wicked, and (implicitly) the blessedness of the righteous. In James 5:3 the phrase ἐν ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις points indubitably to the times of the Messiah; the language is that of Jewish Eschatology based on prophetic teaching (cf. Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1; Hosea 3:5; Joel 3:1; Amos 8:11; Amos 9:11; Zechariah 8:23). In James 5:1; James 5:3 the punishment of the wicked is referred in the words, κλαύσατε ὀλολύζοντες ἐπὶ ταῖς ταλαιπωρίαις ὑμῶν ταῖς ἐπερχομέναις : … καὶ ὁ ἰὸς αὐτῶν … φάγεται τὰς σάρκας ὑμῶν ὡς πῦρ; as illustrating this cf. Book of Enoch xcvi. 8, “Woe unto you mighty who violently oppress the righteous, for the day of your destruction will come; in that time many happy days will come for the righteous, then shall ye be condemned”; xciv. 7, 8, 9, “Woe to those that build their houses with sin …; and those who acquire gold and silver will perish in judgment suddenly. Woe to you, ye rich, for ye have trusted in your riches.… Ye have committed blasphemy and unrighteousness, and have become ready for the day of slaughter and the day of darkness and the day of the great judgment”; xcv. 7, “Woe to you sinners, for ye persecute the righteous …; xcvi, 4, “Woe unto you, ye sinners, for your riches make you appear like the righteous … and this word shall be a testimony against you”; many other similar quotations could be given, the striking resemblance in thought and language with our passage cannot fail to be observed; see further below, James 5:1. And lastly, in James 5:6, there is an implicit reference to the happiness of the righteous, in the words, κατεδικάσατε, ἐφονεύσατε τὸν δίκαιον · οὐκ ἀντιτάσσεται ὑμῖν; that is to say, the righteous can afford to suffer such ill-treatment because he knows that the time of essedness is coming for him; this is also frequently referred to in the Book of Enoch, e.g., xcvi. 1, “Be hopeful, ye righteous; for suddenly will the sinners perish before you, and ye will have lordship over them according to your desires; 3, Wherefore, fear not, ye that suffer; for healing will be your portion”. The non-mention in our passage of the actual advent of the Messiah by name was characteristic of Jewish usage at certain periods, and is significant here. On the other hand, the section comprising James 5:7-11 is wholly Christian; the utterly different tone and language of this, as compared with the section James 5:1-6, cannot be accounted for by saying that the one is addressed to the wicked, the other to the righteous; because in the latter there is a distinct reference to those who are in danger of being judged on account of murmuring against one another (James 5:9). But there are one or two points whereby the respectively Jewish and Christian form of Eschatology may be clearly discerned. (1) The language on which Jewish eschatological ideas are based is that of the prophets; the section James 5:1-6 is steeped in O.T. phraseology; on the other hand, the actual references to the Advent in James 5:7-11 are in N.T. language; the O.T. references in this section have nothing to do with the Advent. (2) It is characteristic of Jewish Eschatology that, generally speaking, there is indefiniteness as to when the Messianic Era will be inaugurated; it differs herein somewhat from the prophetical teaching, owing, as a matter of fact, to the rise of apocalyptic conceptions: on the other hand, the Christian, like the prophetical, view of the Advent is that it will take place in the very near future (“… behold the judge standeth at the door”). (3) In Jewish pre-Christian eschatological literature the Messianic Era is frequently depicted without any reference to the personality of the Messiah; on the other hand, in the N.T., it is the rule that when the second Advent is referred to Christ is mentioned under the titles of the “Son of Man” or the “Lord” (cf. Matthew 10:23; Matthew 13:41-42; Matthew 16:27-28; Matthew 19:28; Matthew 25:31-33, etc., Philippians 4:5, ὁ κύριος ἐγγύς, 1 Corinthians 16:22, μαρὰν ἀθά, and see Didache, x. 6, εἴ τις ἅγιός ἐστιν, ἐρχέσθω · εἴ τις οὐκ ἐστί, μετανοείτω · μαρὰν ἀθά. ἀμήν). (4) Besides there being no reference to the personality of the Messiah in the Jewish eschatological section there is the further contrast between it and the Christian section that in the latter the distinctively Christian expression ἡ παρουσία τοῦ κυρίου twice occurs; against this the Jewish section makes use of the distinctively Jewish title for God, the “Lord of Sabaoth”.

It is thus difficult to resist the conclusion that we have here, in the section James 5:1-6, a passage which did not originally belong to the Epistle at all, but was taken or adapted from some Jewish eschatological work; it will be generally acknowledged that this section has absolutely nothing specifically Christian about it. That the writer (compiler?) should have incorporated this in his Epistle is quite natural, seeing that he was writing to Jews; equally as natural is it that he should, as a Christian writing to (Jewish-) Christians, add the developed Christian form of the same subject, interspersing it with O.T. references for the sake of his hearers [see further, Bk. of Jubilees, i. 29, James 5:12, xxiii. 26 30; Enoch, x. 13, xvi. 1; Ass. of Moses, i. 18, x. 13; Test. of the Twelve Patriarchs, Reuben, vi. 8; Apoc. Bar. xxvii. 15, xxix. 8, Leviticus 2; Leviticus 4 Esdr. 9:5].