James 2

James 2 is the second chapter of the Epistle of James in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The author identifies himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" and the epistle is traditionally attributed to James the brother of Jesus, written in Jerusalem between 48–61 CE. Alternatively, some scholars argue that it is a pseudographical work written after 61 CE.[1][2][3] This chapter contains an exposition about the commandment, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself", and about dead faith.[4]

This article is about a book chapter of the Bible. For James II, see James II of England.
James 2
Epistle of James 2:19-3:2 on the recto side of Papyrus 20, from the 3rd century.
BookEpistle of James
CategoryGeneral epistles
Christian Bible partNew Testament
Order in the Christian part20

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek.[5] This chapter is divided into 26 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in Greek are:[6]

An ancient manuscript containing this chapter in the Coptic language is:

No Faith with Favouritism (2:1–4)

Verse 1

New King James Version

My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.[9]

Poor and Rich (2:5–7)

The form of address in verse 5a, Listen, my beloved brethren,[10] is found in James' speech at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:13) and nowhere else in the New Testament.[11] Verse 5b recalls Jesus' blessings in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3,5; Luke 6:20) about the poor, in contrast to the rich who 'blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you' (verse 7).[11]

Love as the Royal Law (2:8–13)

Verse 8
If you really fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself", you do well;[12]

Contains citation from Leviticus 19:18. Jesus made "Love your neighbor" a 'foremost command' (Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31).[13] Because of its pre-eminence and because it is sanctioned by Jesus as the "king", James regards this citation as "the royal law".[13]

Verse 9
If you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.[14]

To act against the poor is like murder, and is judged by the law as such (compare Jeremiah 7:6 and Sirach 34:26).[11]

Verse 11
For He who said, "Do not commit adultery", also said, "Do not murder". Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.[15]

Contains citation from Exodus 20:13-14; Deuteronomy 5:17-18

Faith and the Needs of the Poor (2:14–17)
James 2:16-18, 22 on Papyrus 54 (5th century)

Verse 17
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.[16]

"Works" without faith are 'dead works', like a lifeless carcass, a body without a soul (James 2:26), and so faith, without works, is a dead faith, because 'good works are second acts', necessarily flowing from the life of faith, and by these, faith appears to be 'living, lively and active', so who perform them appear to be true and living believers.[17]

No Faith without Works (2:18–20)

The theme of this part is that by 'showing' works someone's faith is 'demonstrated' (verse 18b).[11]

The Example of Abraham (2:21–24)

Verse 23
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God.[18]

Contains citation from Genesis 15:6 cf. 2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8.[19]

  • "Accounted": or "credited"[20]

The Example of Rahab (2:25–26)

Verse 25
Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?[21]

"Rahab the harlot": by faith (Hebrews 11:31) received the Israelite spies and protect them in her house and "send them out another way", instead of giving them up to the authority (Joshua 2:1-24).[19] She had faith in the God of Israel (Joshua 2:1-11), but if she did not act on that faith, she would have died when Jericho was destroyed.[19] She experienced God's blessings among the Israelites because she 'activated the faith' she had.[19]

See also

References
  1. Riesner 2007, p. 1256.
  2. Davids, Peter H (1982). I Howard Marshall and W Ward Gasque (ed.). New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Epistle of James (Repr. ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans. ISBN 0802823882.
  3. Evans, Craig A (2005). Craig A Evans (ed.). Bible Knowledge Background Commentary: John, Hebrews-Revelation. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Victor. ISBN 0781442281.
  4. Riesner 2007, p. 1257.
  5. 20. James: Introduction, Outline, and Argument. Bible.org
  6. "The New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room, Institute for New Testament Textual Research (INTF), Münster". Archived from the original on 2015-06-13. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
  7. Riesner 2007, p. 1255.
  8. Aland, Kurt; Aland, Barbara (1995). The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism. Erroll F. Rhodes (trans.). Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-8028-4098-1.
  9. James 2:1
  10. James 5:2
  11. Riesner 2007, p. 1259.
  12. James 2:8 NKJV
  13. Hart 2014, p. 1951.
  14. James 2:9
  15. James 2:11 NKJV
  16. James 2:17 NKJV
  17. John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible - James 2:17
  18. James 2:23 NKJV
  19. Hart 2014, p. 1952.
  20. Note [a} on James 2:23 in NKJV
  21. James 2:25 NKJV

Sources
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