Introduction

Authorship

There are three main choices:

Apostles

1. James, the son of Zebedee. Martyred AD 44 (see Acts 12:2)
2. James, the son of Alphaeus. Little is known about him.

Family

3. James of Jerusalem (“James the Just”). This one is favoured. He was Jesus’ kinsman (see Mark 6:3). Resurrection Witness (see 1 Cor 15:7). “Pillar of the Church” (see Gal 2:9). Tradition tells us that he was Bishop of Jerusalem and Martyred in AD 62 (Stoned, clubbed or thrown off the Temple)

Date

Here is a rough timeline:

~30 AD: Jesus’ Ministry
~40 AD
~50 AD: Council of Jeruaslem
~60 AD: Epistle of James
~70 AD: Jerusalem Temple Destroyed

Recipients

The letter is addressed to “the twelve tribes scattered among the nations”. There are three possible interpretations for this:

1. Exiled Hebrew Christians (The used in the text is diaspora)
2. Christians fleeing persecution
3. Universal Church scattered throughout the world

I prefer (3) as it encompasses (1) and (2) and makes it addressed to us too 🙂 Either way, this letter is grouped in the Bible with the Catholic (universal) epistles.

Literary Forms

The document includes several different literary forms:

* Letter (The opening)
* Homily (The exhorations)
* Diatribe (The “conversational” parts)
* Wisdom (Proverbs and illustrations)
* Judgement Oracles (warnings)

Main Themes

The central themes of James include:

1. Practical aspects of religious life (speech, charity, behaviour etc) drawing on Jesus’ teaching from Matthew’s Gospel
2. The coming of the Lord

Introduction | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5