Who wrote the book of james in the bible

James 5:1вЂ“6 warns rich land-owners that keeping back the wages of day-laborers, who work their fields, is a potentially damning offense (barring repentance and forgiveness, of course) that God will judge on the last day. Of works surviving from antiquity until now, these three writings alone discourage insults precisely because all people reflect the God who made them. He who treats with contempt the face of any person treats the face of the Lord with contempt.вЂќ The only other ancient writing to make a comparable point is a rabbinic work known as Genesis Rabbah. And whoever insults a personвЂ™s face, insults the face of a king, and treats the face of the Lord with repugnance. 44:1вЂ“3, we read: вЂњThe Lord with his own two hands created mankind in a facsimile of his own face, both small and great, the Lord created them. James 3:9 prohibits slander because humans are made in GodвЂ™s image. In my article I detail ten parallels in total, but three will suffice here: Although in almost every regard the work differs greatly from James, its moral sensibilities closely align. There is a Jewish pseudepigraphal writing known as вЂњ2 EnochвЂќ or вЂњSlavonic Enoch,вЂќ attributed to the Enoch of Gen 5:18вЂ“24 but written much later, during Roman times. In an article published in the December issue of Journal for the Study of the New Testament, I argue that there may be another work that has been thus far overlooked. Beyond these two early Christian writings, evidence for James is meager. Prior to that, there is strong indication that the Shepherd of Hermas (mid-second century?) knows James and possible indication that 1 Clement (ca. (There remains debate whether pseudepigraphy, which was frequent, was innocent or intentionally deceptive.) If we cannot use the conference (in 49) or JamesвЂ™s death (in 62) as endpoints, then the date range for the book can be extended well into the second century.ДЄnother route to determine when James was penned is through its reception: when is there evidence that other writers know and utilize the epistle? Unfortunately, the first explicit citation of the book does not come until the early third century, with Origen (ca. Further, some find an otherwise unknown вЂњJamesвЂќ to be the likeliest author, and yet others conclude that the book is вЂњpseudepigraphalвЂќ-that is, that the letter is ascribed to JesusвЂ™s brother but is not written by him. Other scholars contend that James 2:14вЂ“26 presumes knowledge of Pauline wording, whether it is trying to challenge Paul himself or simply a misunderstanding of Paul. If the letter comes before the conference, though, it is reasonable to suggest that Paul and James happened to use such language independently, without any attempt to contradict each other.Д«ut neither the identity of James as the LordвЂ™s brother nor the bookвЂ™s composition before the Jerusalem conference is unchallenged. If the letter were written after the conference, when PaulвЂ™s terminology and meaning would certainly be known to James, then Jas 2:14вЂ“26 would seem to be an intentional repudiation of Paul. The reason for this is that the terminology of Jas 2:14вЂ“26 is at apparent variance with Paul (compare to Rom 3:21вЂ“26), as is the importance of AbrahamвЂ™s story (compare to Romans 4). Conservative scholars often place the book before the Jerusalem conference mentioned in Acts 15 (occurring ca. Most scholars argue that вЂњJamesвЂќ indicates JesusвЂ™s brother (Mark 6:3), who was martyred in 62 and whose prominence in early Christianity is clear, even if he receives comparatively little mention (Acts 12:17 15:13вЂ“21 21:17вЂ“19 1 Cor 15:7 Gal 1:19 2:9, 12 Jude 1).

After its first verse, it reveals almost nothing of its origin, in sharp contrast to PaulвЂ™s letters.Дating James by Its Author and Relation to PaulД®fforts to locate the book generally proceed by identifying the вЂњJamesвЂќ who wrote it and its relation to Paul. All we know about the letter is that it was written by a вЂњJamesвЂќ and written to вЂњthe twelve tribes scattered among the nations,вЂќ that is, to Jews living outside of Palestine. Scholars will date it as early as the 40s and as late as the 150s.

James has this odd legacy: it is perhaps the easiest New Testament book to apply directly to our lives today, and it is perhaps the hardest New Testament book to locate historically. Was the Epistle of James among the first New Testament books to be written, or among the last?

Who wrote the book of james in the bible