The Jewish Annotated New Testament (295 page)

2.1
–7: Favoring the rich. 1–4
:
Midr. Tann
. explains Deut 16.19, on the qualities necessary for judges: “Do not say this one is rich while this one is poor … this one [qualified yet destitute] should sit beneath [me], and do not have it that the poor stand and that the rich sit … God stands with the poor and not with those who oppress them.”
Assembly
, lit., “synagogue.”

5
:
Chosen the poor … heirs of the kingdom
, this is a Christian formulation (Mt 5.3; Lk 6.20) referring to the eschaton, the end of the current age and beginning of the new one. See also Mt 5.5 and compare Ps 37.11, which refers to the meek inheriting the land. As for Jews, all Israel, with few exceptions, have a share in the next world (
m. Sanh
. 10.1).

6
:
Who drag you into court
, Ex 23.3 and Lev 19.15 warn judges against favoring the poor (or rich) in a law suit. James addresses judges who show favoritism and persecute the poor.

7
:
Blaspheme
, perhaps referring to the denigration of God’s special care for the poor and oppressed, or to the disrespectful way some rich people referred to followers of Jesus.

2.8
–13:
Wholeness under the law.

8
:
Royal law
, in quoting Lev 19.18 on love of one’s neighbor and characterizing it as “royal,” James is in agreement with
Midr. Sifra
to Lev 19.18, which calls this commandment “the supreme rule” that is served by all of scripture’s tenets. (See “The Concept of Neighbor,” p.
540
.) For Lev 19.18 see also Mt 22.39; Mk 12.31; Lk 10.27.

9
:
Partiality
, favoring one law or litigant and neglecting another (see Lev 19.15).

10
–11
:
Fails in one point … transgressor
, by neglecting any part of the law, they show disbelief in God.
T. Sebu
. 3.6 offers an almost identical list of transgressions and concludes: “[Who is a complete lawbreaker?] … One does not do even one transgression without denying the One who commanded it.” Like James,
Midr. Pitaron Torah Kedoshim
claims one fulfills “love of neighbor” every time one refrains from breaking an ethical injunction in Torah.

12
:
The law of liberty
, see 1.25n. The point of the law is to free humanity from the domination of evil powers. As one chooses, so God rewards and punishes.

13
:
For judgment will be … no mercy
, rabbis called this “measure for measure,” and it is the major principle of divine justice (see
b. Sanh
. 90a).
Mercy triumphs over judgment
, mercy conquers (Heb “kovesh”) judgment (
Sifre Num
. 134; e.g., Num 14.18–19); the proof text is Mic 7.19–20. “Mercy” is a major theme in Tobit, Wisdom, and Sirach; see also Mt 5.7; 18.33.

2.14
–26:
Faith as expressed in works.

14
:
Faith
, declared only in words will not help anyone.

18
:
I by my works will show you my faith
, only by works can one demonstrate trust in God’s ordering of life. This section can be seen as a correction of those who understood Paul (Rom 4.5–6) as dismissing the importance of works. James mentions ethical rather than ritual laws in his examples, and it might be that for him this is the substance of “works.”

19
:
Even the demons believe
, belief simply in the existence of the one God means little. This is not true faith since demons also believe in God. For later rabbinic Jews, praising the name of Jesus together with God’s name is a breach of strict monotheism (
b. Sanh
. 63a).

21
–24
: Abraham is
justified
(lit., “made righteous”)
by works
in his willingness to sacrifice Isaac (see Gen 22); his
faith
(trust) in God
was brought to completion by the works. Our ancestor Abraham … Isaac on the altar
, Nachmanides (on Gen 15.5–6) observes that Gen 22.15–17 completes the demonstration of Abraham’s faith so Abraham could now receive the promise of numerous descendants. “Faith” is dependent on works. See also 1 Macc 2.5.

23
:
Friend of God
, see Isa 41.8; 2 Chr 20.7.

25
:
Rahab the prostitute
, her acts showed the faith she declared in Josh 2.11. According to Talmudic tradition (
b. Meg
. 14a–b) she reformed and married Joshua, the successor of Moses; see also Mt 1.5.

26
:
Body … spirit
, see Gen 2.7 (human life is dependent on spirit/breath). Also, for the rabbis, the body needs the soul to live (
b. Ber
. 10a and
b. Mo’ed Qat
. 28b–29a). The body without any life, a corpse, is ritually unclean (Num 19.14–22), as is anyone who comes in contact with it; so, according to James, is
faith without works
.

3.1
–12:
Importance of guarding speech.

1
:
Teachers
, a slight error will be compounded by students, who in turn will teach nonsense that will lead their students to seek foreign values (
Avot de R. Natan
A.11). See Acts 13.1; 1 Cor 12.28–29; Eph 4.11; 1 Tim 1.7.

2
:
Perfect
here means those who are so in control of thoughts and actions that they do not misspeak, let alone misbehave. Ps 39.1 speaks of bridling the tongue; Prov 10.31 speaks of the mouth of the just; Sir 5.11–6.1 (cf. 28.12–26) warns against being “double-tongued.” Jewish sages (
m. Avot
1.17), following Tanakh traditions, concluded the best medicine for the body’s welfare is silence.

5
:
Tongue … exploits
, the tongue wreaks havoc. It is worse than the worst of sins (
Midr. Tanh. Lev
., “Metzora” 4–5).

6
:
Fire
, cf. Ps 120.3–4 (Heb vv. 4–5): “Deceitful tongue … arrows … glowing coals.” According to Sir 28.11–12, a quarrel is like a fire: “If you blow on a spark, it will glow; if you spit on it, it will be put out; yet both come out of your mouth.” Therefore take care what—incitement or calmness—comes out of your mouth.

9
:
Bless … curse
,
Midr. Tann
. to Deut 11.26–28, “blessing and curse,” finds this lesson for lovers of good and lovers of evil (“Death and life”) in an exposition of Prov 18.21.

3.13
–18:
Dangers of envy.

15
:
Wisdom
,
Avot de R. Natan
B. 43 contrasts divine, gentle wisdom and earthly, wicked wisdoms.

16
–18
:
Envy … peace
, for the rabbis, the heavenly realms are devoid of envy, hatred, and ambition. Everyone requires peace (
Deut. Rab
. 5.12 on Sabbath observance). Many passages (e.g.,
Num. Rab
. 11.7;
Sifre Num
. 42) extol peace, the reward for righteousness, using the imagery of Isa 32.17.

4.1
–10: Friend of the world, enemy of God. 1–2
:
Those conflicts
, rabbis speak of “ma
ḥ
loket” (“dispute, argument”) and “qetatah” (“quarreling”).
M. Avot
5.3: Whoever thinks, “Yours is mine” is a Sodomite;
b. Ber
. 16b suggests that humanity wants to do God’s will but self-aggrandizement and Roman oppression prevent it. The early church faced numerous conflicts created by factionalism; see esp. 1 Cor and the Johannine letters.

3
–4
:
Ask wrongly
, prayer is the proper way to gain money for needs, not for worldly pleasures. See Ps 37, especially v. 4.
Adulterers
, a standard denunciation of idolatry, or putting some other being or object in the place of God (e.g., Hos 1–3; Jer 3.2).
Friendship with the world
, not ordinary life activities but an orientation toward accepting material goods as the highest value, and consequently denigrating spiritual values and actions such as care for the neighbor (cf. 2.15–16).
Enmity with God
, Ps 6.8–10 [Heb 9–11]. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah is zealous for God, while in ch 21 he prophesies the destruction of God’s enemy.

5
:
Scripture says
, James may be citing an unknown text, or referring to general biblical statements.
God yearns jealously
, Deut 6.5 speaks of loving God with “heart,” “soul,” and goods (Heb “me’odekha,” not really “might,”
m. Ber
. 9.5);
Zohar
2 (Ex, Terumah) 162b claims God’s gift of the soul enables one to accomplish such love.

6
:
Grace to the humble
, Prov 3.34 (LXX).

7
–8
:
Submit … he will draw near, m. Avot
2.4 says “Make your will God’s will that he may make his will your will.
B. Ber
. 5a counsels Torah study to stifle temptation.
Cleanse your hands … hearts
, the imagery is from Ps 24.4–5 (Heb vv. 3–4).
Y. Ber
. 9.5 cites a lost work, the Scroll of the Pious: “Depart from me one day and I will depart from you two [days].” See also Deut 30.2–3 on returning to God and then God returning to you.

10
:
Humble … exalt
, see Mic 6.8; Ps 107.41; 113.7.

4.11
–17:
Evil and careless speech.

11
:
Do not speak evil … judges the law, y. Pe’ah
1.1 relates that the speaker of evil denies divine justice.

12
:
There is one
…
judge
, cf.
m. Avot
4.8. God alone has the right to judge, since God gave the law and will judge in accordance with it.