Texts in Conversation
James alludes to Isaiah by using the image of flowers that fade to show how brief human life and status can be. Both emphasize the temporary nature of honor and fame, and James applies the imagery to his criticism of the wealthy.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Isaiah 40:6
Septuagint
4 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low: and all the crooked ways shall become straight, and the rough places plains. 5 And the glory of the Lord shall appear, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God: for the Lord has spoken it. 6 The voice of one saying, Cry; and I said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass: 7 The grass withers, and the flower fades: 8 but the word of our God remains for ever.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
James 1:10
New Testament
8 since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways. 9 Now the believer of humble means should take pride in his high position. 10 But the rich person’s pride should be in his humiliation because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow. 11 For the sun rises with its heat and dries up the meadow; the petal of the flower falls off and its beauty is lost forever. So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will wither away. 12 Happy is the one who endures testing because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.
Date: 80–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The subject of 1:10b, 'because the rich will disappear,' is implied. Again, there is some matter of disagreement. If the 'rich' is a 'brother,' then the implied subject could be the 'riches' themselves rather than the 'rich' himself. Our exegesis up to this point favors the 'rich' as the implied subject. The word 'because' supports such an interpretation, since it gives the reason that James can (ironically) claim that the rich person can 'boast' (implied and ironical) in his humiliation (ironical). Why? Because he, the person, will perish. Such a person, we are contending that James is saying, 'will disappear like a flower in the field.' Here James draws on a stock image from both experience in the Land of Israel and in the Scriptures. Three texts come to mind immediately: Psalms 90:3-6 and 103:15-16 and Isaiah 40:6-8 ..."
Scot McKnight, The Letter of James (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2011), 189.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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