Texts in Conversation
James uses the language of Leviticus 19, which forbids showing partiality to either poor or rich and requires fair judgment. James follows this principle in the Torah by teaching to not honor the wealthy more than the poor.
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Leviticus 19:15
Hebrew Bible
13 You must not oppress your neighbor or commit robbery against your neighbor. You must not withhold the wages of the hired laborer overnight until morning. 14 You must not curse a deaf person or put a stumbling block in front of a blind person. You must fear your God; I am the Lord. 15 “‘You must not deal unjustly in judgment: You must neither show partiality to the poor nor honor the rich. You must judge your fellow citizen fairly. 16 You must not go about as a slanderer among your people. You must not stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake. I am the Lord. 17 You must not hate your brother in your heart. You must surely reprove your fellow citizen so that you do not incur sin on account of him.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
James 2:1
New Testament
1 My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 2 For if someone comes into your assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes, 3 do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? 4 If so, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives?
Date: 80-90 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Recognizing the poor (and the rich) as made in God's image ought to prohibit slanderous communications between brothers and sisters in the messianic community. To anticipate what comes at 2:8-9, the partiality James denounces in 2:1-4 contradicts the second half of the Jesus Creed (Mark 12:28-32), the command to love neighbor as self, which comes from Leviticus 19:18, which also prohibits prejudice against the poor: "You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor" (Leviticus 19:15) ..."
* 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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