Texts in Conversation
James 4:14 compares human life to a mist that appears briefly and then vanishes, using imagery that echoes Job 7:7, where life is described as a mere breath. James likely incorporates this language to position itself as a part of the established wisdom tradition.
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Job 7:7
Hebrew Bible
6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. 7 Remember that my life is but a breath, that my eyes will never again see happiness. 8 The eye of him who sees me now will see me no more; your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone. 9 As a cloud is dispersed and then disappears, so the one who goes down to the grave does not come up again.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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James 4:14
New Testament
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.” 14 You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. 15 You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.”
Date: 80-90 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... James now restates his point, perhaps knowing that some of his readers will have been confused by his ellipsis: 'What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.' The question deals with the merchants' ignorance of what kind of life they may have: is it a long life? A profitable life? They do not know. Why? Because the life of a human being is 'a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.' Once again, James's focus is the transitoriness of life, and he draws on a stock image — a mist or vapor in the sky that under the heat of the day dissipates and disappears. When Abraham looked down the plain toward Sodom, he saw a dense smoke, like 'smoke from a furnace' (Genesis 19:28). The sacrificial incense gave off a 'smoke' (Leviticus 16:13). But we are closer to James's sense of transitoriness with Hosea 13:3 and Wisdom 2:4-5 ... Acts 2:19 refers to portents in the sky, one of which is 'smoky mist.' (See also Job 7:7; Psalm 39:5-6; Wisdom 5:13; Sirach 11:19; 4 Ezra 4:24) Agrarian cultures watch the weather, and few things are as noticeable as vaporous clouds that bring no rain. These puffs of mist appear for a while and then disappear ..."
* 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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