Texts in Conversation
James echoes the language of Sirach that rejects the idea that God tempts or causes people to sin. This similarity to Sirach 15 suggests that James is placing itself in continuity with established Jewish wisdom traditions.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sirach 15:11
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
10 For praise will be spoken in wisdom; The Lord will prosper it. 11 Don’t say, “It is through the Lord that I fell away;” for you shall not do the things that he hates. 12 Don’t say, “It is he that caused me to err;” for he has no need of a sinful man. 13 The Lord hates every abomination; and those who fear him don’t love them. 14 He himself made man from the beginning and left him in the hand of his own counsel. 15 If you choose, you can keep the commandments. To be faithful is a matter of your choice. 16 He has set fire and water before you. You will stretch forth your hand to whichever you desire.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
James 1:13
New Testament
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. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. 15 Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death. 16 Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. 18 By his sovereign plan he gave us birth through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
Date: 80–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The Letter of James owes much to the Wisdom of Sirach. Both repudiate the idea that God ever tempts anyone or leads him astray (James 1:13; compare Sirach 15:11,12). The third chapter of James, especially, shows the writer's familiarity with Sirach's Wisdom, indeed it speaks of Wisdom, good or bad, three times in the last paragraph ..."
James W. Goodspeed, The Story of the Apocrypha (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1940), 126.
* 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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