Texts in Conversation
James urges care for orphans and widows, echoing Sirach, Deuteronomy, and Exodus. In these, faith is demonstrated through action rather than words and James follows this pattern to emphasize that faith is proven by what one does, not just by belief.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sirach 35:15
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
13 For the Lord repays, and he will repay you sevenfold. 14 Don’t plan to bribe him with gifts, for he will not receive them. 15 Don’t set your mind on an unrighteous sacrifice, For the Lord is the judge, and with him is no respect of persons. 16 He won’t accept any person against a poor man. He will listen to the prayer of him who is wronged. 17 He will in no way despise the supplication of the fatherless or the widow, when she pours out her tale. 18 Don’t the tears of the widow run down her cheek? 19 Isn’t her cry against him who has caused them to fall?
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
James 1:27
New Testament
25 But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there, and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out—he will be blessed in what he does. 26 If someone thinks he is religious yet does not bridle his tongue, and so deceives his heart, his religion is futile. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their adversity and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Date: 80–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... the text of James echoes texts like Deuteronomy 10:17-18 and Sirach 35:10-15 ... Sophie Laws is right: "James is not here concerned with the definition of Christology [which the theophanic view emphasizes] but with the relation between faith and behavior" ..."
Scot McKnight, The Letter of James (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2011), 178–179.
* 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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