Texts in Conversation
James echoes language found in the Testament of Naphtali, where the devil flees from those who do good or resist evil, suggesting James incorporated existing Jewish theological and literary traditions.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Testament of Naphtali 8:4
Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
Pseudepigrapha
2 So you also must charge your children to stay united with Levi and Judah, for through them salvation will arise for Israel, and in them Jacob will be blessed. 3 For through their tribes God will appear on earth, dwelling among people, to save the race of Israel and to gather the righteous from among the Gentiles. 4 If you do what is good, my children, both people and angels will bless you; God will be glorified among the Gentiles through you, the devil will flee from you, the wild beasts will fear you, the Lord will love you, and the angels will hold fast to you. 5 Just as a man who has trained a child well is remembered with kindness, so a good deed is remembered well before God. 6 But whoever does not do what is good, both angels and people will curse; God will be dishonored among the Gentiles through him, the devil will make him his own special instrument, every wild beast will dominate him, and the Lord will hate him.
James 4:7
New Testament
4 Adulterers, do you not know that friendship with the world means hostility toward God? So whoever decides to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy. 5 Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, “The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning”? 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.” 7 So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn, and weep. Turn your laughter into mourning and your joy into despair.
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Notes and References
"... Recent interest in the Epistle of James has included probes into the relationship between the Jesus tradition and James. The epistle presents a set of salient connections to the developing literary milieu of the second century, including compelling examples from the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and the Shepherd of Hermas. One of the more striking literary parallels comes from a single line in James 4, 'Resist the devil and he will flee from you' (4:7). After examining the parallel evidence found in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and the Shepherd of Hermas, I contend that this line in James-the devil will flee-may summarize the story of Jesus's temptation in the gospels ..."
O'Connor, M. John-Patrick
The Devil Will Flee: James 4:7, the Jesus Tradition, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs
(pp. 883-897) Journal of Biblical Literature Vol. 138, No. 4, 2019
* 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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