Texts in Conversation
James echoes Sirach 44 in describing Abraham as faithful when tested and as one whose actions confirm his covenant relationship. Like Sirach, James presents Abraham as an example of how faith and works belong together.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sirach 44:20
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
18 Everlasting covenants were made with him, that all flesh should no more be blotted out by a flood. 19 Abraham was a great father of a multitude of nations. There was none found like him in glory, 20 who kept the law of the Most High, and was taken into covenant with him. In his flesh he established the covenant. When he was tested, he was found faithful. 21 Therefore he assured him by an oath that the nations would be blessed through his offspring, that he would multiply him like the dust of the earth, exalt his offspring like the stars, and cause them to inherit from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates River to the utmost parts of the earth.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
James 2:21
New Testament
19 You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that—and tremble with fear. 20 But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
Date: 80–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... As to the meaning of Genesis 15:6 presupposed in the Epistle, Abraham's faith in trial, modern scholars have noted the parallels for this notion in early sources, which indicate that this interpretation of the verse had been established centuries before the author of James, and was, in all probability, widely accepted in his day. Thus, the author of 1 Maccabees, writing a century before the current era, paraphrased Genesis 15:6, 'Was not Abraham found faithful in trial, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness?' (2:52). Virtually the same phrase, 'and in trial he was found faithful', was employed by Ben Sira in a context worthy of note. In the following passage, Ben Sira links Abraham's faith in trial with a poetic paraphrase of Genesis 22:16-17, God's oath to Abraham following the Akedah, which suggests that he already associated Genesis 15:6 with the sacrificing of Isaac over two centuries before the author of James ..."
Irving Jacobs, “The Midrashic Background for James II. 21–3,” NTS 22.4 (1976): 457–464.
* 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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