1 Maccabees 2:52
Deuterocanon
50 Now, my children, show zeal for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of our ancestors. 51 "Remember the deeds of the ancestors, which they did in their generations; and you will receive great honor and an everlasting name. 52 Was not Abraham found faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness? 53 Joseph in the time of his distress kept the commandment, and became lord of Egypt. 54 Phinehas our ancestor, because he was deeply zealous, received the covenant of everlasting priesthood. 55 Joshua, because he fulfilled the command, became a judge in Israel.
Date: 100 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
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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 I 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 ..."
Jacobs, Irving
The Midrashic background for James II. 21–3
(pp. 457-464) New Testament Studies, 22, 1976
* 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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