The point Guthrie attempts to draw from this is that the author probably heard the Lord himself. Though short of conclusive proof, this is nevertheless significant corroborative evidence.Д¤) Similarities with the teaching of Jesus: вЂњthere are more parallels in this Epistle than in any other New Testament book to the teaching of our Lord in the Gospels.вЂќ 10 The parallels to the Sermon on the Mount are especially acute: 11ДЇriendship of the world as enmity against God Further, not-so-common individual words are found in both: бјђПЂО№ПѓОєОПЂП„ОµПѓОёОµ (Jas. 2:7 invoke GodвЂ™s name in a special way the exhortation for the brothers ( бјЂОґОµО»П†ОїО№) to hear is found both in Jas. 1:1 and Acts 15:23 (and elsewhere in Acts only in 23:26) Acts 15:17 and Jas. Guthrie 8 summarizes six reasons as to why this James is the most likely candidate:ДЎ) The authorвЂ™s self-identification points to this James, вЂњfor it is evident that a well-known James must have been intended, and as far as the biblical record is concerned, the LordвЂ™s brother is the only James who appears to have played a sufficiently prominent part in early Christian history.вЂќ 9Дў) The authorвЂ™s Jewish background, both in terms of his use of the OT (including a few quotations, numerous allusions, and several illustrations), and in other, more subtle ways (e.g., traces of Hebrew idioms behind his otherwise polished Greek Hebrew prophetic style, etc.).ДЈ) Similarities between James and Acts : JamesвЂ™ speech in Acts 15 contains many striking parallels in language with the epistle of James. The assignment of this James (also known in later church traditions, starting with Hegesippus, as вЂњJames the JustвЂќ) as author of the letter has been the traditional view. 44, 7 and was one of two leaders Paul met with in Jerusalem three years after PaulвЂ™s conversion (Gal. Arguably, James became the de facto leader of the Jerusalem church sometime before A.D. 13:55 Mark 6:3), he rises to prominence after Pentecost. 15:7), mentioned only twice by name in the Gospels (Matt. Thus in contrast to the fourth James, this James does not seem to have had sufficient recognition in the early church to have written an encyclical letter with an unqualified self-designation.

Finally, there is nothing compelling on behalf of this James: prominent though he was in the Gospels, he is mentioned only twice in Acts (the second mention records his death Acts 12:2).

вЂќ 5 Further, there is a good possibility that HerodвЂ™s persecution of Christians, which began with JamesвЂ™ execution, is in the background of, and provides part of the occasion for, this epistle given such a presupposition, James the brother of John cannot have been the author. Although it must be admitted that he could possibly be the author of the letter, he вЂњprobably died too early to leave any literary remains. It is precisely this early martyrdom which argues against identification of this James with the author of our letter. 4:21 10:2 17:1 Mark 1:19, 29 3:17 10:35 13:3 Luke 9:28 Acts 1:13 12:2) is an important figure in the Gospels, 4 less so in Acts due to his early death as a martyr under Herod Agrippa I no later than the spring of 44 CE (Acts 12:2). James the son of Zebedee and brother of John (Matt. 10:3 Mark 3:18 15:40 Luke 6:15 Acts 1:13) is an unlikely candidate for similar reasons: he is an obscure apostle, mentioned only in lists of apostles and disciples.Д¬. 10:3).вЂќ 3 Apart from the fact that he is the father of an obscure apostle, nothing else is known about this James, rendering him a rather unlikely candidate as the author of a work to вЂњthe twelve tribesвЂќ in which his simple self-description is assumed to be understood by all.Д«. James the father of Judas (Luke 6:16 Acts 1:13), вЂњpossibly otherwise identified with Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus, to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot (Mark 3:18 Matt. 2 The four who are called James in the NT are listed here, as candidates for author of this epistle, in ascending order of probability.ДЄ. 1 It is probable, though not certain, that the writer of this epistle is to be identified with one of them. The NT mentions four men bearing the name of James. In 1:1 the author identifies himself as вЂњJames, the servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.вЂќ No other identification is given. Our approach will be to discuss the internal evidence (including evidence from the rest of the New Testament), the external evidence, more recent critical discussions, and finally, alternative theories of authorship.

The relatively weak external evidence, the difficulty of determining which James is in view, as well as the possibility of pseudonymity and redactional stages, render any discussion of authorship a bit untidy. The question of authorship of this epistle is somewhat complex.

Book of james study outline