Hebrew it is 3HK, which, in the passages cited, has an active sound, but a passive signification. At least the parallel words in Isaiah are, servant , elect , and friend; and in the Septuagint, ov jjya $nj<ra, Wiom 1 loved , as in the passage quoted from 2 Chron. it is ru> riyartriiJjUu aou, beloved by Thee. On which place also the Halle reviewers1 remark, that Abraham is called by the Arabs as it were by a proper name, Alchalil , that is, the friend of God. So also Judith viii. 22, Abraham amicus Dei effectus est , though these words are not found in the Greek text.
24. ' Opart, ye see) So (BXs^ng, seest thou , ver. 22. — eg epyuv dixaiov- rat , is justified by works) See ver. 21, note. — avOpunog, a man) whether Jew or Greek. — /iovov , only) The Scripture has foreseen and marked out here the error of those gospel-bearing Cyclopians, as Erasmus terms them, and degenerate disciples of Luther, who have for their banner faith only , not as taught by St Paul, but apart ( desolatam , separated) from works.
25. Ka/ 'Paa/3, and Rahab) Having made mention of an illus- trious man, Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, he brings forward a woman (for he addresses men and women ; ch. iv. 4), and one who was a Gentile, and had led an abandoned life, that no one may require works from Jews only.
26. Tap , for) For is used in the place of therefore , as Rom. iii.
28, note. — ro cu^a yjapig nvi-j/jjarog, the body without a spirit) mev/ua often denotes the breath , which is the sign of life ; but when
it is opposed to the body , it denotes the spirit or soul : nor is that sense foreign to the meaning of this passage. Faith without works resembles a lifeless body ; but it does not therefore follow that living faith derives its life from works. It has been already explained, at ver. 21, why James has mentioned works rather than the peculiar energy of faith. Vain pretenders have the form , but not the power of godliness. 2 Tim. iii. 5 ; Tit. i. 16.
1 Halle reviewers. The reference is to the “ Memoirs of a Library at Halle,” a periodical publication under the superintendence of Baumgarten, printed in the years 1748-1751. It contains valuable information on the various editions of the New Testament. See Michaelis’ Introduction by Bp. Marsh. — T.