The Pulpit Commentary — James — Section 10

in omm'bus lliis. (The Clementine Vulgate, l(l1r•cr• ••• 4,rdill.,-ro. Obsel'Ve the o.oriet11 by reo.ding est after inconstans, o.greee with here o.nd in ver. 24. The illustration or A.V.) Another possible rendering ie tho.t c11,11e mentioned by way of example is taken of tho Il.V. margin, "Let not th11t man think o.e an actual fact, and the apostle falls into that a double-minded mo.n, unstable in all the tone of narration (see Winer,' Grammar hie ways, shall receive," etc. But the ren- of New Testament Greek,' § xl. 5, 6, I). dering given o.bove is better. Double- Render, F<n lhe sun arose with the Boorching minded ; 6/,f,vxos occurs only here and in wind, and withered the grass; and the ftm,,er eh. iv. 8 in the New Testament. It is not thereof fell away, and the grace of fhe fashion found in any earlier writer, and was perhaps of it perished. Ka.6cr .. v may refer to (1) tho coined by St. James to represent the idea 11.eo.t of the sun, or (2) more probably, the of the Hebrew, "an heart 11nd an heart hot So.mum wind, the 0''JP. of the Old (:l~l :l~?)" (I Chron. xii. 33). It took Testament (Job :uvii. 21; Ezek. xvii. 10, root at once in the vocabulary of ecclesi- etc.). astiool writers, being found three times in Vere. 12-18.-Return to the Bubject of Clement of Rome, o.nd frequently in his temptation. Ver. 2 taught that temptation younger contempornry Hermo.s. St. Jo.mes's regarded o.s o.n opportunity should be a words are apparently alluded to in the cause for joy. Ver. 12 teaches that the Apost. Const., VII. xi., Mli -ylvov lil>/,vxos iv endurance of temptation brings a blessing ,r~ocr•vxfi crov .: lcr-ra.1 l) ob : and cf. Clem., from God, even the crown of life. Comp. 'Rom.,' 'c. xxiii. The same thought is o.lso Rev. ii. 10, the only other place in the found in Ecclus. i. 28, " Come not before New Testament where the "crown of life" him with a double heart ('v Kl<pBltf Blcro-!1)-" is mentioned ; o.nd there o.lso it stands in Unstable; aKa.-rd.cr.-a.-ros, only here and (pro- close connection with the endurance of temp- bably) eh. iii. 8. tation. Elsewhere we rood of the "crown Vere. 9-ll.-A very difficult passage, of righteousness" (2 Tim. iv. 8), and the three interpretations of which are given, "crown of glory" (1 Pet. v. 4). The genitive none of them entirely satisfactory or free (-ro11 cr-rlcpa.11011 -r,js (w,js) is probably the gen. from difficulties. (1) "But let the brother epex., '' the crown, which is life." 'O K6pws of low degree glory in his high estate [ i.e. of the Received Text has bnt slight anthoritv. his Christian dignity): but let the rich It is wanting in A, B, N, ff, and is deleted [brother glory] in his humiliation" (i.e. in by the Revisers, following o.11 recent editors. being poor of spirit, Matt. v. 3). (2) " But Render, which he promised, etc. The let the brother," etc. (as before): "but the subject is easily understood, o.nd therefore, rich man [rejoices] in his humiliation" o.s frequently in Jewish writings (e.g. 1 Mac- (i.e. in what is really his degradation; cf. co.bees), omitted from motives of reverence. "whose glory is in their shame,"Phil.iii. 19). Ver. 13.-God is not the author of temp- (3) "But let the brother, . . . but let tation; cf. Ecclus. xv. 11, 12, "Say not the rich [grieve] in his humiliation." The thou, It is through the Lord that I fell ellipse of -ra.,m11060-6w in this lo.et is very away: for thou onghtest not to do the harsh and unexampled, so that the choice things that he hateth. Say not thou, He really lies between (1) and (2). And ago.inst ho.th co.used me to err: for he bath no need (1) it may be urged (a) that the "rich" of the sinful man." From God; A1rd eeoii (the are never elsewhere spoken of as "brothers" article is wanting in N, A, B, C, K, L). Con- in this Epistle. See eh. ii. 6; v. 1, and cf. trast inro -r,is laia.s br,9vµla.s. 'A1ro 8•oii is a. the wo.y in which they are spoken of in more general expression than inro 8•oii, which other parts of the New Testament (e.g. would refer the temptation immediately to Luke vi. 24; Matt. xix. 23; Rev. vi. 15); God. 'A1ro 0•oii is frequenUy lll!ed 11.11 a and in Ecolus. xiii. 3; (b) that in ver. kind of adverb divinitm. Cannot be tempted; ll the thought is, not of riches which ii1r.Cpa.cr-ros : o.n a.1ra.c ll.eyoµ•vov. Syriac, " is mo.ke to themselves wings and fly o.way, not tempted with evils ; " Vulgo.te, inten- but of the rich man himself, who fades tator malorum; R.V., "cannot be tempted away; (c) tho.t -ra.1r•l11wcris is elsewhere of evil;" R.V. margin, "is untried in evil." always used for extemo.l lowness of condi- Alford has a good note on this word, in tion, not for the Christian virtue of humility which he points out tho.t it has but two (see Luke i. 48; Acts viii. 33; Phil. iii. 21). meanings : ( l) that has not been tried ; On the whole, therefore, it is best to adopt (2) tho.t has not tried. The rendering of (2) o.nd to supply the indicative : "but the the Vulgo.te is thus etymologically pussible, ric~ man [not •brother'] glories in his but is against the context. The use of the humiliation;" i.e. he glories in who.t is word may, perhaps, be extended somewhat re1Llly lowering. Beoo.use 0.1 the flower, eto. wider than the renderings given above A clear reference to Isa. xl. 6, which is o.lso would allow, so tha.t it may be part1phro.sed quoted in 1 Pet. i. 24. as " out of the sphere of ev ila" (Farrar). Ver. ll.-'A11frE1ll.e , , • l(~pa11e • , • Noither tempteth he, eto. Here the writer  THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JAMES. [on. 1. l-2i.