The Pulpit Commentary — James — Section 61

titlosofAholalumdAholibrih: "Therighteous portion of a. Chri~tian hymn is introrluced mon, they shall juclgo them after the manner by the words, 5,b l\/-y.,. (2) Thrtt St. ,James of aclulteresses, o.nd after the manner of is referring to the genern.l drift mther than women the.t shod blood; because they are to the exact words of several pns.,agcs of the arlnltcresse,, o.nd blood is in their hands." Old Testament; e.g. Gen. vi. 3---5; Dent. H is remarko.blo too thn t in Mll.l. iii. 5 the xxxii. 10, 19, etc. (3) That the allusion is to J,XX. has µo,xcill.!6u, although the Hebrew some paaea.ge of the New Testament, either has the masculine, and men are evidently Gal. v. 17 or 1 Pet. ii. 1, etc. Passing on referred to, If, then, in the Old 1'estament to the translation of the second clause, 11'pO< the Jewish communities were personified as <1>Bov&v, K.-r,ll.., it mu,t benoterl that 4>Bov6< is oclulteresses, it is not unnatural for St.Ja.mes never used elsewhere in the New Testament to tro.nsfer the epithet to those J udmo- or in the LXX. (Wisd. vi. 25; 1 Mace. viii. Christian communities to which he was 16) or in the apostolic Fathers except in a. writing: o.nd the word should probably be bad sense. True tha.t Exod. xx. 5 teaches to.ken, just as in the Old 'l'eeta.ment, of us that God is a. "jealous God," but there spiritual fornication, i.e. apostasy from Goel, the LXX. renders Nlp by the far nobler shown in this case, not by actual idolatry, word (-,,1'..,Tt,s: cf. Wolf,' Corm Phil. Crit.,' but by that "friendship of the world" which p. 64, where it is noted that, while (ii"-•• is is "enmity with God," and by " covetous- e. voz media, the same cannot be said of ness which is idolo.try." 4',ll.!ci. The word <1>Bov&s, which is al ways vitiosa, and is never occurs here only in the New Testament. used by the LXX. ubi voz Hebra-ica ;;~ip With the thought of this ve1·ee, compare our ad Deum vel homines relatus ezprimendus Lord's words in John xv. 18, 19. e,t. This seems to be a. fatal objection to Vars. 5, 6.-The difficulty of the passage the marginal readings of the Revised Version, iswell shown bythehesita.tionoftheRevisers. and to compel us to rest content with that The first clause is rendered, "Or think ye o.dopted in the text, "Doth the Spirit that the Scripture spea.keth in vain?" but which he made to dwell in us long nnto as an a.ltema.tive there is suggested in the envying?" or rather, "Is it to envying that margin, "Or think ye that the Scripture the Spirit . . . longs?" 7rpos 4>8ov6v being saith in vain?" as if the following clause placed for emphasis at the beginning of the were a. quotation from Scripture. And of this sentence. following clause three possible renderings Ver. 6.-God remteth the proud. The a.re suggested. (1) In the tezt: " Doth the connection of this with ver. 4 is very close, Spirit which he made to dwell in us long and is favourable to the view taken above unto envying? But he giveth more grace. as to the meaning of the first clause of ver. 5, Wherefore the Scripture sa.ith,'' etc. (2) as the words appear to be cited in support Margin 1 : "The Spirit which he ma.de to of the statement that whosoever would be a. dwell in us he yea.moth for even unto jealous friend of the world makes him.self an enemy envy. But he giveth," etc. (3) Margin 2: of God. The quotation is from ProY. iii. "That Spirit which he ma.de to dwell in us 34, LXX., K6p,os Vff'fp71cp&.11ou CZ.11-r,-rc:lo-creTa,, yeameth for us even unto jealous envy. .,...,,.e,vois lie 6i6wcr1 x&pw. St. James's version But he giveth," etc. Further, it is noted agrees with this exactly, except that it bas in the margin that some ancient authorities l, 9e&s instead of K6p.or (the Hebrew has read "dwelleth in us," i.e. ,cci-rw,c71rrev, which simply " he," N1;-t). The ,passage is also is the reading of the Received Text, and so quoted in precisely the same form by St. of the A.V. resting upon K, L: Ill and B being Peter (1 Pet. v. 5), and "Vith e,~r instead of the primo.ry authorities for ,cci-rw,c,rrev. With t, ee&s by St. Clement of Rome. In St. regud to the first clause, the rendering of Peter the quotation is followed Jiy the in- the R. V., "spea.keth," may be justified by junction, " Humble yourselves therefore Heb. ix. 5. It is possible that St. Ja.mes was under the mighty hl\nd of God . . . . Your inteuding to quote Prov. iii. 34 immediately, ad versa.ry the det1il, a.s a. roe.ring lion walketh but after the introductory formula., i) lio,cei-re a.bout, seeking whom he may devour: whom IJTt ,cevws ,;, -ypci<p¾/ 11.eye,, he interposes with withstand (rp tiJ1T!rr-r71-re) steadfast in the the emplla.tio question, "Is it to envy," etc.? faith." There is clearly a. connection and does not arrive at the quotation till between this passage and the one beforo us vcr. 6, when he introduces it with a fresh in St. Ja.mes, which proceeds, "Be subject formula. of quotation, li,b 11.,-y.,, a. looso1;1ess therefore unto God; but resist the de,vil ( /u,-r(- of const.ruction which is quite natural in a 1T-r71-re Ii~ -rrp li,ci/301'.'1'), and he will flee from Hebrew. Other views, for which it is you." This passage, it will be felt, is the believed there is less to be urged, are the simpler, and therefore, probably, the earlier following: (1) that the words, wpbs <j,Oov&v, of the two (of. eh. i. 3). ,c,-r.ll.., are a. quotation from some (now lost) Vera. 7-10.-Ezhortation based on the early Christitm writing. On this view the preceding, quite in the 11tyle of e. prophet o{ pwisa.ge is p1ue.llel to Eph. v. 14, where a \he Old Te11tume11t.  56 'l'HE GENERAL EPtSTLt OF JAMrns. [ll!t. IV. 1-11,