James 4,1-4 in the Light of the Jewish Two Ways Tradition 3,1-6
James 4,1-4 in the Light of the Jewish Two Ways Tradition 3,1-6
James 4,1-4 in the Light of the Jewish Two Ways Tradition 3,1-6
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>James</strong> 4,1-4 <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Light</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Two</strong> <strong>Ways</strong> <strong>Tradition</strong> 3,1-6 63<br />
SUMMARY<br />
The author <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Letter <strong>of</strong> <strong>James</strong> accuses his readers (Jas 4,1-4) <strong>of</strong> be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
responsible for war, murder and adultery. How are we to expla<strong>in</strong> this charge? This<br />
paper shows that <strong>the</strong> material <strong>in</strong> Jas 1,13-21; 2,8-11 and 4,1-4 is closely ak<strong>in</strong> to<br />
<strong>the</strong> teknon section <strong>in</strong> Did 3,1-6. The teknon section belonged to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Jewish</strong> <strong>Two</strong><br />
<strong>Ways</strong> tradition which, for <strong>the</strong> most part, is covered by <strong>the</strong> first six chapters <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
Didache. Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, Did 3,1-6 exhibits close aff<strong>in</strong>ity with <strong>the</strong> ethical pr<strong>in</strong>ciples<br />
<strong>of</strong> a particular stream <strong>of</strong> Rabb<strong>in</strong>ic tradition found <strong>in</strong> early Derekh Erets treatises.<br />
<strong>James</strong> 4,1-4 should be considered a fur<strong>the</strong>r development <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> warn<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> Did<br />
3,1-6.
Change language