Benjamin Wisner Bacon

“ Instead of being written in Aramaic, as it would almost necessarily be if antecedent to the Pauline epistles, or even in the Semitic style characteristic of the older and more Palestinian elements of the New Testament we have a Greek even more fluent than Paul’s and metaphors and allusions (i. 17, iii. 1–12) of a type more like Greek rhetoric than anything else in the New Testament. Were we to judge by the contacts with Hebrews, Clement of Rome and Hermas and the similarity of situation evidenced in the last-named, Rome would seem the most natural place of origin. ”

“ The absence of all mention of Christ (with the single exception of ii. 1, where there is reason to think the words ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ interpolated) has even led to the theory, ably but unconvincingly maintained by Spitta, that the writing is a mere recast of a Jewish moralistic writing like the Two Ways. The thoughts are loosely strung together: yet the following seems to be the general framework on which the New Testament preacher has collected his material.
1. The problem of evil (i. 1–19a) . Outward trials are for our development through aid of divinely given “wisdom” (2–11) . ”

“ The author meets these with the weapons commanded for the purpose in 1 Tim. vi. 3, but quite in the spirit of one of the “wise men” of the Hebrew wisdom literature. His gospel is completely denationalized, humanitarian; but, while equally universalistic, is quite unsympathetic towards the doctrine and the mysticism of Paul. He has nothing whatever to say of the incarnation, life, example, suffering or resurrection of Jesus, and does not interest himself in the doctrines of Christ’s person, which were hotly debated up to this time. ”

“ Like these our author holds himself so far aloof from current debate of ceremonial or doctrine as to escape our principal standards of measurement regarding place and time. Certain general considerations, however, are fairly decisive. The prolonged effort, mainly of English scholarship, to vindicate the superscription, even on the condition of assuming priority to the Pauline epistles, grows only increasingly hopeless with increasing knowledge of conditions, linguistic and other, in that early period. ”

“ The question whether James is dependent on 1 Peter or conversely is still actively disputed. As regards the superscription the relation has been defined above. Dependence on Revelation (A.D. 95) is probable (cf. i. 12 and ii. 5 with Rev. ii. 9, 10 and v. 9 with Rev. iii. 20) , but the contacts with Clement of Rome (A.D. 95–120) indicate the reverse relation. James iv. ”

“ R. see Bacon, “Doctrine of Faith in Hebrews, James and Clement of Rome,” in Jour. of Bib. Lit., 1900, pp. 12–21. ↑ Das Urchristenthum, 868, quoted by Cone, loc. cit. ↑ The logical relation of v. 12 to the context is problematical. Perhaps it may be accounted for by the order of the compend of Christian ethics the writer was following. Cf. Matt. v. 34–37 in relation to Matt. v. 12 (cf. ver. 10) and vi. 19 sqq. (cf. ver. 2, and iv. 13 seq.) . The non-charismatic conception of healing, no longer the “gift” of some layman in the community (1 Cor. xii. 9 seq.) ”