King James Version
James
James in the King James Version (1769), public domain in the United States.
Background and History
The chapters above are the King James text. This essay is the setting of James: who is said to have written it, when and where, what happens in it, and how the text has been copied.
At a Glance
| Author | James, servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, traditionally the brother of the Lord who led the Jerusalem church. Some scholars regard it as written later in his name. |
|---|---|
| Date | AD 45–62 in one survey, before James’s death. Scholars who doubt the attribution place it later in the first century. |
| Place written | Jerusalem, in the traditional view. The letter does not name its place of writing. |
| Genre | A letter of moral exhortation in the wisdom tradition. |
| Chapters | 5 |
| Verses | 108 in the King James Version |
| Key verse | James 2:17James 2:17 · King James VersionEven so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.James 2:17 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
Who Wrote It
James 1:1James 1:1 · King James VersionJames, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
James 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source (1) names James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Several men named James appear in the New Testament. The traditional author is James the Lord’s brother, named in Galatians 1:19Galatians 1:19 · King James VersionBut other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.
Galatians 1:19 · King James VersionOpen the Source and leading the Jerusalem church in Acts 15:13Acts 15:13 · King James VersionAnd after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
Acts 15:13 · King James VersionOpen the Source. The son of Zebedee was killed early, in Acts 12:2Acts 12:2 · King James VersionAnd he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
Acts 12:2 · King James VersionOpen the Source, so he is unlikely.
Eusebius, in Church History 3.25.3, lists the epistle of James first among the disputed books that are nevertheless recognized by many. (2) He also tells of James’s martyrdom in book 2. Athanasius includes it among the seven catholic epistles. (3) Scholars who doubt the attribution point to the letter’s good Greek and its slow acceptance. Defenders note that Galilee was bilingual, that a scribe may have helped, and that the letter’s simple church setting and Jewish character fit early Jerusalem.
Who It Is Not
James the son of Zebedee is not the author. James the son of Alphaeus, in Matthew 10:3Matthew 10:3 · King James VersionPhilip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
Matthew 10:3 · King James VersionOpen the Source, is sometimes identified with the Lord’s brother, but the texts do not require it.
When and Where
Bible Gateway gives AD 45–62. (5) The traditional date range ends with James’s death.
Audience and Setting
The twelve tribes scattered abroad, in James 1:1James 1:1 · King James VersionJames, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
James 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source, meaning Jewish Christians outside Judea. The purpose is practical: endurance under trial, care for the poor, control of the tongue, and faith shown by works.
Rulers at the Time
The letter names no ruler. This page adds none.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| James leads the Jerusalem church | Acts 15:13Acts 15:13 · King James VersionAnd after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:Acts 15:13 · King James VersionOpen the Source, Galatians 2:9Galatians 2:9 · King James Version And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.Galatians 2:9 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
| The letter | AD 45–62 in one survey. (5) |
Places in This Book
| Ancient name | Modern-day location | References |
|---|---|---|
| Jerusalem | The traditional place of writing, not named in the letter. The Old City of modern Jerusalem. | Acts 15:13Acts 15:13 · King James VersionAnd after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:Acts 15:13 · King James VersionOpen the Source |
What Is Happening
James 1 addresses trials, wisdom, temptation, and doing the word. James 2 condemns favoritism and argues that faith without works is dead. James 3 treats the tongue and true wisdom. James 4 confronts quarrels and pride. James 5 warns the rich, urges patience, and calls for prayer.
Key Themes
Faith that works, in James 2:17James 2:17 · King James VersionEven so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
James 2:17 · King James VersionOpen the Source. The tongue, in James 3:5–10James 3:5–10 · King James Version3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
James 3:5–10 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Care for the poor, in James 1:27James 1:27 · King James VersionPure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
James 1:27 · King James VersionOpen the Source.
Apologetics Questions
James 2:24James 2:24 · King James VersionYe see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
James 2:24 · King James VersionOpen the Source (1) says a man is justified by works and not by faith only, and readers set that beside Romans 3:28Romans 3:28 · King James VersionTherefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Romans 3:28 · King James VersionOpen the Source. Martin Luther called James a letter of straw in a preface he later revised. Most interpreters reconcile the two: Paul denies that works earn justification, and James denies that a faith with no works is real faith. Both cite Abraham. Churches that confess the Trinity still differ on how to state the relationship, and this page does not choose.
How the Book Points to Christ
James 2:1James 2:1 · King James VersionMy brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
James 2:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source calls Jesus the Lord of glory. James 5:7–8James 5:7–8 · King James Version5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
James 5:7–8 · King James VersionOpen the Source speaks of the coming of the Lord, the language of the day of the Lord. Jesus is God.
Text and Manuscripts
Codex Sinaiticus contains James. (6) No major variant changes the argument.
Canon Reception
James was among the disputed books in Eusebius’s classification. (2) The Muratorian fragment, as it survives, does not list it. (4) Athanasius lists it in AD 367, and it was received thereafter. (3)
Further Reading
References
- Epistle of James, 1:1; 2:24James 1:1 · King James Version
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
James 1:1 · King James VersionOpen the Source. King James Version - Church History, Book 3, 2.23; 3.25.3Papias, in Eusebius, Church History 3.39.15 · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, New Advent
Mark, having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately, though not in order, whatsoever he remembered of the things said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed him, but afterward, as I said, he followed Peter, who adapted his teaching to the needs of his hearers, but with no intention of giving a connected account of the Lord's discourses, so that Mark committed no error while he thus wrote some things as he remembered them. For he was careful of one thing, not to omit any of the things which he had heard, and not to state any of them falsely.
Papias, in Eusebius, Church History 3.39.15 · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, New AdventOpen the Source (Eusebius, Church History 3.3, 3.24–25, and 3.39, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 1, on New Advent. Chapter 25 sorts books into acknowledged, disputed, and rejected. Chapter 39 reports Papias on Mark and Matthew.) - Festal Letter 39, 39.4–5 (Athanasius of Alexandria, AD 367, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 4, on New Advent. The letter lists twenty-two Old Testament books and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, and places Esther among books to be read rather than in the canon.)
- Muratorian fragment, JamesMuratorian fragment, on Acts · Roberts-Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers 5
Moreover, the Acts of all the Apostles are comprised by Luke in one book, and addressed to the most excellent Theophilus, because these different events took place when he was present himself; and he shows this clearly-i.e., that the principle on which he wrote was, to give only what fell under his own notice-by the omission of the passion of Peter, and also of the journey of Paul, when he went from the city-Rome-to Spain.
Muratorian fragment, on Acts · Roberts-Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers 5Open the Source (Roberts-Donaldson translation, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5. The Latin is damaged and the English follows restorations. The fragment lists the books read in the church and those rejected.) - When Was Each Book of the Bible Written?, James (Jacob Edson, Bible Gateway, 16 September 2024. The survey gives James as AD 45–62. It is one editor’s approximation, not a manuscript date.)
- Codex Sinaiticus, About the manuscriptCodex Sinaiticus: content · Codex Sinaiticus Project
Codex Sinaiticus, a manuscript of the Christian Bible written in the middle of the fourth century, contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament.
Codex Sinaiticus: content · Codex Sinaiticus ProjectOpen the Source (The Codex Sinaiticus project’s description of the manuscript, a fourth-century Greek Bible with the earliest complete copy of the New Testament.)
The King James Version (1769) is in the public domain in the United States.