Genre
Versput discusses the generic nature of the Letter of James (Donald J. Versput, “Genre and Story: The Community Setting of the Epistle of James,” CBQ, 62 (2000): 96–110), and concludes that the designation ἐν τη διασπορα (in the dispersion/Diaspora) actually denotes the intended audience, rather than serving as a metaphorical designation only.
He finds generic parallels in the letter of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29 as well as in the 2 Apocalypse of Baruch 78–89. He points out that the latter example was written explicitly to be read aloud to communities in dispersion in order to encourage and exhort them amidst trials (101). Encouragement and hope thematically bind these writings, including James, together.
Content
Once establishing his stance on genre, Versput move to content. After claiming that the concerns of the author represent neither typical Jewish wisdom themes nor Christian paraenetic motifs (104), Versput emphasizes the communal concerns of the author: speech, leadership, and charity (105).
Versput’s conclusion, following Bo Reicke, is that the content of the Epistle of James shows similarity to the writings of ancient associations (collegia, θίασοι,
σύνοδοι), and offers ancient writings to lend support for his thesis.
While the style of the examples is markedly dry and distant (“let him this” or “if someone that,” opposed to the “my dear brothers” of James), Versput’s claim is that the parallel is in content and not necessarily style.
Interestingly, the same year this article was published (2000), JBL also carried an article on voluntary associations: Richard S. Ascough, “The Thessalonian Christian Community as a Professional Voluntary Association,” JBL 119, no. 2 (Summer, 2000), which is also a helpful read for anyone exploring the role of these associations in the ancient world.
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