So Much for Straw || A Blog about the Epistle of James

To continue my discussion of Jacobean verbal icons, I would like to point to the possible relationship between the thought world of the author of James and the body of work known was the Testament of Job (TJob).

In James 5:11, the author references Job as a model of perseverance: “Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful” (NRSV).

For the auditors of this text, the reference to the person of Job would have been understood in light of canonical Job, certainly, but possibly in light of the intertestamental Testament of Job as well. Questions remain about the writing’s date of compilation, but the story certainly existed in oral form before redaction, so a first century Jewish audience very well could have been familiar with it.

In the closing part of his letter, James speaks of faith and suffering, and he uses Job as a verbal icon that illustrates the purpose of the Lord, particularly with reference to compassion and mercy (πολύσπλαγχνός ἐστιν ὁ κύριος καὶ οἰκτίρμων).

In TJob, the theme of Job’s compassion and mercy recur throughout.  James, then, in his effort to promote the plight of the marginalized, namely the πτωχοι, elevates the person of Job as a verbal icon of perseverance amidst suffering that illustrates the compassion and mercy of God, all of which are traits the author desire’s to inspire in his auditors.

Verbal icons, then, provide the author with a means of communicating layers of meaning and rich significance unachievable through simple comparisons.

Here are a few examples of Job’s disposition toward the poor:

And I had three hundred and forty thousand nomadic asses, and of these I set aside five hundred, and the offspring of these I order to he sold and the proceeds to be given to the poor and the needy. For from all the lands the many came to meet me.6 For the four doors of my house were opened, each, being in charge of a watchman who had to see whether there were any people coming asking alms, and whether they would see me sitting at one of the door’s so that they could leave through the other and take whatever they needed. (3:5–9)

I also had three thousand five hundred yokes of oxen, and I selected of these five hundred and had them tend to the plowing. And with these I had done all the work in each field by those who would, take it in charge and the income of their crops I laid aside for the poor on their table. I also had fifty bakeries from which I sent [the bread] to the table for the poor. (10:5–6)

I therefore, rising early, would offer up sacrifices on their behalf in the following amounts: 300 doves, 50 goat’s kids, and 12 sheep. Everything over and above the prescribed ritual portion I would order to be considered superfluous and expended on the poor. (13:4–5)