Reading: Literary Analysis (Slides)

II. LITERARY ANALYSIS

1. What type of literature is James 2:14-26?

• James 2:14-26 clearly is part of a letter or an epistle.
• Thus, knowledge of epistolary formulas or fixed expressions typically used in ancient letters important for proper interpretation of this passage.
• However, there are other non-epistolary, broader literary devices used as well: e.g., inclusio, chiasmus, word-pair, etc.

2. Evidence that 2:14-16 is a unit.

 Evidence for start of new passage at 2:14.

• Clear that the start of a new passage actually occurs not at 2:14 but earlier at 2:1.
• Several verbal, thematic and literary links between opening half of chapter two (2:1-13) and its closing half (2:14-26)
• This proves that the two sections of 2:1-13 and 2:14-26 are closely connected together.
• Links between 2:1-13 & 2:14-26.
• Both open with vocative "my brothers" (vv 1, 14).
• Both have "faith" as key word in opening (vv 1, 14). (This key word hidden in NIV.)
• Both deal with poor people who are in "shabby" or "poor" clothing (vv 2, 15).
• Both conclude the description of the discrimination or neglect of the poor (vv 2, 15) with a rhetorical question (vv 4, 16).
• Both have the expression "You do well" (v 8: kalôs poiete; v 19: kalôs poieis).
• Both have the passive verb "called" (vv 7, 23).
• Ralph Martin: "We still have to consider how 2:14-26 fits into the preceding section [of 2:1-13]. The links between the two paragraphs are too strong to be overlooked ... These parallels argue for a smooth and connected flow in the author's writing ... and the same situation lies in the background of the two units" (James. Waco, Texas: Word, 1988, pp. 78-79)
• Luke Timothy Johnson: "The position taken here is that in chapter two James develops a single argument ... In this sense, the final part of the discussion in 2:14-26 only provides the broadest formal framework for the specifics argued in 2:1-13. Likewise, the point of the discussion in 2:14-26 is not to be found by way of engagement with a Pauline position, but rather by the specific points argued in 2:1-13" (The Letter of James. New York: Doubleday, 1995, p. 219)
• Yet evidence for shift in argument at 2:14.
• Vocative "my brothers": common epistolary device in not only James (1:2, 16, 19; 2:1, 3:1; 4:11; 5:7, 12, 19) but other letters of that day to mark transition; indicates either major or minor break in argument.
• Asyndeton: there is no word (e.g., γὰρ, δὲ , ἀλλὰ, καὶ ) connecting 2:14 to the preceding material, thereby suggesting the start of a new section.
• Word pair "faith/works": occurs 10x in vv 14-26, giving these verses "lexical coherence"; although "faith" occurs two times in preceding section (2:1-13), word pair "faith/works" occurs nowhere in surrounding material, either in the preceding (2:1-13) or following (3:1ff) verses.

• Ending signaled by last use of word pair "faith/works" in v 26.
• Use of vocative "my brothers" at 3:1 to signal start of new topic.
• Shift in topic at 3:1 away from faith and works to new topic of controlling the tongue.
• Conclusion: Compelling evidence for 2:14-26 as a legitimate preaching/teaching unit.

3. Structure ("Mapquest) of 2:14-26

• Literary analysis also involves question of the internal structure of a given biblical passage.
• James (like the other biblical authors) is a gifted writer who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, thinks carefully not just about the words that he will write but also the structure that his argument will follow.
• James thinks not just about "what" he says (the Content) but also "how" he will say it (the Form in which that content is given).
• How does James get from the opening in verse 14 to the conclusion in verse 26?
• Passage consists of two rather clearly defined units and a concluding simile: