Exegetical Analysis of James 3:1-12 - Book Report/Review Example

Exegetical Analysis of James 3 12 Exegetical Analysis of James 3 12 Introduction James chapter 3 verse1 to 12 is a chapter of the bible that has been analyzed and used by many people and leaders of the church to teach other upcoming leaders and the Christian communities in genera on how to lead a good Christian life with h good values especially values pertaining to leadership. The text is very useful in the current generation which has led to analysis by different scholars and theologists. Most of them agree that text is wise words of James to the Christians on Diaspora on how to govern themselves and be mature in spirituality so as to avoid judgment in the day of the coming of the lord. The text therefore serves to prepare the Christian communities for the second coming of the Lord. This study was therefore carried out to understand the message of James when he wrote the letter. It also anticipates to find out the time when the letter was written and to find out the exact people who were the target audience of James. This will lead to the understanding of the message more clearly. Summary James is urging the audience to stay away from being teachers because according to him, being a teacher demands more from the individual and therefore call for a more strict judgment from God. He says that all people including the teachers stumble in many ways and more so in what they say. And he says that whoever does not stumble in speaking is a perfect individual, who is also able to control the entire body as well. He then gives examples of how horses and ships are controlled by small bits, in case of the horse, a small bit is put in his mouth and with it, and it can be controlled by humans. Likewise, the ships though very big and driven by the storms and winds are controlled by a small rudder to wherever the pilot’s inclination directs it to. He goes ahead to say that the tongue is a small organ in the body yet it has a great ability. Again he likens it to a fire that burns a big forest yet it is a small flame. Then says that the tongue is the fire and represents the world of wrong doing among other parts of the body. The tongue, according to James, pollutes the whole body and brings fire the human existence. He says that all of god’s creations, the birds, reptiles and so on can be subdued and in fact they have been subdued by humankind but none of the humans is able to subdue the tongue. He likens the tongue to a restless evil that has deadly poison. He says that with the tongue people can bless the Lord and Father, and also with it the people can still curse the God’s creations. Therefore from one single mouth come both blessing and a curse, and goes ahead to say that it should not happen that way since a spring cannot pour out bitter and fresh water from the same hole nor can fig tree produces olives or a vine produce figs and salty sea cannot produce fresh water. Historical context. Different analysts of the bible have different views on when the book of James was written however most of them agree that it was written by James a brother to Jesus Christ. MacDonald states that the book of James was written between 45-48AD, Halley on the other hand believes that it was written in the 60AD, however, he mentions that some people date the book to 50 AD since it parallels the first Corinthians written by Paul. It is believed that both of the two books were reacting against some Jewish Christians that had previous tiers with other faiths. Further analysis by Riesner indicates that instigators of persecution during the time when the book of James was written were rich and politically influential. This information therefore places the composition of the book to the mid 40s AD when the Christians of Jewish descend were persecuted by Sadducee oligarchy and Jewish kings. He further states that after mid forties AD persecutions on the Jewish Christians was propagated by Zealot movement as shown in the book of the Acts of the Apostles 15: 1 and 23:12. Riesner, however, further observes that if the book of James was to be considered as pseudepi-graphic, then it could have been written following the death of James in 61CE or after the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion off the Christian communities in the 70CE as there are parallels to the writings of first Peter therefore indicating the presence of social economic struggles among the Christian communities. All this suggest that the exact time when the letter of James was written is still not clear. The target audiences of the book of James were Jewish Christians believers that had been scattered. It is believed that James was writing to the Christians of Jewish origin that was residing in Syria from the mixed community of Antioch. After persecution and the oppression of Agrippa an apostle of Christ, James became very influential to the community of Jerusalem since the other 12 apostles had left and therefore he became the only representative and leader of the Jerusalem community. The target of Syria was due to the idea that the Jews believed that Syria was part of the holy land and therefore was part of the part of the Christian Jews in Diaspora. It is further thought that the letter by James was sent to only very few Greek speaking communities since the book was not included in the Syriac Bible until the fifth century and this can be astonishing in the view of the influence of Jewish Christian traditions in Syria Literary context and genre The book of James employs wisdom, theology, Christology, eschatology soteriology and anthropology. The letter of James and especially chapter 3 has been considered a wisdom book that is both derived and based on the Old Testament tradition and teaching of Jesus. The book also talks about Jesus and God showing the aspects of Christology. It is an eschatology since the letter is seen is written in a way that it show that James is anticipating the second coming of Christ and, therefore, it portrays the eschatological goal as human perfection and yet the fact that the confession and forgiveness of sins is necessary. Lastly, from soteriological perspective, the writer of the book, James is seen to be reacting to Paul’s teachings, although it is understood that the instructions of James are based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. The narration units of the book of James in its entirety can be categorized into the sections. Prescript which is seen in chapter 1 verse 1 Joy in temptations which is found in chapter 1 from verse 2 all through to verse18 Hearing, speaking, doing as seen in the chapter 1 verse19 all through to verse 27 The love command and dead faith as seen in chapter 2 beginning from verse1 all through to verse26 Ethics of speech for teachers seen in chapter 3 from verse 1 to verse 12 The wise and humility that is seen in chapter 3 verse 13 to chapter 4 verse13 Warning to the rich which from chapter 4 verse 13, then chapter 5 from verse 6 Patience until the coming of the Lord which is the last part of the book and begins from chapter 5 verse 7all through to verse 20 More emphasis will be based on the ethics of speech for the teachers in this essay which is found in chapter three verses one to twelve. Some analysts of the bible like Neyrey has identified the narration unit of chapter 3 verse one to twelve as ‘control of the tongue’ while others such as Davids identified the same narration unit as ‘the challenge of controlling the tongue’. The narration unit of chapter 3 verse 1 to 12 can however be broken down into sub units which are; The tongue like a horse’s bit which is seen in chapter 3 verse 2-3 The tongue like a ship’s rudder which is seen in chapter 3 verse 4-5 The tongue as a fire which is seen as from chapter 3 verse 5 to 6 The untamed tongue which begins from chapter 3 from verse7 to 10 No double talk which is found in chapter 3 verse10 to 12 While Davids divides the narration units as follows; Warning against self-exaltation seen in chapter 3, verse,1-2 Warning against power of the tongue found in chapter 3, verse,2-5 Warning against doublings in the tongue as seen in chapter 3 verse 5 to verse12 Generally, the book of James is a composed Christology, wisdom and narration literary styles and the narration units can be further subdivide to several units. Of importance is to notice the narration units of the chapter 3 verse 1 to 12 which is of main concern to the essay. Literary structure There are a number of literary styles used in the letter of James. The structure that will be analyses will specifically be based on chapter 3 verse 1 to 12. The literary styles used include; repetitive words which are seen thought out the chapter. Some of the words are repeated mostly include my brothers and sisters which is repeated three times in verse 1, verse 10, verse12. There is also repetition of the word great, which has been used also as greater or large, the word is repeated three times in verse 1, verse 4 and verse 5. There is also repletion of the word anyone, no one, those and who all to mean one thing. The repletion of the phrase whole body or whole bodies is also evident in the chapter. Mistakes is another word that is repeated in verse two. Mouths or mouths is also mentioned twice in verse 3 and verse 10. Guide and guided is also used twice in the text. Tongue, fire, tamed or tame, small or very small, species, bless or blessing, curse or cursing, fresh and water have all been used twice in the chapter in different verses between chapter 1 and 12. Lord, Father or God is also mentioned severally in chapter 9. The repeated words are used in reference to each other for example the phrase my brothers and sisters is used in reference to the words greater strictness. Another example is seen when humans represented by someone no one who or those are used in reference with mistakes and the whole body. From the analysis of the repetitive words, it is evident that there are some comparisons being made in the letter, more specific is the comparisons between small and big things. There also comparisons of the whole body, the mouth and the tongue, comparisons about taming the tongue and taming the different species of animals. There is also comparison between blessings and curses, and God and humans. There comparisons being made are done for the sake of my brothers and sisters. It is important also to notice that the text begins with the calling of my brothers and sisters and ends with the same reference or address of my brothers and sisters. Grammatical study As one analyses the text, it is important to notice the use of pronouns along with action verbs so as to understand the characters that are being addressed as well as those who are being referenced in the text. However, we already determined that the other of the book is James and that he was addressing the Christian Jews in Diaspora. The pronouns will however, help notice who is being referred to specifically. In verse 1 the pronouns used is my brothers and sisters, and then there is we who teach will be judged. The other in verse two is all of us make mistakes, we put, make them obey us, we guide, their whole bodies, they are so large. The use of such words is all over the text begging the question who is the us, the brother and sisters, they, them and so on. Who will be judged, who makes mistakes and the likes. From this analysis, we recognize that James the writer of the book includes himself with the ones that are being addressed in the book or letter. James informs those to whom the letter is being written to and that some of them should not be teacher and as teachers they will receive greater condemnation or strictness. In simple words, the teachers will be judged on a higher scale compared to the other people. Here James includes himself in those that will be judged, it is crucial to realize that James shows honest anthropology. The letter portrays the eschatological goal which is human perfection, James, however, notes that he is not perfect him as is noticed in verse 2. James admits to making many mistakes and he knows that Christian’s believers usually go wrong too and therefore need to repent and be forgiven. There is the use of the word teacher which in Greek is didaskalos, a teacher in the New Testament refers to the one that teaches things that are concerned with god and the duties of men. A teacher has to be fitted to teach or believes he is so. The teachers of the New Testament drew crowds like Jesus did and had great influence and most of them were assisted by the Holy Spirit, this therefore suggests that teachers had an important leadership role in the Christian communities. Therefore, they had to be judged more and that is why James warns them. Theology and message The text is of great importance in teaching the leaders on how to control the tongue. The control of the tongue was seen as spiritual maturity that is why James says that whoever is able to control the tongue is a perfect person. Here perfect is used to mean mature in terms of speech and spirituality. He is urging the leaders of the Christian communities in different parts to be careful in their speech so as to attain maturity in their spirituality. He also asks them to leave leadership to chosen few who are true leaders since they have the Holy Spirit in them and are responsible enough to be judged heavily by god. The message of James is also applicable to the situations in the current Christian communities. They are all called to be very careful in the use of speech since unplanned or talking without first considering the weight of the words being spoken can cause serious problems in the christen communities. The message that the leadership positions should be reserve for the few chosen ones is also handy in the current situations in the choosing of wise leaders of the churches. Conclusion The study on the book of James chapter 3 from verse one to twelve is very important for the understanding of the target audiences of the book together with the intended message. From the analysis it could be said that the author of the book was James the brother to Jesus Christ and his audience were mainly the Christian communities in Diaspora. The book was written between 45 and 48 AD. The book is written in a variety of styles but it is important to note that wisdom, narration, Christology and eschatology are the most evident styles of the book. The narration unit of the book and specifically chapter 3 is the Ethics of speech for teachers. Which were used by James to teach the leaders how o be good leaders? The main message of the chapter is to tame the tongue so as to lead a great life especially when somebody is a leader. Work cited David A. deSilva, An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation .Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, (2004), 828. Henry H. Halley, Halley’s Bible Handbook: With the New International Version Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, (2000). Rainer Riesner, “Date and Place of Composition James,” in The Oxford Bible Commentary, ed. John Barton and John Muddiman, Oxford Biblical Studies Online, http:// 0-www.oxfordbiblicalstudies.com.library.regent.edu/article/book/obso-9780198755005/obso Tonya Banks. Controlling One’s Tongue In Leadership: A Sociorhetorical Inner-Textual Analysis Of James 3:1-12 And Quantitative Analysis Pilot Study Journal of Biblical Perspectives in Leadership School of Business & Leadership, Regent University 4, no. 1 (2012), 87 133. Vernon K. Robbins, The Tapestry of Early Christian Discourse: Rhetoric, Society, and Ideology New York: Routeledge, (1996) William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary Nashville: Thomas Nelson, (1989). 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