Thursday, December 1, 2022

Daniel K. Eng on James 1:4

  

The three descriptors in James 1.4b fall within a common range of meaning: reaching the apex of completeness. The term τελειοι, which repeats throughout James (1.15, 17; 2.8, 22; 3.2; 5.11), can refer to (1) ‘meeting the highest standard,’ (2) ‘being mature,’ (3) initiated into a cult, or (4) ‘being fully developed in a moral sense’. Its association in 1.4 with ολοκληροι, which conveys ‘being complete and meeting all expectations’, favours the first and second usages of τελειος, which have significant overlap (see Heb. 9.11; 1 Cor. 13.10; 14.20; Wis. 9.6; Eph. 4.13). The third descriptor, εν μηδενι λειπομενοι, harmonizes with the first two adjectival terms; the hearers will have nothing lacking or deficient.

 

The three associated descriptors likely describe wholeness and completeness in commitment to God. I will defend this view with τελειοι as my starting point. Several points assist the interpretation of τελειοι. First, when it refers to people τελειος in the LXX most often corresponds to the terms שלם (1 Kgs. 8.61; 11.4; 15.3, 14; 1 Chron. 28.9) and תמים (Gen. 6.9; Deut. 18:13; 2 Sam. 22.260. The context of these instances points to a complete commitment before God: an ‘undivided loyalty.’ This usage of τελειος is likely the connotation of its occurrence in James 1.4. The saying affirms that the testings serve to prove the genuineness of faith (1.2-3), much like the figures described by τελειος in the LXX. They were considered τελειος because of their completeness or undivided hearts. This sense of τελειος is also found in Mt. 19.21. Jesus exhorts a rich man, who has kept the commandments, to sell his possessions and follow him in order to be τελειος. This saying of Jesus communicates that eternal life requires wholehearted and undivided adherence to him. . . . In accordance with singleness, the author of James condemns doubleness, using the rare term διψυχος to condemn an unstable and wavering man (1.6-8). He also uses διψυχος for his hearers (4.8), urging his hearers to choose God over the world (4.4). Thus, τελειος in James 1.4 is likely associated with this undivided commitment and wholehearted faith.

 

Third, the view that τελειοι refers to wholeness or completeness in faith (1.3) is supported by its apposition with ολοκληροι, a term that refers to completeness. Furthermore, ολοκληρος is primarily used in the LXX to correspond to שלם (Deut 27.6; Josh. 9.4) and תמים (Lev. 2.15; Ezek. 15.5), revealing its significant overlap with τελειος. Each of the instances conveys a sense of completeness or wholeness.

 

Fourth, the phrase εν μηδενι λειπομενοι reinforces the connotation of τελειοι as complete. The result of the testing of faith in 1.2-4 is that the hearers would have no deficiency. Thus, they are to consider their testings as all joy, anticipating the final result. (Daniel K. Eng, Eschatological Approval: The Structure and Unifying Motif of James [New Testament Monographs 45; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2022], 101-2)

 

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