In essence, James handed down a judgment in support of the argument of
Peter and Paul against the circumcision party. James perceived that through
Peter and Paul God had been calling out Gentiles adding them to his people,
without the necessity of circumcision. Here James saw the words of the prophets
finding their fulfilment.
After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will set it up,
that the rest of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who has made these things known form of old. (Acts 15:16-18)
It has been shown that this is not merely a straightforward quotation of
the Septuagint text of Amos 9:11-12; James has also added to that text nuances
from other “prophets.” Moreover, within this scriptural citation is also to be
found its interpretation. In this intertextual use of scriptural passages,
James is following methods of exegesis that have become well known to us from
the Qumran scribes. Subtle allusions to isolated words and catch phrases in
this citation point to clusters of passages from the prophets that affirm the
inclusion of the Gentiles.
The “dwelling of David” is the temple God promised through Nathan to David,
that David’s son “would build” (2 Sam 7:11-16). . . . Clearly, James
perceived “the dwelling of David,” the “new temple” of God, to be located in
Jerusalem in the living members of the believing community (see also Acts
21:20). (Paul Barnett, Jesus and the Rise of Early Christianity: A History
of New Testament Times [Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 1999], 290, 291,
emphasis in bold added)
Further Reading: