15:16–21.
Amos. James justifies his comments by an appeal to the LXX of
Amos 9:11 as a basis for accepting the Gentiles into the church rather than the
Hebrew where it is less clear. The Hebrew text reads:
On that day I shall raise up the hut of David that is
fallen, and I shall repair its breaches; I shall raise up its ruins and rebuild
it as in days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the
nations that are called by my name—oracle Yahweh who does this.
On the other hand, there is an important change in the
LXX. It reads:
‘On that day I shall raise up the tent of David that is
fallen and rebuild the ruins of it, and the parts thereof that have been broken
down I shall set up, and I shall rebuild it as (in) the days of old, that the
rest of humanity my seek (it), even all the nations, upon whom my name has been
invoked’ says the Lord, who does all these things (trans. by Fitzmyer, 555).
The difference in translation is important and the LXX
serves James’ purposes better since it shows that God has provided for the
Gentiles to become a part of the people of God. Interestingly, the same passage
is used in CD 7:16 and 4QFlor 1–2, 1
12–13. The Qumran texts do not use Amos 9:11 to include Gentiles into their
community nor to show their plan in God’s salvation. (Lee Martin McDonald,
"Acts," in The Bible Knowledge Background Commentary, ed. Craig A.
Evans and Craig A. Bubeck [Colorado Springs, Colo.: David C. Cook, 2004), 2:102