12a and judge : Nes | Byz TR: Ø P⁷⁴ and Byz lack the phrase "and judge." The TR also omits it.

12c another : Byz TR | Nes: neighbour Byz reads the generic "another" (heteron) instead of "neighbour" (plêsion). 

12a There is one  ECHO of the Shema James here echoes his pronouncement in Jas 2:19, which itself echoes the Shema (Dt 6:4):

• Jas 2:19a: "You believe that God is one"
• Dt 6:4: "Hear O Israel!  The Lord is our God, thet Lord alone."

In the current context, James stresses that it is the Lord alone (not presumptous humans) who is the the only lawgiver and judge.

12b able to save and to destroy ECHO of the Jesus Tradition One may detect an echo here of Jesus' characterization of God in Mt 10:28: "And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." "For whoever wishes to save his life (psuchê) will lose it, but whoever loses (apollumi) his life for my sake will find it" (Mt 16:25).

The word "destroy" can refer to physical death (e.g., Mt 2:13; 12:9), but also to eschatological destruction: Mk 1:24 (destruction of an unclean spirit);  Rom 14:15 (destruction of a weak brother); Mt 10:28.

12a one lawgiver and judge God is the Ultimate Source of Political Authority

• →Leo XIII Diut. 11 cites this passage to support the view that the ultimate source of all political authority is God and not, as in the political theory of men such as Voltaire or Rousseau, the will of the people. Such a view will facilitate the just ordering of society and encourage the populace's proper respect for authority (citing Rom 13:1-7). This respect for authority has limits, however: one cannot obey a ruler if the ruler commands something that violates the divine or natural law. 

12a lawgiver and judge Characterization of the Lord in G The Lord is frequently designated as the lawgiver (using the verb form nomotheteô) in G: e.g., Ex 24:12; Ps 25:8 [24:8]; Ps 119:33 [118:33]). The Lord's role as judge is also frequently stated: Ps 7:11; 49:6; Sir 35:14 [35:12]; Heb 12:23.

A strong case can be made, however, that James has in mind the Lord Jesus as lawgiver and judge. The passage here is parallel with Jas 5:9, and there the eschatological judge who stands at the door is almost certainly the Lord Jesus (cf. →James: The title kurios in James).

11f lawgiver and judge Vocabulary on Law and Judging The criterion that enables one to judge (G = krinô; V = judico; S = d’n) between good and evil is the law (G = nomos; V = lex; S = nmws’). Therefore, the ultimate judge (G= kritês; V = judex; S =dynh) is the divine lawgiver (G = nomothetos; V = legislator; S = s’m nmws’, lit.: the one who sets down the laws, who is the source of the law).

12b able to save and to destroy Connotations of "to save" James several times uses the verb “to save” (sôzô; V= liberare; S = ap‘el of ḥy’):

• Jas 1:21: the implanted word that is able to save your souls; 
• Jas 2:14: James asks rhetorically if faith without action can save a person; 
• Jas 5:15: the prayer of faith will save the suffering person; 
• Jas 5:20: the one who turns around a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death. 

James’ use of sôzô focuses on a final, eschatological salvation. This sense is evident in the current context, which refers to the divine power of salvation or destruction possessed by the one lawgiver and judge.

11f Do not speak against one another …The one speaking against: Sorites James again employs the chain argument (cf. Jas 1:3-4; 1:14-15). See also Literary Devices Jas 1:3.

11f judging his brother James, Lv 19:15-18, and NT Teaching Several indications suggest that Jas 4:11-12 makes an intertextual use of Lv 19:15-18.

• This section of Leviticus focuses on rendering a just judgment to the people in one's community; one of James' central concerns in this pericope.
• James makes use of this Leviticus section elsewhere in the letter: Jas 2:1-13 interacts especially with Lv 19:15's command to avoid showing partiality. Jas 2:8 directly quotes Lv 19:18b.
• James refers to judging one's neighbor (plêsion); the word is used 4X in the Leviticus passage.
• Besides the two passages just mentioned, Lv 19:17-18a also resonates in James:  "You shall not hate in your mind your kin; in reproof you shall reprove your neighbor." James criticizes those who "speak badly" of the neighbor (likely behind the neighbor's back), instead of openly rebuking the neighbor (Lv 19:17); "your own hand shall not take vengeance" (Lv 19:18a). James similiarly criticizes community members who speak against one another on the basis of their own worldly values, not on the basis of the divine law. In so doing, they "judge the law" (Jas 4:11b).

Reading Leviticus through Jesus' Teaching

James, however, is not reading Leviticus directly, but reading Leviticus through the filter of Jesus' own interpretation. One may discern clear echoes of Jesus' teaching: "Stop judging, that you may not be judged" (Mt 7:1; cf. Lk 6:37-42). James is also guided by Jesus' selection of Lv 19:18 as a central commandment of the Torah (e.g., Mk 12:28-34), and on Jesus' characterisitic emphasis in mercy (e.g., Mt 5:7; Mt 6:14-15).

Other NT Commandments to Avoid Judging

The commandment not to judge is also noted by Paul:  Rom 2:1; Rom 14:4; 1Cor 4:4-5.

11f speak against Disparaging Fellow Community Members

Defining the Sin

• V translates "speaking badly" as detraho. (It is translated as "backbiting" in older English translations.) →Aquinas ST 2-2.73.1, drawing on Albert the Great, defines the noun form detractio as “the blackening (denigratio) of another’s good name (fama) by words uttered in secret” (English Dominicans 1947, 3:1497). The intent is to detract from him, lessen his good name. If done intentionally (“to speak ill of an absent person in order to blacken his good name" [ut eius famam denigret]) it is a mortal sin (→ST 2-2.73.2). Cf. Thomas' reference to Jas 4:11 at →ST 2-2. 74.2 ad 3.

A Hypocritical Attitude towards Fellow Church Members

In general, the tradition interprets this passage to refer to church members who, out of arrogance or envy, are judgmentally condemning the faults of fellow church members, thus causing dissension in the church. 

• →Ps.-Andreas Catena (attributed to Cyril): "For indeed it is right that people examine themselves and govern themselves according to God's standards (kata theon). Yet this they do not do; rather they busy themselves with the affairs of others. And if they see someone who is weak (asthenountas), just as they are forgetting their own failings, they take the occasion to criticize and disdain (katalalia) the affairs [of the others]. They pronounce them guilty, not knowing that since they are equally as ill as those whom they slander, they condemn themselves. Thus somewhere the most wise Paul writes, "For by the standard by which you judge another you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the very same things" (Rom 2:1; Cramer 1844, 8:31).
• →Herm. Sim. 9.23.2-5 closely parallels James. Some church members have become "withered in their faith" because they hold grudges and slander (katalaleô) one another. But many of these have repented, and the Lord has forgiven them. Some, however, still perist in speaking badly, and the "angel of repentance" censures them, "If our God and Lord...shows no malice towards (mnêsikakei) those who confess their sins but becomes merciful, will a mere mortal full of sins bear malice against another, as if he had the power to destroy or save (apolesai ê sôsai) him?" (cf. Jas 4:12b; Ehrman 2003, 2:444-45). Cf. →Herm. Mand. 12.6.3 on God's power to save or destroy.
• →Bede Ep. cath. ad loc. "He exposes the rashness (temeritatem) of the one who takes delight in judging his neighbor and does not take care to examine the uncertain condition of own frailty (status fragilitatis) and temporal life" (Hurst 1985, 53; Hurst 1983, 215). 
• →Gloss. Ord. (V) ad loc. glosses "speaking badly" (detrahit) with "concerning some light (leve) sin" (cols. 1293-94).
• →Bar Salibi Ep. Cath. ad loc. similarly connects this with Jesus teaching in Mt 7:5: a church member should not hypocritically accuse a fellow church member of wrongdoing, when he himself surely does wrong also (Sedlacek 1910, 99; Syriac-ibid., 129).
• →Erasmus Iac. Par. ad loc. connects speaking badly with the arrogance and envy mentioned earlier in the chapter, "Arrogance (arrogantia) has envy (livor) for a companion; envy gives birth to detraction (detractio). To detract from a brother's reputation in order to make your own more respectable is the wickedest kind of pride (superbia). It is like splashing someone else's face with mud to make yourself look more beautiful or putting dirty stains on someone else's clothing to make yourself look more elegant." When criticizing the sins of a fellow Christian, the person "pretends that he is being aroused by his zeal for goodness, not by envy or dislike." The person is not trying to gently rebuke or admonish the faults of a brother, but arrogantly judging him. "It is brotherly to admonish (monere fraternum est)...but it is pernicious to slander and arrogant to judge" (iudicare superbum; Bateman 1993, 163-64; Bateman 1997, 150-51).
• →WLC Q 145: In the Calvinist tradition, the sin mentioned here is taken as a violation of the commandment, "Do not bear false witness against your neighbor," specifically, the sin of backbiting.

4:7–5:9 Use in Lectionary →BL : Thursday, 32nd Week after Pentecost.

11f judging his brother Echoing the Theme of Judging James returns to his central theme of judging (cf. →James: Judging). His concern is emphasized in his diction: he uses the verb "to judge" (krinô) four times, and the noun "judge" (kritês) twice.

The Meaning of "Judging"

• Jas 4:11 parallels judging a brother with speaking badly about, or speaking against (katalaleô) a brother. "Judging" here then, implies a critical, perhaps disparaging attitude that finds fault with a fellow community member, and that lacks mercy (cf. Jas 2:12-13).

Judging and the Law

• As in Jas 2:12-13, James here closely correlates judging with the law. "Law" for James refers to the "law of freedom" (Jas 2:12), the Torah as interpreted by Jesus (cf. →James: Law in the Letter of James). When James accuses community members of judging the law and speaking against the law, he implies that they are ignoring the law and its standards of mercy, love, and non-judgmentalism (as explicated in Jas 2:1-13). Rather, they are setting themselves up as judges, basing their judgments on worldly standards, rather than the the divine standards given in the law. Thus, they are clearly not "doers of the law," but rather self-proclaimed judges.

11f speak against  Katalaleô with Other Vices in the Testament of Gad The Testament of Gad connects speaking badly with other vices mentioned by James:

• →T. Gad. 3.3 "The hater disparages truth, envies (phthonei) the successful person (cf. Jas 4:2, Jas 4:5), relishes slander (katalalia), loves arrogance" (huperêphania; cf. James 4:6; OTP 1:815; de Jonge 1978, 128).
• →T. Gad. 5.4 connects speaking badly (katalaleô) of another with hatred: "He will not denounce a fellow man, since fear of the Most High overcomes hatred" (OTP 1:815; de Jonge 1978, 130).

12a lawgiver Jesus or God the Father as Lawgiver

Jesus as the Lawgiver

A theme in early Christian tradition is Jesus as the author of the "new law" (in contrast to the "old law" of Israel).

• For Justin Jesus is the “lawgiver” (nomothetês; →Dial. 12.2) or the “new lawgiver” (→Dial. 14.4; 18.3), the author of a new law (→Dial. 12.3; Marcovich 1997, 89, 93, 100, 90).  Christ is the everlasting  and final (teleutaios) law (→Dial. 11.2;΄43.1; Marcovich 1997, 88, 140).
• →Ker. Pet. frag 1a "In the Preaching of Peter we find the Lord called Law and Word" (nomon kail logon;NTApoc, 2:37; von Dobschütz 1893, 18; cited in →Clement of Alexandria Strom. 1.29.182.
• The Lord Jesus as the new lawgiver is closely associated with Jesus' interpretation of the Law in the Sermon on the Mount. E.g., →Justin Dial. 18.3: "amid cruelties unutterable, death and torments, we pray for mercy to those who inflict such things upon us, who do not wish to give the least retort to any one, even as the new Lawgiver (kainos nomothetês) commanded us" (ANF 2:203; Marcovich 1997, 100). After reviewing Jesus’ interpretation of the law in the Sermon on the Mount, →Irenaeus Haer. 4.13.3 declares, “Now all these [precepts], as I have already observed, were not [the injunctions] of one doing away with the law, but of one fulfilling, extending, and widening it among us" (adimplentis et extendentis et dilatantis in nobis; Harvey 1857, 1:478; Rousseau 2008, 4/2:532). Irenaeus indeed conceives of Christ as the pre-existent Lord as the original author of the Decalogue (→Haer. 4.16.4).

James, as frequently noted, makes extensive use of Jesus' sayings from the Sermon on the Mount traditions and understands the "law of freedom" as the law as interpreted by Jesus (especially as found in the Sermon on the Mount materials). See also Biblical Intertextuality Jas 4:12a.

Calvin's Interpretation

• →Calvin Comm. Iac. ad loc. finds support here for labeling the Pope as the Antichrist, since he "exercises tyrrany over the souls of men, making himself a lawgiver equal to God. He finds that anyone who willingly submits to the Pope's authority are "members of Antichrist" (Owen 1849 339; Reuss and Erichson 1896, 420).

God is the Lord of the Conscience

• →WCF 20.2 "God alone is Lord of conscience" (citing Jas 4:12 and Rom 14:4), and therefore the Christian should not be compelled to believe or obey any human teachings or commandments that contradict God's word (CCFCT  2:631; Carruthers 1937, 127). 

1:1–5:20 James Depictions of the Author Depictions of James, the author of the epistle, in paintings, statues, manuscript illustrations, engravings, woodcuts, and embroidery on liturgical vestments are particularly prominent in the Middle Ages. A common consensus of the artists is that the author of the epistle is James the Just, leader of the Jerusalem church; he is typically further identified with James, son of Alphaeus, one of Jesus' Twelve (Mk 3:18), and "James the Less" (Mk 15:40). The iconography of James draws particularly on accounts of James recorded in →Eusebius of Cesarea Hist. eccl. 23 and →Jerome Vir. ill. 2, who in turn draw on accounts from Clement of Alexandria and Hegesipus. See also →James: Introduction. 

Several prominent features of these portrayals may be noted:

• Following the tradition that he was the first bishop of Jerusalem, James is often portrayed anachronistically in bishop's vestments.
• James is often portrayed holding a fuller's club, alluding to the tradition that James was beaten to death with a such a club. Variations show him holding different types of clubs. Another related tradition shows James holding a bow such as one used by hat-makers of the Middle Ages.
• James bears a striking physical resemblance to his brother Jesus.
• One artistic tradition, based on accounts found in the preface to the →Gloss. Ord. and →de Voragine Leg. aur., portrays the infant James as part of a large extended family. According to this legend, St. Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary, had three children named Mary with three different husbands. James and his brothers Joses (Joseph), Simon, and Jude (cf. Mk 6:3) are the sons of Mary (daughter of Anne and Cleophas; cf. Jn 19:25) and Alphaeus (cf. Mk 3:18). James and his brothers are thus cousins of Jesus (son of Mary, daughter of Anne and Joachim) and of St. John the Evangelist and James the Greater (sons of Mary, daughter of Anne and Salomas).

The following images are noteworthy:

• A painting of James in the Armenian Sts. James Cathedral, Jerusalem: James is dressed in episcopal robes, wears a miter and holds a crozier (→Gowler 2014, 54).
• Blessed James Apostle. In the →Stav. Bib. (1093-97) illuminations of the apostle James are at the introduction to the Catholic epistles (f. 197 r→) and at the beginning of his epistle (f. 197 v→.). The apostle stands, holding a book.
• Apostle James the Less, statue, south portal of Chartres Cathedral, early 13^th century.

James holds a club.

• Leonardo da Vinci (1495-98), The Last Supper, Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan. 

James, who resembles his brother Jesus, is second from his left. This full-scale copy was the main source for the— unfortunate—twenty-year restoration of the original (1978–1998). It includes several lost details such as Christ's feet, the transparent glass decanters on the table, and the floral motifs of the tapestries that decorate the room's interior.  It was first mentioned in 1626 by the author Bartolomeo Sanese as hanging in the Certosa di Pavia, a monastery near Pavia, Italy, but it is unlikely that it was intended for this location. At some point, the upper third of the picture was cut off, and the width was reduced. Giampietrino is thought to have worked closely with Leonardo when he was in Milan. A very fine, full-size copy of this painting, before it was cut down, is installed at Tongerlo Abbey in Westerlo, near Antwerp, Belgium. 

• Lucas Cranach the Elder (1509), Infant Saint James among his relations, a triptych in the Stadelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, Germany. The infant Jesus, his mother Mary, and Mary's mother St. Anne are portrayed in the center. To the right is St. Anne's other daughter Mary, her husband Zebedee, and sons John the Evangelist and James the Greater. To the left is another of St. Anne's daughters named Mary with her husband Alphaeus; their children James, Joses (Joseph), Simon, and Jude are in the left and center panels.

The side and central panels describe a a great hall with blue grey walls and three-colored tiles. In the side panels are depicted the half sisters of Virgin Mary, called after their fathers Mary Cleophas (left) and Mary Salome (right) together with their husbands.

Left panel: St. Mary Cleophas and Alphaeus (with the features of Friedrich the Wise with their two sons, the Apostles St. James the Less (at her breast) and Joseph Justus, called St. Barnabas, as annunciator of the Gospel of Matthew depicted with a book.

Central panel: Joseph, who seems to seems to sleep, the Virgin, dressed in blue with yellow lining, Anna and the Christ Child on her knee, who is stretching out his hand towards an apple given to him by Virgin Mary. Anna's three husbands following →de Voragine Leg. aur. are shown in the background in the matroneum: on the left Joachim, who is attracted by the holy women in front of him and whose relation is also shown by the corresponding blue and yellow color of his dress, Cleophas (with the physiognomy and chain of Emperor Maximilian I and Salomas, with the physiognomy of Sixtus Oelhafen von Schöllenbach, secretary of Friedrich III, Maximilian I and Karl V), who are talking to each other. There is an architectural structure by a great stone bench in the foreground of the central panel with two marble columns on the sides, over which is strectched a cloth of gold. On the right column is a tablet with date and signature: [LVCAS CHRONVS FACIEBAT ANNO 1509. The parapet of the matroneum is decorated by a sculptured frieze with dancing putti holding six escutcheons with the six fields of Electorate of Saxony. In the hall are shown the 17 members of the Holy Kinship. In the central panel are shown two more children of Mary Cleophas and Alpheus, the Apostles Simon, patron saint of weavers, dyers, tanners and saddlers and Jude, who went on mission and suffered their martyrdom together and therefore are regularly depicted together.

Right panel: St. Mary Salome and Zebedee (with the features of Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, and his brother Herzog Johann der Beständige). St. Mary Salome, dressed in gold with dark red lining, is combing her son Saint James the Greater and while Saint John the Evangelist is hiding in her dress.

• Paolo Veronese (Caliari) James as Bishop (1500s). Burghley House Collection, Lincolnshire, UK. The Bridgeman Art Library. James with crozier and miter, holding a book.

• Saint James the Less, painting by El Greco (c. 1612), Museo del Greco, Toledo, Spain. 

James is shown holding a Bible, symbolizing his status as a scriptural writer, in one hand. James is depicted in the Mannerist style with elongated form and without any of the traditional iconographic symbols

•   Communion of the apostle Jacob→ Painting by Niccoló Bambini (Late 1600s / early 1700s).

The risen Jesus appears to James and breaks bread with him (based on an account recorded in →Jerome Vir. ill. 2, said to be drawn from the Gospel according to the Hebrews).

• James the Less→: statue by Angelo de Rossi (1705-11) in Saint John Lateran, Rome.

James holds a book and club.

• Saint James the Less→, painting by James Tissot (1886-94) in the Brooklyn Museum.

James, resembling Jesus, prayers on his knees with outstretched arms. It perhaps reflects Hegesippus' statement that James spent so much time in prayer that his knees were as hard as a camel's.

Eastern Orthodox traditions

• James the Just, Russian icon, 16^th century. Novgorod. James is depicted in episcopal robes and holds a book.

The inscription bearing the name of the saint has disappeared, but the iconography—facial features and beard shape —suggest that the icon is of James. Byzantine art places him among the founding fathers of the Church. As the creator of the first liturgy containing memorial services and the author of the message, which speaks of the healing power of prayer (Jas 5:14-16), he was also worshipped in ancient times as a healer. In Novgorod, James is prayed for the end of the epidemics. In sacred iconography, the representations of James of Jerusalem alone are very rare. We know the icons of Novgorod in which he is represented with other saints: Nicholas the Thaumaturgist, James the brother of God, Ignatius the bearer of God, end of the 15^th c.; James the brother of God, Cosmas and Damian, 2^nd quarter of the 16^th c. The icon comes from the best workshops in Moscow or Novgorod.

• Martyrdom of James the Just. Illustration from the Menologion of Basil II. (PG 117:6-612). Late 10^th, early 11^th c. AD. Vatican Library. Vat.gr. 1613. Image 131.→  

For discussion of visual depictions, see →Gowler 2014, 53-62; →Bedford 1911.

1–12 Internal and External Conflicts Overall, James again emphasizes the connection between the microcosm of the individual person and the macrocosm of the community: disorder and strife (caused by passions and conflicting desires) within the person manifest themselves in disorder and conflict in the community. This section expands earlier topics :

• it expands the topic of contrasting wisdoms (Jas 3:13-18), focusing on the negative results of following worldly wisdom: strife, jealousy dissension and even murder within the community;
• it also develops the related topic of the selfish desire that leads to sin and death (Jas 1:14-15) and applies the theme of proper asking (prayer; Jas 1:5-8).

Thematic Structure

James' exhortation to the community may be analyzed in the following way: 

• Jas 4:1-5: A sharp criticism of the community's vices: they are dominated by their passions, they desire covetously, they kill, they envy, they fight. James, ever the teacher, however, does not merely condemn the vices, but simultaneously teaches the community their cause: their social strife is caused by their unrestrained passions, they cannot fulfill their desires because they ask with the wrong motivation. The accusation culminates in Jas 4:4, where James accuses them of adultery and enmity with God. Jas 4:5 is a scriptural witness to James' accusations.
• Jas 4:6: A transitional verse, affirming God's opposition to the proud, but his readiness to help the humble.
• Jas 4:7-10: A call to conversion. The community is called to submit themselves to following God's will, purifying their hearts to an exclusive obedience to God, not the ways of the world (vv. 7-8). They should lament their sins and humble themselves, and the Lord will raise them up again.
• Jas 4:11-12: Returning to the topic of divisions in the community, James admonishes members to avoid speaking badly of one another. 

Reception 

While the pericope presents one famous crux interpretativa—Jas 4:5, a challenging verse that defies clear interpretation, raising a host of textual, grammatical, and interpretative issues, cf. Textual Criticism Jas 4:5b; Grammar Jas 4:5b; Christian Tradition Jas 4:5a; Christian Tradition Jas 4:5b—several texts have drawn special attention in the interpretive tradition:

• Jas 4:4 contrasts "worldly" and divine values (Christian Tradition Jas 4:4b);
• Jas 4:6 depicts God opposing the proud and giving grace to the humble (Christian Tradition Jas 4:6c);
• Jas 4:11-12 focuses on censuring prideful Christians who disparage their fellow Christians (Christian Tradition Jas 4:11f).