13–18 Isotopy of Prayer Every verse in this passage refers to prayer; however, the words used are not simple synonyms.

• The noun euchê ("prayer," v. 15a) and the corresponding verb euchomai ("to pray," v. 16b) are generic terms.
• The verb expressing the prayer of petition is proseuchomai (v. 13a, 14b, 17b, 18a) or proseuchê (v. 17b).
• More concretely, the noun deêsis (v. 16c) stands for a supplication or a particular request.
• As for psallô ("to chant," v. 13b), it applies to prayer in the form of a hymn (Vocabulary Jas 5:13b), in particular in the liturgical context.

13–20 Connection between Healing and Conversion Several biblical passages evince the connection between healing (Jas 5:14–16) and conversion from sin (Jas 5:19–20):

• G-Dt 30:2–3 "And return (epistrephô) to the Lord your God and obey his voice in all that I command you today…and the Lord will heal (iaomai) your sins."
• 2Chr 7:14 "if then my people…turn (M: šwb; G: apostrephô) from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal (G: iaomai; M = rp’) their land."
• Is 6:10 "they turn (M: šwb; G: epistrephô) and be healed (M: rp’; G: iaomai)."
• Jer 3:22 "Return (M: šwb; G: epistrephô), rebellious children! I will heal (M: rp’; G: iaomai) your rebellions."
• Hos 6:1 "Come, let us return (M: šwb; G: epistrephô) to the Lord, For it is he who has torn, but he will heal (M: rp’; G: iaomai) us" (NAB).
• See also Prv 3:7; Ez 34:4,16.

18b the earth grew its fruit Allusion to the Creation Story? Some scholars see in James' phrase (hê gê eblastêsen ton karpon autês) an allusion to G-Gn 1:11: "let the earth put forth (blastêsatô hê gê) herbaceous vegetation…and a fruit-bearing tree producing fruit (xulon karpimon poioun karpon)."

18a heaven gave rain Semiticism James' expression ho ouranos hueton edôken reflects the Hebrew phrase nātan gešem (Lv 26:4) or nātan māṭār (Dt 11:14). See also →Allison 2013, 779.

17f Narrative and Further Interpretive Traditions of 1 Kings

Elijah's prayer

The basic narrative in 1 Kings does not explicitly mention Elijah's prayer:

• 1Kgs 17:1: Elijah announces to King Ahab that there would be no rain, except at his word.
• 1Kgs 18:41–45: Elijah announces a coming rain to Ahab.

Some narrative details, however, may allude to prayer:

• In 1Kgs 18:42, Elijah crouches with his face between his knees after announcing the coming of rain to Ahab.
• In 1Kgs 17:1, Elijah mentions "the Lord, before whom I stand" (RSV), a posture traditionally associated with prayer.

The biblical narrative does emphasize the efficacy of Elijah's prayer in other episodes:

• prayer to raise the widow's son from the dead (1Kgs 17:20–22);
• prayer to send fire from heaven for his sacrifice (1Kgs 18:21–39);
• prayer to send fire from heaven to destroy the king's messengers (2Kgs 1:9–12).

The summary in Sir 48:3 is more explicit about God's role: "By God's word he shut up the heavens" (Peritestamental Literature Jas 5:17b).

The Period of the Drought

The OT narrative refers to three years of drought (1Kgs 18:1); James' more precise references to three years and six months is parallelled in Lk 4:25. It is possible that the three and a half years has a deeper symbolic reference: in apocalyptic texts, it refers to the time of eschatological tribulation; e.g.:

• Dn 7:25; 12:7 "a time, two times, and half a time";
• Rv 11:2–3,6, which refers to two witnesses who prophesy during the 42 months (= three and a half years) of tribulation; the witnesses have the power to stop rain.

17b with prayer he prayed : Byz V TR Nes | S: he prayed The Greek witnesses and V apparently attempt to imitate the Semitic absolute infinite by combining a verb and substantive; S chooses a simple perfect: "he prayed." See also Grammar Jas 5:17b.

17f Prayers for Rain in the Rabbinic Tradition

The Righteous Pray for Rain

The rabbinic tradition knows of righteous men who have the power to pray effectively for rain. For example:

• Honi the Circle-Drawer: →m. Ta‘an. 3.8; (cf. →b. Ta‘an. 23a; →Josephus A.J. 14.22). →b. Ta‘an. 23a compares Honi with Elijah.
• Faithful men: →b. Ta‘an. 8a "Rain falls only on account of people of integrity (bšbyl b‘ly ’mnh)" (Neusner 2005); cf. →b. Ta‘an. 23b.
• Hanina ben Dosa: →b. Ta‘an. 24b; →b. Yoma 53b.

Relevant Traditions Regarding Elijah

• →b. Sanh. 113a: Elijah locked up the rain.

1:1–5:20 James Depictions of James

Western Catholic Tradition

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; →Jameses near Jesus). The iconography of James draws particularly on accounts of James recorded in →Eusebius of Caesarea Hist. eccl. 2.23 and →Jerome Vir. ill. 2, who in turn draw on accounts from Clement of Alexandria and Hegesippus (→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 →Glossa ord. and →de Voragine Leg. aur., portrays the infant James as part of a large extended family. According to this legend, 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 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 St. James Cathedral, Jerusalem: James is dressed in episcopal robes, wears a miter, and holds a crozier (→Gowler 2014, 54).
• Blessed James Apostle. In the Stavelot Bible (1093–1097, British Museum Add. MS. 28106–28107) 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, The Last Supper (1495–1498), 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, The Holy Kinship (1509), a triptych in the Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt, Germany. The infant Jesus, his mother Mary, and Mary's mother Anne are portrayed in the center. To the right is Anne's other daughter Mary, her husband Zebedee, and sons John the Evangelist and James the Greater. To the left is another of 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 great hall with blue grey walls and three-colored tiles. In the side panels are depicted the half-sisters of the Virgin Mary —called after their fathers Mary Cleophas (left) and Mary Salome (right)—together with their husbands.

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

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 the 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 Frederick III, Maximilian I, and Charles 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 stretched a cloth of gold. On the right column is a tablet with date and signature: LVCAS CHRONVS FACIEBAT ANNO MDIX (1509). The parapet of the matroneum is decorated by a sculptured frieze with dancing putti holding six escutcheons with the six fields of the electorate of Saxony. In the hall are shown the 17 members of the 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. They suffered their martyrdom together and therefore are regularly depicted together.

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

• Paolo Veronese (Caliari), James as Bishop (ca. 1578), Burghley House Collection, Lincolnshire, UK. James with crozier and miter, holding a book.

• El Greco, Saint James the Less (1610–1614), 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

• Niccolò Bambini, The Communion of the Apostle James the Less→ (1722–1723).

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).

• Angelo de Rossi, James the Less→ (1705–1711), Saint John Lateran, Rome.

James holds a book and club.

• James Tissot, Saint James the Less→ (1886–1894), Brooklyn Museum, New York.

James, resembling Jesus, prays 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

• Martyrdom of James the Just, illustration from the Menologion of Basil II (late 10^th/early 11^th c., PG 117:9–614), Vatican Library, Vat. gr. 1613: image 131→.
• James the Just, Russian icon, 16^th c., 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 that speaks of the healing power of prayer (Jas 5:14–16), he was 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 alone are very rare. On icons he is represented with other saints: James the brother of the Lord, Nicholas the Thaumaturgist, and Ignatius the God-Bearer (end of the 15^th c.); James the brother of the Lord, Cosmas, and Damian (2^nd quarter of the 16^th c.).

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

17b with prayer he prayed Semitism The Greek proseuchêᵢ prosêuchato (lit.: "in his prayer he prayed"), pairing the dative of a verbal noun with its cognitive verb, imitates the Semitic infinitive absolute construction. This construction serves to strengthen the intensity of the action, thus the translation "fervently." This is one indication of the strong Semitic background of the letter. See also →Allison 2013, 776.

13–18 Exhortations on Prayer, Proper Speech, and Physical and Spiritual Healing The passage focuses on prayer (Literary Devices Jas 5:13–18). After warning the reader that he must ask God in faith, not doubting (Jas 1:5–8), and that he must not ask wrongly (Jas 4:2–3), James here gives examples of proper, effective prayer.

The passage also relates to James' concern with proper speech: after giving many admonitions against improper speech (e.g., Jas 5:9,12), James here gives example of the proper use of speech in praying and singing. See also →Speech in James.

The passage presents a holistic view of illness and healing: here, these two elements are closely associated: physical illness and “spiritual illness” (sin) on the one hand, and physical healing and forgiveness of sin on the other, are closely linked. There is also a strong link between understanding the anointing ritual as providing healing (both spiritual and physical) in this life, and understanding the anointing and prayer as preparation for ultimate healing in the resurrection and eternal life. This holistic emphasis reflects the theme of wholeness and integrity found throughout the letter. See further →Perfection / Wholeness in James.

Catholic tradition has drawn out the meaning of Jas 5:14–15 in various ways, primarily through the development of the teaching on the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. The tradition has at various times emphasized the different aspects of James’ integral vision: spiritual healing (Origen, John Chrysostom, Council of Trent), physical healing (an early tradition of anointing by the laity, Vatican II’s emphasis on a broader understanding of healing), and the eschatological dimension (the traditional emphasis on “extreme unction” as preparation for eternal life). See also Christian Tradition Jas 5:14f; Theology Jas 5:14f.

Following this section, the letter’s final section is James’ exhortation to community members to turn back a straying fellow-believer (Jas 5:19–20). James thus reiterates his characteristic concern for harmony within the community. The history of interpretation generally interpreted this ambiguous passage to mean that a person who converted another from sin would in turn receive pardon of his own sins; this interpretation then took its place in a traditional list of ways in which one could seek pardon for one’s sins. See also Christian Tradition Jas 5:20c.

17a suffering like us A Common Human Nature The Greek is homoiopathês hêmin (V: similis nobis passibilis). The Greek means literally a similarity in emotions (pathê). When the crowd at Lystra refers to Barnabas and Paul as Zeus and Hermes, Paul replies, "We are of the same nature as you" (homoiopatheis…humin; Acts 14:15). 

17b with prayer he prayed Relevant Traditions about Elijah

• Some manuscripts of →Vit. proph. 21 state explicitly, "Elijah prayed, and it did not rain for three years, and after three years he prayed again and abundant rain came" (OTP 2:396; Torrey omits this as a later addition; see Torrey 1946, 8–9; see also OTP 2:396 n. g). The summary of Elijah's life emphasizes the efficacy of his prayer (e.g., in raising the widow's daughter).
• →4 Ezra 7.109: Elijah is listed as one of the biblical examples of one known for his prayers of intercession: "Elijah [prayed] for those who received the rain, and for the one who was dead, that he might live" (OTP 1:541; Weber and Gryson 1969, 1949); cf. 1Kgs 17:20–22.

13–20 Connection between Conversion and Healing As part of the generally assumed connection between illness and sin, conversion and health, many texts parallel James in linking healing (Jas 5:14–16) with references to repentance or conversion from sin (Jas 5:19–20).

• →Test. Dom. 1.24 (prayer over the oil for healing): “send on this oil (mšḥ’), which is the type of your fatness, the delivering [power] of your good compassion, that it may deliver those who labour and heal those who are sick, and sanctify those who return (mtpnyn), when they approach to your faith; for you are mightily and [to be] praised for ever and ever" (Cooper and MacLean 1902, 78; Rahmani 1899, 48)
• →Polycarp Phil. 6.1 identifies caring for the sick (episkeptomenoi pantas astheneis) and "turning back those who have gone astray (epistrephontes ta apopeplanêmena)" as duties of the presbyters (presbuteroi; Ehrman 2003, 1:340–341).

The language of physical healing can be used to describe repentance and conversion:

• →Const. ap. 2.14.11 "Now we ought to assist those who are with us (variant reading: 'those who are sick') and are in danger, and fall, and, as far as lies in our power, to reduce them to sobriety by our exhortations, and so save them from death (hugiazein autous kai ruesthai ek thanatou)" (ANF 7:401; Metzger 1985, 1:176–177).

13–18 Parallel with 1 Clement Several themes and some specific vocabulary occurring in Jas 5 appears in a prayer recorded in →1 Clem. 59.4 (Ehrman 2003, 1:142–143):

• "Save (sôᵢzô) those of us who are in affliction" (cf. Jas 5:15a: sôᵢzô);
• "raise (egeirô) those who have fallen" (cf. Jas 5:15b: egeirô);
• "heal (iaomai) those who are sick (astheneis)" (cf. Jas 5:14a: astheneô; Jas 5:16b: iaomai);
• "set straight (epistrephô) those among your people who are going astray (planaô)" (cf. Jas 5:19: planaô, epistrephô);
• "raise up (anistêmi) the weak (astheneis)" (cf. Jas 5:14a: astheneô; Jas 5:15b: egeirô).

Some scholars posit that 1 Clement is dependent on James, but the relationship may also be seen as a common reliance on early Christian vocabulary and concerns (see Bemmerl 2023, 34–35).

17f Example of Elijah

Example of James Himself

• →Epiphanius Pan. 78.14.1 reports a tradition about the efficacy of James the Just's own prayer: "And once during a drought he lifted his hands to heaven and prayed, and at once heaven sent rain (ho ouranos edôken hueton)" (Williams 2013, 2:626; Holl et al. 2013, 3:464). The wording of this report has apparently been influenced by Jas 5:18.

The Powerful Influence of One Person

• →Luther Jon. ad 1:14 (Latin text) quotes this passage as an example of the scriptural principle that one person's actions can profoundly affect an entire nation or people, either for good or ill (LW 19:14; WA 13:248). 

Elijah's Example Accessible to All Humanity

• →Bede Ep. cath. ad loc. "But lest our frailty (nostra fragilitas) take fright, thinking itself unable to do things like so great a prophet who was worthy of being taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot, blessed James when he was about to speak of his prayer, advisedly began thus, 'Elijah was a man like us.'" Elijah showed his human frailty by asking for food (1Kgs 17:8–11) and by fleeing from Jezebel into the desert (1Kgs 19:1–4; Hurst 1985, 63; Hurst 1983, 222). →Glossa ord. ad loc. includes an abridged form of Bede's comments (1603, 6:1304).
• →Luther Jon. ad 4:1 notes the phrase that Elijah was "a mortal man like us" is an example of how even the saints such as Jonah have human faults (LW 19:27; WA 13:255). This should encourage all Christians, since just as God’s mercy and grace did not hold the sins of Jonah against him, so too God’s grace allows their sins to not be held against them. Such examples should prevent ordinary Christians from thinking that the experiences of the saints were completely different from their own experience (→Jon. pref. [Latin] [LW 19:6; WA 13:243]).

17c three years and six months Eschatological Interpretation →Ps.-Hilary of Arles Tract. Jac. ad loc. offers various interpretations of the "three years and six months" (McNally 1973, 75–76):

• the time of the anti-Christ (tempus Antichristi; Biblical Intertextuality Jas 5:17f);
• the three preceding ages, from the beginning to the time of David;
• the patriarchs, the prophets, and the apostles.

18a heaven gave rain Allegorical Reading

• →Lapide Comm. Jac. ad loc. references an allegorical (allegorice) reading from Augustine, taking Elijah as a type of Christ. The rain represents Christ's incarnation, the Word of God irrigating the whole world. Just as in the advent of Elijah all the idolatrous priests were killed, so in the advent of the true Elijah, Jesus, the sacrilegious rites of the pagans are destroyed (Crampon 1891, 20:225).

17a Elijah Scriptural exemplum of Powerful Prayer To illustrate his point about the power of the prayer of the righteous, James uses the scriptural example of Elijah. This is one of several scriptural exempla employed by James; see Literary Devices Jas 2:21a; Literary Devices Jas 5:10a. For a discussion on the significance of James’ choice of Elijah, see →Förster 2022.

10–20 Use in Lectionary

• →BL: Special and General Feasts: Prophets; one of three reading options.
• →BL: For the sick (or Jas 5:10–16).
• →BL: For rain (or Jas 5:16–20).
• →BL: For oil for the sick.

13–20 Use in Lectionary

• →BL: For confession.
• →BL: Julian June 14, Feast of the Prophet Elisha. 
• →RML: Saturday, Week 7, Year 2.
• →RCL: Proper 21, Year B.

16–20 Use in Lectionary

• →BL: Julian July 20, Feast of the Prophet Elijah.
• →RML (1570): Mass of the Major and Minor Rogation Days (25 April; and Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension).

12–20 Use in Lectionary

• →BL: Julian October 29, Saints Abramios and Mary of Edessa.