Guide to Exegesis Use a translation of your choice for this course. It is preferable that you use a non-paraphrase translation like the NASB, KJV, ESV, or NIV. Do not use any commentaries for any of these steps except for discovering and discussing textual variants. Also, use source citations to indicate sources and resources. Include a bibliography (APA style required). Section One: Analyzing the Sentences and Paragraph 1. Give a diagram for each sentence and a diagram for the paragraph. With the paragraph diagram, give a one sentence summary of the main point of the paragraph. Section Two: Word Studies 2. Pick out the important words to study (including historical, geographical references). 3. Do a word study on each one. Section Three: Analyzing Historical and Sociological Context 1. Determine the significant historical information about the book (author, date, occasion, purpose, recipients). Give a summary of the historical situation of the book. 2. Determine from the historical information and a search of the passage the important sociological and cultural features reflected in the passage. Investigate them. Especially investigate any references within the passage to social customs or ideas that need to be explored and explained. Discuss what light they shed on the passage. 3. In the exegesis, deal with these issues, especially how they relate to the meaning of the passage. Note the relationship of this information to the ideas of the passage. 4. If the passage is set in another historical setting beside that of the author (historical narrative, for instance), discover and evaluate this aspect of the text. Section Four: Analyzing Literary Context 1. Survey the book and become familiar with its flow of argument and outline. Give an outline of the book (does not need to be too extensive if the book is long). 2. Note the main theme of the section of the book in which the passage is located. How does the passage fit into the section? 3. Note the relationship of the passage to the paragraphs before and after it. How does it fit into the flow of thought? 4. Discuss how the literary context limits or illumines the meaning of the significant ideas in the passage. © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. Section Five: Analyzing Literary Aspects 1. Determine the literary genre of the book your passage is in. Discuss how the genre might limit or guide the interpretation of the passage. 2. Determine the literary form of the passage (if it has a special literary form), or special literary forms within the passage. 3. Note what significance the genre and form have on the interpretation of the passage (literal? figurative? Etc.). 4. Identify and discuss all the figures of speech in the passage. Section Six: Preliminary Summary of the Passage 1. List your conclusions so far about the passage, including the following: a. Main idea of the passage (paragraph diagram) b. Summary of what the paragraph says about this idea (paragraph diagram) c. How the passage functions in the section/book (analysis of context, literary analysis) d. Background issues (historical, social) the author is involved in and/or dealing with in this passage (historical and social context) e. Questions about the passage for further study Section Seven: Theological Exegesis 1. You have determined the main idea of the paragraph. Now research what this author says about the idea in the rest of the book, and in other works by the same author. 2. Research what other portions of Scripture say about this idea (Rest of New Testament or Old Testament, sections of New Testament or Old Testament) 3. Summarize the "theology" of your idea as determined from this study. Note how it relates to the passage. 4. Pick out any other ideas in the passage that need to be illumined by theological exegesis. Use the same procedure on those ideas. Section Eight: Exegesis Summary 1. Bearing in mind all you have learned about this passage, in one paragraph summarize what the passage is saying. This should be more than a rewording. Section Nine: Application/Significance 1. List and discuss the levels and areas of application that pertain to the passage. Elaborate on how the ideas of the passage would express themselves in these levels and areas. 2. Identify your own pre-understandings and expectations of this passage. Discuss how they might influence the way you interpret and apply this passage. 3. Choose one of the levels/areas of application and discuss a particular application of the ideas of this passage in that level/area (be specific). © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. BIB 355 Biblical Interpretation and Application SAMPLE EXEGESIS James 1:19-21 NOTE: This sample is not drawn out completely, nor are the bibliographical references complete. This is given as an example of doing the exegesis. Section One—Establishing the text 1. Textual Variant #1 1:19 “My dear brothers, take note of this” (NIV) --Reading #1. NIV has “take note of this” (in Greek iste/). This reading is supported by the older and better manuscripts like Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, and papyrus 74. Also this is Greek text underlying the translation in RSV, NASB, Holman Bible, and most other modern translations. --Reading #2. The second reading found is “Wherefore, my beloved brethren” (KJV) (or “Therefore” or “So then”). The Greek word is hoste/. This reading is supported by the Textus Receptus (the “majority text”), consisting of later manuscripts. This is the Greek text underlying the KJV translation, as well as older translation like Young and Darby. --I believe the NIV text is the better. It has the support of the older better witnesses and the great majority of modern translations. (NOTE: If there is more than one textual variant in your passage, deal with it the same way I have dealt with variant #1 above) 2. Punctuation differences --NIV, NRSV, Holman, and many others have a colon after “take note of this:” This clearly indicates that the following statements (of vv.19-21) are what the author intends for them to take note of. --The NASB and RSV have a period after this opening statement (“This you know, my beloved brethren.”) The period indicates that this statement could be taken as concluding the statements of the previous section (1:16-18) or introduction to 1:19-21. This punctuation is not as clear in its meaning --The evidence is mixed and cannot be decided with certainty. I will go with the NIV punctuation since most modern translations (and the Greek text editors) interpret the phrase as an introduction for 1:19-21. The address “My dear brothers and sisters” is more logically taken as introducing something rather than concluding something. 3. Paragraph boundaries --V.19 should be the beginning of the paragraph. It is possible that the first phrase “My dear…of this” might be the end of the paragraph before but I will take it as the beginning of the 1:19-21 passage (as noted above). --V.21 begins with a connecting word “Therefore,” which indicates the author intends that it be taken with vv.19 and 20 and the exhortation on how to listen and avoid anger. V.22 could logically be an extension of that exhortation to listen, © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. seems that the author is taking the exhortation in a new direction (deceiving oneself). --Based on this reasoning I will believe the paragraph as found in NIV is the correct division. (NOTE: For this exegesis, use the text, punctuation and paragraph boundaries in the NIV regardless of what your decision is about the text, punctuation, and paragraph boundaries) Section Two—Analyzing the sentences and the paragraph 1. Analyzing the sentences. (This diagram is based on NASB. You should use NIV for the assignments in the modules) you know ¦ │ my beloved brethren ¦but ¦ everyone let. . .be ¦ │ ¦ │ ¦ │for ¦Therefore │ the anger ¦ │ ¦ │of man ¦ ¦ (you) receive │ │ │ │putting aside │ │in humility this quick to hear │slow to speak and │slow to anger does not achieve the righteousness │of God the word │implanted │which is able to save your souls all filthiness │ and │all that remains of wickedness 2. Analyzing the paragraph Theme of the paragraph: Do not let anger be your response to difficult circumstances. │ (main theme) │ everyone │ │(result) │ │(introductory) │ │ let│…be │ │(you) │ │You │ quick… receive the word know this Section Three--Word studies © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. “brothers” (v. 19)—The Greek word adelfoStrong’s #80) can mean brother in the literal, familial sense. The Shorter Lexicon (Gingrich) says that the word can refer to the group of believers. Here James is addressing the church, as individuals and as a group. (Gingrich, Shorter Lexicon) “anger” (vv. 19,20)—The Greek word  not only has the meaning anger, but also can mean indignation, even a judgmental attitude or action (such as punishment) (Gingrich). It seems that seems that “anger” is the best sense here, although “judgmentalness” fits in the context here well. “righteous life/righteousness” (v.20)—The word  can mean uprightness, a righteous requirement (of God), mercy or charitableness, justice, or even salvation (Gingrich). With the qualifying phrase “ of God” attached, the word probably should be taken as “what God requires or wants” (Gingrich). “humbly” (v.21)— “save” (v.21)— Section Four—Identifying historical and social context Authorship There are several James’s in the Bible qualified to write this epistle. The two that seem most likely are James the apostle, who was martyred in AD 44, and James the brother of Jesus and pastor of the Jerusalem Church (died AD 63). Since this epistle seems to be written especially to a Jewish Christian congregation, the second mentioned James, the pastor of the Jerusalem church, would likely be the author. It is unlikely that the epistle was written as early as AD44 (Guthrie, for this whole section). Date Most scholars say that since the Jew/Gentile controversy so evident in Acts 15 does not seem to be reflected in the epistle, it must have been written either before the controversy (AD 48,49) or close to the end of James’ life and after the controversy had died down. Date is about AD 62,63. Recipients Reference to the synagogue (2:2) and the address “to the twelve tribes who are dispersed” (1:1) would seem to indicate that the epistle is written to Jewish believers primarily. However, this epistle could be taken as James’ word to the church in general. Several references in the epistle indicate that the congregation(s) addressed were mainly poorer people who had been suffering because of poverty and low economic © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. status (1:9; 1:12; 2:6,7 and others). There must have been some rich ones in the congregation, too, however (4:13;5:1). Occasion and purpose Why did James write this epistle? The epistle does not give any sure answers. It would seem that James wants to help the hurting congregations deal with the economic depression and conflict they are going through. The letter is structured like a series of sermons. If that is the case, then the letter was a “book of sermons” sent out to the churches to help them live the Christian life faithfully (be “doers of the word”) during hard times. Sociological and cultural features Reference has already been made to the economic status of the recipients. We need to imagine a poorer congregation struggling with their poverty and against their rich, oppressive neighbors (maybe even those within the congregation). In those days, although the economy of the Roman Empire was fairly vigorous, there was no extensive system of welfare (outside of Rome), at least for the Jews and other marginal groups like Christians. Poverty could be exceptionally difficult. The many references to suffering and “humble circumstances” should be interpreted in this light. Reading our passage in this light, the references to anger would be James’ dealing with the impatience and frustration of economic oppression, perhaps. He encourages gentleness (humility, vs 21) which is opposite of violent resistance and rebellion. “Save your souls” would perhaps then refer not to spiritual salvation but to rescue from the harsh effects of their plight. Only by staying faithful to God’s Word, the Gospel, would they find effective help. Section Five--Analyzing the literary cotext Outline of the book The book of James has the following major sections, according to the NIV Study Bible (Barker). I. Greetings 1:1 II. Trials and Temptations 1:2-18 III. Listening and Doing 1:19-27 IV. Favoritism Forbidden 2:1-13 V. Faith and Deeds 2:14-26 VI. Taming the Tongue 3:1-12 VII. Two Kinds of Wisdom 3:13-18 VIII. Warning against Worldliness 4:1-17 IX. Warning to Rich Oppressors 5:1-6 X. Miscellaneous Exhortations 5:7-20 Outline of the section The section of the book in which the passage is located is outlined as follows: © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. III. Listening and Doing 1:19-27 (my subtitle: How God’s Word/The Gospel should be received by a Christian) A. Listening instead of anger 1:19-21 B. Doing instead of just hearing 1:22-25 C. Religion is more doing than saying 1:26,27 Our particular passage stresses the problem of reacting in anger, and the remedy for such reaction—“receive the implanted word.” A clue to what he means by “word” (vs 21) is in v.18 “brought forth by the word of truth” (the Gospel?), v.23 “hearer of the word” (implies that it is a spoken word, a Gospel sermon?), v.25 “perfect law, the law of liberty” (probably the royal law, 2:8, the law of love), which was Jesus’ summary of all the ethical law and requirements of God. Perhaps “implanted” is not just the Gospel message, but all the teachings of Jesus recorded in the Gospels. This means studying and putting into action the teachings of Jesus. Whether this would include all other biblical instructions is not clear. Section Six--Analyzing literary aspects 1. Dealing with the genre Genre It is fairly obvious that the book itself is not one long, carefully constructed argument, such as the epistle to the Romans. It is a series of loosely connected “sermonettes” with a general theme of Christian living, especially in hard times. It has a greeting, as an epistle would, but no other parts of the book show the characteristics of a letter. We call it an epistle, but the body of the letter displays more the characteristics of Christian wisdom literature delivered in the form of sermons If we take it as a series of sermons, then each section must be interpreted independently from the ones before and after—each on its own merits (lower degree of cotextuality). We must expect that James is dealing with more practical matters, and giving instruction in dealing with the more mundane things of life and theology (not a lot of heavy theology). Literary character of the passage V.19—the brief, practical nature of v.19b, and the parallelism of its structure, would indicate James either used a proverb already known to him and the recipients, or made up a proverb for this part of the sermon. It has the character of a proverb. V.20—Also has the feel of a proverb, especially the antithetical parallelism. The introduction (v.19a) “This you know” might be James’ way of saying, “You know this little proverb.” 2. Figures of speech © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. V.19—“quick” and “slow” are normally used of movement, not actions such as hearing and speaking. These should be taken as metaphors, meaning “ready and willing to hear, not so ready and willing to speak or get angry.” Our proverb says, “Count to ten before you speak!” V.21—“filthiness” is a common metaphor for moral (Gingrich, s.v. ). V.21—“implanted” comes from the realm of agriculture, putting the seed into the soil so it will grow and produce. The action referred to here is the listening to, study of, and the putting into practice the word/Gospel. Section Seven--Preliminary summary of the passage Considering all we have found so far, we can make these preliminary conclusions abut the meaning of the passage. 1. In vv. 19-21, James is introducing a section on hearing and doing God’s Word. 2. The central theme of this passage is dealing with anger 1) by listening carefully before speaking or acting 2) by consciously putting aside anger (“filthiness”) or any other unrighteous attitude similar to anger, and 3) by studying God’s Word and heeding what it says, especially about anger. 3. This problem with anger was perhaps manifesting itself in the church, so was a problem that involved corporate action. 4. It is certainly possible that anger wasn’t the only manifestation.  can also be indignation, judgmental statements or actions, punishing type actions done hastily and in anger. 5. We must remember that this anger might have been justified in the eyes of the congregation because it was a response to economic oppression and a reaction to rich people. James disallowed this response as unrighteous with God. 6. The power of God’s Word studied and applied is an important presupposition to James’ thinking. God’s Word is “powerful”. It can change attitudes and keep one from making bad judgments and taking harsh, harmful actions. But, the Word is not as effective as it could be if the congregations members did not decide to put aside (repent of) the wrong attitudes or actions. 7. The fact that this is Jewish wisdom indicates that further study in such books as Proverbs would shed light. Also, the fact that the Word (v.21) is the Gospel teachings of Jesus (I assume), studying further what Jesus said about anger will directly shed light on James’ ideas here. Section Eight--Theological exegesis 1. The theme of Anger In James—James does not speak of anger again, although he talks about powerful forces which compel one to use the tongue destructively (3:5,6,9). 3:16 speaks of earthly wisdom which creates “disorder and every evil thing.” In the same passage gentleness © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. and righteousness are mentioned, as in 1:19-21. 4:11 speaks about slandering and judging one another. Since James connects speaking and anger in our passage, these cited passages would indicate that James had a rather strong feeling about using the tongue (words) in anger. James’ remedy for angry, judgmental speech is to beware of the power of the tongue (3:8), and to let divine wisdom control our minds (3:13), thus helping to guard one’s speech from anger. In the New Testament—Anger is not automatically a sin. Mk.3:5 says that Jesus was angry at the people in the synagogue who objected to him healing on the Sabbath. Paul said, “Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down on your anger” (Eph. 4:26). Anger has its place. Paul recommends, as a remedy to anger, that one put aside the negative attitudes such as bitterness and replace them with kindness and love (Eph. 4:31, 32). James also recommended this sort of putting aside in our passage. Paul encourages especially forgiveness. In the Proverbs—First, Proverbs recognizes the connection between anger and speech. Pr. 15:1 recommends using gentle speech to deal with anger. Second, Proverbs clearly warns against the danger of letting anger have its way (19:19; 30:33). Pr. 14:29, which may be the source for James 1:19, encourages being slow to anger because quicktemperedness leads to folly/destruction. Third, Proverbs sees the wisdom of seeking to substitute anger with gentleness (15:1). Pr. 21:14 encourage giving a gift to turn away anger. Summary—Obviously, James and the other NT writers took their theology of anger straight from the wisdom literature of the Jewish tradition. Anger has its place, but must be treated very cautiously, because it is a very strong emotion and can quickly lead to unrighteous actions. One of the chief and most effective tools of anger is the tongue. The Bible suggests clearly that anger can be replaced with kindness, gentleness, and love, and this with the help of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23). 2. The theme of Word implanted In James— In the New Testament— Section Nine--Summary of the exegesis The theme of the paragraph is how to deal with anger, especially in situations that are difficult and seem to justify anger. James taps the simple yet profound wisdom of the ages to make some suggestions as to how to deal with the problem. He suggests a strategy for avoiding anger (don’t speak hastily, count to ten). Also, one must clear one’s heart and mind of other unhealthy and destructive attitudes and actions that both arise from anger and produce more anger (put these things aside). Also, James recommends © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. that one fill one’s mind with God’s thoughts and attitudes (receive the implanted word). If God’s wisdom rules the mind, anger will be more easily controlled. Section Ten—Application/Significance 1. The level of interpersonal interaction is the primary milieu of this exhortation. Listening and anger are most pertinent in an interpersonal setting. Some areas of life that this issue is relevant for are family life (relation between husband/wife, brother/sister, and many others). Also the area of relations between friends. 2. Concerning my own preunderstandings and expectations, I identify my own tendency to become impatient and angry with others. I must be careful to clearly understand what the author means by anger and not define it in such a way as to avoid the implications of the text. 3. In the husband/wife area, it is important for the husband (or the wife) to develop deliberate techniques and perspectives for listening carefully without reacting first. Maybe the old “count to ten” technique. SOURCES CITED Barker, K. ed. (1985) The NIV Study Bible. Zondervan Bible Publishers. Gingrich, F. (1965) Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament. University of Chicago Press. Guthrie, D. …….. Strong, J. (n.d.) ……. NOTE AGAIN: This sample is to show the form for exegesis, not to show the complete form for everything. You must use APA form and follow all instructions in the assignment. © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. BIB 355 Biblical Interpretation and Application SAMPLE EXEGESIS James 1:19-21 NOTE: This sample is not drawn out completely, nor are the bibliographical references complete. This is given as an example of doing the exegesis. Section One—Establishing the text 1. Textual Variant #1 1:19 “My dear brothers, take note of this” (NIV) --Reading #1. NIV has “take note of this” (in Greek iste/). This reading is supported by the older and better manuscripts like Vaticanus, Sinaiticus, and papyrus 74. Also this is Greek text underlying the translation in RSV, NASB, Holman Bible, and most other modern translations. --Reading #2. The second reading found is “Wherefore, my beloved brethren” (KJV) (or “Therefore” or “So then”). The Greek word is hoste/. This reading is supported by the Textus Receptus (the “majority text”), consisting of later manuscripts. This is the Greek text underlying the KJV translation, as well as older translation like Young and Darby. --I believe the NIV text is the better. It has the support of the older better witnesses and the great majority of modern translations. (NOTE: If there is more than one textual variant in your passage, deal with it the same way I have dealt with variant #1 above) 2. Punctuation differences --NIV, NRSV, Holman, and many others have a colon after “take note of this:” This clearly indicates that the following statements (of vv.19-21) are what the author intends for them to take note of. --The NASB and RSV have a period after this opening statement (“This you know, my beloved brethren.”) The period indicates that this statement could be taken as concluding the statements of the previous section (1:16-18) or introduction to 1:19-21. This punctuation is not as clear in its meaning --The evidence is mixed and cannot be decided with certainty. I will go with the NIV punctuation since most modern translations (and the Greek text editors) interpret the phrase as an introduction for 1:19-21. The address “My dear brothers and sisters” is more logically taken as introducing something rather than concluding something. 3. Paragraph boundaries --V.19 should be the beginning of the paragraph. It is possible that the first phrase “My dear…of this” might be the end of the paragraph before but I will take it as the beginning of the 1:19-21 passage (as noted above). --V.21 begins with a connecting word “Therefore,” which indicates the author intends that it be taken with vv.19 and 20 and the exhortation on how to listen and avoid anger. V.22 could logically be an extension of that exhortation to listen, © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. seems that the author is taking the exhortation in a new direction (deceiving oneself). --Based on this reasoning I will believe the paragraph as found in NIV is the correct division. (NOTE: For this exegesis, use the text, punctuation and paragraph boundaries in the NIV regardless of what your decision is about the text, punctuation, and paragraph boundaries) Section Two—Analyzing the sentences and the paragraph 1. Analyzing the sentences. (This diagram is based on NASB. You should use NIV for the assignments in the modules) you know ¦ │ my beloved brethren ¦but ¦ everyone let. . .be ¦ │ ¦ │ ¦ │for ¦Therefore │ the anger ¦ │ ¦ │of man ¦ ¦ (you) receive │ │ │ │putting aside │ │in humility this quick to hear │slow to speak and │slow to anger does not achieve the righteousness │of God the word │implanted │which is able to save your souls all filthiness │ and │all that remains of wickedness 2. Analyzing the paragraph Theme of the paragraph: Do not let anger be your response to difficult circumstances. │ (main theme) │ everyone │ │(result) │ │(introductory) │ │ let│…be │ │(you) │ │You │ quick… receive the word know this Section Three--Word studies © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. “brothers” (v. 19)—The Greek word adelfoStrong’s #80) can mean brother in the literal, familial sense. The Shorter Lexicon (Gingrich) says that the word can refer to the group of believers. Here James is addressing the church, as individuals and as a group. (Gingrich, Shorter Lexicon) “anger” (vv. 19,20)—The Greek word  not only has the meaning anger, but also can mean indignation, even a judgmental attitude or action (such as punishment) (Gingrich). It seems that seems that “anger” is the best sense here, although “judgmentalness” fits in the context here well. “righteous life/righteousness” (v.20)—The word  can mean uprightness, a righteous requirement (of God), mercy or charitableness, justice, or even salvation (Gingrich). With the qualifying phrase “ of God” attached, the word probably should be taken as “what God requires or wants” (Gingrich). “humbly” (v.21)— “save” (v.21)— Section Four—Identifying historical and social context Authorship There are several James’s in the Bible qualified to write this epistle. The two that seem most likely are James the apostle, who was martyred in AD 44, and James the brother of Jesus and pastor of the Jerusalem Church (died AD 63). Since this epistle seems to be written especially to a Jewish Christian congregation, the second mentioned James, the pastor of the Jerusalem church, would likely be the author. It is unlikely that the epistle was written as early as AD44 (Guthrie, for this whole section). Date Most scholars say that since the Jew/Gentile controversy so evident in Acts 15 does not seem to be reflected in the epistle, it must have been written either before the controversy (AD 48,49) or close to the end of James’ life and after the controversy had died down. Date is about AD 62,63. Recipients Reference to the synagogue (2:2) and the address “to the twelve tribes who are dispersed” (1:1) would seem to indicate that the epistle is written to Jewish believers primarily. However, this epistle could be taken as James’ word to the church in general. Several references in the epistle indicate that the congregation(s) addressed were mainly poorer people who had been suffering because of poverty and low economic © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. status (1:9; 1:12; 2:6,7 and others). There must have been some rich ones in the congregation, too, however (4:13;5:1). Occasion and purpose Why did James write this epistle? The epistle does not give any sure answers. It would seem that James wants to help the hurting congregations deal with the economic depression and conflict they are going through. The letter is structured like a series of sermons. If that is the case, then the letter was a “book of sermons” sent out to the churches to help them live the Christian life faithfully (be “doers of the word”) during hard times. Sociological and cultural features Reference has already been made to the economic status of the recipients. We need to imagine a poorer congregation struggling with their poverty and against their rich, oppressive neighbors (maybe even those within the congregation). In those days, although the economy of the Roman Empire was fairly vigorous, there was no extensive system of welfare (outside of Rome), at least for the Jews and other marginal groups like Christians. Poverty could be exceptionally difficult. The many references to suffering and “humble circumstances” should be interpreted in this light. Reading our passage in this light, the references to anger would be James’ dealing with the impatience and frustration of economic oppression, perhaps. He encourages gentleness (humility, vs 21) which is opposite of violent resistance and rebellion. “Save your souls” would perhaps then refer not to spiritual salvation but to rescue from the harsh effects of their plight. Only by staying faithful to God’s Word, the Gospel, would they find effective help. Section Five--Analyzing the literary cotext Outline of the book The book of James has the following major sections, according to the NIV Study Bible (Barker). I. Greetings 1:1 II. Trials and Temptations 1:2-18 III. Listening and Doing 1:19-27 IV. Favoritism Forbidden 2:1-13 V. Faith and Deeds 2:14-26 VI. Taming the Tongue 3:1-12 VII. Two Kinds of Wisdom 3:13-18 VIII. Warning against Worldliness 4:1-17 IX. Warning to Rich Oppressors 5:1-6 X. Miscellaneous Exhortations 5:7-20 Outline of the section The section of the book in which the passage is located is outlined as follows: © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. III. Listening and Doing 1:19-27 (my subtitle: How God’s Word/The Gospel should be received by a Christian) A. Listening instead of anger 1:19-21 B. Doing instead of just hearing 1:22-25 C. Religion is more doing than saying 1:26,27 Our particular passage stresses the problem of reacting in anger, and the remedy for such reaction—“receive the implanted word.” A clue to what he means by “word” (vs 21) is in v.18 “brought forth by the word of truth” (the Gospel?), v.23 “hearer of the word” (implies that it is a spoken word, a Gospel sermon?), v.25 “perfect law, the law of liberty” (probably the royal law, 2:8, the law of love), which was Jesus’ summary of all the ethical law and requirements of God. Perhaps “implanted” is not just the Gospel message, but all the teachings of Jesus recorded in the Gospels. This means studying and putting into action the teachings of Jesus. Whether this would include all other biblical instructions is not clear. Section Six--Analyzing literary aspects 1. Dealing with the genre Genre It is fairly obvious that the book itself is not one long, carefully constructed argument, such as the epistle to the Romans. It is a series of loosely connected “sermonettes” with a general theme of Christian living, especially in hard times. It has a greeting, as an epistle would, but no other parts of the book show the characteristics of a letter. We call it an epistle, but the body of the letter displays more the characteristics of Christian wisdom literature delivered in the form of sermons If we take it as a series of sermons, then each section must be interpreted independently from the ones before and after—each on its own merits (lower degree of cotextuality). We must expect that James is dealing with more practical matters, and giving instruction in dealing with the more mundane things of life and theology (not a lot of heavy theology). Literary character of the passage V.19—the brief, practical nature of v.19b, and the parallelism of its structure, would indicate James either used a proverb already known to him and the recipients, or made up a proverb for this part of the sermon. It has the character of a proverb. V.20—Also has the feel of a proverb, especially the antithetical parallelism. The introduction (v.19a) “This you know” might be James’ way of saying, “You know this little proverb.” 2. Figures of speech © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. V.19—“quick” and “slow” are normally used of movement, not actions such as hearing and speaking. These should be taken as metaphors, meaning “ready and willing to hear, not so ready and willing to speak or get angry.” Our proverb says, “Count to ten before you speak!” V.21—“filthiness” is a common metaphor for moral (Gingrich, s.v. ). V.21—“implanted” comes from the realm of agriculture, putting the seed into the soil so it will grow and produce. The action referred to here is the listening to, study of, and the putting into practice the word/Gospel. Section Seven--Preliminary summary of the passage Considering all we have found so far, we can make these preliminary conclusions abut the meaning of the passage. 1. In vv. 19-21, James is introducing a section on hearing and doing God’s Word. 2. The central theme of this passage is dealing with anger 1) by listening carefully before speaking or acting 2) by consciously putting aside anger (“filthiness”) or any other unrighteous attitude similar to anger, and 3) by studying God’s Word and heeding what it says, especially about anger. 3. This problem with anger was perhaps manifesting itself in the church, so was a problem that involved corporate action. 4. It is certainly possible that anger wasn’t the only manifestation.  can also be indignation, judgmental statements or actions, punishing type actions done hastily and in anger. 5. We must remember that this anger might have been justified in the eyes of the congregation because it was a response to economic oppression and a reaction to rich people. James disallowed this response as unrighteous with God. 6. The power of God’s Word studied and applied is an important presupposition to James’ thinking. God’s Word is “powerful”. It can change attitudes and keep one from making bad judgments and taking harsh, harmful actions. But, the Word is not as effective as it could be if the congregations members did not decide to put aside (repent of) the wrong attitudes or actions. 7. The fact that this is Jewish wisdom indicates that further study in such books as Proverbs would shed light. Also, the fact that the Word (v.21) is the Gospel teachings of Jesus (I assume), studying further what Jesus said about anger will directly shed light on James’ ideas here. Section Eight--Theological exegesis 1. The theme of Anger In James—James does not speak of anger again, although he talks about powerful forces which compel one to use the tongue destructively (3:5,6,9). 3:16 speaks of earthly wisdom which creates “disorder and every evil thing.” In the same passage gentleness © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. and righteousness are mentioned, as in 1:19-21. 4:11 speaks about slandering and judging one another. Since James connects speaking and anger in our passage, these cited passages would indicate that James had a rather strong feeling about using the tongue (words) in anger. James’ remedy for angry, judgmental speech is to beware of the power of the tongue (3:8), and to let divine wisdom control our minds (3:13), thus helping to guard one’s speech from anger. In the New Testament—Anger is not automatically a sin. Mk.3:5 says that Jesus was angry at the people in the synagogue who objected to him healing on the Sabbath. Paul said, “Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down on your anger” (Eph. 4:26). Anger has its place. Paul recommends, as a remedy to anger, that one put aside the negative attitudes such as bitterness and replace them with kindness and love (Eph. 4:31, 32). James also recommended this sort of putting aside in our passage. Paul encourages especially forgiveness. In the Proverbs—First, Proverbs recognizes the connection between anger and speech. Pr. 15:1 recommends using gentle speech to deal with anger. Second, Proverbs clearly warns against the danger of letting anger have its way (19:19; 30:33). Pr. 14:29, which may be the source for James 1:19, encourages being slow to anger because quicktemperedness leads to folly/destruction. Third, Proverbs sees the wisdom of seeking to substitute anger with gentleness (15:1). Pr. 21:14 encourage giving a gift to turn away anger. Summary—Obviously, James and the other NT writers took their theology of anger straight from the wisdom literature of the Jewish tradition. Anger has its place, but must be treated very cautiously, because it is a very strong emotion and can quickly lead to unrighteous actions. One of the chief and most effective tools of anger is the tongue. The Bible suggests clearly that anger can be replaced with kindness, gentleness, and love, and this with the help of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23). 2. The theme of Word implanted In James— In the New Testament— Section Nine--Summary of the exegesis The theme of the paragraph is how to deal with anger, especially in situations that are difficult and seem to justify anger. James taps the simple yet profound wisdom of the ages to make some suggestions as to how to deal with the problem. He suggests a strategy for avoiding anger (don’t speak hastily, count to ten). Also, one must clear one’s heart and mind of other unhealthy and destructive attitudes and actions that both arise from anger and produce more anger (put these things aside). Also, James recommends © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. that one fill one’s mind with God’s thoughts and attitudes (receive the implanted word). If God’s wisdom rules the mind, anger will be more easily controlled. Section Ten—Application/Significance 1. The level of interpersonal interaction is the primary milieu of this exhortation. Listening and anger are most pertinent in an interpersonal setting. Some areas of life that this issue is relevant for are family life (relation between husband/wife, brother/sister, and many others). Also the area of relations between friends. 2. Concerning my own preunderstandings and expectations, I identify my own tendency to become impatient and angry with others. I must be careful to clearly understand what the author means by anger and not define it in such a way as to avoid the implications of the text. 3. In the husband/wife area, it is important for the husband (or the wife) to develop deliberate techniques and perspectives for listening carefully without reacting first. Maybe the old “count to ten” technique. SOURCES CITED Barker, K. ed. (1985) The NIV Study Bible. Zondervan Bible Publishers. Gingrich, F. (1965) Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament. University of Chicago Press. Guthrie, D. …….. Strong, J. (n.d.) ……. NOTE AGAIN: This sample is to show the form for exegesis, not to show the complete form for everything. You must use APA form and follow all instructions in the assignment. © 2015. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.
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