James 1:9-10--Continuing to Work Through James

I'm working my way through the Greek of James 1. I will blog some of my research although I will not be able to discuss every verse in the first chapter of James' letter.

Greek (WH): Καυχάσθω δὲ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ὁ ταπεινὸς ἐν τῷ ὕψει αὐτοῦ,

James has an affinity for δὲ: one commentator says he uses this particle thirty-seven times. δὲ might be adversative here rather than being connective.

Καυχάσθω is present middle imperative third person singular of καυχάομαι. The "boasting" here is godly and proper as opposed to the boasting mentioned in James 4:16. Compare Psalm 5:11; 2 Corinthians 12:9. James H. Ropes thinks that Καυχάσθω in this passage corresponds to "consider it all joy" in James 1:2, that is, consider it all joy to encounter various trials.

We should construe ὁ ἀδελφὸς with ὁ ταπεινὸς and the following verse (cf. ὁ δὲ πλούσιος in verse 10): the brother of lowly means, low circumstances. A Christian should exult or "boast" ἐν τῷ ὕψει αὐτοῦ, which includes trials or tribulations. The elevation of which James speaks is something applied to the here and now, not just to the future: it is glorious to endure trials for Jehovah's sake. See Matthew 5:11-12; 2 Corinthians 12:10.

James is contrasting a poor brother with a rich person. Is the rich individual a brother or a non-Christian? It's hard to say with any degree of certainty but if the earlier suggestion about syntax is correct, James would have a rich brother in mind and not a person of the world. Douglas Moo points out that commentators are about evenly split on whether the rich person is a Christian or not.