James 1:16-17 (God is the Generous Father, Not the Source of Temptation)

I will continue discussing the first chapter of James: this series of posts will not cover the entire chapter, but I want to dwell on certain verses. This post will deal with James 1:16-17.

Greek (THGNT): Μὴ πλανᾶσθε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί· πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθὴ καὶ πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον ἄνωθέν ἐστιν καταβαῖνον ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν φώτων παρ᾽ ᾧ οὐκ ἔνι παραλλαγὴ ἢ τροπῆς ἀποσκίασμα.

Lauri Thurén insists: "From a rhetorical perspective the letter is a well-organized text, where the author takes high risks in order to reinforce the addressees' rather Pauline pattern of religion." See Handbook of Classical Rhetoric in the Hellenistic Period (330 B.C.- A.D. 400), page 592.

That's an interesting statement because scholars tend to juxtapose James and Paul when it comes to their respective theologies, and even Thurén mentions "structural and theological problems" associated with James' letter.

On the other hand, Thurén has many good things to say about the rhetorical elements in James (i.e., the book's rhetorical features). For example, the epistle's Greek is considered to be written at a high-level though many Semitisms appear; there are numerous stylistic devices, skillful uses of antitheses, and I would add that James employs various and interesting metaphors (Ibid.). Readers of James also find many imperatives (commands) and "appellatives," says Thurén--James is aware of his audience and he throws in some diatribe although it's not the kind learned from a rhetoric handbook; still, overall, the letter seems rhetorically impressive.

Looking at the Greek, what do we find? Verse 16 begin with Μὴ πλανᾶσθε (present passive imperative + Μὴ): this formula appears in 1 Corinthians 6:9; 15:33; Galatians 6:7; To the Magnesians 8.1 (Ignatius of Antioch); Diatr. 4.6.23 (Epictetus): "Do not be deceived," "Do not be misled," or "Do not be led astray." James' employment of the present suggests the action is progressively imperative but negative/prohibitive (Dan McCartney, James, BECNT).

Rogers and Rogers: "16 πλανᾶσθε pres. imp. mid./pass. πλανάω to lead astray, to deceive. Mid. or pass. could be permissive: 'Don’t allow yourselves to be deceived. ἀγαπητοί beloved, a term of endearment."

Peter Davids:

The admonition μὴ πλανᾶσθε refers neither to some simple intellectual non sequitur nor to a moral failure, but to a serious error which strikes at the heart of faith itself (1 Cor. 6:9; Gal. 6:7; 1 Jn. 1:8; Epict. 4.6.23; cf. Windisch, 9; H. Braun, TDNT VI, 242–251 [although Braun accepts the form μὴ πλανᾶσθε as a borrowing from the Stoic diatribe, he still holds that it refers to serious moral error]; Brown, 27, and Wibbing). James may not feel that the person is about to fall from faith (yet cf. 5:20), but at the least a serious failure is in view with a background in Jewish apocalyptic warnings (cf. the use of πλανάω in Revelation or πλάνη in 2 Pet. 2:18; 3:17; 1 Jn. 4:6; Rom. 1:27; etc.). The address is an amplification of the form in 1:2, a characteristic of the homiletic style of the work. It shows that the author still considers himself addressing Christians; they have not yet left the faith.

The fact that James uses ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοί would indicate that his readers have not departed from the faith, but simply need corrective discipline: James is addressing his spiritual family composed of fellow brothers and sisters (compare 1:19; 2:5). They are members of the Christian faith and beloved ones, so while it's possible that some might have been tempted to believe God is the author of temptations, the context of James 1:16 shows that anyone who attributes temptation or evil to God would be in danger of falling for a great deception. Therefore, James wants to disabuse his audience of this misconception. He thus writes:

πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθὴ καὶ πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον ἄνωθέν ἐστιν καταβαῖνον

James begins verse 17 with a noun that is nominative singular feminine modified by an adjective that agrees with the nominal word (i.e., the adjectival πᾶσα is nominative singular feminine of πᾶς). ἀγαθὴ likewise modifies δόσις (it's an adjective that is nominative singular feminine). There is some question as to whether δόσις refers to a gift or to the act of giving: commentators normally see πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον as synonymous with πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθὴ (Craig Blomberg calls the construction "redundant"). Scholars of the New Testament tend to render the construction altogether as "Every good and perfect gift . . ."

For a contrary view of the syntax in James 1:17, see F.J.A. Hort (The Epistle of St. James). Chris A. Vlachos and J.H. Ropes maintain that πᾶσα δόσις ἀγαθὴ καὶ πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον forms an "imperfect hexameter" (the syllables possibly comprise six rhythmical sections); A.T. Robertson and Adam Clarke think the words constitute a "perfect hexameter." Additionally, ἀγαθὴ and τέλειον most likely are attributive adjectives, not predicative (so Vlachos). Compare how James uses ἄνωθέν as he continues, which would suggest the adjectives preceding this adverbial word are attributives.

ἄνωθέν ἐστιν καταβαῖνον-in this portion of the verse, we find an adverb with a finite verb + the present active participle nominative singular neuter of καταβαίνω (to come down, go down, descend). See Blomberg (James) for possibilities about rendering this portion of James 1:17 (compare James 3:17). He favors the periphrastic use of the participle, thus treating καταβαῖνον as though it functions predicatively. This usage explains the translation, "every gift is coming down from above." Moreover, I believe this employment of ἄνωθέν is circumlocutional and ἄνωθέν ἐστιν καταβαῖνον reminds us that God is generous. Cf. James 1:5.

ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν φώτων-Max Zerwick indicates that τοῦ πατρὸς identifies or names God as the Creator (see James 1:27; 3:9); the genitive phrase is likewise plural ("of lights"). Both Vlachos and Ben Witherington III appear to see Genesis allusions in this verse (see Genesis 1:3, 14-18). τῶν φώτων probably refers to the Sun, moon, and stars: that is the consensus view anyway. Within the greater literary context, these words form part of James' argument against imputing temptation to God.

παρ᾽ ᾧ οὐκ ἔνι παραλλαγὴ ἢ τροπῆς ἀποσκίασμα-here, James employs a preposition coupled with a datival relative pronoun and ἔνι (present active indicative third singular verb); then οὐκ apparently negates παραλλαγὴ ἢ τροπῆς ἀποσκίασμα.

πατρὸς is the antecedent of ᾧ and the relative pronoun is in the dative case because it's the object of παρ᾽ (David L. Mathewson, Elodie Ballantine Emig, Intermediate Greek Grammar: Syntax for Students of the New Testament).