The letter of James remains an enigma in many ways, including its immediate reception. Another enigmatic work, 2 Enoch, though vastly different in temperament and form, contains numerous ethical parallels with the epistle. Most prominent among the ten detailed here are the use of the imago Dei to prohibit slander, an absolute ban on taking oaths and a warning to wealthy landowners not to exploit day laborers. Utilizing criteria developed by Luke Timothy Johnson, a strong case can be made that 2 Enoch is to be numbered among the earliest readers of James. If so, there are implications for the date, geography and social context of both works. This proposal also sheds light on the relationship between the oath-formulas in Jas 5.12 and Mt. 5.33-37.
AllisonDale C.2013The Epistle of James (ICC; New York: Bloomsbury).
2.
AndersenF.I.1983 ‘2 (Slavonic Apocalypse of) Enoch’, in CharlesworthJames H. (ed.), The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha (2 vols.; New Haven, CT: Yale University Press). I, 91-221.
3.
BauckhamRichard1999James: Wisdom of James, Disciple of Jesus the Sage (New Testament Readings; London: Routledge).
4.
BlombergCraig L.KamellMariam J.2008James (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan).
BöttrichChristfried1995Adam als Mikrokosmos: Eine Untersuchung zum slavischen Henochbuch (Judentum und Umwelt, 59; Frankfurt: Peter Lang).
7.
BöttrichChristfried1997 ‘Astrologie in der Henochtradition’, ZAW109: 222-45.
8.
BöttrichChristfried2001 ‘The Melchizedek Story of 2 (Slavonic) Enoch: A Reaction to A. Orlov’, JSJ32: 445-70.
9.
BöttrichChristfried2011 ‘Die “Geschichte Melchisedeks” (HistMelch) im slavischen Kulturkreis’, in DiTommaso and Böttrich 2011: 159-200.
10.
BöttrichChristfried2012 ‘The “Book of Secrets of Enoch” (2 En): Between Jewish Origin and Christian Transmission. An Overview’, in Orlov and Boccaccini 2012b: 37-67.
CharlesworthJames H.1985The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the New Testament: Prolegomena for the Study of Christian Origins (SNTSMS, 54; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press).
13.
CollinsJohn J.2016The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature (3rd edn; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).
14.
DavidsPeter H.1982The Epistle of James (NIGTC; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).
DiTommasoLorenzoBöttrichChristfried (eds.) 2011The Old Testament Apocrypha in the Slavonic Tradition: Continuity and Diversity (TSAJ, 140; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck).
17.
ForbesNevillCharlesR.H.1913 ‘2 Enoch, or the Book of the Secrets of Enoch’, in CharlesR.H. (ed.), The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament (2 vols.; Oxford: Clarendon Press): II, 425-69.
18.
HagenJoost L.2012 ‘No Longer “Slavonic” Only: 2 Enoch Attested in Coptic from Nubia’, in Orlov and Boccaccini 2012b: 7-34.
HelyerLarry R.2002Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period: A Guide for New Testament Students (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press).
21.
JohnsonLuke Timothy1995The Letter of James (AB, 37A; New York: Doubleday).
22.
LawsSophie1980The Epistle of James (HNTC; San Francisco: Harper & Row).
23.
LutherSusanne2015Sprachethik im Neuen Testament: Eine Analyse des frühchristlichen Diskurses im Matthäusevangelium, im Jakobusbrief und im 1. Petrusbrief (WUNT, 2/394; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck).
24.
MacaskillGrant2007Revealed Wisdom and Inaugurated Eschatology in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism, 115; Leiden: Brill).
MartinRalph P.1988James (WBC, 48; Waco, TX: Word Books).
27.
McCartneyDan G.2009James (BECNT; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic).
28.
McKnightScot2011The Letter of James (NICNT; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).
29.
MetznerRainer2017Der Brief des Jakobus (THKNT, 14. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt).
30.
MooDouglas J.2000The Letter of James (Pillar New Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans).
31.
NickelsburgGeorge W.E.2005Jewish Literature between the Bible and the Mishnah: A Historical and Literary Introduction (2nd edn; Minneapolis: Fortress Press).
32.
OrlovAndrei A.2000a ‘Melchizedek Legend of 2 (Slavonic) Enoch’, JSJ31: 23-38.
33.
OrlovAndrei A.2000b ‘Secrets of Creation in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch’, Hen22: 45-62.
34.
OrlovAndrei A.2003 ‘On the Polemical Nature of 2 (Slavonic) Enoch: A Reply to C. Böttrich’, JSJ34: 274-303.
