James 1:5-8 as translated by James B. Adamson, p. 55:
5 But if any of you is lacking knowledge (of God's way and will), let him ask of God, who gives it to all as a simple (unconditional) gift and chides not (the petitioner for previous ignorance).
6 But let him ask in faith, with no halting between two opinions: for the man who halts between two opinions is like a sea of waves, the way it is blown and beaten under the winds.
7 Let not that (sort of) man imagine that he will get anything from the Lord.
8 A man who is of two minds is unsteady in all his ways.
Verse 5: The Problem of Knowledge
Adamson begins this section with a reference to Genesis 2: 17 and 3: 22, which he says may have a doubtful meaning. Below are the two verses in question taken from the Catholic Bible NABRE:
Gen. 2: 17
[The Lord God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden] except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.
Gen. 3: 22
Then the Lord God said: See! The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil! Now, what if he also reaches out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life, and eats of it and lives forever?
What is Clear in These Verses: Knowledge is an Attribute of Yahweh and He Monopolizes It
Adamson argues that one thing is clear regardless of whatever doubts one might have. In the early Hebrew cult of Yahweh knowledge is an attribute that is jealously monopolized by the divinity. The later Hebrew religion however, is similar to Christian faith in the bond of wisdom between God and his believers. An old commentary on Psalms 99:4 says that sometimes Wisdom means Law (Midr. Ps. on 99:4). The rabbis taught that this Wisdom/Law was needed to defeat the Evil Spirit in man. They also taught that it is a gift that can’t be bought by man; its source is God and it is freely given.
The Later Hebrew Religion to Christian Faith
Adamson tells us that in all Christian temptation wisdom is to be had ‘just for the asking’. Then, in the next paragraph he demonstrates that there are no suitable adverbs to describe the mind of such a giver. He gives a few examples of adverbs that are not quite adequate: kind; generous; wholehearted. James uses an adverb meaning ‘simply’. This word is often used in Greek to contrast with another Greek word meaning complex variety in nature or art (Please see the Greek words in the notes, p. 56). The King James Version uses ‘liberally’, but Adamson thinks ‘liberally’ is too much like ‘profusely’. In his opinion, ‘freely’ has the fewest and least defects.
God gives his wisdom to men not only just for the asking but also without chiding a man for his previous sins. Apparently, James had in mind the tendency of humans to remind others of any favors they might have done for them. Adamson cites Bunyan: “It appeareth that He (Christ) is free, because he giveth without twitting.” Twitting, according to Adamson means ‘rebuking’ or ‘taunting’.
A Typical Hebrew Prayer for Wisdom in Righteousness
Adamson concludes that James 1:5 has the characteristic Jewish faith in God as its source. He compares Psalms 19:12 as an illustration of a typical Hebrew prayer for wisdom in righteousness. The psalmist has praised the law of the Lord in 7-11. Then in Psalms 7:12 he proceeds to ask pardon for any offenses he may have committed against that law, unconsciously or knowingly.
Who can be aware each time he offends? O cleanse thou me of my unconscious sins.
Verse 6: Faith
Luther called verse 6 one of the best verses of the Epistle. James teaches that faith is the essential condition of prayer. The best light on this verse is Hebrews 11:6 according to Adamson:
Anyone who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who search for him.
Faith in What?
In James 1:6, ‘faith’ does not refer to faith in the Christian religion. It means confidence in prayer. It means the petitioner’s belief and trust that God will hear his prayer and grant it. And if it is denied, this denial will be according to God’s superior wisdom. Jesus prayed with this faith in Matthew 26:39 and in Mark and Luke. Therefore, this teaching of James is identical with that of Jesus. Adamson quotes C. L. Mitton.1
Here and in the Synoptic Gospels it means primarily the simple act of coming to Jesus with some need in complete confidence that He can and will deal with it. It was this attitude of faith that seemed to release powers in Jesus that made all things possible. Often when Jesus had healed an ailing man or woman, his explanation of the healing was: ‘Thy faith hath saved thee’ (p. 30).
Adamson adds that these links of faith reveal the relation of God and men as partners in human life.
Doubt
The doubter is incapable of making a choice between the alternatives before him, whether or not to believe that God will grant his prayer (Please see the Greek words in the notes, p. 58). He probably believes in God, but is not confident that he will get what he wants.
The rendering ‘uncertainty and indecision’ is an unprecedented New Testament meaning. It seems to have developed from the verb meaning in the present, “I am making up my mind between two alternatives.” Adamson compares this to the classical use, akin also to the idea of self-debate contained in the middle. Some have disputed the translation but the meaning is not disputed.
The Analogy Between Doubt and a Sea of Waves
This verse contains a marine analogy, ‘like a sea of waves, the way it is blown and beaten under the winds’. The translation is simple for the most part, although Adamson provides a long paragraph about possible allusions on pages 58-59. We are given the sense of the doubter inclining toward one alternative (say, to believe in prayer) and then toward the opposite alternative. He is never able to settle upon either one so he is in constant agitation without making any progress to a result. Adamson likens him to the Lake of Galilee, a sea of waves. Although readers of this verse might know there could be a storm on the Lake, they assume the winds and their effects on the waters are no more than normal. Waves on the Mediterranean however might be driven by a tempestuous wind. For this see Acts 27:4, 7, 9 and 14.
What is necessary is a real, vigorous wind, not any slight rufflement: it can come in a tempest, as in that which wrecked Odysseus’ ship– “the surge loosed the sides from the keel”. But Adamson thinks what James has in mind is the more normal, but quite vigorous action of the winds exemplified in Thucydides ii.84, in the naval battle off Naupactus.
The point of comparison in James is the unsettled behavior of the waves to and fro, like the doubter’s mind. It’s as if the winds drive them in one direction today and perhaps in another direction tomorrow.
Verse 7
For his commentary on verse 7, Adamson refers the reader to Excursus B (pp. 92ff.) which begins on page 90.
Verse 8: The Divided Mind
The adjective ‘of divided mind’ (see the Greek in the notes p. 59) is only found here and at 4:8. Adamson goes into some depth on the idea of the divided mind. He says it is not found in LXX (the Septuagint) or in Greek literature before James, but it soon became current in post-apostolic writings:
In the Church Fathers
[It was] especially found in Hermas, sometimes linked with “prayer” and “simplicity” (40 times), Clement of Rome, Epistle of Barnabas, Didache, and the Apostolic Constitutions. We are aware of scholars who have judged that the Epistle of James has neither structure nor pedigree, but if James was the author of this Epistle, it is not surprising but rather inevitabe that the occurrence (and perhaps invention) of this word here set Clement (c. A.D. 96) and the others to using it profusely: Lightfoot, Westcott, and Zahn, among others, believed that Cement knew and used the Epistle of James. The hypothesis that James here is quoting from a lost book like Eldad and Modad appears unnecessary.
What Does it Mean?
Divided mind literally means of two minds. Here and in 4:8 the point is doubt, not duplicity. In James the word describes a mind distracted by lusts and temptations. This idea was ‘epitomized’ by Bunyan’s “Mr. Facing-Both-Ways.” It was epitomized in real life by Augustine’s prayer: “O Lord, grant me purity, but not yet.”2 Kierkegaard saw that doubt and indecision can degenerate into despair:
Is not despair simply double-mindedness? For what is despairing other than to have two wills? For whether the weakling despairs over not being able to wrench himself away from the bad, or whether the brazen one despairs over not being able to tear himself completely away from the good: they are both double-minded, they both have two wills.3
The Greeks
The idea of a man divided in doubt or hesitation is common enough in Greek. Homer says Achilles’ heart within his breast “was divided in counsel” (as quoted by Adamson, p. 60).
The Old Testament
The Old Testament notion of the double heart, is literally ‘with heart and heart’. Adamson says this is the root of Jame’s locution (see Ps. 12:2; 1 Chr. 12:23; Sir. (Ecclesiastes) 2:12-14). This is close to the rabbinic doctrine of man’s spirit as originally pure and so to be returned to god, and of the two Yetsers, good and bad, though essentially one, seated in the heart. He gives the example of prayer being offered with a divided heart, part for God and part for the world.
The Essenes
There is recent evidence from Qumran of a similar type of dualism. For example, “Relationship of the Shepherd of Hermas to the Epistle of James.” See notes, p. 61 for more sources.
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