Jean-Noël Aletti, «James 2,14-26: The Arrangement and Its Meaning», Vol. 95 (2014) 88-101
The main goal of this essay is to demonstrate that the author of the Letter of James knows how to reason according to the rules of arrangement then in place in the schools and elsewhere, rules that he uses with originality. His rhetoric is not Semitic: for him, Greek is not only a language or a style but also what structures the development of his thought. The choice of a chreia as the pattern of arrangement allowed him to repeat an opinion that had become common in some Christian communities and criticize it, showing that it was erroneous. By presenting this common opinion as a maxim (gnoee), he did not need to cite Paul and thereby avoided attributing to him what was only an erroneous recapitulation of his doctrine of justification.
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JAMES 2,14-26
1. introduction (often in the form of a question and, in Hermogenes,
a eulogy),
2. proposition (prothesis, in the form of an anecdote, an action, an
apothegm or a maxim)
3. reason (ratio or rationale)
4. opposite (contrary)
5. analogy (comparison)
6. example
7. citation (authority)
8. conclusion 14.
Several exegetes have correctly pointed out that this type of argumen-
tation is also present in the New Testament 15, in particular in the contro-
versies and questions in the Gospels that have a didactic purpose 16.
I am now proposing to show the existence of a chreia in Jas 2,14-26.
2. The Chreia in Jas 2,14-26
As the following table shows, one finds the various components
of the chreia in Jas 2,14-16:
Jas 2,14-26 17
The Chreia Arrangement
(A) the introduction in the form of a What does it profit, my brethren, if a
question (v. 14) man says he has faith but has not
works? Can his faith save him?
an initial, short ratio in the form of an If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack
eventuality (vv. 15-16) of daily food, 16 and one of you says to
them, “Go in peace, be warmed and
filledâ€, without giving them the things
needed for the body, what does it profit?
14
In Hermogenes, Progymnasmata, 3.43-50, (7) and (8) are, respectively,
Judgment (kri,sij) and Exhortation (para,klhsij).
15
For the Letter of James, see D.F. WATSON, “The Rhetoric of James 3:1-12
and a Classical Pattern of Argumentationâ€, NovT 35 (1993) 48-64; Id., “An As-
sessment of the Rhetoric and Rhetorical Analysis of the Letter of Jamesâ€, Read-
ing James with New Eyes. Methodological Reassessments of the Letter of James
(eds. R.L. WEBB – J.S. KLOPPENBORG) (The Library of New Testament Studies
342; London – New York 2007) 99-120.
16
See, for example, J.H. NEYREY, “Questions, Chreiai, and Challenges to
Honor: The Interface of Rhetoric and Culture in Mark’s Gospel,†CBQ 60
(1998) 657-681, in which a bibliography is found.
17
Translation RSV.
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