102 Peter Frick The dativus iudicantis, as defined by Schwyzer-Debrunner12, is a da- tive that indicates “a standpoint or a judgement” of the agent represented in the dative case and according to Kühner-Gerth may be translated as “nach dem Urteile, in den Augen jemandes”13. Regarding James 2:5, the significance of the dativus iudicantis may be captured by this rendering: “Has God not chosen those who are poor in the judgement [or eyes]14 of the world [to be] rich in faith?” A Brief Note The dative τῷ κόσμῳ may admittedly be understood as either a da- tivus commodi vel incommodi or as a dative of reference or as dativus iudicantis. The datives commodi vel incommodi and that of reference emphasize the disadvantage that the poor have in the world; the weak- ness of this understanding of the dative, however, lies in the vagueness and ambiguity of what that disadvantage may be. In other words, it is a very general and therefore undifferentiated interpretation of the dative. The dativus iudicantis overcomes this weakness to a certain degree by emphasizing that the disadvantage arises from the negative judgment that the world passes on the reality of poverty. The Dativus Instumentalis/Causae I propose to read the dative τῷ κόσμῳ in James 2:5 simply as a dative of instrument, more specifically as a dative of manner of the causal type. Most grammarians define this dative as the idea that expresses cause, motive or occasion15. As a dative of instrument of the causal type, those who are poor (τοὺς πτωχούς) are thus poor “by means, through, because of, on account of the world”. This reading implies that the poor are poor because the structural reality of poverty is caused in a certain manner. Concretely, poor people and their poverty are caused “by the world (τῷ κόσμῳ)”. The distinct advantage of this reading is that it goes beyond the general idea of the dativus commodi vel incommodi in merely postulating that the poor are poor “in view of the world” and beyond the equally gen- Cf. E. Schwyzer and A. Debrunner, Griechische Grammatik (Munich 41975) 151. 12 Cf. R. Kühner and B. Gerth, Ausführliche Grammatik der griechischen Sprache, vol. 13 2/1 (Hannover 1976 [Reprint of 3rd edition 1898) 421. See note 7 above. 14 Cf. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament, 532. Cf. also F. Blass, A. 15 Debrunner and R.W. Funk, A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature (Chicago and London 1961) § 196. The dative of cause may be trans- lated as “on account of”. Cf. also E.G. Hoffmann and H. von Siebenthal, Griechische Gram- matik zum Neuen Testament (Riehen/Basle 1985) 253 (the dativus causae specifies “den Grund, das Motiv oder die Gelegenheit” of the action of a clause).