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The Letter of James (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries) Paperback – September 5, 2005

by Luke Timothy Johnson (Author)
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 24 ratings
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The Letter of James is one of the most significant, yet generally overlooked, New Testament books. Because Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation, disliked this letter for its emphasis on good deeds, the book has come to be viewed as being in opposition to Paul’s letters, which emphasize faith in God. To correct these and other misperceptions about James, Luke Timothy Johnson embarks on an unprecedented history of the interpretation of this pivotal letter, highlighting the vast appreciation for James over the centuries.
Johnson boldly identifies the first-century author as none other than James, the brother of Jesus Christ. While modern skepticism casts doubt on this conclusion, early textual witnesses, as well as saints and scholars throughout the centuries, corroborate Johnson’s position.

A thorough examination of the original-language texts and an explanation of the literary context of James help illuminate the original meaning of the letter. Johnson’s sensitivity to both the biblical text and the sensibilities of the modern reader, coupled with his convincing scholarly presentation, set this apart as one of the premier commentaries on James for present and future generations.

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Previous page
  1. Part of series
    The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries
  2. Print length
    432 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Yale University Press
  5. Publication date
    September 5, 2005
  6. Dimensions
    6 x 1.25 x 8.75 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    030013990X
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0300139907
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Luke Timothy Johnson is Professor of New Testament at the Chandler School of Theology, Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the author of The Letter of James (Anchor Bible) and of the bestseller The Real Jesus, as well as other books and numerous articles on the New Testament.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press (September 5, 2005)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 030013990X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300139907
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.25 x 8.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 24 ratings

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Luke Timothy Johnson

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Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
24 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Academic Commentary
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2011
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Originally published in 1995, Luke Timothy Johnson's `The Letter of James' is an instalment in the Anchor Bible commentary series. For those unfamiliar with the author Johnson is a on a short list of leading contemporary `critical' New Testament scholar. The following comments pertain to the soft cover version of the text. Potential readers are well advised to peruse the available on-line portion of the text prior to purchase.

While providing a good overview of opposing interpretive opinions Johnson advocates early dating, traditional authorship and a generally unified reading of the James, as opposed many critical scholars who have tended to advocate a late, pseudonymous and discontinuous interpretation, in other words reading James as largely a response to Pauline theology.

As previous reviewers have noted this is an outstanding academic commentary within an excellent series (Anchor Bible). A knowledgeable commenter and skilled communicator Johnson's analysis is simply masterful - resulting in an invaluable resource to scholars and laymen alike. The text is laid out in what has become the standard format for modern commentaries; an introduction, situating the text and detailing issues such as socio-cultural context , authorship, dating, intended audience, historic reception and the like followed by an section by section translation and analysis of the text. The analysis in turn, is composed of notes and a commentary, the commentary being focused on broad issues of content and interpretation (of interest to all readers) while the notes examine issues of a more academic nature, i.e. manuscript variants, terminology and literary antecedents.

The one small criticism I have of the text is that of physical size - it is smaller than the hard-cover instalments I have in this series and the reduced size results in a dense 400 page text with tiny font. If cost is not a crucial issue I would suggest considering the hard-cover edition. Despite this small drawback, I highly recommend the text for readers seeking a good modern academic commentary on the letter of James
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Vaidas Krasauskas
5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful commentary
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2009
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Luke Timothy Johnson is a very much respected NT scholar from Candler School of Theology. When you take and read his commentary on James it feels that the author put all his heart in writing this commentary. The commentary is very informed and attractive. L. T. Johnson is conservative and humble while discussing the authorship of James. He identifies the author as James the brother of Jesus and proves it. L. T. Johnson's chapter on history of interpretation is really good, because the author shows to the readers how the letter of James was understood during the history of Christianity. L. T. Johnson use a big amount of sources in studies of James and interacts with them but always shows his opinion. If you want to have a solid work on James buy L. T. Johnson's work. D. Moo, C. Blomberg and L. Johnson are very solid and conservative works on James.
6 people found this helpful
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preaching blues
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Commentary
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2013
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This was my first encounter with Luke Timothy Johnson and I came away deeply impressed. His commentary really tells the story behind this brief letter. Too often the epistle gets caught up in a works-vs-faith debate, which Johnson shows misses the point. James is actually a fascinating look into the life of a community struggling to live the gospel message. Christian communities today face many of the same challenges, and Johnson allows his commentary to be both a window into an ancient world and a mirror reflecting our own. I'll likely read this rich, wonderful commentary again.
3 people found this helpful
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Quentin D. Stewart
5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the best Commentary on James out there
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2009
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There is a very thorough scholarly introduction to the epistle with discussions on the relationship between James and Paul and the highly influential 19th century interpetation of F.C. Baur and his "Early Catholicism" that depicted James at war with Paul and the Gentile party.
The commentator dispels such antiquated fantasies about James and Paul and argues that James and Paul are not at odds, but share different concerns. James's discussion of justification is not at odds with Paul's. This is all the more impressive since the author is a Roman Catholic.
9 people found this helpful
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Nelson Banuchi
5.0 out of 5 stars A Convincing Defense of the Consistency of Thought in James Epistle
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2013
Johnson's commentary is filled with much spiritual and practical insights. He shows convincingly that the letter of James is not a hodge-podge of morally wise sayings - much like proverbs - but a a letter with a logical progression of unified thought. His unique discussion of the James-Paul debate puts their "differences" in an enlightening perspective that lends weight to their agreement rather than their supposed contradictory view of faith/works.

His delving into the word meanings and possible translations of particular texts is absorbing and the way he shows the coherent relationship between sections of texts with other sections and with the epistle as a whole leaves one with a better appreciation and understandng of James' divinely inspired insights. One interesting note that Johnson makes is that the letter of James is prophetic in line and in sympathy with the Hebrew prophets.

Johnson's commentary on James is semi-technical. But that shouldn't make anyone afraid to read it because, despite it's thorough exegetical investigation into language, context, historical background, it is rather easy to read and grasp. I would advise anyone having trouble undertanding James' epistle, the Paul/James debate, the logical inter-connection between sections of verses and ideas, should read this, especially for ministers desiring to preach or teach on this epistle.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Brian E.
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in Germany on October 24, 2015
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Top service, top book. Reading this involves some work, but I am fully satisfied with this book in every way.
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Sagely
5.0 out of 5 stars A surprising accessible scholarly commentary
Reviewed in Canada on October 17, 2012
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As a pastor preaching through James, I've found Luke Timothy Johnson's commentary a valuable resource for my preaching. James is a confusing book, and scholarship on James is perhaps even more confusing. LTJ distills the scholarly conversation in a way that a working pastor can access, while including enough information in the footnotes for anyone to chase down the details of the discussion about whether this or that verse is alluding to Greco-Roman wisdom lit or Jewish wisdom lit. Very useful.
2 people found this helpful
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