In spite of Origen’s opinion (Origen on Matt. 13:55) that the sons and
daughters of Joseph were children of a former marriage, an opinion more
than offset by the position of Tertullian (_de Monog. 8_, _de Virg. Vel.
6_), we must think of the family circle at Nazareth as composed of five
brothers (Jesus, James, Joses, Judas, Simon, as in Mark 6:3, but Jesus,
James, Joseph, Simon, Judas in Matt. 13:55) and the “sisters.” Every
implication is that they all passed as sons and daughters of Joseph and
Mary in the usual sense. The order implies also that while Jesus was the
eldest, James came next among the brothers. Unfortunately, the names of
the sisters are not given.
We are to think, therefore, of a large home circle in the humble
carpenter’s house in Nazareth. Jesus, the eldest, followed the trade of
Joseph, the father of the family, and came to be known as “the
carpenter” (Mark 6:3). Certainly all the children must have learned to
work with their hands, although we do not know whether James adopted
that trade or some other. He would soon be called upon to help in the
support of the family, as Joseph seems to be dead when Jesus enters upon
his ministry; he is not mentioned with Mary and the children in Matthew
13:55 and Mark 6:3. Joseph was probably older than Mary. The family were
not peasants, and they probably had all the necessary comforts of the
simple primitive life of a workman in a small town in Galilee.
Jewish boys usually started to school when six years old, but before
that the education of James had begun in the home. “James, together with
his brothers and sisters, was brought up in an atmosphere charged with
reverence for God and love for man, with tenderness, freedom, and
joy.”[5] The Jewish parents did not shirk parental responsibility for
the religious training of the children, and a large family was regarded
as a blessing from God. The love of God was the first of all lessons
taught at home, and this was followed by the simple elements of truth,
uprightness, mercy, and beneficence.[6] The Jewish mother rejoiced in
her children, and James was fortunate in having such a mother as Mary
and such a father as Joseph, whose dedication to the things of their God
was sincere.
At school, while religion was the main theme and portions of the Old
Testament the textbook, there was abundant intellectual stimulus. The
quick-witted boy would be all alive to the great problems of faith and
duty. The teacher would probably use the Aramaic dialect of Galilee,
even if he had the Old Testament in Hebrew. But the boy would soon learn
to speak the _Koine_ also, the current Greek of the world, the language
of commerce and of common intercourse everywhere. Simon Peter, the
fisherman, knew and used Greek, as did John, the apostle. It was common
for people to know two languages. Paul probably knew Aramaic and Hebrew,
Greek and Latin. Jesus knew and spoke both Aramaic and Greek and
probably knew Hebrew also.
James came to write Greek with a great deal of ease and skill. He was in
no sense a littérateur. He was no Atticist in his style and did not try
to imitate the classical Greek writers, whom he probably never read.
Deissmann[7] does call the Epistle of James “a little piece of
literature,” but he means a product of popular literature. Certainly
there is nothing artificial in content and style. Is it mere fancy to
think that the same poetic beauty shown in Mary’s Magnificat (Luke
1:46-55) appears in the Sermon on the Mount and in the Epistle of James?
At least the rich acquaintance with the Old Testament exists in all
three.
The author of the epistle is gifted with imagination and shows knowledge
of the apocryphal books, especially the wisdom literature of the Jews.
But he is a thorough Jew in his outlook and literary method,[8] so much
so indeed that it is contended by some that James wrote the epistle
originally in Aramaic,[9] an unlikely supposition. The widespread
diffusion of Greek in Palestine amply accounts for the author’s grasp of
the language.[10] The epigrammatic and picturesque style is due to the
writer’s individuality, his environment, and his reading. His vocabulary
is rich in words about fishing, husbandry, and domestic life, as one
would expect.[11] A man of the force and position of James could easily
broaden his acquaintance with the Greek tongue as the years went by. The
Greek is pure _Koine_, with few Hebraisms, though the tone is distinctly
that of the Old Testament.[12] He speaks like a prophet of old in the
service of Christ. There is no doubt that James came to be a man of
culture in a real sense.
He probably married early, as it was the custom of the Jews for men to
marry at the age of eighteen.[13] Paul expressly states that the
brothers of the Lord were married (1 Cor. 9:5). We do not know, of
course, the age of James when Jesus began his ministry. In all
probability he had already married and had a home of his own in
Nazareth. The sisters probably married and settled in Nazareth also
(Mark 6:3).
We have no mention of the rest of the children going to Jerusalem when
the boy Jesus was taken (Luke 2:41-52). Indeed, it is rather implied
that they were not in the company, but this does not mean that James did
not have his turn to go at the age of twelve and afterward.
There is no reason to believe that James grew up to be a Nazarite, as
Hegesippus quoted by Eusebius (H. E. ii. 23) alleges: “He is
distinguished from others of the same name by the title ‘Just,’ which
has been applied to him from the first. He was holy from his mother’s
womb, drank no wine or strong drink, nor ate animal food; no razor came
on his head, nor did he anoint himself with oil nor use the bath. To him
only was it permitted to enter the Holy of Holies.” The evident
legendary details here deprive the statement of real value except as
witness to his genuine piety and to the esteem in which he was held by
the people generally. Hegesippus adds: “His knees became hard like a
camel’s, because he was always kneeling in the temple, asking
forgiveness for the people,” a description of his life in Jerusalem
after he became a Christian. At any rate, like Joseph his father, he
grew up to be a just man and came to be known as James the Just.