Scholarship is now decades removed from the era and influence of Martin Dibelius’s view that the letter of James has no essential structure and therefore no theology. Recent commentaries routinely treat James as a structured composition and usually include a section on the letter’s theology and/or prominent themes. Although the theology of James is “assumed more than expounded” (McCartney, James BECNT, 67-68), scholars rightly reflect upon the author’s theological convictions on topics such as God, Christ, eschatology, soteriology, testing/temptation, wisdom, poverty and wealth, speech, prayer, word/law, the human condition, perfection, consistency, ethics, and so forth. The theme of humility, however, is typically absent from this list. I will argue that the theme of humility, although not neglected altogether, has not been emphasized or elevated to the prominence it deserves.
The argument will proceed upon the assumption that James is carefully structured around key uses of inclusio, proverbial summary/transition statements, and Old Testament texts, namely, Deuteronomy 6:4, Leviticus 19:18, and Proverbs 3:34. Humility features prominently in pivotal structural locations, such as the letter’s opening (esp. Jas 1:9-11, 19-25), the letter’s structural center (Jas 3:13-18), and the quotation of Proverbs 3:34, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (Jas 4:6). James’s wisdom instruction is replete with exhortations to humility and warnings against pride, touching on every major topic/theme in the letter, such as poverty and wealth, obedience to the word/law in speech and deeds, eschatological judgment, and so forth. Sometimes the language of humility is explicit (Jas 1:9-11, 21; 3:13, 17; 4:6-10) while in other instances humility undergirds James’s exhortations without explicit terminology, such as appeals to patient endurance (Jas 1:2-4; 5:7-11), self-control with regard to speech (Jas 1:19, 26; 4:13-17; 5:9, 12), and care for the lowly of this world (Jas 1:27; 2:1-13).
Following a brief introduction, I will first discuss significant structural features of James and the relationship between structure, interpretation, and theme. I will then address two structurally significant sections of James in particular that emphasize humility, James 3:13-18, a major summary/transition pericope, and James 4:6-5:6, the author’s quotation and exposition Proverbs 3:34. Finally, I will show the prevalence of the theme of humility throughout the letter in relation to most if not all of the letter’s other prominent themes.