"A Commentary on James" (Aída Besançon Spencer)

TITLE: A Commentary on James
AUTHOR: Aída Besançon Spencer
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2020, (352 pages).

Why is the authorship of the letter of James of such importance? Apart from the ancient context of the letter, what about the interpretations by the early church traditions? What about gender language then and now? Based on the literary structure and grammatical analysis, what can we learn about the themes of the letter? What are the alternate theories about authorship? With her academic background in literary and historical analysis, author and professor Aída Besançon Spencer applies a close exegetical-literary reading into the letter of James to reveal precious gems and crucial themes for us. In doing so, she takes us through a journey about how to endure trials; spiritual wisdom; perspective on wealth; doer of the Word; living faith; usage of the tongue; appropriate speech; precautions about temptations; perseverance; prayer; etc. Going through chapter by chapter, passage by passage, each chapter begins with a similar framework:

• Translation and Grammatical Analysis
• Outline of chapter
• Literary Structure
• Exposition
• Theological and Homiletical Topics
• Other miscellaneous observations

"James the Just: Presents Applications of the Torah" (Dr David Friedman)

TITLE: James the Just: Presents Applications of the Torah
AUTHOR: David Friedman
PUBLISHER: Clarksville, MD: Messianic Jewish Publisher, 2012, (152 pages).

There are many commentaries on the New Testament book of James but very few from a Messianic perspective. Come to think of it, it does take one to know one. If James is Jewish, the context of the book is Jewish, would it not be appropriate to have a Jewish commentary on the book of James (Ya'akov)? That is exactly what the author of this book aims to do. He does it historically, culturally, grammatically, and also contextually. The author is a Jewish Rabbi, scholar, and author. In this book, he argues that:

• the book of James is consistent with a specific style of Rabbinic writings
• it is collected by his disciples and distributed to believers beyond
• it is about applying the Torah to everyday life.
• Most English translations miss the Jewishness of the letter
• James reflects upon the subjects covered in Leviticus 19-22

Friedman asks three chief questions. 

1. Who was Ya'akov?
2. Is this book a "rabbinic yalkut'?
3. What are the main points?