Unlike most commentaries that contain an introduction followed by ongoing commentary on each section of the text, Varner begins with an essay on discourse features. James organizes the rest of the epistle with the cohesive tie of a nominative of address (usually ajdelfoi, “brothers”) along with an imperative. The section has several elements of a frontground prominence (pp. The section contains anaphoric elements looking back to James 1–2 as well as cataphoric elements that look forward to James 4–5. Varner argues that the peak of the book is James 3:13–18, which contrasts heavenly wisdom with earthly wisdom. Both Germans led the way for later commentators to regard the book of James as loosely arranged sayings without a cohesive message. This is a particularly tall order in light of the scholarship on James that stems from Martin Luther to Martin Dibelius. This slim commentary approaches the text of James as a unified discourse.
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