1. Author of, was James the Less, the Lord’s brother, one of the twelve apostles. He was one of the three pillars of the Church #Ga 2:9

2. It was addressed to the Jews of the dispersion, "the twelve tribes scattered abroad."

3. The place and time of the writing of the epistle were Jerusalem, where James was residing, and, from internal evidence, the period between Paul’s two imprisonments at Rome, probably about A.D. 62

4. The object of the writer was to enforce the practical duties of the Christian life. "The Jewish vices against which he warns them are:

a. Formalism, which made the service of God consist in washings and outward ceremonies, whereas he reminds them #Jas 1:27 that it consists rather in active love and purity;

b. Fanaticism, which, under the cloak of religious zeal, was tearing Jerusalem in pieces #Jas 1:20

c. Fatalism, which threw its sins on God #Jas 1:13

d. Meanness, which crouched before the rich #Jas 2:2

e. Falsehood, which had made words and oaths play-things #Jas 3:2-12

f. Partisanship #Jas 3:14

g. evil speaking #Jas 4:11

h. boasting #Jas 4:16

i. oppression #Jas 5:4

The great lesson which he teaches them as Christians is patience,

a. Patience in trial #Jas 1:2

b. Patience in good works #Jas 1:22-25

c. Patience under provocation #Jas 3:17

d. Patience under oppression #Jas 5:7

e. Patience under persecution #Jas 5:10

f. And the ground of their patience is that the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, which is to right all wrong #Jas 5:8

"Justification by works," which James contends for, is justification before man, the justification of our profession of faith by a consistent life. Paul contends for the doctrine of "justification by faith;" but that is justification before God, a being regarded and accepted as just by virtue of the righteousness of Christ, which is received by faith.

1. The son of Zebedee and Salome; an elder brother of John the apostle. He was one of the twelve. He was by trade a fisherman, in partnership with Peter #Mt 20:20 27:56 With John and Peter he was present at the transfiguration #Mt 17:1 Mr 9:2 at the raising of Jairus’s daughter #Mr 5:37-43 and in the garden with our Lord #Mr 14:33 Because, probably, of their boldness and energy, he and John were called Boanerges, i.e., "sons of thunder." He was the first martyr among the apostles, having been beheaded by King Herod Agrippa #Ac 12:1,2 A.D. 44. (Comp.) #Mt 4:21 20:20-23

2. The son of Alphaeus, or Cleopas, "the brother" or near kinsman or cousin of our Lord #Ga 1:18,19 called James "the Less," or "the Little," probably because he was of low stature. He is mentioned along with the other apostles #Mt 10:3 Mr 3:18 Lu 6:15 He had a separate interview with our Lord after his resurrection #1Co 15:7 and is mentioned as one of the apostles of the circumcision #Ac 1:13 He appears to have occupied the position of head of the Church at Jerusalem, where he presided at the council held to consider the case of the Gentiles #Ac 12:17 #Ac 15:13-29 21:18-24 This James was the author of the epistle which bears his name.

Called also Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the "city of God," the "holy city;" by the modern Arabs el-Khuds, meaning "the holy;" once "the city of Judah" #2Ch 25:28   This name is in the original in the dual form, and means "possession of peace," or "foundation of peace." The dual form probably refers to the two mountains on which it was built, viz., Zion and Moriah; or, as some suppose, to the two parts of the city, the "upper" and the "lower city."

Jerusalem is a "mountain city enthroned on a mountain fastness" (comp.) #Ps 68:15,16 87:1 125:2 #Ps 76:1,2 122:3 It stands on the edge of one of the highest table-lands in Palestine, and is surrounded on the south-eastern, the southern, and the western sides by deep and precipitous ravines. It is first mentioned in Scripture under the name Salem #Ge 14:18 comp. #Ps 76:2

When first mentioned under the name Jerusalem, Adonizedek was its king #Jos 10:1 It is afterwards named among the cities of Benjamin #Jud 19:10 1Ch 11:4 but in the time of David it was divided between Benjamin and Judah.

After the death of Joshua the city was taken and set on fire by the men of Judah #Jud 1:1-8 but the Jebusites were not wholly driven out of it. The city is not again mentioned till we are told that David brought the head of Goliath thither #1Sa 17:54

David afterwards led his forces against the Jebusites still residing within its walls, and drove them out, fixing his own dwelling on Zion, which he called "the city of David" #2Sa 5:5-9 1Ch 11:4-8 Here he built an altar to the Lord on the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite #2Sa 24:15-25 and thither he brought up the ark of the covenant and placed it in the new tabernacle which he had prepared for it. Jerusalem now became the capital of the kingdom.

After the death of David, Solomon built the temple, a house for the name of the Lord, on Mount Moriah (B.C. 1010) He also greatly strengthened and adorned the city, and it became the great centre of all the civil and religious affairs of the nation #De 12:5 comp. #De 12:14 14:23 16:11-16 Ps 122:1ff.

After the disruption of the kingdom on the accession to the throne of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, Jerusalem became the capital of the kingdom of the two tribes.

It was subsequently often taken and retaken by the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and by the kings of Israel #2Ki 14:13,14 #2Ki 18:15,16 23:33-35 24:14 2Ch 12:9 26:9 27:3,4 29:3 32:30 33:11 till finally, for the abounding iniquities of the nation, after a siege of three years, it was taken and utterly destroyed, its walls razed to the ground, and its temple and palaces consumed by fire, by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon #2Ki 25:1ff. #2Ch 36:1ff. #Jer 39:1ff. B.C. 588.

The desolation of the city and the land was completed by the retreat of the principal Jews into Egypt #Jer 41:1-43:7 and by the final carrying captive into Babylon of all that still remained in the land #Jer 52:3 so that it was left without an inhabitant (B.C. 582) Compare the predictions, #De 28:1ff. #Le 26:14-39

But the streets and walls of Jerusalem were again to be built, in troublous times #Da 9:16,19,25 after a captivity of seventy years. This restoration was begun B.C. 536 "in the first year of Cyrus" #Ezr 1:2,3,5-11

The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah contain the history of the re-building of the city and temple, and the restoration of the kingdom of the Jews, consisting of a portion of all the tribes. The kingdom thus constituted was for two centuries under the dominion of Persia, till B.C. 331 and thereafter, for about a century and a half, under the rulers of the Greek empire in Asia, till B.C. 167

For a century the Jews maintained their independence under native rulers, the Asmonean princes.   At the close of this period they fell under the rule of Herod and of members of his family, but practically under Rome, till the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, A.D. 70 The city was then laid in ruins.

The modern Jerusalem by-and-by began to be built over the immense beds of rubbish resulting from the overthrow of the ancient city; and whilst it occupies certainly the same site, there are no evidences that even the lines of its streets are now what they were in the ancient city. Till A.D. 131 the Jews who still lingered about Jerusalem quietly submitted to the Roman sway. But in that year the emperor (Hadrian), in order to hold them in subjection, rebuilt and fortified the city.

The Jews, however, took possession of it, having risen under the leadership of one Bar-Chohaba (i.e., "the son of the star") in revolt against the Romans. Some four years afterwards (A.D. 135) however, they were driven out of it with great slaughter, and the city was again destroyed; and over its ruins was built a Roman city called Aelia Capitolina, a name which it retained till it fell under the dominion of the Muslims, when it was called el-Khuds, i.e., "the holy."

In A.D. 326,  Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with the view of discovering the places mentioned in the life of our Lord. She caused a church to be built on what was then supposed to be the place of the nativity at Bethlehem. Constantine, animated by her example, searched for the holy sepulchre, and built over the supposed site a magnificent church, which was completed and dedicated A.D. 335 He relaxed the laws against the Jews till this time in force, and permitted them once a year to visit the city and wail over the desolation of "the holy and beautiful house."

In A.D. 614 the Persians, after defeating the Roman forces of the emperor Heraclius, took Jerusalem by storm, and retained it till A.D. 637 when it was taken by the Arabians under the Khalif Omar. It remained in their possession till it passed, in A.D. 960 under the dominion of the Fatimite khalifs of Egypt, and in A.D. 1073 under the Turcomans.

In A.D. 1099 the crusader Godfrey of Bouillon took the city from the Moslems with great slaughter, and was elected king of Jerusalem. He converted the Mosque of Omar into a Christian cathedral. During the eighty-eight years which followed, many churches and convents were erected in the holy city. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was rebuilt during this period, and it alone remains to this day.

In A.D. 1187 the sultan Saladin wrested the city from the Christians. From that time to the present day, with few intervals, Jerusalem has remained in the hands of the Moslems.   It has, however, during that period been again and again taken and retaken, demolished in great part and rebuilt, no city in the world having passed through so many vicissitudes.

In the year 1850 the Greek and Latin monks residing in Jerusalem had a fierce dispute about the guardianship of what are called the "holy places." In this dispute the emperor Nicholas of Russia sided with the Greeks, and Louis Napoleon, the emperor of the French, with the Latins. This led the Turkish authorities to settle the question in a way unsatisfactory to Russia. Out of this there sprang the Crimean War, which was protracted and sanguinary, but which had important consequences in the way of breaking down the barriers of Turkish exclusiveness.

Modern Jerusalem "lies near the summit of a broad mountain-ridge, which extends without interruption from the plain of Esdraelon to a line drawn between the southern end of the Dead Sea and the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean." This high, uneven table-land is everywhere from 20 to 25 geographical miles in breadth. It was anciently known as the mountains of Ephraim and Judah.

"Jerusalem is a city of contrasts, and differs widely from Damascus, not merely because it is a stone town in mountains, whilst the latter is a mud city in a plain, but because while in Damascus Moslem religion and Oriental custom are unmixed with any foreign element, in Jerusalem every form of religion, every nationality of East and West, is represented at one time."

Jerusalem is first mentioned under that name in the Book of Joshua, and the Tell-el-Amarna collection of tablets includes six letters from its Amorite king to Egypt, recording the attack of the Abiri about B.C. 1480 The name is there spelt Uru-Salim ("city of peace"). Another monumental record in which the Holy City is named is that of Sennacherib’s attack in B.C. 702 The "camp of the Assyrians" was still shown about A.D. 70 on the flat ground to the north-west, included in the new quarter of the city.

The city of David included both the upper city and Millo, and was surrounded by a wall built by David and Solomon, who appear to have restored the original Jebusite fortifications.

The name Zion (or Sion) appears to have been, like Ariel ("the hearth of God"), a poetical term for Jerusalem, but in the Greek age was more specially used of the Temple hill. The priests’ quarter grew up on Ophel, south of the Temple, where also was Solomon’s Palace outside the original city of David. The walls of the city were extended by Jotham and Manasseh to include this suburb and the Temple #2Ch 27:3 33:14

Jerusalem is now a town of some 50,000 inhabitants, with ancient mediaeval walls, partly on the old lines, but extending less far to the south. The traditional sites, as a rule, were first shown in the 4th and later centuries A.D., and have no authority. The results of excavation have, however, settled most of the disputed questions, the limits of the Temple area, and the course of the old walls having been traced.

JERUSALEM (Jih ryoo’ suh lem) Place name meaning, "founded by (god) Shalem" and also known as Beth-Shalem or "House of Shalem." Chief city of Palestine, some 2500 feet above sea level and eighteen miles west of the northern end of the Dead Sea.

The name "Jerusalem" has a long and interesting history. The earliest recorded name of Jerusalem is Urushalim and means "foundation of Shalem," a Canaanite god of twilight. The Amarna letters in Palestine refer to Beth-Shalem about 1400 B.C. It is first mentioned in the Bible as Salem (Genesis 14:18). Later the author of Hebrews (Hebrews 7:2) interpreted "Salem" to mean "peace" because of its similarity to shalom. Jerusalem is also called Zion, Jebus, Mount Moriah, and the city of David. Sometimes "city of David" refers to the whole city, and sometimes, to the part that David built.

The physical characteristics of Jerusalem include mountains, springs, and valleys. Jerusalem is built on a mountain plateau and is surrounded by mountains. Its main water source was the Gihon Spring at the foot of the hill of Zion. The plateau is related to three valleys—the Kidron on the east, the Hinnom on west and south, and the Tyropoeon which cuts into the lower part of the city dividing it into two unequal parts. The lower portion of the eastern part was the original fortress, built by prehistoric inhabitants.

All evidence indicates an early existence of the city. Jerusalem seems to have been inhabited by 3500 B.C., judging from pottery remains found on the hill of Zion. Written mention of Jerusalem may occur in the Ebla tablets (about 2500 B.C.), and certainly, in Egyptian sources (Execration Texts about 1900 B.C. and Amarna Letters). Archaeologists have discovered walls, a sanctuary, a royal palace, and a cemetery dated about 1750 B.C. About this time Abraham, returning from a victory, met Melchizedek, the king of Salem, received gifts from him, and blessed him (Genesis 14). Later Abraham was commanded to offer Isaac on one of the mountains in the land of Moriah (Genesis 22:2). 2 Chron. 3:1 understood Moriah to be where Solomon built the temple (2 Chron. 3:1) on the former threshingfloor of Araunah that David had purchased for an altar to God (2 Samuel 24:18). The Muslim mosque, the Dome of the Rock, stands in this area today.

Jerusalem became a Hebrew city under David. After the Hebrews entered Canaan under Joshua, the king of Jerusalem, Adoni-zedek fought them. He was defeated (Joshua 10), but Jerusalem was not taken. Later the men of Judah took Jerusalem and torched it (Judges 1:8; compare Judges 1:21). Apparently the Jebusites reclaimed it, since it had to be conquered by David almost two centuries later. The occupation of the city by the Jebusites accounts for its being referred to as Jebus (Judges 19:10; 1 Chron. 11:4).

Soon after being crowned king over all the tribes of Israel, David led his private forces in the capture of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:1-10) and made it his capital, a happy choice since it lay on the border between the northern and southern tribes. Zion, the name of the original fortress, now became synonymous with the city of David. The moving of the ark (2 Samuel 6) made Jerusalem the religious center of the nation. The city began to gather to itself those sacred associations which have made it so important. Here God made an everlasting covenant with the house of David (2 Samuel 7:16). Here Solomon built the Temple that David had wanted to build. It was understood to be a dwelling place for God (1 Kings 8:13), and the sacred ark, symbolizing His presence, was placed in the holy of holies. Other extensive building projects made Jerusalem a magnificent city.

To the Temple in Jerusalem the tribes came three times a year, so that "every one of them in Zion appeareth before God" (Psalm 84:7). The name "Zion" was often used to emphasize the religious significance of the city. One group of Psalms came to be known as "Psalms of Zion" (Psalm 46; Psalm 48; Psalm 76; Psalm 84; Psalm 87; Psalm 122; Psalm 132). The physical beauty of the city was extolled (Psalm 48), and its glorious buildings and walls were described (Psalm 87). To be a part of the festival processions there (Psalm 68:24-27) was a source of great joy (Psalm 149:3). Jerusalem, the dwelling place of both the earthly (Psalm 132) and the divine king (Psalm 5:2; Psalm 24:7), was where Israel came to appreciate and celebrate the kingship of God (Psalm 47; Psalm 93; Psalm 96-99), one of the central ideas of the entire Bible.

Jerusalem was threatened during the period of the divided kingdom. When the kingdom of Israel split at the death of Solomon, Jerusalem continued to be the capital of the Southern Kingdom. Egypt attacked it (1 Kings 14:25-26), as did Syria (2 Kings 12:17), and northern Israel (2 Kings 15:29; Isaiah 7:1). Hezekiah (715-686 B.C.) had a 1750 foot tunnel dug out of solid rock to provide water from the Gihon Spring in time of seige (2 Kings 20:20). In 701 B.C. the Assyrian general Sennacherib destroyed most of the cities of Judah and shut up King Hezekiah "like a bird in a cage." The Assyrians would have destroyed Jerusalem had it not been miraculously spared (2 Kings 19:35). This deliverance, coupled with the covenant with the house of David, led some to the mistaken belief that Jerusalem could never be destroyed (Jeremiah 7:1-15). The true prophets of the Lord knew better. Both Micah (Micah 3:12) and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7:14) prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem for her unfaithfulness to God’s covenant. The prophets also spoke of Jerusalem’s exaltation in the "latter days" (Isaiah 2:2-4). They said it would become the center to which all nations would come to learn of the true knowledge of God. This would lead them to "beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruninghooks." Isaiah 60:19 speaks of the time when the Lord will be for Jerusalem an everlasting light. The walls will be called salvation, and its gates praise. The Lord Himself will reign there (Isaiah 24:23).

The Babylonians conquered Jerusalem in 598 B.C. taking 10,000 of the leading people into captivity. A further uprising led to the destruction of the city in 587 B.C. The loss was a painful blow to the exiles, but they kept memory of Zion alive deep in their hearts (Psalm 137:1-6). Actually, the Exile served to enhance the theological significance of Jerusalem. Its value was no longer dependent on its physical splendor. It became a religious symbol for the elect people of God, who centered hopes for the future upon it.

When Cyrus the Persian overran the Babylonians (539 B.C.), he encouraged the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple (Ezra 1:1-4). The initial enthusiasm lagged, but Haggai and Zechariah finally motivated the people. The Temple was completed in 516 B.C. (Ezra 6:15). The city itself, however, stood unprotected until Nehemiah came to rebuild the walls. Under the influence of Ezra and Nehemiah, Jerusalem again became the living center of the Jewish faith. Worship in the restored Temple became more elaborate. Continued participation in the sacred traditions deepened the people’s appreciation for Jerusalem, the "city of our God" (Psalm 48:1).

The restoration of Jerusalem spoken of by the preexilic prophets had taken place (Jeremiah 29:10; Jeremiah 33:7-11), but only in part. The glorious vision of the exaltation of Zion (Micah 4:1-8) and the transformation of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 40-48) had not yet been fulfilled. This vision, along with the belief in the kingship of God and the coming of a Davidic messiah, continued to be cherished in the hearts of the faithful. Prophets like Zechariah painted new images concerning the future of Jerusalem (Zech. 14).

Jerusalem played an important role in apocalyptic circles of the intertestamental period. We read of a preexistent heavenly Jerusalem (Syriac Baruch 4:2) that will descend to earth at the end of the age (2 Esdras 10:27; 2 Esdras 10:54; 2 Esdras 13:4-6), or, according to another conception, is the place in heaven where the righteous will eventually dwell (Slavonic Enoch 55:2). The new Jerusalem/Zion will be a place of great beauty (Tobit 13:16-17), ruled over by God Himself (Sibylline Oracles 3:787). The focus of the city is the new Temple (Tob. 13:10).

While Jewish writers pointed to future hope, Persians continued to rule Jerusalem until Alexander the Great took over in 333 B.C. The Jews finally won their freedom through the Maccabean Revolt (167-164 B.C.), but after a century of independence Jerusalem and the Jewish nation were annexed to the Roman Empire.

Herod the Great remodeled Jerusalem. The various conquests of Jerusalem had caused much damage. After Rome gained control, the client-king Herod the Great (37-4 B.C.) rebuilt the city extensively. This energetic ruler constructed a theater, amphitheater, hippodrome, a new palace, fortified towers, and an aqueduct to bring water from the Bethlehem area. His outstanding building project was the Temple. Doubling the Temple area, Herod constructed a magnificent building of huge white stones, richly ornamented. Here Jews from all the world came for religious festivals, and here Jesus from Nazareth came to bring His message to the leaders of the Jewish nation.

This Jerusalem in which Jesus walked was destroyed by the Roman general Titus in A.D. 70 after zealous Jews revolted against Rome. Not one stone of the Temple building remained standing on another, and widespread destruction engulfed the city. A second revolt in A.D. 135 (the Bar-Kochba Rebellion) resulted in Jews being excluded from the city. From that time until the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948, the major role of Jerusalem in the Hebrew-Christian religion has been one of symbol, hope, and prophecy.

Jerusalem has great theological significance. All four Gospels relate that the central event of the Christian faith—the crucifixion-resurrection of Jesus—took place in Jerusalem. The most recent archaeological investigations indicate that the area now occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is almost certainly the place where these events occurred. The prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem (Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21), is mixed with prophecies concerning the coming of the Son of man at the end of the age when forsaken and desolated Jerusalem will welcome the returning Messiah (Matthew 23:39).

Several New Testament writers emphasize Jerusalem. John told us more than any other Gospel writer about Jesus’ visits to Jerusalem during His public ministry, but it was Luke who emphasized Jerusalem most. Luke’s opening announcement of the birth of John took place in Jerusalem. Jesus visited at age twelve. On the mount of transfiguration He spoke with Moses and Elijah of His departure (exodus) which He was to accomplish at Jerusalem. All of Luke’s resurrection appearances took place in or near Jerusalem, and the disciples were instructed to stay there until the Day of Pentecost. Then the Spirit would come upon them and inaugurate the new age, beginning to undo the damage of Babel. Jerusalem is the center of the missionary activity of the church, which must extend to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Paul, though sent out from Antioch, looked to Jerusalem as the center of the earthly church. He kept in contact with the Jerusalem church and brought them a significant offering towards the close of his ministry. He envisioned the "man of sin" who comes before the Day of the Lord as appearing in Jerusalem (2 Thes. 2:3-4). "Out of Zion" would come the deliverer who would enable "all Israel" to be saved after the full number of Gentiles had come in (Romans 11:25-27). The present Jerusalem, however, still serves as the "mother" of those Jews in bondage to the law as contrasted to the "Jerusalem above" which is the mother of those persons who are set free in Christ (Galatians 4:24-31). The author of Hebrews described the heavenly Jerusalem on Mount Zion as the goal of the Christian pilgrimage (Hebrews 11:10; Hebrews 12:22).

Jerusalem figures in the final vision of Revelation. In Revelation the earthly Jerusalem appears for the last time after the thousand-year reign of Christ when the deceived nations, led by the temporarily loosed Satan, come against the beloved city and are destroyed by fire from heaven (Rev. 20:7-9). Finally, John saw the new Jerusalem descending from heaven to the new earth. This incomparably beautiful city is described in such a way that it is clear that the goal of the whole sweep of biblical revelation (the glory of the nations, the tree of life, a river of life, eternal vision of and communion with God) is fulfilled, and God reigns with His people forever and ever (Rev. 21-22:5).