James 2:19

Tremble (φρίσσουσιν) Only here in New Testament. It means, originally, to be rough on the surface; to bristle. Hence, used of the fields with ears of corn; of a line of battle bristling with shields and spears; of a silver or golden vessel rough with embossed gold. Aeschylus, describing a crowd holding up their hands to vote, says, the air bristled with right hands. Hence, of a horror which makes the hair stand on end and contracts the surface of the skin, making "gooseflesh." Rev., much better, shudder.

{10} Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. (10) Another reason taken from an absurdity: if such a faith were the true faith by means of which we are justified, the demons would be justified, for they have that, but nonetheless they tremble and are not justified, therefore neither is that faith a true faith.

Jam 2:19 . Σὺ πιστεύεις thou believest ) There is a forcible repetition in the word thou by the figure Anaphora;[26] for this verse also is contained under the words, a man will say ( Jam 2:18 ).— ὁ Θεὸς εἷς , One God ) That fundamental article, which has always distinguished the faithful from unbelievers, is put prominently forward.— τιστεύουσι , believe ) The word believe is here used in a very wide sense; for the devils perceive, and understand, and remember, that there is a God, and one only.— καὶ φρίσσουσι , and tremble ) in fearful expectation of eternal torments. So far is such a faith as that from justifying or saving its possessor; and yet it has some efficacy, but in an opposite direction. This, added as it is, contrary to the expectation of the reader, has great force. [26] See Append. under the title ANAPHORA.

19. Thou—emphatic. Thou self-deceiving claimant to faith without works. that there is one God—rather, "that God is one": God's existence, however, is also asserted. The fundamental article of the creed of Jews and Christians alike, and the point of faith on which especially the former boasted themselves, as distinguishing them from the Gentiles, and hence adduced by James here. thou doest well—so far good. But unless thy faith goes farther than an assent to this truth, "the evil spirits (literally, 'demons': 'devil' is the term restricted to Satan, their head) believe" so far in common with thee, "and (so far from being saved by such a faith) shudder (so the Greek)," Mt 8:29; Lu 4:34; 2Pe 2:4; Jude 6; Re 20:10. Their faith only adds to their torment at the thought of having to meet Him who is to consign them to their just doom: so thine (Heb 10:26, 27, it is not the faith of love, but of fear, that hath torment, 1Jo 4:18).

Thou believest that there is one God; thou givest thy assent to this truth, that there is one God. This may likewise imply other articles of the creed, to which the like assent may be given. Thou doest well; either this kind of faith hath its goodness, though it be not saving; or ironically, q.d. A great matter thou dost, when thou goest almost as high as the devils. The devils also believe; yield the like assent to the same truth. And tremble: the word signifies extreme fear and horror, viz. such as the thoughts of their Judge strike into them. This shows the faith the apostle speaks of in this place, not to be the faith of God’s elect, which begets in believers a holy confidence in God, and frees them from slavish fears; whereas the faith here spoken of, if it have any effect upon men, it is but to fill them with horror.

Verse 19. - (1) "Thou believest that God is one," R.V., reading Ὅτι εῖς ὁ Θεός ἐστιν : or (2) "Thou believest that there is one God," A.V. and R.V. margin, reading Ὅτι εῖς Θεὸς ἐστὶν . The reading, and by consequence the translation, must be considered somewhat doubtful, as scarcely any two uncials read the words in precisely the same order. The illustration is taken from the central command of the Old Testament ( Deuteronomy 6:4 ), indicating that the case of Jews is under consideration. The following quotations from the Talmud will show the importance attached by the Jews to this command (Farrar, 'Early Days,' etc., p. 83). It is said ('Berachoth,' fol. 13, 6) that whoever in repeating it " prolongs the utterance of the word ' One ,' shall have his days and years prolonged to him." Again we are told that when Rabbi Akibah was martyred he died uttering this word "One;" and then came a Bath Kol, which said, " Blessed art thou, Rabbi Akibah, for thy soul and the word 'One' left thy body together." James 2:19

(19) Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well. —Better thus, Thou believest that God is One; thou doest well. He is the formal object of faith derived from knowledge, whether by sense, intuition, or demonstration; you are theologically correct, and may even declare your internal faith by external confession—well, indeed. The devils also believe, and tremble.—They shudder in the belief which only assures them of their utter misery; literally, their hair stands on end with terror of the God they own. Assent, opinion, knowledge—all are thus shared by demons of the pit; call not your joint possession by the holier name of Faith. “I believe in God,” “I believe in one God”—such is the voice of the Christian; and this is said in the full sense “only by those who love God, and who are not only Christians in name, but in deed and in life.”

19 . Thou believest that there is one God …] The instance of the faith in which men were trusting is important as shewing the class of Solifidians (to use a term which controversy has made memorable) which St James had in view. They were not those who were believing in the Son of God, trusting in the love, the blood, in the language of a later age, the merits, of Christ, but men who, whether nominally Christians or Jews, were still clinging to their profession of the Creed of Israel as the ground of all their hopes. It is scarcely probable that a writer intending to correct consequences drawn from St Paul’s teaching as to faith would have been content with such a far-off illustration. thou doest well ] The words have the character of a half-ironical concession. Comp. note on James 2:8 . It is well as far as it goes, but the demons can claim the same praise. the devils also believe and tremble ] Better “ shudder .” The general bearing of the words is plain enough, but there is a special meaning which is commonly passed over. The “devils” are the “ demons ” or “unclean spirits” of the Gospels, thought of, not as in their prison-house of darkness (Jude James 2:6 ), but as “possessing” and tormenting men. As such, they too acknowledged the Unity and Sovereignty of God, but that belief, being without love, led only to the “shudder” of terror, when the Divine Name was uttered in the formulæ of exorcism. (Comp.

Jam 2:19 . σὺ πιστεύεις ὅτι εἶς ἐστιν ὁ θεός : Cf. Mark 12:29 , 1 Corinthians 8:4 ; 1 Corinthians 8:6 ; Ephesians 4:6 . The reading varies, see critical note above; the interrogative is unsuitable, see note on ἔχεις in the preceding verse. Somewhat striking is the fact that the regular and universally accepted formula (whether Hebrew or Greek) among the Jews is not adhered to; the Septuagint of Deuteronomy 6:4 , which corresponds strictly to the original, runs: Κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἶς ἐστιν , and this is also the exact wording in Mark 12:29 , The stress laid on Κύριος (= יהוה ) in the original is very pointed, the reason being the desire to emphasise the name of Jahwe as the God of Israel (note the omission of the article before Κύριος ); it sounded a particularistic note. The elimination of Κύριος in the verse before us, and the emphatic position of ὁ Θεός , is most likely intentional, and points to a universalistic tendency, such as is known to have been a distinctive characteristic of Hellenistic Judaism. To Jews of all kinds belief in the unity of God formed the basis of faith; this unity is expressed in what is called the Shema‘ ( Deuteronomy 6:4 ff.), i.e. , “Hear,” from the opening word of the passage referred to; strictly speaking, it includes Deuteronomy 6:4-9 ; Deuteronomy 11:13-21 ; Numbers 15:37-41 , though originally it consisted of the one verse, Deuteronomy 6:4 .

From the time of the Exile, according to Berachoth , i. 1, the recitation of the Shema‘ every morning and evening became the solemn duty of all true Jews. To the present day it is the confession of faith which every Jew breathes upon his death-bed. It is said of Rabbi Akiba, who suffered the martyr’s death, that he breathed out at the last the word “One” in reference to the belief in the Unity of God as contained in the Shema‘ ( Ber. , 61 b ). A few instances may be given from Jewish literature in order to show the great importance of and honour attaching to the Shema‘ : “They cool the flames of Gehinnom for him who reads the Shema‘ ” ( Ber. , 15 b ); “Whoever reads the Shema‘ upon his couch is as one that defends himself with a two-edged sword” ( Meg. , 3 a ); it is said in Ber. , i. § 2, that to him who goes on reading the Shema‘ after the prescribed time no harm will come; in Suk. , 42 a , it is commanded that a father must teach his son to read the Shema‘ as soon as he begins to speak.