There has been a lot or discussion by scholars as to who James was. The opening of the letter is just 'From James'. The name 'James' was a Greek form of the common Hebrew name, Jacob. The writer could hardly have been James the disciple, brother of John, because he was killed by Herod Agrippa in about A.D. 44 (Acts 12:1-2). An ancient tradition says that the letter was the work of James, called the brother of the Lord, referred to in Mark 6:3, Acts 12:17, Acts 15:13-21, Acts 21 :18-26, Galatians 1 :19 and 2:9, and 1 Corinthians 15:7. 1 Corinthians 15:7 indicates that James was a witness to the risen Christ. He was therefore an apostle, and became leader of the Jerusalem church. Paul knew him. The Jewish historian, Josephus, refers to his martyrdom in about A.D. 62.

Although some scholars suggest that the writer of the letter was an unknown James, the ancient tradition that the letter contains the teaching of James, the brother of the Lord, is the most satisfactory suggestion about authorship, although a scribe could have written out the letter in the form in which we have it. This could account for Greek more polished than we might expect of a Galilean whose mother tongue was Aramaic and who lived in Jerusalem after his conversion and until his martyrdom. The teaching in the letter comes from a Jewish Christian; it could have been given first in the form of sermons to the Christians in Jerusalem and then written down and sent out to other congregations as it was obviously of value to others. The teaching of James, brother of the Lord, would have carried apostolic authority. There is nothing in the letter that could not have been said either in the church in Jerusalem or anywhere else. The end of the present age and the return of the Lord is awaited (chapter 5).

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