What's in a Word?
Poor and Rich
Word studies are used by scholars to understand more about how
a particular writer is sharing their message. In the same way that
different novels have different tones, despite using the same words,
each New Testament writer has a style. A look at the words the writer
uses, and how the word is used will help us to see more about the
individual message of James, but also how that message compares
and contrasts with other New Testament writers. Have you found a
word in James that you'd like to know more about? Send us an email
at elizabethmagill@hotmail.com and we'll look it up!
Poor, Ptochos
The word poor in the New Testament is translated from a
form of the Greek ptochos everywhere except in 2 Corinthians
9:9, which uses the term penes. Penes refers to
those who work hard for a living (Schmidt 37), their daily bread
is from their own labor, not from someone else’s; certainly
not from investments. Although the word poor is not in
the text, Tamez’ argument is valid that in James 5:4, the
laborers are penes, the working poor. The laborers paid
the same wage in Matthew 20:1-18 are penes as well. The
word laborer is used for the elders in 1Timothy 5:17-18,
but it is less clear whether to consider them poor.
There is no question about the poverty of all those referred to
as ptochos. This word is used for people who are totally
without resources. The ptochos are beggars, homeless, without
jobs or prospects for jobs. And yet James is clear about the place
of the ptochos in God’s eyes:
Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith
and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who
love him? –James 2:5
Indeed James’ concern for the poor can be seen in simple
statistics: the letter writer uses the word 4 times within 4 chapters.
The gospel of John uses it 4 times in 21 chapters, Matthew and Mark
each use the word only 5 times. Paul uses the word 7 times in all
of his letters. Luke come close to James with 10 uses in 24 chapters
of the Gospel, yet doesn’t use the word at all in the book
of Acts! Bammel argues James has increased use of the word because
he is facing a new phenomenon in the church—the rich are beginning
to join (Bammel 911). James' letter is trying to make clear that
the societal values placed on wealth are not the values of the God,
and thus should not be the values of the Church.
Whether the rich are new to the Church, it is clear that Jesus
message was one of priority for the poor. Matthew and Luke both
have what is considered to be one of Jesus’ basic sermons:
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of
God.
Luke 6:20 see also Matthew 5:3
The word poor is used when Jesus sends message to John
that he is the predicted one in Matthew 11:5 and Luke 7:22. The
evidence is the poor have good news brought to them. Jesus'
ministry begins with a reading from Isaiah in a Nazareth synagogue
in Luke 4:18. The text proclaims a messiah that brings good news
to the poor and freedom to the oppressed. The rich are told to sell
their possessions and give the money to the poor in Matthew 19:21,
Mark 10:21 and Luke 18:22. In Luke 16:20 and 22 the poor man, Lazarus,
gets his reward in heaven, while Zacchaeus pays back the poor now
in 19:8. And, in a new definition of hospitality, two banquet stories
provide images of the poor enjoying plenty while the rich are excluded
(Luke 14:13 and 21).
And yet, with or without the word ptochos, the Gospel
is full of the concept of poverty and oppression. Jesus may or may
not have been born to a poor woman, but Mary conceived out of wedlock,
and escaped to live with her Aunt during her pregnancy. Joseph and
Mary lived as refugees in Egypt when Jesus was young. And while
John the Baptists' primary message was to repent, he also called
followers to share food and clothes with those in need.
Food, and the need for it, is the focus of all who are poor. Jesus’
first miracle is more wine at the wedding feast in Cana, which presumes
the family did not have enough. The feeding of the 4000 (or more)
is a miracle that presumes the crowd could not feed themselves.
The Lord’s Prayer asks not for security, or even plenty, but
only for our daily bread. These are all stories of good news for
those who do not have enough.
Jesus’ healing ministry also shows us the importance of the
oppressed to the gospel message. He heals those with unclean spirits,
the sick, lepers, and paralytics. The blind see, the mute speak,
the deaf can hear. Jesus’ healing moves these outsiders, outside
their life as oppressed people into the mainstream. Those who are
persecuted are offered hope, comfort is offered for the weary.
And Jesus spends time with those who are outside the social standards
of his day. He visits with a Syrophoenican/Canaanite woman, uses
a Samaritan as an example of who is “good” and lets
the woman with the perfume anoint his body. Jesus uses children
as examples, and heals women, children, servants and slaves. In
fact women, slaves, the poor and sick, outsiders of all sorts are
found throughout the Gospel.
It could be argued that Paul missed this point. Like his use of
rich to mean full, Paul uses poor mostly in a
generic sense, meaning lacking. Paul is more concerned
with lacking faith in Christ rather than material poverty and oppression.
He does complement the churches that are sending gifts to the poor
in Jerusalem in Romans 15:26. It is interesting that he mentions
that James, along with Cephas and John, that remind him to remember
the poor in Galatians 2:10. But the poor are those without
the message of Christ in 2 Corinthians 6:10 and Galatians 4:9. In
Revelation 3:17 poor is used similarly.
For James, however, material poverty and oppression are clearly
the subject. It could be argued that the Letter of James is more
similar to the Gospel message concerning poverty than any other
New Testament text. In chapter 2 James demands that the poor be
treated equally with the rich visitor, and that the poor are heirs
to the kingdom.
Ernst Bammel, “ptochos”, in Freidrich Gerhard ed, Geoffrey
W. Bromily, trans., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament
Vol VI (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
1968.)
Karl Ludwig Schmidt, “penes” in Freidrich Gerhard ed,
Geoffrey W. Bromily, trans., Theological Dictionary of the New
Testament Vol VI (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1968.)
Rich, Ploutos
Ploutos meaning wealth, plousios or rich
people, and ploutizo which is to make rich
are all used frequently in the New Testament. The words are derived
from the idea of to flow, or abound. In early
Greek thought the word is used synonymously with nobility;
essentially wealth is security, nobility, being full of all that
is good. By the sixth century BCE the concept of rich person is
used both with good and bad connotations, as the idea develops that
it might be more important to have wisdom than money Hauck 319).
The pursuit of wisdom, of course, required a certain wealth, for
those without it must work rather than study.
The wealth of the rich is their fortress; the poverty of
the poor is their ruin. –Proverbs 10:15
The words for wealth are found throughout the Greek Old Testament,
the Septuagint. Almost half of the occurrences are found in wisdom
literature, where the view on wealth is divided. Many passages identify
wealth with security, peace, and leading a full and happy life.
Proverbs 10:15, 24:4 and 10:4 are examples of the idea that wealth
is the result of living a right life. Yet wisdom texts also warn
of the risk of wealth—the danger of pride, of trusting riches
rather than God, and of living a corrupt life (Hauck 324).
Better to be poor and walk in integrity than to be crooked
in one’s ways even though rich.
–Proverbs 28:6
The words of the prophets, on the other hand, are words of condemnation
for wealth. The prophets generally equate rich people with those
who have oppressed the poor. The rich have not followed the law,
and will be destroyed. It is these texts that are most similar to
the language of James in their discussion of rich people. In Amos
8:4-6 the rich are those who trample the needy, they buy
the poor for silver, and sell the sweepings from the
winnowing floor. Jeremiah 22:13 cries out woe for those who are
unrighteous and unjust, making their neighbors work for nothing
and withholding their wages. Compare this with James 5:1-6 where
the rich are doomed for holding back the wages of the laborer.
In Paul’s Letters ploutos and its forms are common,
but are primarily used in to mean full of or great
deal, or perhaps overflowing. In 2 Corinthians 8:2,
the community is praised for their wealth of generosity.
Colossians 3:16 calls us to Let the word of Christ dwell in
you richly. The riches of Christ’s glorious inheritance
are calling us in Ephesians 1:18, the boundless riches
of Christ in 3:8. Paul generally does not discuss the role of the
rich person, or the place of wealth within the church.
The synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) present many rich characters,
and commentaries on wealth. The gospel of John does not use the
word. All three synoptics use ploutos, or riches
in the story of the seeds sown in a field. The weeds symbolize the
deceitfulness of riches, along with worry of the world in Matthew
13:22 and desires for other things in Mark 4:19. Riches choke out
the word of God. We can see where James got his concern for friendliness
with the world when we look at Luke’s version of this story.
Luke 8:14 has worries and riches and pleasures of this life
preventing the seed from taking root.
Indeed Jesus’ message does not take root in the story of
the rich young man seeking eternal life. In Luke he is described
as a ruler or official, but in all three gospels Jesus comment is
about the man’s wealth.
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the
kingdom of God. -Matt 19:24, Mk 10:25, Lk 18:25
Yet all is possible with God, and we find a rich man, Joseph of
Arimathea, is called a disciple in Matthew 27:57. Since he is identified
as rich, and a disciple, perhaps we can assume that he did not take
a vow of poverty when he chose to follow Jesus. It seems likely,
however that he did not expect special privileges because of his
wealth. Notice in Mark 12:41-44, Jesus does not suggest that the
wealthy are not welcome in the community. His point is rather that
the poor widow’s gift greater than theirs.
In the same way, James takes on the problem of poor and rich visitors
in 2:1-5. The message is not to send the rich away, but that their
wealth does not bring privilege. The rich are called to be humble
and the congregation is reminded to treat everyone equally. God
opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. –James
4:6
Luke is the most explicit gospel writer in suggesting that the
wealthy will be brought low. Luke’s addition of woes to the
beatitudes in 6:24-26 reminds the rich that they have their reward
now, and should expect suffering later. The story of the rich fool,
storing away his wealth in Luke 12:16 calls to mind James 5:3 where
the rich have foolishly laid up treasure for the last days.
Indeed in Luke 16:19-31 the poor beggar Lazarus is comforted by
God while the rich man burns. And yet only Luke, with the most harsh
in critique of wealth, has the story of Zacchaeus (19:1-10), the
rich man who hears the call to repentance. Zacchaeus gives away
half his possessions, and gives back four times to any he has defrauded.
Consider again James 4:1-10 and the offer of conversion for the
rich.
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse
your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
-James 4:8
Frederich Hauck, Wilhelm Kasch, “ploutos”, in Freidrich
Gerhard ed, Geoffrey W. Bromily, trans., Theological Dictionary
of the New Testament Vol VI (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1968.)
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