And the scripture was fulfilled: as a result of cooperation between Abraham’s faith and works, especially the faith and obedience shown in sacrificing his son Isaac, he received God’s approval and was declared “righteous.” What does it mean for James to say that the scripture was fulfilled? The scripture quoted is Gen 15.6, giving the impression that the text is a prophecy; but it does not look like a prophecy—it is a declaration. In its original context Abraham believed in God’s promise to give him his natural son and many descendants, and on this basis, that is, his faith, he was reckoned or approved by God as “righteous.” How can this declaration be said to be “fulfilled”? Actually what James has done is to connect this particular text to the event in Genesis 22, that is, the obedience shown by Abraham in sacrificing his son Isaac. This is something that happened about thirty years later than the promise to give him a natural son in Gen 15.6. Obviously James was not interested in the actual historical event of 15.6 but was more interested in seeing the event as applying to the whole of the life of Abraham. In other words the initial declaration of righteousness on the basis of faith (Gen 15.6) is given its real meaning and full significance through the final declaration of righteousness on the basis of the kind of faith accompanied by and showing itself in works (Genesis 22). The scripture here obviously means a certain passage of the Old Testament. The Contemporary English Version translation may serve as a good model: “This is what the scripture means by saying, ….” Other ways of saying this are “This is what the Holy Book means when it says” or “This is explained by what we read in God’s Book.”
The first part of the quotation is Abraham believed God. In the context of Gen 15.6, the content of faith is in God’s promise to give Abraham natural descendants. The second half of the quotation says and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. The verb reckoned is a commercial term meaning “to add to someone’s account” or “to place to someone’s credit.” This latter sense can be brought out in various ways; for example, “and this was counted to him as righteousness” (Moffatt; similarly Revised English Bible) and “and it was credited to him as righteousness” (New American Bible, New International Version). The verb is in the passive voice; the one doing the reckoning is God. In many languages it is desirable to make this clear; for example, “God accepted him as righteous” (Good News Translation; so also Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) or “God approved him as a righteous person.” The word righteousness is related to the verb translated as “justified” in verse 21. Suggested translation models for this sentence are “God regarded [accepted] him as a good person” or “God considered that he had done the right thing.”
The second result of Abraham’s active faith is that he was called the friend of God. This is not part of the quotation from Gen 15.6, but the thought appears in 2 Chr 20.7, and also in Isa 41.8, where God speaks of “Abraham, my friend.” Being made a friend of God is actually a natural extension of being declared “righteous,” since to be declared “righteous” is to be restored to a right relationship, and to maintain a proper and right relationship is to be on friendly terms. Bible en français courant, taking God as the implied agent of the passive he was called, phrases the clause in the active as “God called him his friend.”
An alternative translation model for this verse may be:
• This is what God’s Book [or, the Holy Book] means when it says, “Abraham believed God and God accepted him as a good person.” That’s how Abraham became God’s friend.
Quoted with permission from Loh, I-Jin and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Letter from James. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .