The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (268 page)

5:6 you have killed:
Graphic but figurative language for the oppression of the poor and defenseless (Wis 2:10-20). To deprive them of their pay (5:4) is to take away their living (Sir 34:21-22) (CCC 2446). 
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5:7-11
An appeal for patient endurance in the midst of suffering. Encouragement is drawn from the past experience of Job (5:11) and the Prophets (5:10), the present experience of farmers (5:7), and the future coming of Christ (5:7-9). 
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5:7 the coming of the Lord:
The return of Christ as Judge (5:9). Perhaps James is referring to the Second Coming of Jesus at the end of history (Acts 1:11; 1 Thess 4:16-17). It is also possible, given his stress on the nearness of judgment (Jas 5:8), along with the image of Jesus "standing at the doors" (5:9, alluding to Mt 24:33 and Mk 13:29), that James is referring to the coming judgment of Israel and Jerusalem within the first Christian generation (
A.D.
70). If so, this may suggest that the "suffering" (5:10) endured by readers was caused by the unbelievers of Israel. Suffering at the hands of others is also a possibility.
the early . . . the late rain:
The fall and winter rains that were necessary to make the spring (grain) and summer (olives, grapes) harvests abundant in Palestine (Deut 11:14; Jer 5:24; Joel 2:23-24). 
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5:10 the prophets:
The suffering of the Prophets was proverbial (Mt 5:12; Acts 7:52; Heb 11:32-38). 
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5:11 the steadfastness of Job:
This example is part of the warning against grumbling (5:9). • James may be thinking of how Job endured even the most crushing misfortunes without cursing God or sinning with his lips (Job 2:9-10). 
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5:12
James cautions readers against the abuse of oath swearing, echoing the words of Jesus recorded in Mt 5:33-37 (CCC 2153-55). Condemnation results when oaths, which are intended for sacred and public contexts, are sworn in secular and private settings. The gravity of this sin is not lessened when the binding force of an oath is thought to be reduced by invoking
heaven
and
earth
instead of God's holy name.
See note on Mt 5:33
. 
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5:14 anointing:
Oil was used as a medicinal agent in Jewish antiquity (Is 1:6; Lk 10:34). However, James envisions something more than a simple healing rite: the invocation of the Lord's
name,
which results in forgiveness (Jas 5:15), makes the anointing a truly sacred and sacramental action. Its institution goes back to Jesus and is hinted at in Mk 6:13. •The Council of Trent (1551) interprets this text as a reference to the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, which is administered by priests (presbyters) to the aged and seriously ill. Its purpose is to cleanse them of sin, to strengthen them through the spiritual struggles that come with illness, and, in some cases, to prepare them for death. Restoration to health can also result if God wills it (CCC 1510-20). 
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5:15 save the sick man:
Probably refers to eternal salvation. James uses the verb "save" consistently in this fashion throughout the letter (1:21; 2:14; 4:12; 5:20). 
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5:16 confess . . . to one another:
This command must be interpreted within the context of the anointing rite, where the elders (i.e., priests) presumably hear the confession of the sick person before his sins are remitted through the sacrament (5:14-15). • Such confession has its roots in the liturgical practice of Israel (Lev 5:5-6; Num 5:5-10) and is implicitly mandated by the teaching of Jesus (Jn 20:23). 
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5:17 Elijah:
An example of personal righteousness and powerful prayer (Sir 48:1-3; Rev 11:6). • James recalls how the prophet Elijah, who remained faithful to Yahweh when most of Israel went astray, caused a three and a half year drought (Lk 4:25) by his petitions to God (1 Kings 17:1; 18:1, 41-46). The point is that God hears and answers the prayers of a humble and upright heart (Sir 35:17) but refuses to listen to the petitions of an evil and divided heart (Jas 1:6-8; 4:3) (CCC 2582-83, 2738). 
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5:20 brings back a sinner:
Fraternal correction is a work of mercy that is sometimes awkward but is urgently necessary for one who has strayed from the truth (Gal 6:1). The language of "turning back" signifies repentance both in the OT (Hos 6:1; Joel 2:12) and in the NT (Lk 1:16; Acts 3:19).
his soul:
I.e., the soul of a person who has formerly gone astray but has come to repentance.
cover a multitude of sins:
Perhaps an allusion to Prov 10:12 (similar wording appears in 1 Pet 4:8). The notion of "covering" sins is a Hebrew idiom for forgiveness (Neh 4:5; Ps 32:1). 
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Word Study

Elders
(
Jas 5:14
)

Presbyteros
(Gk.): an "elder", "elderly man", or "presbyter". The word is used 66 times in the NT. It has its primary background in the OT and Jewish tradition, where "elders" (Heb.,
zeqenim
) referred to the tribal leaders of Israel appointed by Moses (Ex 24:1; Num 11:16) and to the members of a city's judicial council (Josh 20:4). By the first century, it was a collective name for Pharisaic teachers (Mt 15:2), for a group within the Jewish high court, the Sanhedrin (Mt 26:3), and for the senior officials of a Jewish synagogue. This notion of ruling and religious elders carried over into Christian tradition and was applied to its own appointed leaders (Acts 14:23; 15:2; 20:17; 21:18). An "elder" or "presbyter" thus came to refer to an ordained shepherd of the Church who preached the gospel and administered the sacraments (1 Tim 5:17; Tit 1:5; Jas 5:14). The English word "priest" is derived from this Greek term.

INTRODUCTION TO

Author
 The letter claims to come from the apostle Peter, whose name stands in its first verse (1:1) and whose witness to the life and suffering of Jesus is mentioned in its final chapter (5:1). Early Christianity accepted these statements without argument and is virtually unanimous in ascribing the letter to Simon Peter. A quite different verdict is rendered by much of modern scholarship, which has often questioned and sometimes rejected the apostolic authorship of 1 Peter. Among the various arguments used to disassociate the epistle from the apostle is the claim
(1)
that the Greek style of the letter is too smooth and sophisticated to be the work of an unlettered fisherman like Simon (Acts 4:13), whose first language was Aramaic;
(2)
that the epistle's many references to Christian suffering (1:6; 2:19; 4:12-16; 5:9-10) reflect a time in the late first century when imperial persecution of the Church by Roman authorities was first evidenced in Asia Minor; and
(3)
that the letter displays affinities with the theology of Paul to a degree that some think would be unlikely during the lifetime of two rival apostles. On the force of these and other objections, many scholars today claim that 1 Peter is a pseudepigraphical work, i.e., a letter written in Peter's name by one of his admirers or possibly by a representative of a school of Peter's disciples based in Rome. Either way, according to this theory, the letter is not a composition of the apostle but the work of a literary impersonator who used Peter's name to give authoritative guidance to Christians in Asia Minor.

Despite the prominence of the pseudepigraphical view today, its foundation is far from secure. For one thing, the consistent tradition of early Christianity is thereby dismissed out of hand, despite the fact that no one before modern times ever ascribed the letter to an author other than Peter. Likewise, the objections listed above can be answered to reasonable satisfaction on the working assumption of Peter's authorship.
(1)
It is hazardous to insist that Peter could not have written elegant Greek at the time 1 Peter was written. First-century Galilee was thoroughly bilingual; most persons involved in commerce (such as the fishing industry), in addition to speaking Aramaic, would also have spoken Greek well enough to conduct business. Nevertheless, even if Peter's fluency in Greek were limited during his fishing days, that would not necessarily settle the issue. For if Peter did compose the letter bearing his name, then he had already been engaged in missionary preaching for over thirty years after leaving behind his fishing nets. Three decades is more than sufficient time to improve one's command of a second language. Peter's competence in writing Greek, however, may be a moot point in any case. The notation at 5:12 seems to imply that 1 Peter was actually penned by Silvanus. This is significant, since the secretarial practices of antiquity often gave scribes generous latitude in adding polish and precision to the thoughts of an author with less facility in the language. If indeed there was this kind of working relationship between the apostle and his secretary, there is no problem with crediting Peter with the content of the letter and Silvanus with its literary expression.
(2)
As for the suffering of the original readers, the many references to persecution that appear in the letter are simply too general and nonspecific to insist that State-sponsored attacks on the Church are in view. If the recipients of the letter were hounded by unbelievers and sometimes pressed to explain their Christian commitment (3:15-16), there is no clear evidence that links this with official persecutions instigated by a Roman emperor such as Domitian (
A.D.
81 to 96) or Trajan (
A.D.
98 to 117). The text requires us to envision nothing more than the usual fare of harassment and hostility that is faced by the Church in every age.
(3)
The presence of Pauline elements in the letter is all but irrelevant to an impartial consideration of authorship. The objection in this case rests on the dubious presupposition that Peter and Paul represent two competing forms of Christianity. Quite simply, this is a legacy of eighteenth-century German scholarship that has nothing substantial to commend it. The confrontation at Antioch in Gal 2:11-16, though sometimes made to support this paradigm, does not amount to a lifelong rivalry; indeed, Paul's argument with Peter on the occasion rests on the fact that Peter and Paul shared a common understanding of the gospel message. In point of fact, there is no evidence from which to conclude that Peter would have shunned or rejected useful expressions of Christian teaching that had originally been formulated by Paul. Not only that, but if Silvanus was the secretary who penned the letter for Peter, the Pauline themes in the epistle would have a ready explanation, for Silvanus (also called Silas) had once been a missionary companion of Paul's and was surely influenced by his preaching (Acts 15:40; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1).