At this point James adds one final illustration to prove his point that faith has to be put into action in order to win God’s approval.
And in the same way serves to show that this is the second illustration to prove the same point as the first. It is possible to render the phrase as “It was the same with…” (Good News Translation), “The same is true…” (Revised English Bible), or simply “Likewise…” (New Revised Standard Version).
The next statement is cast as a rhetorical question, was not also Rahab … another way? And the expected answer is “Yes.” Rahab is a comparatively minor character in the Old Testament. She is remembered for doing two things. First, she is known as a Gentile prostitute who, in talking to the two Israelite spies, made that famous confession, “The Lord your God is God in heaven above and here on earth” (Josh 2.11, TEV). Secondly, she is also known as a foreigner who has identified herself with Israel and entered its community, and “Her descendants have lived in Israel to this day” (Josh 6.25, TEV). The choice of Rahab as an example, in contrast to Abraham, is interesting. Abraham is the father of the faithful, and Rahab is a Gentile woman and “a prostitute.” If we are convinced that a contrast between the two is intended, the clause was not also Rahab … may be rendered “was not even Rahab…” (New International Version). Other terms for harlot or “prostitute” in various languages are “woman who sells her body,” “woman of the night,” or “woman of bad reputation.”
In any case the point of the illustration is to show that Rahab too was declared righteous on the basis of the deeds that issued from her faith. To be sure, her faith is not even mentioned, but it is assumed all along. It is her faith that gave her strength and willingness to risk her life to save the messengers. Nevertheless the focus James wants his readers to see is still her deeds. The phrase justified by works has the same meaning as in verse 21. In this case Rahab’s works consisted of her friendly welcome of the Israelite spies and assisting in their escape. Here the phrase justified by works may also be expressed as “God accepted her as a good person because of the good things she did.”
The verb “to receive” in the clause she received the messengers is to be understood as “to welcome” or “to receive hospitably,” and in particular, in the event reported in Joshua 2, “to welcome into the house” (similarly Revised English Bible, here in James, “welcoming the messengers into her house,” and New International Version “gave lodging to the spies”). The messengers in the original account are described as literally “young men” (Josh 6.23), and in Heb 11.31 as “spies.” In the New Testament the term is often used of “heavenly messengers” and therefore “angels.” In the historical context the mission of the “young men” was military; they were not carrying any message but were trying to spy out Jericho city. In order to bring the meaning out more clearly in the present context, Good News Translation has rendered the clause as “by welcoming the Israelite spies” (so also Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). In languages that do not have a special term for “spies,” it will be necessary to translate the meaning; for example, “the Israelite men who secretly came to explore the land.” “Sent out” in sent them out another way is one word in Greek that means literally “to throw out”; it is not to be understood in a bad sense involving any violence, but in the sense of “to help to escape” (compare “helping them to escape,” Good News Translation). Another way means “a different route” (New American Bible, Revised English Bible), or “a different road” (Good News Translation).
An alternative translation model for this verse may be:
• A similar example is Rahab the prostitute. God accepted her because of the good thing she did. For she welcomed the Israelite men who were secretly exploring the land, and helped them to escape by another road [or, way].
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 .