50 Huub van de Sandt gnomic literature. The book of Proverbs portrays anger to be hazardous since it leads to evil consequences (6,34; 15,1; 16,14; 27,4; 29,22) while other parallels are found in early Jewish and early Christian literature (36). Against this objection, however, it might be argued that the third clause of this directive (“slow to anger”) “breaks the grammatical pattern” of Jas 1,19 (37). A noun replaces the expected infinitive here and the Greek article tov is dropped. This unevenness may indicate that James links up here with an admonition like the one in the teknon section, the more so since each of these warnings is located at a key position in the two texts. Just as condemnation of anger in Jas 1,19d is the first ingredient of ejpiqumiva, so the admonition against anger in the Did 3,2 is found right after the general introduction in 3,1. Turning now to Jas 1,21, it is first of all the Greek text that deserves attention. At variance with the punctuation in the text of Nestle-Aland (27th ed.), it is preferable to place a comma after kakiva". By dividing the sentence this way, the virtue of meekness (21b) is in strong contrast with ojrghv (anger) (38) rather than with kakiva". The “implanted word” is to be received in “meekness”. More will be said on this shortly. For now we should note that Jas 1,21 reflects elements of the teknon section in the Two Ways. First, the admonition to rid oneself of all filthiness and the abundance of wickedness (perisseivan kakiva") in 1,21a might echo the preoccupation in the introduction in Did 3,1. In Jas 1,21a the expression perisseivan kakiva" (literally “overflowing” of wickedness) does not make good sense after the appeal to put away pa'san rJuparivan. Why did the author deem it necessary to add this wording after pa'san rJuparivan (“all meanness”)? Literally rJupariva means physical dirt or filth (as the adjective used in Jas 2,2) but here it stands for what is ethically offensive as “baseness”, “meanness” or “ignobility” (39). The expression pa'san rJuparivan itself refers to everything below the accepted standards of human worth and dignity. The parallel vice catalogue in 1 Pet 2,1 appears more appropriate: “So put away all malice (pa'san kakivan), and all deceit (36) Etc. in D.B. DEPPE, The Sayings of Jesus in the Epistle of James (Diss.; Chelsea, MI 1989) 79-80; cf. also JOHNSON, The Letter of James, 199. (37) JOHNSON, The Letter of James, 199. (38) See the references in n. 30, above. Cf. also W.R. BAKER, Personal Speech-Ethics in the Epistle of James (WUNT II/68; Tübingen 1995) 89. (39)The word might be equivalent to the Semitic rw[yk (“ugliness”); see below, n. 50.