James 4,1-4 in the Light of the Jewish Two Ways Tradition 3,1-6 59 in the second part of this section, there are also major points in which James surpasses the Two Ways imagery. a) Conformity In Jas 4,1 conflicting selfish desires (minor vice) are the source of wars and battles (major offences). James probably rearranged traditional material here by rephrasing it in rhetorical questions, a stylistic feature frequently found in this letter (61). In consonance with the tendency exhibited in Did 3,1-6, however, he asserts that hedonistic pleasures and internal passions lead to violence (62). This very same pattern probably underlies Jas 4,2 as well. In order to see this, the two phrases (“you murder” and “you battle and wage war”) are to be regarded as resulting from the preceding observations in this verse, namely, “you desire” and “you are jealous”. Modern editions of the Greek New Testament, however, do not support this conclusion. Instead of a coherent literary pattern substantiating this line of thought, Jas 4,2 often is divided into three disconnected statements: You desire (ejpiqumei'te) and do not have you murder and are jealous (zhlou'te) and are unable to obtain you battle and wage war. The structure of the passage evidences the haphazard arrangement of a number of isolated vices and severe misdemeanours which are apparently applicable to the community. Moreover, the expression “you murder” does not fit well with the following “you are jealous” (zhloute). The difficulties resolve themselves when assuming that the ' author in Jas 4,2 does indeed follow up on ideas in Jas 1,13-15.19-21. This is reflected in the Greek text when a full stop is placed after “you murder”: a. You desire and do not have, (so) you murder. b. And you are jealous and are unable to obtain, (so) you battle and wage war. The punctuation adopted here breaks the verse into two statements, (61) Compare also the rhetorical questions in 2,4.5.6.7.14.15.16. etc. Note the wording ejn toi'" mevlesin as well. This might refer to Jas 3,5, where it says: “the tongue is a small member (mikro;n mevlo"), yet it boasts of great things”. (62) Because the terms ejpiqumei'n and zhlou'n were used interchangeably in his days (cf. JOHNSON, The Letter of James, 271; JACKSON-MCCABE, Logos and Law, 204), James might have understood the term zhlwthv" in the teknon section as “jealous” or “desirous”.