What scripture is James 4:5 referring to?

Some of the confusion appears to be root words vs derivatives. Envy #07068 from Heb. root #07065 is used 9x in OT. Zealous is this same Heb. root #07065. Jealousy #07067 is used 6x in OT but only used of God; but it, too, is from Heb. root #07065. Apparently envy and jealousy are very close in meaning; so close that one word is used for God alone, to separate it, and bind it to a holy meaning. Thus, James could be referring any one or all of the 6 #07067 "jealousy" passages attributed to God.

JAMES 4:5 IS QUOTING HOSEA I hate be the odd ball here.... First off... this letter was not written by james.... it was written by yakov/ jacob....

Second.... let s look at his audience.... "the twelve tribes scattered abroad" By the way.... this is not only "jews" which is a reference to judah and benjamin, but it is a reference to the 10 tribes to the north who who*ed after pagan gentile ways and whose seed/ sperm had been mixed with the pagan gentiles all over the globe as prophesied by the prophets.... Yakov/ jacob is addressing both houses of israel as 12 but 1 in fulfillment of ezekial 37's 2 sticks and hundreds of other prophecies never preached correctly.... All of israel... that is his audience... it is not a spiritual israel... it is a physical israel awaiting their time to return from the nations in the last days... see also the prodigal son's return.

Third... let's see his audience in chapter 4=5... "you"... is a reference to "the 12 tribes scattered abroad".... in this chapter he calls us "adulterers""adultresses"... .. My point is that "you" is not an individual... "you" is a people... the congregation that is still scattered today.

Last.... the "spirit in you" from 4=5 is not holy.... that's why we get confused and try to rationalize why the Ruach Ha Kodesh/ Spirit that is Holy would be jealous/ envious/ OR MORE ACCURATELY "LUSTETH"... He is not that.. This is a corporate address to the congregation scattered.... and Yakov/ jacob is actually referencing the Scroll of Hosea, which is also a prophecy to the whoring 10 northern tribes of Ephraim/ Israel/ House of Joseph..... You will notice in Hosea 5 that we are informed that our harlot spirit (little "s") is in our midst.... The translators didnt know what to do with "the spirit lusteth" because they didn't and still don't know the Scriptures. I believe Andrew Gabriel Roth's translation of the Eastern Aramaic Manuscripts gets this Yakov 4=5 part right..... By the way I highly recommend the AENT (Aramaic English New Testament) to ALL pastors. He sheds light on alot of greek fallacies butchered by anti semitic scribes through the dark ages...

So to sum it up.... Yakov/ Jacob/ James 4:5 is a reference to Hosea 5:4.... 4:5 = 5:4

I think that the strongest candidate is Wisdom 6:23, in the Deuterocanonical books of the Greek Septuagint. I explain my reasoning below.

The ESV editors chose to translate the Greek as you indicate,

He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us

where they interpreted the Greek,

Ἢ δοκεῖτε ὅτι κενῶς ἡ γραφὴ λέγει; Πρὸς φθόνον ἐπιποθεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα ὃ κατῴκησεν ἐν ἡμῖν.

as, after arranging the proper order:

He yearns -- ἐπιποθεῖ, lit. "longs for", "He" understood
Jealously -- Πρὸς φθόνον, lit. "With envy"
[over] the spirit -- τὸ πνεῦμα
that he has made to dwell -- ὃ κατῴκησεν, lit. "that which took up abode"
in us -- ἐν ἡμῖν.

The western Church Father (Venerable) Bede maintains that this is not the correct rendering. He states that the second clause must be read as a question in itself:

Does the spirit that dwells in you have a desire for envy?

which falls into place simply when πρὸς is understood to mean "for" (one of its accepted translations) instead of "with" and understanding the clause to be a question (the original manuscripts were not punctuated).

This does not make finding the verse in the Old Testament much easier to find (Bede and other Fathers said it simply isn't to be found), but it would negate some of the interpretations suggested that say the verse is referring to the jealousy of God. Bede writes:

This must be read as a question of rebuke, as if it said, 'Does the spirit of grace with which you were signed on the day of your redemption desire this, that you envy one another? Certainly it is not the good, but the wicked spirit that brings about in you the vice of envy.' This is similar to the manner of speaking in the Psalm [49:7 LXX], A brother will not redeem, will a man redeem? For it is understood thus, 'If Christ, who deigned to become a brother to us through his humanity, did not redeem us, is some mere man in a position to redeem us?' Certain people have explained this thought, Does the spirit that dwells in you have a desire for envy? thus: 'He has a desire against envy, that is, he desires that the disease be overcome and rooted out of your minds.' Others understand it as said of the spirit of man, so that the sense would be, 'Do not have desires, do not cling to the friendships of the world, because while the spirit of your mind desires earthly things, it certainly desires to envy, while you envy others having those things which you yourselves desire to possess.'

Commentary on James

As I said, Bede's interpretation and commentary don't reveal which Old Testament Scripture is being referred to. I did notice, however, that the Greek word φθόνος ("envy", "jealousy") only appears in the Septuagint's Deuterocanonical books: 1 and 3 Maccabees and the Wisdom of Solomon. Only Wisdom 6:23 seems to be related:

Wisdom of Solomon 6:23 (Brenton LXX)

Neither will I go with consuming envy; for such a man shall have no fellowship with Wisdom.

If we take the reference in James 4:5 as a paraphrase rather than an exact quote, this passage seems to fit, but I would certainly be interested in opinions.

I have always understood James as referring to the "jealousy" of God as brought forward in many OT passages. For example;

Exodus 34:14 (RSV) 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),

Deuteronomy 4:24 (RSV) 24 For the LORD your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.

Deuteronomy 6:15 (RSV) 15 for the LORD your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

Joshua 24:19 (RSV) 19 But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD; for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.

Ezekiel 39:25 (RSV) 25 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name.

Joel 2:18 (RSV) 18 Then the LORD became jealous for his land, and had pity on his people.

Nahum 1:2 (RSV) 2 The LORD is a jealous God and avenging, the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.

Zephaniah 1:18 (RSV) 18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of his jealous wrath, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full, yea, sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Zechariah 1:14 (RSV) 14 So the angel who talked with me said to me, `Cry out, Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion.

When coupled with the verses about God putting His Spirit in His chosen/elect.

Isaiah 42:1 (RSV) 1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the nations.

Isaiah 44:3 (RSV) 3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring.

Isaiah 59:21 (RSV) 21 "And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says the LORD: my spirit which is upon you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your children, or out of the mouth of your children's children, says the LORD, from this time forth and for evermore."

Ezekiel 36:27 (RSV) 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.

Ezekiel 37:14 (RSV) 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it, says the LORD."

Ezekiel 39:29 (RSV) 29 and I will not hide my face any more from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, says the Lord GOD."

Joel 2:28 (RSV) 28 "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

Joel 2:29 (RSV) 29 Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit.

Haggai 2:5 (RSV) 5 according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit abides among you; fear not.

Zechariah 4:6 (RSV) 6 Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerub'babel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.

Acts 2:17 (RSV) 17 `And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;

Acts 2:18 (RSV) 18 yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.

There is indeed no Old Testament passage that contains those words, but there are a number of theories regarding what James was referring to. From Precept Austin:

Ideas include (1) James quoted from some unknown apocryphal work (2) The quote is an unrecorded statement of James' half brother Jesus. (3) James quotes from some NT passage. (4) James was paraphrasing an OT passage. (5) James was not quoting a specific single passage, but is summarizing truths found in several OT passages. (6) Finally, some commentators (and Bible translations) do not treat the first half of verse 5 as a "formula" introducing a quotation but as a sentence which stands by itself. Several of the translations emphasize this latter view by dividing verse 5 into two separate sentences...

• Or think ye that the scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying? (ASV)

• Think ye that the scripture speaks in vain? Does the Spirit which has taken his abode in us desire enviously? (Darby)

• Do you think what the scriptures have to say about this is a mere formality? Or do you imagine that this spirit of passionate jealousy is the Spirit he has caused to live in us? (Phillips)

• Or think ye that, in vain, the scripture speaketh? Is it, for envying, that the spirit which hath taken an abode within us doth crave? (Rotherdam)