Date of composition

• Middle to late 200s.
• (This is after the time covered in this website, but is included because it discusses the supposed death of James.)

Type of Apocrypha (heretical or in error (made up))

• Since it is Gnostic, it is a heretical work.

Length

• 8 double-spaced pages.

Summary

• This is not an apocalypse of future events but tells of the death of James, the half-brother of Jesus, which occurred in the AD 60s.
• It begins with James sharing Gnostic teachings with the crowd, including Christ as God's messenger (not the Son of God). He also spoke to those who were responsible for Christ's death and warned them. They became angry and wanted to stone James. At that point, James stood at a high end in the Temple so the people could hear him speak. They pushed him off the high point, but he did not die. Then they made him dig a hole deep enough to cover his abdomen and stand in it. They then stoned him to death. He died while speaking a prayer.

Noteworthy from the book

1. James' father's name is given as Theuda instead of Joseph, although his mother, Mary, is named.
2. The writing makes use of many poems.
3. Mary tells James that Jesus is his step-brother.
4. James is referred to as "the Just."
5. More about the death of James from outside of this book: The earliest mention of his death is from Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews [written in the AD 90s], which states: "(Ananus) assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned." Later historians added that he was pushed off a high place, even the Temple. The author of this book was aware of those different accounts of James' death and combined them in this book.