(1) The Apostle, the son of Zabdi.
(2) The Apostle, the son of Alphaeus.
(3) The son of Mary the wife of Clopas.
(4) The Lord's brother, mentioned as such along with Joses, Simon and Judah, and prominent in the Acts (12:17; 15:13; 21:18).
The last-named was also known as 'James the Just' and is represented by tradition as having led an ascetic life, which ended in martyrdom. He was undoubtedly Bishop, or President, of the Church in Jerusalem and in all probability this Letter was written by him from that city.
There has been some difference of opinion as to the date of the book. The majority of scholars insist that both the internal and external evidence point to its having been written between 44 and 50 A. D., before the earliest of Paul's Letters. But, on the other hand, the solemn emphasis which the author lays upon the immediateness of the Lord's Return (5:7,8,9) may be regarded as a moral proof of a date very much nearer the winding up of the Mosaic dispensation in 70 A. D.
The Letter may have been a Jewish one, addressed to the Christian converts from Judaism who were scattered abroad, within or beyond the limits of the Roman Empire. Luther deemed it "an Epistle of straw," by reason of its insistence upon the vital importance of 'works.' But its practical ideal assumes the same basis of Christian faith as is found in the Letters of Paul. The opening references to severe trial seem to show that the persecution begun by Herod Agrippa had already been repeated elsewhere. If the later date of the book be admitted, the persecution must then, of course, have been that under Nero.
Peter's First Letter
The state of things described in this Letter answers to what we find in the first Letter to Timothy, and points to the same period. The "fiery trial" referred to is probably the persecution which, begun by Nero, in 64 A.D., in order to divert attention from himself, was continued throughout the Roman Empire.
The Letter seems to be primarily addressed to those who regarded Peter as the Apostle to the Jews, although it is manifest that he did not think of these alone. The fact that it is "full of Pauline thought and Pauline language," is accounted for by the well-grounded supposition that Peter arrived in Rome shortly before Paul was released. So that this Letter, probably written about 65-66 A.D., was definitely intended to set before the Churches of Roman Asia "the inspiring vision of the two Apostles working and planning together in the capital."