<P> If written by James the brother of Jesus, it would have been written sometime before AD 69 (or AD 62), when he was martyred . Jerusalem would also be the place of writing . </P> <P> The earliest extant manuscripts of James usually date to the mid-to - late 3rd century . </P> <P> James is considered New Testament wisdom literature: "like Proverbs and Sirach, it consists largely of moral exhortations and precepts of a traditional and eclectic nature ." </P> <P> The content of James is directly parallel, in many instances, to sayings of Jesus found in the gospels of Luke and Matthew, i.e., those attributed to the Q Source . Compare, e.g., "Do not swear at all, either by heaven...or by the earth...Let your word be' Yes, Yes' or' No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one" (Matthew 5: 34, 37) and "...do not swear either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your' Yes' be yes and your' No' be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation" (James 5: 12). According to James Tabor, the epistle of James contains "no fewer than thirty direct references, echoes, and allusions to the teachings of Jesus found in the Q source ." </P>

Who wrote book of james in the bible