<P> Other scholars, such as Luke Timothy Johnson, suggest an early dating for the Epistle of James: </P> <P> "The Letter of James also, according to the majority of scholars who have carefully worked through its text in the past two centuries, is among the earliest of New Testament compositions . It contains no reference to the events in Jesus' life, but it bears striking testimony to Jesus' words . Jesus' sayings are embedded in James' exhortations in a form that is clearly not dependent on the written Gospels ." </P> <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>

Name the recipients of the letter of james