Many have noted the apparently contradictory statements are made by James who says that God tempts no man, and yet in Genesis God is said to have tempted Abraham
James 1:13 ” . . . God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man.”
Genesis 22:1 ” . . . God did tempt Abraham . . . “
First, a solution that works in English, but doesn’t really work in the original Greek:
It is noted that the Greek word “peirazo” and its Hebrew equivalent, “nasah” carry the meaning of “to try, prove”,1 as well as to “tempt”. The R.S.V. translators preserve the distinction between “test” and “tempt”, thereby removing the confusion: “After these things God tested Abraham . . .” (Gen. 22:1, R.S.V.). The R.S.V. also makes a distinction in James 1:2,3 between “trial” and “temptation”: “Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials {temptations, A.V.}, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” This translation is in harmony with a similar point made by Peter. (cf. 1 Peter 1:6,7). Similarly, an apparent contradiction exists between James 1:13 and Psalm 78:18, 56; 95:9; 106:14, but in each of these O.T. references the R.S.V. renders the Hebrew word “nasah” by “tested” rather than “tempted”, (as does the A.V.). According to Young, “nasah” is rendered in the A.V. 20 times “prove” and 12 times “tempt”. “Peirazo” is rendered in the A.V. 4 times “try” and 29 times “tempt” Robert Young, Analytical Concordance to the Holy Bible, (London: Lutterworth Press, 1965).
There is some truth in the above, the Hebrew nasah and Greek verb peirazo don’t distinguish between tempt and test. In fact it is English which is exceptional here. In very many languages the distinction between “tempt” and “test” exists in the mind of the reader, exists in context, but doesn’t exist by having two distinct verbs.
Second, a better solution – check James’ next phrase.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, (NRSV)
The context here is testing with evil. This is even more clear in James’ original Greek word order:
1:13 μηδεὶς πειραζόμενος λεγέτω ὅτι Ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ πειράζομαι· ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἀπείραστός ἐστιν κακῶν πειράζει δὲ αὐτὸς οὐδένα
literally : God is APEIRASTOS (adjective untemptable) KAKON (of evil things) PEIRADZEI (He tempts) no one.
The word KAKON (of evil things) is functioning here in adverbial role, modifying the verb PEIRADZEI, so God of evil, with evil, tempts no one. KAKON does not directly refer backwards to the adjective APEIRASTOS, untemptable. To do so James would have had to write KAKON twice. But the point here is that James is not denying that God does in fact tempt or test humans. James could hardly deny it, since although “God tempted Abraham” is the most famous example in the Old Testament, it is far from unique. The history of the Patriarchs and of the Israelites shows numerous occasions where God tested both individuals and the nation as a whole.
The key here is the word KAKON “with evil”. And that is the difference between temptation and testing from the world or from the flesh, and tempting or testing from God, which is for our good.
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