The Epistle of James lies on a wisdom trajectory that extends from the Old Testament through to the New. It is among the earliest of the New Testament writings, providing valuable insight into the process of transmission of the sayings of Jesus. By examining textual similarities between James and the early Jesus traditions, such as Q, QMt and QLk, Hartin argues that the Epistle of James is an independent witness to the existence of the Q source, as well as to the way in which this source developed within the Matthaean community which produced QMt.

The Epistle of James lies on a wisdom trajectory that extends from the Old Testament through to the New. It is among the earliest of the New Testament writings, providing valuable insight into the process of transmission of the sayings of Jesus. By examining textual similarities between James and the early Jesus traditions, such as Q, QMt and QLk, Hartin argues that the Epistle of James is an independent witness to the existence of the Q source, as well as to the way in which this source developed within the Matthaean community which produced QMt.