Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
1:17 — All things that are good and perfect come from God, whether they are physical or spiritual. This being the case, sin cannot be attributed to him. In verse 5 another aspect of God’s giving is described. contrast Matt 13:17-18. “Come down from on high.” Compare 3:15. This expression makes us think of God, who dwells in heaven (1Ki 8:30). — “of the Father of lights.” The expression “father of” means source. God is the source of lights, the Creator of them, and he is beyond them in glory and excellence, as he is the source of every good gift and every perfect gift. Regarding this expression or sentence figure, see Gen 4:20-21, Hebrews 12:9. Compare 1Jn 1:5, Joh 1:9, Phil 2:15, 1Ti 6:16. — “in which there is no change, nor shadow of variation.” Compare Malachi 3:6. God is more fixed in his characteristics than the sun and the heavenly bodies. The Greek text literally says, “there is neither variation nor shadow of (cast by) change”. With God there is none of this; with him everything is constancy. He does not send good now, evil now.
Source: Commentary on the New Testament by Partain
every good gift. Jas 1:5; Jas 3:15, Jas 3:17; Gen 41:16, Gen 41:38, Gen 41:39; Exo 4:11, Exo 4:12; Exo 31:3-6; Exo 36:1, Exo 36:2; Num 11:17, Num 11:25; 1Ch 22:12; 1Ch 29:19; 2Ch 1:11, 2Ch 1:12; Pro 2:6; Isaiah 28:26; Dan 2:21, Dan 2:22, Dan 2:27-30; Matt 7:11; Matt 11:25, Matt 11:26; Matt 13:11, Matt 13:12; Luke 11:13; Joh 3:27; Ac 5:31; Ac 11:18; Romans 6:23; Romans 11:30; Romans 12:6-8; 1Co 4:7; 1Co 12:4-12; Eph 2:3-5, Eph 2:8; Eph 4:8-11; Phil 1:29; Tit 3:3-5; 1Jn 4:10; 1Jn 5:11, 1Jn 5:12.
descend from above. Gen 1:2-5, Gen 1:14, Gen 1:15; Deu 4:19; Ps 19:1-8; Ps 84:11; Isaiah 45:7; Isaiah 60:19; Joh 1:9; Joh 8:12; 2Co 4:6; Eph 1:18; 1Jn 1:5; Rev 21:23; Rev 22:5.
no shade of variation. Num 23:19; 1Sa 15:29; Ps 122:6; Isaiah 46:10; evil 3:6; Romans 11:29; Hebrews 1:11, Hebrews 1:12; Hebrews 13:8.
Source: The Treasury of Biblical Knowledge
Every good gift…perfect gift comes down from above. Two different Greek words meaning “gift” are used here to emphasize the perfection of God’s grace and all that it includes for the benefit of His own. The first (“dádiva”) denotes the act of giving and the second (“gift”) is the object given. Everything included in the divine generosity is always adequate, complete and beneficial. Father of lights An ancient expression for God as the Creator, where “lights” refers to the sun, moon, and stars (cf. Gen 1:14-19). there is no change, no shadow of variation. From the human point of view, the celestial bodies have different phases of movement and rotation, dictate the passage of days and nights, and possess varying degrees of intensity and shade. God, on the other hand, does not follow those kinds of patterns because He never changes (cp. evil 3:6; 1Jn 1:5).
Source: MacArthur Study Bible
1:17 — All things that are good and perfect come from God, whether they are physical or spiritual. This being the case, sin cannot be attributed to him.
In verse 5 another aspect of God’s giving is described. Contrast Mat 13:17-18.
-“Come down from on high”. Compare 3:15. This expression makes us think of God, who dwells in heaven (1 Kings 8:30).
–“of the Father of lights”. The expression “father of” means source. God is the source of lights, the Creator of them, and he is beyond them in glory and excellence, as he is the source of every good gift and every perfect gift. Concerning this expression or figure of speech, see Gen 4:20-21, Heb 12:9.
Compare 1John 1:5, Joh 1:9, Phil 2:15, 1Ti 6:16.
–“in which there is no change, nor shadow of variation”. Compare Malachi 3:6. God is more fixed in his characteristics than the sun and the heavenly bodies. The Greek text literally says, “there is neither variation nor shadow of (cast by) change”. With God there is none of this; with him everything is constancy. He does not send good now, evil now.
Source: Reeves-Partain Notes
Gen 1:3; Gen 1:14-18; 1Jn 1:5.
Source: Hispano-American Interdenominational Translation
GRADES
(1) Or: “variation or shadow caused by turning.”
CROSS-REFERENCES
d 30 Ps 115:16; Romans 6:23; 1Co 14:1
e 31 Mat 7:11; Joh 3:27
f 32 Ps 136:7; Isaiah 45:7; Isaiah 60:20; Eph 5:8; 1Jn 1:5
g33 Mal 3:6
Source: New World Translation
Father…lights. God is the creator of the sun, the moon and the stars; but in contrast to the shadows they cause, God is always light; He he doesn’t change (evil 3:6) and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 Jn 1:5).
Source: The Bible of the Americas
17 (1) Gift it refers to the act of giving; Don It refers to the given.
17 (two) Here the lights refer to the heavenly luminaries. The Father is the Creator, the origin, of these shining bodies. In Him there is no obscuration caused by rotation (in contrast to heavenly bodies, such as the moon that waxes and wanes with its rotation, and the sun that can be eclipsed by the moon), because He does not vary or change. As such, He himself cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone.
17 (3) Or, variability.
Source: New Testament Commentary Recovery Version
Every good gift. Both the gift and the act of giving are indicated. What Santiago wants to emphasize is that all these good things come from above. This statement could well be taken from an early Christian hymn.
Father of lights Better, of the luminaries. God is the source of all light – physical, intellectual, moral and spiritual – and does not change. The image is that of a star that does not change its position (gr., Parallagé, from which the astronomical term “parallax” comes from) and, therefore, does not have “variation in its shadow”.
Source: Ryrie Annotated Study Bible
R501 Τροπῆς ἀποσκίασμα means: a shadow produced by variation.
M17 Ἄνωθέν ἐστιν καταβαῖνον can be translated: it is from above, it descends (the expression need not be periphrastic in any way).
Source: Grammar Help for the Study of the Greek New Testament
lit., is
Source: The Bible of the Americas
‡ James seems to refer to the different movements of heavenly bodies and eclipses (shadows).