The epistle of James was for years a forgotten book in academic circles. In recent decades, however, a renewed focus on early Judaism has generated interest in looking at James with new eyes. Poverty and wealth in the epistle continues to be a point of interest. Other topics, however, are still to be explored. One of these topics is the rhetorical study of the use of the Old Testament in the book. One noted characteristic of the epistle is that each time James deals with poverty and wealth, he alludes to or quotes the OT. The present research focuses on how James uses the OT in these passages. In order to analyze them, this research uses Relevance Theory as a methodological framework. Relevance Theory is used as complementary tool of the historical-critical method of exegesis. Chapter 1 broadly presents the main ideas that develop in the present research. It focuses on a review of the literature on both the issue of poverty and wealth in James and the use of the OT in the epistle. It also introduces the methodology applied to the research. Chapter 2 develops the methodological framework. Chapter 3 applies the method to Jas 1:9-11 and 26-27; chapter 4 applies it to 2:1-24 and chapter 5 to 4:13-17, 5:1-6, and 7-11. Chapter 6 presents a summary of the work and the main contributions of this research to New Testament studies. James not only reinforces his discourse with both the OT and Jesus's authority, he also appeals to the OT and Jesus's teaching in order to find hope, vindication, and strength in the midst of suffering. He builds his ethics upon the OT and Jesus's teachings. He presents his ethics in an eschatological language rich in imagery that permits one to derive a wide range of implicatures. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]