Charles Ellicott Commentary James 2:23

"and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God." — James 2:23 (ASV)

The scripture was fulfilled.—Namely, that earlier declaration of God (Genesis 15:6) when the childless Abraham, with only a Syrian slave for his heir, trusted in the divine promise that his own seed should be as the number of the stars of heaven.

Abraham believed God, and it was imputed to him for righteousness.—He proved his faith by obedience, when he freely gave back to the Giver his son, the heir of all the promise.

The Friend of God.—Amatus a Deo—beloved of Him, not the friend to God, nor lover of Him, as some have hastily imagined. It is not an exact quotation from the Hebrew Bible, though its substance may be found in Isaiah 41:8. The term was traditional throughout the East and is used by the Arabs as descriptive of the patriarch to this day.