At the time James wrote (58-60 AD) Jerusalem was still the commercial hub of the eastern Mediterranean.
“At the time James wrote (58-60 AD) Jerusalem was still the commercial hub of the eastern Mediterranean.”
I doubt that. Geography alone argues otherwise. Until the advent of canals and railroads major commercial centers were always ports or right adjacent to one.
On the eastern Med Alexandria had been a major port since its founding by Alexander the Great in 330 BC. Tyre was another commercial center on the eastern Med. Caesarea Maritima another.
But Jerusalem is a hilly inland city and not a port. There is no river leading to the Med. It’s lucky to even have a spring. Jerusalem was a capital and religious center, not a center of commerce.