The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (175 page)

LITERATURE

Genre

Jude is addressed to a particular group of people (vv. 1—4). It is therefore not a “Catholic” (i.e., “General”) Epistle. Nevertheless, the main body of the letter and the concluding blessing read more like a sermon composed of a midrash on various texts (vv. 5—19), a paraenesis (exhortation; vv. 20—23), and a doxology (vv. 24—25).
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It may be best to characterize Jude as a “sermon in form of an epistle.”
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Beyond this, Charles has shown that Jude in its entirety should be viewed as a “word of exhortation,” in which references to the OT are used to address a contemporary situation.
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Presumably, the concluding doxology signals that Jude intended for his letter to be read in the context of the church's worship service.
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A similar genre can be detected also in Hebrews, James, and 1 John.

With regard to Jude's vocabulary, Origen (c. 185—254) noted that Jude commanded a “strong vocabulary.”
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Jude features no less than 15 NT
hapax legomena
(words used only once), only four of which are found in a Greek translation of the OT. In addition, three words occur elsewhere only in 2 Peter 2, which is most likely dependent on Jude. To this may be added 22 words that are rare in the rest of the NT.

As Neyrey observed, Jude's rich vocabulary suggests that the author operated in a literary environment that was considerably broader than merely the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. The frequent use of triplets (e.g., “Jude,” “slave,” “brother”; “loved,” “kept,” “called”; and “mercy,” “peace,” “love” in vv. 1—2), by the principle of “amplification by accumulation,” is designed to add gravity to the author's argument.
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One conspicuous feature of Jude's letter is his use of apocryphal material, particularly 1
Enoch.
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As noted, this stands in marked contrast to 2 Peter and the rest of the NT (including Jesus’ use according to the canonical Gospels). In addition, Jewish traditions,
including the OT, provide Jude with the bulk of his sources.
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Affinities with the
pesher
exegesis at Qumran have already been noted under the previous heading. As mentioned, the book of Jude likely served as a source for 2 Peter.

Relationship with 2 Peter 2

It has already been noted above that 2 Peter 2 likely depends literarily on the book of Jude. Here the relationship between Jude and 2 Peter 2 is given in greater detail. A comparison between Jude 4—19 and 2 Pet 2:1—3:3 yields the following parallels, with identical or synonymous words in the original in boldface.

Jude 4-19

For certain men, who were designated for this judgment long ago,
have come in by stealth;
they are ungodly, turning the grace of our God into
promiscuity
and
denying our only Master and Lord,
Jesus Christ. Now I want to remind you, though you know all these things: the Lord, having first of all saved a people out of Egypt, later destroyed those who did not believe; and he has kept, with eternal chains in
darkness
for the
judgment
of the great day,
angels
who did not keep their own position but deserted their proper dwelling. In the same way,
Sodom and Gomorrah
and the cities around them committed sexual immorality and practiced perversions, just as they did, and serve
as an example
by undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

Nevertheless, these dreamers likewise
defile their flesh, despise authority, and blaspheme glorious beings.
Yet Michael the archangel, when he was disputing with the Devil in a debate about Moses’ body, did not dare bring an abusive condemnation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these people
blaspheme anything they don't understand,
and what they know
by instinct, like unreasoning animals
—they destroy themselves with these things. Woe to them! For they have traveled in the way of Cain, have abandoned themselves to the error of
Balaam
for profit, and have perished in Korahs rebellion. These are the ones who are like
dangerous reefs
at your love feasts. They feast with you, nurturing only themselves without fear. They are
waterless
clouds carried along
by winds;
trees in late autumn—fruitless, twice dead, pulled out by the roots; wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom is reserved the
blackness of darkness forever!

And Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied about them:

Look! The Lord comes with thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on all, and to convict them of all their ungodly deeds that they have done
in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things ungodly sinners have said against Him.

These people are discontented grumblers,
walking according to their desires;
their mouths utter arrogant words, flattering people for their own advantage.

But you, dear friends, remember the words
foretold
by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; they told you,
“In the end time there will be scoffers walking according to their own
ungodly
desires.”
These people create divisions and are merely natural, not having the Spirit.

In addition to these remarkable verbal similarities, the two texts display a rather striking similarity in terms of the sequential development of the argument:

Table 18.4: References to OT Figures in Jude and 2 Peter 2

Jude and Peter concur in their basic structure: angels—Sodom and Gomorrah—[archangel Michael]—Balaam. Beyond this, Peter (on the assumption that Jude served as his source) replaced the two negative examples, Cain and Korah, with two positive figures, Noah and Lot. While the similarity in structure could also be accounted for on the basis of a common source, it seems more probable that Peter used Jude directly and adapted his letter to his own situation.
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If so, it is particularly conspicuous that Peter reworked Jude's letter in such a way that the sequence of his examples is in proper OT chronological order, while Jude uses a topical arrangement.

Literary Plan

The Letter of Jude displays the following concentric chiastic structure:
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This structure contains correspondence between greeting and doxology and between occasion and exhortation, two reminders, and the two units at the heart of the letter, the section on the false teachers and the quotation from 1
Enoch.
The body of the letter (vv. 5—19) contains an extended exegetical treatment of types and prophecies for the purpose of showing “that the false teachers are people whose behavior is condemned and whose judgment is prophesied in OT types and in prophecy from the time of Enoch to the time of the apostles.”
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Despite the length of verses 5—19, the actual purpose of the letter is Jude's exhortation that his readers contend for the faith (vv. 20—23; see v. 3). Thus verses 20—23 are not merely a concluding exhortation or a postscript but the climax to which the entire letter builds. Verses 5—19 provide the necessary background and foundation for this paraenesis (exhortation). The message of the letter is therefore a call for the readers to contend for the faith against God's adversaries who are condemned already in Scripture and who will be held accountable on the last day.

Ellis showed that verses 5—19 represent a midrash, an exegesis of selected passages of Scripture, with a view toward pointing out their contemporary relevance.
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Four texts are used:

Texts 1 and 2 each refer to three OT types (vv. 5—7,11).

Text 3 is 1
Enoch
1:9 (vv. 14-15).

Text 4 is a prophecy of the apostles (vv. 17—18).

Each of these texts is first cited and then interpreted in midrashic fashion:

Table 18.5: Midrashic Elements in Jude 5-18

Verses 5—7 and verses 17—19 are introduced as reminders, while verses 8—13 and verses 14—16 correspond to each other at the heart of the argument of the letter. The transitions between the cited texts and the midrashic portions are characterized by two stylistic elements: verb tenses and the phrase “these people.” All verb tenses in the source texts are in the past or the future, while the tense in the commentary portions is consistently in the present. In addition, the quotes of Scripture are linked with the midrashic materials through corresponding transitional phrases:

• “godless”/“godlessness”/“ungodly” (vv. 4,15,18)
  
• “blaspheme”/”blasphemy” (vv. 8—10)
  
• “error”
  (planē)/ “wandering” (planētēs; vv
  . 11,13)
  
• “keep…darkness” (vv. 6,13)
  

The purpose served by the midrashim (commentary sections) is transparent and compelling. The argument essentially runs as follows:

1. The sin of the false teachers corresponds to the sin of the OT types.
   
2. The OT types were severely punished by God for their sinful behavior.
   
3. Since the false teachers’ sins correspond to those of the OT types, and since the OT types were severely punished by God for their sin, the future judgment of the false teachers is equally certain (though still future).
   

On the basis of this exhortatory message, Jude's readers must cast their lot with the “faith that was delivered to the saints once for all” (v. 3) and separate from the false teachers, seeking to salvage any doubters or others under the spell of the heretics while applying all necessary caution (vv. 20—23). Otherwise, they will share in the false teachers’ sins and incur the same judgment.

Jude's interpretive technique of midrash is roughly akin to the pesher exegesis at Qumran. Both are predicated on the conviction that the OT texts represent end-time prophecy that is to be applied by the contemporary interpreter (be it at Qumran or in Jude's day) to a corresponding pattern or situation in his own day (understood as the time of eschatological fulfillment). Several texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls (e.g., 4QFlorilegium and
11 QMelchizedek) feature a commentary-style format which features expositions of related texts (“thematic pesharim”). By way of contrast, Qumran does not use apocryphal texts or oral Christian prophecies, nor does one find typological exegesis. “Jude,” on the other hand, “applies Scripture to the last days not only as prophecy, but also as typology, in which the events of redemptive history are seen to foreshadow the eschatological events.”
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OUTLINE

1. SALUTATION (1-2)
   
2. OCCASION (3-4)
   
3. EXPOSITION: GOD'S JUDGMENT ON SINNERS (5-19)
   
   1. Reminder from the Hebrew Scriptures (5-7)
      
   2. The False Teachers (8-13)
      
   3. The Quotation from Enoch (14-16)
      
   4. Reminder from Apostolic Prophecy (17-19)
      
4. EXHORTATION (20-23)
   
5. DOXOLOGY (24-25)
   

UNIT-BY-UNIT DISCUSSION

I. Salutation (1-2)

The customary salutation identifies Jude, the brother of James, as the author; includes an address of the recipients as “those who are called, loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ”; and a greeting of mercy, peace, and love.

II. Occasion (3-4)

In refreshing candor, Jude explained why the letter he actually wrote was different from the one he had intended to write. Rather than penning an encouraging note regarding “our common salvation,” Jude wrote a scathing rebuke of the false teachers and urged believers to “contend for the faith once for all entrusted” to them.

III. Exposition: God's Judgment on Sinners (5-19)

Jude set his denunciation of the false teachers within the framework of reminders from the Hebrew Scriptures (vv. 5—7) and from apostolic prophecy (vv. 17—19). The false teachers shared several essential characteristics with those who had sinned conspicuously in OT times and subsequently were severely judged by God (vv. 8—16). While still future from Jude's perspective, the judgment of God on the false teachers in his day was nonetheless certain.