Jude

An Oral and Performance Commentary

David Seal

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781666730296, 9781666721584
• eBook ISBN: 9781666721591
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

Jude is a short letter making it easy to read entirely in one sitting. Yet the letter is rarely read, and it is not a popular text for teaching and preaching. Jude is a warning to an early Christian community about a group of itinerant teachers bearing a message that Jude considers incompatible with the apostolic gospel. The teaching and practice of these people puts them into a class of individuals who, according to Scripture, incur God's wrath and judgment. Jude stresses that there is guaranteed judgment on those who live outside the normalized instruction and teach others to do the same. The importance of a lifestyle that adheres with biblical teaching is just as crucial today as it was in the early church. This commentary highlights the oral and performative nature of the first-century Mediterranean world. Jude was situated in this oral context, and it decisively shaped the form and delivery of the epistle while also enhancing its content. One cannot separate the content of a message from how a message comes to expression. This commentary aims to show the relationship between expression and content, demonstrating that there is not only value in what Jude says but in how he says it.

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Introduction

Jude is a short letter making it easy to read entirely in one sitting. Yet the letter is rarely read, and it is not a popular text for teaching and preaching. One reason for its neglect is that Jude writes to a unique audience capable of understanding his Old Testament references as well as his references to books outside the Bible such as 1 Enoch and The Assumption of Moses. These books, especially 1 Enoch, circulated widely among the believers of the first century. References from 1 Enoch, The Assumption of Moses, and perhaps even some from Scripture are less familiar to the contemporary reader. To better understand the message of Jude, these references, and allusions from outside the Bible require some explanation.

Jude uses various examples from non-biblical and biblical sources to warn about a group of itinerant teachers bearing a message that Jude considers incompatible with the apostolic gospel. The teaching and practice of these people puts them into a class of individuals who, according to Scripture, incur God’s wrath and judgment. Thus, they constitute a severe danger, which Jude’s readers must resist. Jude stresses that there is guaranteed judgment on those who live outside the normalized instruction and teach others to do the same.

The importance of a lifestyle that adheres with biblical teaching is just as crucial today as it was in the early church. Contemporary culture is becoming more and more indifferent to the question of truth. Jude is a book about the dangers of this issue transpiring. In addition to offering encouragement to the recipients, Jude warns Christians that they must always remain alert, guarding against any compromise to biblical teaching in their lives and the church.

Following a discussion of the letter’s author, date, recipients, occasion, genre, structure, relationship to 2 Peter, and canonization, there will be an overview of the oral and performative nature of the first century Mediterranean world. Jude was situated in this oral context, and it decisively shaped the form and delivery of the epistle while also enhancing its content. One cannot separate the content of a message from how a message comes to expression. This commentary aims to show the relationship between expression and content, demonstrating that there is not only value in what Jude says but in how he says it.

Author

Like many of the Apostle Paul’s letters in the New Testament (e.g., Gal 1:1; Phil 1:1; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1), the author of the book of Jude identifies himself in the letter opening (v. 1). He states that he is Jude (Ioúdas [Judas] in Greek),1 a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James. Several people in the New Testament and certain extra-biblical sources are mentioned with some form of the name “Jude/Judas.”2 The two most accepted views of authorship are either Jude, the half-brother of Jesus (and brother of James), or someone claiming to be Jude who wrote the letter under a pseudonym. Those who take the author to be Jude the brother of Jesus base this on the author’s claim to be “the brother of James,” who is then assumed to be James the Just, the Lord’s brother (Matt 13:55; Mark 6:3).3

The Greek vocabulary and literary style are considered by some to be too good to have been written by a Galilean artisan’s (Joseph the carpenter) son,4 supporting that the letter was possibly written under a pseudonym. However, a trusted and trained scribe could have assisted Jude as a secretary, an editor, or a coauthor. Paul’s practice of letter writing often involved dictating his thoughts to a secretary (Rom 16:22).

Lacking any firm evidence, it is impossible to decisively prove any of the options for authorship. Rather than considering the known individuals that are named Jude in the New Testament or extra-biblical sources, it is more beneficial to consider the identity of the author based on his se...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Permissions
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: The Oral and Performance Culture of the First-Century Mediterranean World
• Chapter 3: New Testament Letters, Lectors, Performance, and Presence
• Chapter 4: Approach of this Commentary
• Chapter 5: Commentary on Jude
• Bibliography