Editing Epistle of Jude (section)

==Canonical status==
The letter of Jude was one of the disputed books of the [[biblical canon]] of the New Testament. Despite some opposition, it seems to have been accepted by most churches around the end of the second century.<ref>{{harvnb|Bauckham|1983|p=17}} "More remarkable is the evidence that by the end of the second century Jude was widely accepted as canonical."</ref> [[Clement of Alexandria]], [[Tertullian]], and the [[Muratorian fragment|Muratorian canon]] considered the letter canonical. The letter was eventually accepted as part of the canon by later [[Church Fathers]] such as [[Athanasius of Alexandria]].<ref>Lindberg, Carter (2006). ''A Brief History of Christianity''. Blackwell Publishing. p. 15. {{ISBN|1-4051-1078-3}}</ref> The canon listed by the [[Council of Carthage (397)|Council of Carthage]] (c. 397) included the epistle of Jude.<ref>B. F. Westcott, ''A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament'' (5th ed. Edinburgh, 1881), pp. 440, 541–2.</ref>

The first historical record of doubts as to authorship are found in the writings of [[Origen of Alexandria]], who spoke of the doubts held by some in the early third century.<!-- , albeit not him?--> [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]] classified it with the "disputed writings, the ''[[antilegomena]]''" in the early fourth century.  Eusebius doubted its authenticity partially because it was rarely quoted among ancient sources, although he acknowledges it was read in many churches.<ref>{{cite book |author= Eusebius of Caesarea |author-link=Eusebius of Caesarea |date=2019 |orig-date=c. 320s |title=[[Church History (Eusebius)|The History of the Church]]  |location=Oakland, California |publisher=University of California Press |chapter=Book 2, Chapter 23 |page=113 |isbn=9780520964969 |quote=...it must be noted its authenticity is doubted, and that not many of the ancients mention it...  Nevertheless, we know that these two, along with the rest, are used publicly in most churches.}}</ref> The links between the Epistle and [[2 Peter]] and its use of the [[biblical apocrypha]] raised concern: [[Saint Jerome]] wrote in 392 AD that the book was "rejected by many" since it quotes the Book of Enoch.<ref>{{cite book |author=Jerome |author-link=Jerome |translator-last=Halton |translator-first=Thomas P. |date=1999 |orig-date=392 |title=[[On Illustrious Men]] |publisher=Catholic University of America Press |series=The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation |pages=11 |isbn=0-8132-0100-4 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt2853x3}}</ref>  Even to the extent that the letter was accepted as canonical and useful, it likely circulated as an independent letter in the 2nd and 3rd centuries; it and the other general epistles only appear to have become part of somewhat standardized collections in manuscripts of the fourth century and afterward.{{sfn|Aland|Aland|1987|pp=67-68}}

The oldest surviving versions of the Syriac [[Peshitta]] from the 5th- and 6th- centuries do not include Jude; nor 2 John, 3 John, 2 Peter, or Revelation.  These works were added to the Syrian canon in the 6th century and afterward.{{sfn|Aland|Aland|1987|pp=190-193}}