Editing Epistle of Jude

{{Short description|Book of the New Testament}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Jud.|Book of Judges|Book of Judith|Gospel of Judas}}
{{Books of the New Testament}}

The '''Epistle of Jude'''{{efn|The work is also called the '''Letter of Jude''', or simply '''Jude''',<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HiPouAEACAAJ |title=ESV Pew Bible |publisher=Crossway |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-4335-6343-0 |location=Wheaton, IL |pages=1027 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603093159/https://www.google.com/books/edition/ESV_Pew_Bible_Black/HiPouAEACAAJ |archive-date=June 3, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> which is also its most common form of abbreviation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bible Book Abbreviations |url=https://www.logos.com/bible-book-abbreviations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421100743/https://www.logos.com/bible-book-abbreviations |archive-date=April 21, 2022 |access-date=April 21, 2022 |website=Logos Bible Software}}</ref>}} is the penultimate book of the [[New Testament]] and of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Bible]]. It is traditionally attributed to [[Jude the Apostle|Jude, the brother of James]].{{efn|{{langx|grc|Ἰούδας|translit=Ioúdas}} (Judas). The author of the work is usually called the shorter "Jude" variant to distinguish the author from [[Judas Iscariot]].}} 

Jude is a short epistle written in [[Koine Greek]] with no specified recipient. It condemns in fierce terms certain people who the author sees as a threat to the [[Early Christianity|early Christian]] community, but describes these opponents only vaguely. According to Jude, these opponents are within the Christian community, but are not true Christians: they are scoffers, false teachers, malcontents, given to their lusts, and so on. The epistle reassures its readers that these people will soon be judged by God. It is possible that the group being referred to would have been obvious to the original recipients of the letter, but if a specific group was being referred to, knowledge of the details has since been lost. The one aspect of their potential ideology discussed in the letter is that these opponents denigrate [[angel]]s and their role. If this was indeed a part of the ideology of this group the author opposed, then the epistle is possibly a counterpoint to the [[Epistle to the Colossians]]. Colossians condemns those who give angels undue prominence and worship them; this implies the two letters might be part of an early Christian debate on [[Christian angelology]].

==Authorship==
The epistle introduces itself with a simple claim of authorship: "Jude, a servant of [[Jesus]] Christ and brother of James".<ref>{{bibleverse|Jude|1|NRSV}}: [[New Revised Standard Version]] (NRSV)</ref> "James" is generally taken to mean [[James, brother of Jesus]], a prominent leader in the early church. Introductions would typically refer to a father in the era, so the use of a brother suggests that this would only be done if the brother was famous within the community. Little is known about Jude himself. As the brother of James, it has traditionally meant Jude was also a [[Brothers of Jesus|brother of Jesus]], since James is described as being the brother of Jesus. This is why [[Clement of Alexandria]] (c.&nbsp;150–215 AD) wrote in his work "Comments on the Epistle of Jude" that Jude, the author, was a son of Joseph and a brother of Jesus.<ref>"Jude wrote the Catholic Epistle, the brother of the sons of Joseph, and very religious, while knowing the near relationship of the Lord, yet did not say that he himself was His brother. But what said he? "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ,"—of Him as Lord; but "the brother of James." For this is true; he was His brother, (the son) of Joseph."{{cite book|last1=of Alexandria|first1=Clement|title=Comments on the Epistle of Jude|url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0211.htm|access-date=24 September 2015}}</ref>  However, there is a dispute as to whether "brother" means someone who has the same father and mother, or a half-brother, cousin, or more distant familial relationship. This dispute over the true meaning of "brother" grew as the [[Virgin birth of Jesus|doctrine of the Virgin Birth]] evolved.<ref>Jocelyn Rhys, ''Shaken Creeds: The Virgin Birth Doctrine: A Study of Its Origin'', Kessinger Publishing (reprint), 2003 [1922] {{ISBN|0-7661-7988-5}}, pp 3–53</ref><ref>Chester, A and Martin, RP (1994), 'The Theology of the Letters of James, Peter and Jude', CUP, p.65</ref>{{sfn|Bauckham|1983|pp=13-16}}  For example, [[Saint Jerome]] believed that not only Mary but also Joseph were virgins their entire lives, and thus James and by extension Jude were cousins.<ref name=Ehrman2015>{{cite web|url=https://ehrmanblog.org/the-virgin-birth-and-jesus-brothers/|title=The Virgin Birth and Jesus' Brothers|last=Ehrman|first=Bart|authorlink=Bart Ehrman|date=January 3, 2015|website=The Bart Ehrman Blog: The History & Literature of Early Christianity|access-date=18 February 2024}}</ref>

Outside the book of Jude, a "Jude" is mentioned five times in the New Testament: three times as [[Jude the Apostle]],<ref>{{bibleverse|Luke|6:16|9}}, {{bibleverse|Acts|1:13|9}}, {{bibleverse|John|14:22|9}}</ref> and twice as [[Jude, brother of Jesus|Jude the brother of Jesus]]<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|13:55|9}}, {{bibleverse|Mark|6:3|9}}</ref> (aside from references to [[Judas Iscariot]] and [[Judah (son of Jacob)]]). Debate continues as to whether the author of the epistle is the apostle, the brother of Jesus, both, or neither. Scholars have argued that since the author of the letter has not identified himself as an apostle and also refers to the apostles as a third party, he cannot be identified with Jude the Apostle. Other scholars have drawn the opposite conclusion, which is that, as an apostle, he would not have made a claim of apostleship on his own behalf.{{sfn|Bauckham|1983|pp=13-16}}  Scholars who have defended the authorship of the brother of James as plausible include [[Richard Bauckham]].<ref name=Bauckham2015>{{cite book|last=Bauckham|first=Richard|author-link=Richard Bauckham|title=Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church|year=2015|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|location=|isbn=978-1474230469}}</ref>

A reason to doubt that a relative of Jesus wrote the book is that they are unlikely to have been literate.<ref name=Reicke1964/> Jesus's family were common laborers from [[Aramaic]]-speaking Galilee, and literary composition skills were overwhelmingly concentrated in the elite in antiquity. Few knew how to read, fewer how to write, and fewer still how to write complicated literary treatises. Jesus himself may have been able to read, presumably in Hebrew, but he was also exceptional and the star of the family. Even if somehow Jude had learned a little of how to read Hebrew, the epistle is written in excellent, complicated Koine Greek, with knowledge of common forms of rhetoric and argument of the era, as well as seeming knowledge of the scriptures in Hebrew. All this would be exceptional for a countryside Galilean. Scholars who support the authorship of Jude generally assume that he must have embarked upon extensive travel and missionary work among [[Hellenized Jews]] to master Greek as the author did. Ultimately, it is impossible to know more details of Jude's life for sure. One early Christian tradition states that Jude's grandchildren were brought before Emperor [[Domitian]] and interrogated; in the story, they defended themselves as not rebels and mere poor laborers eking out what they could from a single patch of land. While the story is clearly apocryphal – Roman emperors did not generally interrogate Galilean peasants – it does suggest that early Christians remembered Jude's family as lower-class laborers, not literate elites.<ref name=Ehrman2012>{{cite book|last=Ehrman|first=Bart|author-link=Bart Ehrman|year=2012|title=Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|pages=297–305|isbn=9780199928033}}</ref>

If the Jude writing the letter was not Jude the Apostle mentioned in the gospels, then he was possibly an unknown Christian who happened to share the name and coincidentally also had a brother named James. A final possibility is that the epistle is [[pseudepigrapha]] – that the author intentionally hinted to readers that it was from the more famous Jude, but only as a false attribution to give the letter more authority.<ref name=Ehrman2012/><ref name=Reicke1964>{{harvnb|Reicke|1964|pp=189–192}}.</ref>

===Date===
The date of composition is not known, but is loosely speculated to be between the years 50 and 110.  If the epistle was written by the Jude mentioned in the gospels, that would place it sometime in the early apostolic age of {{circa|50&ndash;70}} before [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem]]; if the letter reflects "early catholicism" and the beginnings of an organized church, then a date of the last decade of the first century or the early second century ({{circa|90&ndash;110}}) is indicated; and if the letter is an attack on [[Gnosticism]], then a much later date is indicated, perhaps around 150 AD.<ref>{{harvnb|Neyrey|1993|pp=29–31}}.</ref><ref>''[http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/03d/0265-0339,_Eusebius_Caesariensis,_Historia_ecclesiastica_%5BSchaff%5D,_EN.pdf Historia Ecclesiastica]'', translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert. See footnote on p. 203 by McGiffert.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Perry|first=Peter S.|chapter=Jude|pages=513–516|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible |date=2011|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=9780195377378}}</ref>  Scholars who consider the letter a [[pseudonym]]ous work generally favor the later dates due to the letter's references to the [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]] (as if they lived in the past)<ref>{{bibleverse|Jude|1:17-18|NRSV|Jude 17–18}}</ref> and to an authoritative tradition,<ref>{{bibleverse|Jude|1:3|NRSV|Jude 3}}</ref> and because of its competent Greek style.<ref name=NAB>{{cite web|url=http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/jude/jude.htm|publisher=[[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops]]|title=Jude|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428095357/https://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/jude/jude.htm|archive-date=2011-04-28}}</ref><ref name="perrin">{{cite book |last1=Perrin |first1=Norman |author-link=Norman Perrin |last2=Duling |first2=Dennis C. |date=1982 |orig-date=1974 |title=The New Testament: An Introduction |edition=Second |publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |pages=379–381 |isbn=}}</ref>{{sfn|Bauckham|1983|pp=13-16}} [[Bo Reicke]] suggests around 90 AD; Heikki Räisänen concurs and believes that it may have been written at the end of the first century.<ref name=Reicke1964/><ref>Heikki Räisänen, The Rise of Christian Beliefs: The Thought World of Early Christians, p. 66. "The Epistle of Jude is another letter written in the name of a brother of Jesus, perhaps toward the end of the first century. It consists of a vicious attack against some other Christians."</ref> [[Bart Ehrman]] also agrees that toward the end of the first century is the most likely, due to use of certain terminology in ways similar to the [[pastoral epistles]] that match a late first century date.<ref name=Ehrman2012/>

==Content==
Jude urges his readers to "contend for the faith" against "certain intruders [who] have stolen in among you".<ref>{{bibleverse|Jude|1:3-4|NRSV|Jude 3-4}}</ref> He warns about false teachers who twist the grace of Christ as a pretext for wantonness. Jude asks the reader to recall how even after the Lord saved his own people out of the land of Egypt, he did not hesitate to destroy those who fell into unbelief, much as he punished the [[Fallen angel|angels who fell]] from their original exalted status and the inhabitants of [[Sodom and Gomorrah]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Jude|1:5-7|NRSV|Jude 5–7}}</ref> He also paraphrases (verse 9) an incident apparently from the [[Assumption of Moses]] that has since been lost about [[Satan]] and [[Michael (archangel)|Michael the Archangel]] quarreling over the body of Moses.

Continuing the analogy from Israel's history, he says that the false teachers have followed in the way of [[Cain]], have rushed after reward into the error of [[Balaam]], and have perished in the rebellion of [[Korah|Korach]]. He describes in vivid terms the opponents he warns of, calling them "clouds without rain", "trees without fruit", "foaming waves of the sea", and "wandering stars".<ref>{{bibleverse|Jude|1:8-16|9|Jude 8–16}}</ref> He exhorts believers to remember the words spoken by the Apostles, using language similar to the second epistle of Peter to answer concerns that the Lord seemed to tarry: "In the last time there will be scoffers, indulging their own ungodly lusts,"<ref>{{bibleverse|Jude|1:18|NRSV|Jude 18}}</ref> and to keep themselves in God's love,<ref>{{bibleverse|Jude|1:21|NRSV|Jude 21}}</ref> before delivering a [[doxology]] to God.<ref>{{bibleverse|Jude|1:24-25|NRSV|Jude 24–25}}</ref>

Jude quotes directly from the [[Book of Enoch]], a widely distributed work among the [[List of Old Testament pseudepigrapha|Old Testament pseudepigrapha]], citing a section of 1 Enoch 1:8 that is based on Deuteronomy 33:2.<ref>{{citation |url=https://intertextual.bible/text/1-enoch-1.9-jude-1.14|title=intertextual.bible/text/1-enoch-1.9-jude-1.14}}</ref><ref>Maxwell Davidson ''Angels at Qumran: A Comparative Study of 1 Enoch 1-36'' 1992 p. 32.  "Ten thousands of holy ones" "this section is modeled in part on Deuteronomy 33 [as noted by J. VanderKam, The Theophany of Enoch 1973 and PD Miller The Divine Warrior in Early Israel 1973]"</ref>

==Style and audience==
Consisting of just [[Chapters and verses of the Bible|one chapter with 25 verses]], the Epistle of Jude is among the shortest books of the Bible.{{efn|Some versions of the New Testament refer to this chapter as "Jude 1".<ref name=jude1-8 />}} The [[Epistle to Philemon]] also contains 25 verses, while the 21-verse [[Book of Obadiah]], the 14-verse [[Third Epistle of John|3 John]], and the 13-verse [[Second Epistle of John|2 John]] are shorter.

The wording and syntax of this epistle in its original Greek demonstrates that the author was capable and fluent. The epistle's style is combative, impassioned, and rushed. Many examples of evildoers and warnings about their fates are given in rapid succession.

The epistle concludes with a [[doxology]], which is considered by [[Peter H. Davids]] to be one of the highest in quality contained in the Bible.<ref name=Davids2006>{{harvnb|Davids|2006|p=106}}</ref>

It may have been composed as an [[encyclical]] letter—that is, one not directed to the members of one church in particular, but intended rather to be circulated and read in all churches. While addressed to the Christian Church as a whole, the references to Old Testament figures such as Michael, Cain, and Korah's sons, the [[Book of Enoch]], and the invocation of James as head of the church of Jerusalem suggests a [[Jewish Christian]] main audience that would be familiar with Enochian literature and revere James.<ref name=Reicke1964/>

==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}}

==Surviving early manuscripts==
[[File:P078-Jud-1 4-5-POxy2684-III-IV.jpg|thumb|Jude 4, 8 on [[Papyrus 78]] ({{Circa|AD 300}}){{sfn|Aland|Aland|1987|p=101}}]]
{{See also|Textual variants in the Epistle of Jude}}
[[File:Colophon Alexandrinus Jude.JPG|thumb|Colophon of the Epistle of Jude in the Codex Alexandrinus]]
Early manuscripts containing the text of the epistle of Jude include:{{sfn|Robinson|2017|p=12}}
*[[Papyrus 72]] (3rd/4th century){{sfn|Aland|Aland|1987|pp=50, 87, 93, 100}}
*[[Papyrus 78]] (3rd/4th century; extant verses 4–5, 7–8){{sfn|Aland|Aland|1987|p=101}}
*[[Codex Vaticanus]] ('''B''' or '''03'''; 325–350)
*[[Codex Sinaiticus]] ('''{{lang|he|א}}''' or '''01'''; 330–360)
*[[Codex Alexandrinus]] ('''A''' or '''02'''; 400–440)
*[[Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus]] ('''C''' or '''04'''; c. 450; extant verses 3–25)<ref>[[Eberhard Nestle]], [[Erwin Nestle]], Barbara Aland and [[Kurt Aland]] (eds), ''[[Novum Testamentum Graece]]'', 26th edition, (Stuttgart: ''[[Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft]]'', 1991), p. 689.</ref>

==Identity of the opponents==
The epistle fiercely condemns the opponents it warns of and declares that God will judge and punish them, despite them being a part of the Christian community. However, the exact nature of these opponents has been a continuing question, as the epistle does not describe them in any more detail than calling them corrupt and ungodly. Several theories have been proposed.  The most specific verse describing the opponents is verse 8:
{{Blockquote|text=In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings.
|title=Jude 1:8 (NIV)<ref name=jude1-8>{{bibleverse|Jude|1:8|NIV}}</ref>
}}

Reject "authority" (κυριότητα, ''kyriotēta''; alternate translations include "dominion" or "lordship") could mean several things. The most direct would be rejection of civil or ecclesiastical authority: the opponents were ignoring guidance from leaders. [[Martin Luther]] and [[Jean Calvin]] agreed with this interpretation, and it is the most common one.<ref name="hillyer" /> Another possibility is that this specifically referred to rejecting the authority of Jesus or God, which would agree with verse 4 and be reinforcing the claim that these opponents are not true Christians.<ref name="hillyer" /> A third possibility is that this is the singular of [[Christian angelology#Dominations or Lordships|''kyriotētes'' (Dominions), a class of angels]].<ref name="hillyer">{{cite book |last=Hillyer |first=Norman |date=1992 |title=New International Biblical Commentary: 1 and 2 Peter, Jude |location=Peabody, Massachusetts |publisher=Hendrickson Publishers |page=247&ndash;250 |isbn=0-943575-87-7}}</ref> This would fit with the final part of the sentence of "heap abuse on celestial beings", but it is unusual that the singular is used. [[Textual variants in the Epistle of Jude|Versions of Jude]] vary, and some manuscripts such as the [[Codex Sinaiticus]] indeed use the plural form.<ref>{{harvnb|Donelson|2013|p=182}}.</ref>

"Heap abuse on celestial beings" is also a relevant statement, as it stands in some tension with the works of [[Paul the Apostle]] as well as the [[Epistle to the Hebrews]].<ref name=hillyer/><ref>{{bibleverse|Hebrews|1|NRSV}}</ref> Paul's undisputed works indicate that believers are already on the same level as angels, that all existing powers are subject to Christ, and believers are the future judges of angels.<ref name=Ehrman2012/> Later writings attributed to Paul such as [[Colossians]] and [[Ephesians]] go even further, with Colossians decrying the alleged worship of angels.<ref name= Ehrman2012/> A hypothesis is thus that the author may have been attacking forms of Pauline Christianity that were not suitably deferential to angels in their opinion. "Rejecting authority" may be a reference to Paul's preaching that gentiles did not need to comply with Jewish Law. As James was known to be a major figure among Jewish Christians, this might indicate tension between the more Jewish strands of early Christianity represented by James and Jude set against Paul's message to the gentiles.<ref name=Ehrman2012/>  However, the line about "heap abuse on celestial beings" might have essentially been just another insult, in which case this entire line of thought is rendered moot.

Another hypothesis is that the opponents may have been proto-[[Gnostic]]s, argued for by scholars such as {{ill|Hermann Werdermann|de}}. Proposed evidence in support of this includes that in verse 19, the opponents are called "worldly" (''psychikoi''), a term also used in relation to Gnosticism in other literature.<ref name="perrin" /><ref name="Rowston1975">{{cite journal |last1=Rowston |first1=Douglas J. |date=1975 |title=The Most Neglected Book in the New Testament |journal=New Testament Studies |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=554–563 |doi=10.1017/S0028688500010031 }}</ref> While it does seem that Jude may have been used to attack Gnostics in later centuries, other scholars think this was unlikely to be the original intent, as the opponents aren't described as having the signature doctrines of Gnosticism, and Gnosticism does not seem to have been a major force in [[first century Christianity]]. [[Richard Bauckham]], arguing against such a connection, writes that "If [Jude]'s polemic is really aimed against Gnosticism it is singularly inept."{{sfn|Bauckham|1983|pp=10-13}}

The inherent vagueness of the epistle means that the identities of these opponents may never be known.

==Similarity to 2 Peter==
{|class="wikitable floatright" 
|+ {{nowrap|Shared passages{{sfn|Robinson|2017|p=10}}}}
! 2 Peter !! Jude 
|-
|1:5 || 3
|-
|1:12 || 5
|-
|2:1 || 4
|-
|2:4 || 6
|-
|2:6 || 7
|-
|2:10–11 || 8–9
|-
|2:12 || 10
|-
|2:13–17 || 11–13
|-
|3:2-3 || 17–18
|-
|3:14 || 24
|-
|3:18 || 25
|-
|}
Part of Jude is very similar to [[2 Peter]] (mainly [[2 Peter 2|2 Peter chapter 2]]); so much so that most scholars agree that either one letter used the other directly, or they both drew on a common source.<ref>''Introduction to 2 Peter'' in ''Expositor's Bible Commentary'', Ed. F. E. Gaebelein, Zondervan 1976–1992</ref> Comparing the Greek text portions of 2 Peter 2:1–3:3 (426 words) to Jude 4–18 (311 words) results in 80 words in common and 7 words of substituted synonyms.{{sfn|Callan|2004|p=43}}

Because this epistle is much shorter than 2 Peter, and due to various stylistic details, most scholars consider Jude the source for the similar passages of 2 Peter.<ref name="saarinen2008">{{cite book |last=Saarinen |first=Risto |author-link=Risto Saarinen |date=2008 |title=The Pastoral Epistles with Philemon & Jude |url= |location= |publisher=Brazos Press |pages=215–218 |isbn=}}</ref><ref>Example supporters:<br/>{{cite journal|last= Callan |first= Terrance |title= Use of the Letter of Jude by the Second Letter of Peter |journal= Biblica |volume= 85 |year= 2004| pages= 42–64 | url= https://www.bsw.org/biblica/vol-85-2004/use-of-the-letter-of-jude-by-the-second-letter-of-peter/156/ }}<br/>{{harvnb|Bauckham|1983|p=8}}</ref>  2 Peter omits the reference to the non-canonical book of Enoch, or apocalyptic Jewish works in general; perhaps an indication of shifting attitudes of the early 2nd century, in the view where 2 Peter came later.<ref name="perrin" /><ref>[[Dale Martin (scholar)|Dale Martin]] 2009 (lecture). [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ9Gt_R5a-k "24. Apocalyptic and Accommodation"]. [[Yale University]]. Accessed July 22, 2013.</ref>

Advocates of the reverse are generally traditionalists who assign an early date to 2 Peter, such that it was published during Peter's lifetime.  
They argue that Jude 18 quotes [[2 Peter 3:3]] as past tense, and consider Jude to have come after 2 Peter.<ref>{{cite book |last=MacArthur |first=John |author-link=John MacArthur (American pastor) |date=2007 |title=1, 2, 3 John and Jude: Established in Truth, Marked by Love |url= |location= |publisher=HarperChristian Resources |series=MacArthur Bible |page=101 |isbn= |quote=...it is believed that Peter's writing predated Jude for several reasons: (1) Second Peter anticipates the coming of false teachers (2 Peter 2:1–2; 3:3), whereas Jude deals with their arrival (verses 4, 11–12, 17–18); and (2) Jude quotes directly from 2 Peter 3:3 and acknowledges that it is from an apostle (verses 17–18).}}</ref>

==References to other books==
[[File:Judas9.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Jude 9 on [[Codex Sinaiticus]] (c. 330–360)]]
The Epistle of Jude references at least three other books, with two ([[Book of Zechariah]] and [[2 Peter]]) being canonical in all churches, and the other ([[Book of Enoch]]) non-canonical in most churches.

{{anchor|Moses}}Verse 9 refers to a dispute between [[Michael (archangel)|Michael the Archangel]] and the [[devil]] about the body of [[Moses]]. Some interpreters understand this reference to be an allusion to the events described in Zechariah 3:1–2.<ref name=Davids2016>{{cite book|author1=Peter H. Davids|author2=Douglas J. Moo|author3=Robert Yarbrough|title=1 and 2 Peter, Jude, 1, 2, and 3 John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=opOGCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT240|year=2016|publisher=Zondervan|isbn=978-0-310-53025-1|page=240}}</ref><ref name=Lucas2014>{{cite book|author1=R. C. Lucas|author2=Christopher Green|title=The Message of 2 Peter & Jude|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sbadAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT168|date=2 May 2014|publisher=InterVarsity Press|isbn=978-0-8308-9784-1|pages=168–}}</ref> The classical theologian [[Origen]], as well as [[Clement of Alexandria]], [[Didymus the Blind]], and others, attributes this reference to the non-canonical [[Assumption of Moses]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf04.vi.v.iv.iv.html|title=Philip Schaff: ANF04. Fathers of the Third Century: Tertullian, Part Fourth; Minucius Felix; Commodian; Origen, Parts First and Second - Christian Classics Ethereal Library|website=www.ccel.org}}</ref> However, no extant copies of the Assumption of Moses contain this story, leading most scholars to conclude the section covering this dispute has been lost – perhaps a lost ending, since a story involving Moses's body would logically occur at the end.<ref>{{harvnb|Reicke|1964|pp=202&ndash;203}}.</ref><ref>Johannes Tromp. ''The Assumption of Moses: a critical edition''.  p. 270</ref>  Some scholars disagree; [[James Charlesworth]] argues that the Assumption of Moses never contained any such content, and other ancient Church writers supported a different origin.<ref name="OTP">James Charlesworth ''Old Testament Pseudepigrapha'', p. 76, [https://books.google.com/books?id=eRQ9AAAAIAAJ&q=Jude+Moses&pg=PA76 Google books link]</ref>

Verses 14–15 contain a direct quotation of a prophecy from 1 Enoch 1:9. The title "Enoch, the seventh from Adam" is also sourced from 1 En. 60:1.<ref>{{citation |url=https://intertextual.bible/text/1-enoch-60.7-jude-1.14 |title=intertextual.bible/text/1-enoch-60.7-jude-1.14}}</ref> Most commentators assume that this indicates that Jude accepts the [[antediluvian]] patriarch [[Enoch (ancestor of Noah)|Enoch]] as the author of the [[Book of Enoch]] which contains the same quotation. An alternative explanation is that Jude quotes the Book of Enoch aware that verses 14–15 are an expansion of the words of Moses from Deuteronomy 33:2.<ref>Charles R. ''Enoch'' OUP, p. 119</ref><ref>Nickelsburg G. ''1 Enoch'' Fortress</ref>

The Book of Enoch is not considered canonical by most churches, although it is by the [[Ethiopian Orthodox]] church.  According to Western scholars, the older sections of the Book of Enoch (mainly in the ''Book of the Watchers'') date from about 300 BC and the latest part (''Book of Parables'') probably was composed at the end of the 1st century BC.<ref>Fahlbusch E., Bromiley G. W., ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity: P-Sh'' page 411, {{ISBN|0-8028-2416-1}} (2004)</ref> 1 Enoch 1:9, mentioned above, is part of the [[pseudepigrapha]] and is among the Dead Sea Scrolls [4Q Enoch (4Q204[4QENAR]) COL I 16–18].<ref>Clontz, T. E. and J., ''The Comprehensive New Testament with complete textual variant mapping and references for the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, Josephus, Nag Hammadi Library, Pseudepigrapha, Apocrypha, Plato, Egyptian Book of the Dead, Talmud, Old Testament, Patristic Writings, Dhammapada, Tacitus, Epic of Gilgamesh'', Cornerstone Publications, 2008, p.711, {{ISBN|978-0-9778737-1-5}}</ref> It is largely accepted by scholars that the author of the Epistle of Jude was familiar with the Book of Enoch and was influenced by it in thought and diction.<ref>"Apocalyptic Literature" (column 220), ''[[Encyclopedia Biblica]]''</ref> The reference to [[fallen angel]]s suggests the possibility the author was familiar with related literature to Enoch such as the [[Book of Jubilees]] and [[2 Baruch]] as well.<ref name="perrin" />

The epistle also closely mirrors the [[Epistle of James]], with many similar sentences and borrowed phrases.<ref name=Ehrman2012/>

==Influence==
In general, Jude did not have much influence in later Christianity, not appearing often in sermons preached to laypeople nor in treatises by Christian theologians. The [[Baptists|Baptist]] preacher [[Charles Spurgeon]] used verse 19 as his text for at least one sermon.<ref>Spurgeon, C., [http://biblebaptistchurchnaples.org/pages/Library/Spurgeon/Vol.04/vol.04.167.html  The Holy Spirit and the One Church], Sermon 167 delivered on Sabbath Morning, 13 December 1857, accessed on 20 May 2025</ref>

Douglas Rowston, an Australian New Testament scholar, observed in 1971 that "Only its benediction may be familiar to an average churchgoer" and that "New Testament theologians have ignored the book".<ref name="Rowston1975" /> The Presbyterian writer Hywel Jones later observed that since Rowston's article was published, a "flurry" of academic studies of the letter emerged.<ref>Jones, H. R., [https://tabletalkmagazine.com/posts/jude-for-today/ Jude for Today: Preserving the Faith in the Church], ''Tabletalk'', published in September 2024, accessed on 20 May 2025</ref>

==See also==
* [[Textual variants in the Epistle of Jude]]
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== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book | last1 = Aland | first1 = Kurt | author-link = Kurt Aland | last2 = Aland | first2 = Barbara | author-link2 = Barbara Aland |translator-first=Erroll F. |translator-last=Rhodes | title = The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism | publisher = William B. Eerdmans | date = 1987 | orig-date = 1981 | location = Grand Rapids | isbn = 978-0-8028-4098-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Bauckham |first=Richard J. |author-link=Richard Bauckham |date=1983 |title=Jude, 2 Peter |series=[[Word Biblical Commentary]] |volume=50 |location=Waco, Texas |publisher=Word Books |isbn=0-8499-0249-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Davids|first=Peter H. |title=The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Letters of 2 Peter and Jude|date=2006 |publisher=Eerdmans |location=Grand Rapids, Michigan }}
* {{Cite book |last=Donelson |first=Lewis R. |title=I & II Peter and Jude: A Commentary |publisher=Westminster John Knox |date=2013 |orig-date=2010 |series=The New Testament Library |isbn=978-0-664-23980-0 }}
* {{cite book |last=Neyrey |first=Jerome H. |date=1993 |title=2 Peter, Jude: A New Translation With Introduction And Commentary |series=[[Anchor Bible|The Anchor Bible]] |volume=37C |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York |isbn=0-385-41362-9 }}
* {{cite book|last=Reicke|first=Bo|author-link=Bo Reicke|year=1964|title=The Epistles of James, Peter, And Jude|location=Garden City, New York|publisher=Doubleday & Company, Inc. |edition=1 |lccn=63-8221}}
* {{cite book | last= Robinson | first= Alexandra |title=Jude on the Attack: A Comparative Analysis of the Epistle of Jude, Jewish Judgement Oracles, and Greco-Roman Invective| series=The Library of New Testament Studies |publisher= Bloomsbury Publishing | year= 2017 |url= |isbn = 978-0567678799}}
<!-- * {{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/34452183|title=Canonical Exclusion or Embrace? The Use of Enoch in the Epistle of Jude|last=Vela|first=Tyler|date=2017|website=Academia.edu}} -->

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource|Jude (Bible)|Jude}}

* [http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?language=english&version=NIV&passage=Jude Jude at Bible Gateway] (various translations and versions)
* [http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/jude.html Early Christian writings: ''Epistle of Jude:'' comparable translations and interpretations]
* {{librivox book | dtitle=Jude | stitle=Bible Jude}}
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08542b.htm Epistle of St. Jude], article in a 1910 volume of the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Jude, The General Epistle of|volume=15|pages=536–538|first=Benjamin Wisner|last=Bacon|authorlink=Benjamin Wisner Bacon}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070614184904/http://www.wlsessays.net/authors/PQ/QuandtJude/QuandtJude.PDF An Exegesis of Jude], 1995 work by Michael Quandt
* [https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/jude/ BibleProject Animated Overview (evangelical perspective)]

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{{Books of the Bible}}
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[[Category:Epistle of Jude| ]]
[[Category:Antilegomena]]
[[Category:Catholic epistles|Jude]]
[[Category:Luther's Antilegomena]]
[[Category:New Testament books|Jude]]
[[Category:Jude, brother of Jesus]]