Monday, March 13, 2017

The Epistle of Jude

The epistle of Jude is a remarkable piece of literature. Yet, in spite of its originality in style, vocabulary and imagery, one is hard-pressed to find a single monograph in this century dealing exclusively with exegetical or theological issues raised by the epistle. Much discussion of Jude has traditionally been centered around the epistles literary relation to 2 Peter. Rather than treating the question of literary dependence, however, the present analysis represents an attempt to focus on literary strategy. By means of strategic use of OT themes and characters and extra-biblical Jewish sources, the writer, employing a concise and pungent literary style, mounts a sharp polemic against his opponents who are distorting the faith. He has marshalled selected pieces of Jewish haggadah that are recognized as conventions of his day, for the purpose of addressing specific pastoral needs in the Christian community. Use of particular sources may in some way be reflective of the readers' devotion to the Hebrew scriptures and/or Jewish pseudepigraphical literature.

It should be noted that allusions in Jude to extracanonical source material are appropriate inasmuch as they amplify particular OT notions that the writer will incorporate into his literary-theological strategy. Although not a single explicit citation from the OT is found in Jude, the brief epistle is nonetheless replete with examples of prophetic typology. No fewer than nine subjects; unbelieving Israel, the fallen angels, Sodom and Gomorrah, Michael the archangel, Moses, Cain, Balaam, Korah, and Enoch; are employed to counter certain ungodly "antitypes" who have "wormed their way in" among the faithful, thus posing a danger to the community of faith (v. 4).

Specific use of Jewish tradition-material in Jude would suggest a deliberate exegetical strategy on the part of the writer; a strategy reflective of the Jewish matrix of early Christianity. Not unlike commentary on the OT found in Qumran pesharim, the epistle of Jude links prophetic types of the past with the present. The writer hereby has modified texts or traditions to suit his particular need.

Not unlike the epistle to the Hebrews and James, Jude shows a familiarity with the Jewish haggadic tradition. The writer's use of tradition-material, moreover, reflects audience's familiarity with broader Palestinian-Jewish traditions as well. The writer takes great liberty in the synthesis of OT and extracanonical material for use in the present situation. In the hands of the haggadist illustrations from the past are united with the needs of the present in a forceful and thoroughly Jewish mode.

The Antithesis of the Ungodly and the Faithful

The fundamental dichotomy expressed in the epistle is the tension between the ungodly and the faithful. In addition to the general antithesis in Jude between the ungodly and the faithful, numerous other contrasts or contradictions appear; indeed, they are rampant. Both synonymous and antithetic parallelism are exploited for maximum effect in this short epistle. The writer is a true interpreter of Israel's wisdom of old.

In vv. 5-7 unbelieving Israel, the rebellious angels, and Sodom and Gomorrah all serve to illustrate a crucial point. Each departed from a normal condition, thus undergoing judgment and subsequent disenfranchisement. Unbelieving Israel, after having been delivered once for all from Egypt, was destroyed "the second time". The angels, who had not "kept" their rule, have hence been "kept" for "the judgment of the great day." And the cities of the plain presently serve as an example of divine judgment.

The second triad of ungodly appears in v. 11. Cain, Balaam, and Korah are united by means of a woe-cry, and each is signified by a formula; "the way of Cain," "the error of Balaam," "the rebellion of Korah"; which would suggest that a standardization of type had already been formulated in Judaistic circles. The three verbs of v. 11 describe three levels of ascending gravity. First they walk, then they abandon, and finally they perish.

One of the most central of OT themes is that of Yahweh's "coming." This appearance is frequently in the context of judgment and destruction.

Note the extent to which the OT furnishes the source of many details and motifs found in these works. Specifically, the Enoch prophecy (1 Enoch 1:9), cited in Jude 14-15, is explicitly derived (cf. 1 Enoch 1:4) from the blessing of Moses in Deuteronomy 33:2-3: The Lord came from Sinai And dawned over them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones From the south, from his mountain slopes. Surely it is you who love the people, All the holy ones are in your hand.

A feature not uncommon to the OT and Jewish apocalyptic literature in general is the notion of names written in heavenly scrolls. These "heavenly books" reflect a religious self-understanding fundamental to Hebrew thought, namely that the divine purpose, though hidden from human view, is predetermined and revealed in history. These books point to the divine foreknowledge by which "the chosen" of Israel were called to be Yahweh's own possession and, hence, his instruments. Reminiscent of Psalm 69(68):29 ("May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous"), Jude 4 refers to the ungodly as of "those whose judgment was written down long ago").

In Jude historical paradigms are marshalled chiefly to warn against the cancer of apostasy. Having formerly experienced the effects of God's redemptive work and having chosen to disregard this, they have effectually denied the Sovereign Lord. Evidence is compounded against the guilty. The writer calls up exhibit after exhibit as supporting proof of his argument. The past, in Jude, explains the present and serves as a token for the future.

Significantly, neither the OT nor the NT makes any explicit reference to the fall of the rebellious angels, although the NT implies the notion of Satan as a fallen chief angel among many who was cast down (cf. Luke 10:18; John 12:31; Rev 12:4, 7, 9, 10)

Corresponding typology from the OT to the fallen angels of Jude might conceivably be drawn from two portions of the prophetic corpus. In Isaiah 14:5-23 we find a taunt against the king of Babylon, who seeks to raise his throne "above the stars of God" and thereby make himself like the Most High. He is consequently "cast down" and "brought low." Ezekiel 28:1-19, a prophetic funeral dirge against the king of Tyre, reflects a similar scenario, in which the king boasts that he is a god. As a result of his splendor he becomes corrupted and is thus "cast down." The portraits in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, both of which in their design resemble Canaanite creation myths, enunciate the same principal reason for the king's demise. What unites these two figures with the angels of Jude 6 is their status: both are stripped of their exalted rank.

Consistently throughout the OT and Jewish literature the example of Sodom and Gomorrah stands out. Sodom's overthrow is reiterated again and again (e.g., Deuteronomy 29:23; 32:32; Isaiah 1:9-10; 3:9; Jeremiah 23:14; 49:18; 50:40; Ezekiel 16:46-59; Amos 4:11). Most striking about OT depiction of Sodom is its flaunting of sin (Genesis 19:4-5, 12; Isaiah 1:9; Jeremiah 16:49-50) and the permanent nature of its judgment; the prophet enunciates that no man would henceforth live there (Jeremiah 49:18; 50:40). In intertestamental Jewish literature, Sodom remains a paradigm for the certain and consuming nature of divine judgment: "In the same way God will bring judgment on places where the people live by Sodom's uncleanness, in accordance with the judgment of Sodom" (Jub:16:5); "But you, my children, shall not be like that . . . discern the Lord who made all things, so that you do not become like Sodom, which departed from the order of nature"

For Jude, Sodom and Gomorrah are the type par excellence of the finality of divine judgment. In the words of the writer, the fate of these cities is always open to exhibit.

Cain, in the OT, is said to have brought as an offering to the Lord the fruits, Genesis 4:3) of the earth, whereas his brother Abel is said to have brought firstfruits, Genesis 4:4). The Lord consequently looked upon Abel with favor, but not Cain. To the Jewish mind, Cain represents the epitome of wickedness, the prototype of ungodliness. He is the first man in the Hebrew scriptures to defy God and despise man. It is significant that the rabbis, taking note of the wording of Genesis 4:10 ("your brothers' bloods cry out"), charge Cain with destroying a whole world, for the Scriptures themselves point both to "his blood and the blood of his succeeding generations."

Numbers 22-24 is given to the account of Balaam, son of Beor. This material constitutes a mixed review of the Midianite prophet. In Numbers 31:16, Deuteronomy 23:4-5, Joshua 13:22 and 24:9, Nehemiah 13:2, and Micah 6:5, however, Balaam is portrayed as a negative memorial, having hired himself out to curse Israel. More importantly, Balaam led Israel into idolatry and immorality at Baal-Peor. In rabbinical thought Balaam represents the antithesis to Abraham. Three qualities associated with the latter were a good eye, a lowly mind, and a humble soul. Balaam, contrarily, was characterized by an evil eye, a haughty mind, and a proud soul.

The "deception" of Balaam" is the deception of selfish profit. Balaam typically "loved the wages of wickedness.

The third of the prophetic triad in Jude 11, Korah, is perhaps the most arresting illustration of insubordination in all the OT. It is he who challenged the authority of the man who talked with God (Numbers 16). Moreover, siding with him were 250 men among Israel's leaders. Along with the men of Sodom, Korah and his following, according to the rabbis, would find no place in the world to come. In its effects, Korah's fate is commensurate with his deed.

Cain, Balaam, and Korah are united in Jude by means of a woe cry. Although the woe-cry in the OT is found in several contexts; e.g., the call to attention, mourning the dead, a cry of excitement, a cry of revenge, and the announcement of doom; the vast majority of incidents fall in the latter category. In the mind of the prophets, the promise of judgment was synonymous with judgment itself. Most likely initially derived from a funerary setting, the woe-cry came to incorporate a vengeance pattern, and hence, a "reversal" image. The trio of v. 11 foreshadows the fate of Jude's adversaries who blaspheme (vv. 8, 10). With a cry of condemnation and the threat of divine vengeance hanging over their heads, Jude's opponents await the execution of irrevocable judgment.

Building upon the implied notion of demonic conflict, Jude assumes his readers' acquaintance with an apocryphal tradition concerning a dispute over Moses' body, traces of which appear to be gleaned from Deuteronomy 34:5-6, Numbers 27:12-13, Daniel 10:13 and Zechariah 3:1-2.

Keeping the contextual flow of vv. 8-10 in mind, we note a superior-inferior dichotomy at work. As the faithful are to Michael, so the ungodly are to the devil. The latter boast and blaspheme yet are inferior. The choice of Jude's vocabulary may be a case of his exploiting the language of his adversaries. They view themselves as superior in knowledge and thereby justify their actions; they are, nevertheless, as unreasoning animals. Michael as a paradigm presents the irony of true spirituality; humble recognition of spiritual powers over against mindless profanity.

The epistle of Jude constitutes a brief yet forceful polemic against those who represent a threat to the community of faith. The writer draws upon literary sources that apparently are readily recognized by his audience. This entails select pieces of Jewish haggadah; rooted in the Hebrew scriptures and extracanonical Jewish tradition; that are tailored to address specific pastoral needs. A fundamental tension stretching throughout the epistle; the antithesis of the ungodly and the faithful; is strengthened by the use of auxiliary contrasts. A primary focus has been to consider the writer's application of typological exegesis, by which familiar models of behavior associated with Jewish history are brought to bear on the present. In our attention to the writer's use of sources that reflect specific needs and a unique historical setting, the task of interpreting this obscure epistle is abetted when informed by an adequate explanation of why Jude has chosen particular sources. To determine the function of a writer's resources is to unveil a literary strategy at work. Literary strategy presupposes a conscious and deliberate manipulating of literary "brick and mortar." The writer's exegetical method, we come to observe, is indivisible from his message. The epistle of Jude demonstrates the extent to which OT and NT writings are rooted in culture. Substance is communicated through literary form. In Jude the reader discovers theological truth wrapped in literary arguments of the day. The "brick and mortar," it is discovered, carry significant weight with the audience and are utilized by a master craftsman to achieve specific rhetorical effects and address pastoral need. Being cognizant of the writer's exploitation of the surrounding cultural milieu assists the modern reader in disentangling the historical situation of the letter. The epistle of Jude thus acquires profound significance for the community of faith down through the ages while at the same time retaining a high degree of relevance for today. It is perhaps no exaggeration to suggest that there have been periods of church history in which "the most neglected book in the New Testament" was in fact the most relevant book of all.

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