PULPIT COMMEN'f ARY, EDITED DY THE
VERY REV. H. D. M. SPENCE, D.D., DEAN OB' GLOUOESTEB;
AND BY T1lB
REV. JOSEPH S. EXELL, M.A.
JUDE. ~xposftion an'b ~omflttfct BY REV. S. D. F. SALMOND, M.A., D.D., l'DOFESSOB OF THEOLOGY, FBEE OHUBCll COLLEGE, A.IIEJWEE!I',
~omflies b~ 'Various !&utbora. REV. PROF. T, CROSKERY, D.D. REV. J. S. BRIGHT, D.D REV. R. FINLAYSON, B.A.
NEW EDITION.
FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY LONDON AND NEW YORK 1907 THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JUDE. INTRODUCTION.
I. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. Tms short Epistle holds a singular place among the New Teof.~ment books. Its authorship, its date, the circle of its readers, the evils against which it is directed, and indeed almost all points connected with its literary history, are the subjects of keen dispute. The most opposite verdicts have been ,pronounced, and continue to be pronounced, on its title to a position in the canon, on its doctrinal value, on its ~orth as a mirror of the condition of the primitive Church. There are things in it which have no proper parallels in the canonical Scriptures. It is not too much to say that the New Testa- ment nowhere else presents so many strange phenomena, or raises so many curious questions within so narrow a space. It has a character which makes one feel how different it is even from writings like the Second Epistle of Peter, which it seems most to resemble. Its style is broken and rugged, bold and picturesque, energetic, vehement, glowing with the fires of passion. In the build of its sentences it is more Aramaic than Greek, but it has at the same time a considerable command of strong, varied, and expressive terms. Hebrew phrases and idioms betray the Jewish training and Jewish standpoint of the writer. It combines some of the peculiar features of Old Testament prophecy with those of the Jewish .Apocalyptic literature. Its general character is given with sufficient point by Origen, in a well-known sentence. "Jude wrote nn Epistle," he says, in his Com- mentary on Matthew, "consisting of few lines, indeed, but filled with the vigorous words of he:i.renly grace."
II. Tl'fLE, AND ORDER OF TllOUGilT. _!I'he title of the Epistle appears in a variety of forms, and these are of some interest. The older the document, the simpler the title. The two most ancient and va.luable manuscripts, the Sinaitic and the Vat.ican, give ii INTRODUCTION TO
nothing more th11,n the single word II Jude." The Codex Alexandrinus, with 1,ome others of high quality, is content with the heading, " The Epistle of J ode," and leaves the question of the author's identity untouched. Later the title expands into such forms as these: 11 The Epistle of Jude tho Apostle," "The Epistle of the Holy Apostle Jude," "The Catholic Epistle of Jude," "The Catholic Epistle of St. Jude," "The Catholic Epistle of the Apostle Jude," "The Catholic Epist.le of the Holy Apostle Jude," 11 The Epistle of Jude the Brother of James." One very late manuscript ventures to give .Tude the designation &.8,:>..4>00,:6~, " brother of God." The order of thought is clear enough. The Epistle begins with an inscription (vers. 1, 2), which resembles in some respects the introductions to the Epistles of Peter and Paul, but has at the same time its own peculia.rities. This is followed by an explanation of the object and occasion of writing (vers. 3, 4). The writer next indicates the gravity of the circum- stances to which he is to call attention, by setting in the foreground three exceptional instances of the Divine vengeance (vers. 5-7). He then describes, in scathing terms and by contrast with archangelic reserve, the character and conduct of the men he combats (vers. 8, 9). The description breaks for an instant into a vehement denunciation (ver. 11). It is at once resumed and connected with declarations made by most ancient prophecy on the subject of the Lord's judicial advent (vers. 12-16). Next comes an appeal to the readers to be mindful of former apostolic warnings (vers. 17, 18) ; which appeal is followed by yet another description of the men in question-short, sharp, and penetrating to the radical evil (ver. 19). The Epistle then turns to counsels to the readers on the two great questions_:. how to protect themselves against the perversion which has seized others, and how to conduct themselves towards the men in whom that perversion in different degrees has appeared (vers. 20-23). The whole is brought to a solemn and tranquil conclusion by a doxology which touches once more both the danger a.nd the security (vers. 24, 25).
ill. AUTHORSHIP OF THE EPISTLE. In addition to the traitor Jndas Iscariot, another Jude appears in the lists of the apostles. In the Gospel histories he is entirely in the back- ground, there being, indeed, but a single occasion on which he is reported to have taken an active part even in speech. That is during our Lord's dis- course previous to his going forth to meet his betrayal; when this one of the twelve breaks in with the question, "Lord, how is it that thou. wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?" (John xiv. 22). But in the apostolic lists he is introduced along with James the son of Alpheus, Simon Zelotes, and Judas Iscariot. He is generally identified with Lebbeus and Thaddeus (Matt. L 3 ; Mark iii. 18), although some have attempted rather to make Levi one with Lebbe118. He is also called" Jude of James" (Luke vi. 16)-a phrase which the Authorized Version renders, " Jude the brother THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JUDE. ill