The Pulpit Commentary — Jude — Section 5

VIII. LITERATURE OF THE EPISTLE, Among tho older commentaries or treatises on Jude may bs mentioned those by Mnnton (London, 1658); Jenkyn (republished, E,linburgh, 1863); WitsillS (Basle, li39); Schmid (Leipsic, 1768); Semler (Halle, 1782); Hasse (Jen&, 1786); Hanlein (Erll\ngen, 1799, 1804); Jessien (Leipsic, 1821); Schneckenburger (Stuttgardt, 1832); De Wette (Leipsic, 1847); Stier (Berlin, 1850); Arnaud (Strassburg, 1851); Rampf (Sulzbach, 1854); Gardiner (Boston, 1856), Wiesinger (in Olshausen, 1862); Schott (Erlangeo, 1863); Briickner (Leipsic, 1865, 3rd edit.). More recent are tbe following: Hormann's Commentary (in his 'Heilige Schrift,' etc., Nordlingen, 1876); Huther•~ (in Meyer; English translat.ion, Edinburgh, 1881); Keil's (Leipsic, 1883); Spitta.'s (Halle, 1885); Kiihl's (in Meyer, 1887); Burger's (in SLrack and Zockler's 'Kurzge- fasster Kommentar,' Nordlingea, 1888). The expositions in the following commen- taries on the whole New Testament also deserve notice, namely, those by Webster and Wilkinson, Alford, Words1vorth, and Reuss; those .in SchafI's 'Popular Commentary,' the • Speaker's Commentary' (by Lumby); Cassell's 'Commentary,' edited by Bishop Ellicott (by Plummer); Langc's' Commentary' (by Fronmiiller); ac.d the' Cambrid~" Series' (by Plumptre).  THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JUDE. EXPOSITION. Vers. 1, 2.-INSCRIPTION DESCRIPTIVE OF the Authorized Version. The curious fact WRITER AND READERS, AND CONVEYING SALU· has been noticed that this passage and TATION. Phil. i. 1 (in which latter, however, we have the plural form) are the only paBSages Ver. 1.-J'ndas, a servant of J'esns Christ, in which the Authorized Version inserts and brother of J'ames. The Epistle opens the definite article in the deRignation of with a designation of the author which is the author of any New Testament book. brief, consisting but of two terms, only He gives himself thus the same title as is remotely, if at all, official, and having adopted by the Jamee whose name heads nothing exactly like it in the inscriptions of another of the Catholic Epistles, and who other New Testament Epistles. The writer is ta.ken to be his brother. It is not certain, gives his personal name Jude, or rather, as however, what breadth of meaning is to be the Revised Version puts it, Judas. For ascribed to the phrase. The term, "servant while in the New Testament the Authorized of Jesus Christ," or its cognate, is used as a Version uses the various forms, Judas, general description of the Christian believer, Judah, Juda, and Jude, the Revised Version, a.part from all re'ference to any particular with better reason, adheres to the form Judas position in the Church (1 Cor. vii. 22, etc.; in all cases except those of the tribe and the Eph. vi. 6). It does not carry a strictly son of Jacob. The name was a familiar one officie.l sense. It seems never to designate the among the Jews, whose stock of personal apostolic office as such, unlesssomequa.lifying names was limited. This is seen in its clause is added. It stands without any such New 'festament use, Not to speak of its addition, it is true, in Phil. i. 1 and J as. i. l. occurrence as the name of the son of Jacob, But in the former it is applied to two com- and as the name of two individuals in the rades, one of whom is not an apostle; and in line of the ancestry of Jesus (Luke ill. 26, the latter the person so described is in all 30), it appears as the name of several probability not one of those who appear in persons belonging to New Testament times. the lists of the apostles. In other passe.ge11 These include one of the brethren of the (Rom. i. 1; Titus i. 1; 2 Pet.i. l) itis coupled Lord (Matt. xiii. 55 ; Mark vi. 3) ; the with the official term "apostle." It is apostle who is called in our Authorized claimed by some of the best expositors, Version "the brother of James," but who however, that in this passage, RS· ia some may rather be "the son of James" (Luke others, it has an intermediate sense, mean- vi. 16: John xiv. 22; Acts i. 13); the ing one who, while not an apostle proper, traitor Iscariot; the writer of this Epistle; was charged with the apostolio work of the rebel lender of Galilee (Acts v. 37); preaching and ministering. If that ie sc., the man of Dame.sous to whose house the writer presents himself as one occnpy- Ananias was direoted to go (Acts ix. 11); ing the kind of position which is assigned the delegote, surnamed Bars11.bas, who was to Barne.bas, Tiiuothy, and others in the sent with Paul and Barne.bas from the Book of the Acts. But he describes himself mother Church to Antioch (Aots xv. 22, further as the" brother of James." The title 27, 32). The writer attaches a twofold has nothing like it elsewhere in the inl!Orip- designation to his personal name. First, tions of the Epistles, and, as the particle he terms himself "a servant of Jesus which conneots it with the former clause Christ," as the Revised Version puts it, indicates, it points to something not merely not "the servant of Jesus Obrist," with additional, but distinoti ve. 'l'he distino- JUDE, B  'l'IJE GENERAL EPISTLE OF JUDE. [l-2li,