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The General Letter from
Y'hudah (Jude)
That this epistle was written by Jude, one of the twelve apostles of Christ, and not by Jude the fifteenth bishop of Jerusalem, who lived in the time of Trojan, a little before Bar Cocab, the false Messiah, as Grotius thought, is evident from his being called, in the epistle itself, the brother of James, and which is confirmed by all copies; and its agreement with the second epistle of Peter shows it to have been written about the same time, and upon the same occasion. As to Jude’s not calling himself an apostle, but a servant of Jesus Christ, it may be observed, that the latter is much the same with the former, and the Apostle Paul sometimes uses them both, as in Romans 1:1, Titus 1:1, and sometimes neither, as 1 Thessalonians 1:1, and sometimes only servant, as Jude does here (Philippians 1:1), though in some copies of the title of this epistle he is called "Jude the Apostle"; and as to Jude’s making mention of the apostles as if he was later than they, and not of their number (Jde 1:17), it may be returned for answer to it, that the Apostle Peter expresses himself much in the same manner (2 Peter 3:2) where some copies, instead of "us the apostles", read "your apostles" (2 Peter 3:2); moreover, Jude seems to cite a passage out of Peter, as Peter in the same chapter cites the Apostle Paul, which only shows agreement in their doctrine and writing; and at most it only follows from hence, that Jude wrote after some of the apostles, as Paul and Peter, who had foretold there would be mockers in the last time; and that Jude had lived to be a witness of the truth of what they had said; nor does he exclude himself from their number.
And that this epistle is a genuine one appears from the majesty of its style, the truth of doctrine contained in it, and its agreement with the second epistle of Peter, and from the early reception of it in the churches. Eusebius[a] says, it was reckoned among the seven catholic epistles, and was published in most churches; though he observes, that many of the ancients make no mention of it: but certain it is, that several of the ancient writers before him do make mention of it, and cite it as genuine, as Clemens Alexandrinus,[b] Tertullian,[c] and Origen;[d] and as for the prophecy of Enoch, cited in this epistle, it is not taken out of an apocryphal book, that bears that name, for the apostle makes no mention of any writing of his, but of a prophecy; and had he cited it out of that book, as it was truth, it can no more prejudice the authority of this epistle, than the citations made by the Apostle Paul out of the Heathen poets can affect his epistles: and whereas there is an account also given in this epistle of a dispute about the body of Moses, nowhere else to be met with, supposing it to be understood of his real body, of which Jde 1:9; this can be no more an objection to the genuineness of this epistle, than the mention of Jannes and Jambres, who withstood Moses, by the Apostle Paul (2 Timothy 3:8) is an objection to an epistle of his, whose names are not to be met with in other parts of Scripture; but were what were known by tradition, as might be the case here. The epistle is called “catholic,” or “general,” because it is not written to any particular person or church, but to the saints in general, and it may be to the same persons that Peter wrote his (see 1 Peter 1:1), and who seem to be chiefly the believing Jews (see Jde 1:5) though the Syriac version of Jde 1:1 reads, “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ” — ammel, “to the nations,” or “Gentiles, called,” &c. the design of the epistle to both is to exhort them to continue in the faith, and contend for it; and to describe false teachers, to point out their principles, practices, and dreadful end, that so they might shun and avoid them.
I. Greetings (1-2)
1Y'hudahJudah (Jude), a servant of Yeshua HaMashiachthe Messiah, and brother of Ya'akovJacob (“James”)[1], to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Yeshua HaMashiachthe Messiah: 2May you have a fulness of mercy, shalom,[GN] and love.
II. Occasion for the Letter (3-4)
A. The Change of Subject (3)
3My dear friends, while I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I felt it necessary to write to you urging you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.[GN]
B. The Reason for the Change: The Presence of Godless Apostates (4)
4For some people, who were long ago written about as being meant for this condemnation. have crept in secretly: ungodly men, who are turning the grace of our God into promiscuity,[4] and denying our only Master, and Lord, Yeshua HaMashiachthe Messiah.
III. Warning against the False Teachers (5-16)
A. Historical Examples of the Judgment of Apostates (5-7)
1. Unbelieving Israel (5)
5You already know this, but I need to remind you that Yeshua,[5] Who delivered the people out of the land of Egypt, later destroyed those who didn’t believe.
2. Angels who fell (6)
6And the angels who didn’t stay within their original domain, but deserted their own proper realm, He has kept in eternal chains in darkness until the Judgment of the Great Day.
3. Sodom and Gomorrah (7)
7And S'domSodom, 'AmoraGomorrah, and the surrounding cities, following the same pattern of sexual immorality and perversion, serve as a warning of the eternal fire that awaits those who will suffer punishment.
B. Description of the Apostates of Y'huda’s Day (8-16)
1. Their slanderous speech deplored (8-10)
8Nevertheless, these dreamers likewse defile their flesh, despise authority, and revile angelic beings. 9When Miyka'elMichael,[9a] the archangel, disputed with the Adversaey and argued about the body of MosheMoses, he dared not bring an abusive condemnation against him, but said, “May ADONAI rebuke you!”[9b] 10But these people speak lashon hara[GN] against things they don’t understand, and they are destroyed by things they instinctively understand, like unreasoning animals.
2. Their character graphically portrayed (11-13)
11Woe to them! They have gone the way of KayinCain, and for financial gain they have rushed headlong into the error of Bil'am, and perished in Korach’s rebellion[11]. 12These people are hidden rocky reefs in festive gatherings that are meant to foster love; they share your meals with you, fearlessly caring only for themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, ripped up by the roots; 13wild waves of the sea, casting up their oan shame like sea-foam; wandering stars for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
3. Their destruction prophesied (14-16)
14HanokhEnoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these people, saying, “Hinneh,[GN] ADONAI came with tens of thousands of His holy ones, 15to be the Judge of everyone and to convict all the godless for all their godless deeds they have done in a godless way, and for all the harsh words which godless sinners have spoken against Him.” 16These are grumblers and complainers; they follow their lustful passions; their mouths speak arrogant words, flattering people to their own advantage.
IV. Exhortation to Believers (17-23)
17But you, dear friends, remember the words that were foretold by the emissaries of our Lord Yeshua HaMashiachthe Messiah. 18They told you, “In the acharit hayamimLast Days there will be people who, guided by their own godless passions, will make a mockery of holy things.” 19These are the people who will cause division. They are worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit.
20But you, dear friends, keep building yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in Ruach HaKodeshthe Holy Spirit. 21Keep yourselves in God’s love, anxiously awaiting the mercy of our Lord Yeshua HaMashiachthe Messiah to eternal life. 22Make a distinction; have mercy on some who doubt, 23save others by snatching them out of the fire; on others have mercy in fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.
V. Concluding Doxology (24-25)
24Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and set you blameless and full of joy before the presence of His Sh'khinahthe glory of His presence, 25to the only God our Deliverer, through our Lord Yeshua HaMashiachthe Messiah be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. OmeinAmen.
a. Hist. Eccles. l. 2. c. 23. [BACK]
b. Paedagog. l. 3. c. 8. p. 239. & Stromat. l. 3. p. 431. [BACK]
c. De Cultu Foemin. l. 1. c. 3. [BACK]
d. In Josh. Homil. 7. fol. 156. E. & Comment, in Matth. p. 223. Ed. Huet. [BACK]
1. I personally find it extremely distressing that for the past 1,700 the “Church” has systematically attempted to remove everything Jewish from the faith that was originally a 100% Jewish sect called HaDerek (the Way), including the names and Jewish identity of the men and women in the Bible. Throughout the English Bible’s “Old Testament” there seems to be some effort made to retain at least some form of the original Hebrew names, but in the “New Testament” all the characters are given English names to hide their Jewish ethnicity. The name “Ya'akov” is translated “James” only in the “New Testament” (the guidebook for the Gentile Church). In the “Old Testament” (the guideboook for the “obsolete” Jewish religion), the same word is translated “Jacob.” Throughout my commentary I have attempted to retain the ethnic identity of the people of the Scriptures. [BACK]
4. Promiscuity. Greek ἀσέλγεια aselgeia: unbridled lust, licentiousness, lasciviousness, excess, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence. [BACK]
5. Why do different English translations render Jude 5 differently? Some say that it was “the Lord” who delivered the people out of the land of Egypt, some say it was “God” who delievered them, and yet others declare that it was “Jesus” who delivered them. Which one is right? Read this. [BACK]
9a. Michael, Hebrew מִיכָאֵל, Miyka'el (“who is like God”): one of only two ruling angels, or archangels, recognized by Judaism and Christianity. Miyka'el is described as the one who stands in time of conflict for the children of Israel, the chief “Guardian Angel” of Israel. Gabriel (Hebrew layrbg, Gabriy'el, “warrior of God”) is the only other angel named in the canon of Scripture, and Raphael (רְפָאֵל, “God Heals”) is mentioned in the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit. Jewish literature, such as the Book of Enoch and some of the Kabbalistic texts, also mentions Metatron (מֶטָטְרוֹן) as an archangel, called the “highest of the angels”, though the acceptance of this angel is not canonical in all branches of the faith. [BACK]
9b. Evangelicals who go about “rebuking” evil spirits shoud note that HaShem’s chief warrior angel did not dare do such a thing. The consequences could be catastrophic for a mere mortal. [BACK]
11. Korach’s failed attempt to overthrow Moses, Parshah Korach, Numbers 16:1–18:32. [BACK]
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ANXIOUSLY WATCHING FOR MASHIACH’S RETURN,
SPEEDILY AND IN OUR DAY. MARANA, TA!
