Charles 2006: 357–412.
67. Kümmel 1975: 433; Bauckham 1983: 159–62.
68. Charles 1997: 45–75.
69. Green 2008: 149.
70. Serapion (ca. 180) is quoted by Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. 6.12.2) declaring about the Gospel of Peter,” “For our part, brothers, we revere both Peter and other apostles as [we revere] Christ, but the writings which falsely bear their name we reject” (emphasis added).
71. Bauckham (1983: 162) is aware of these arguments and does not think they disqualify the pseudepigraphy argument. Instead, he thinks that a more apt comparison of acceptance of 2 Peter as Petrine would be with Origen’s acceptance of Hebrews as written by Paul because it contains the apostles’ thoughts.
72. Witherington III 2007: 269–70.
73. Bauckham 1983: 158.
74. See Green (1987: 40–48) for a detailed presentation of the concerns with pseudepigraphy in 2 Peter. Peter H. Davids (2006: 149) seems to come to an impasse, concluding that there is no way of proving “from historical investigation” whether the Simeon Peter in the salutations is the disciple or a pseudepigrapher.
75. Green 1987: 51.
76. Bauckham 1983: 130–33.
77. Davids 2006: 148–49.
78. Kraftchick 2002: 74–75: Davids 2006: 145–49.
79. Davids 2006: 146.
JUDE
Letter Opening and Greeting (vv. 1–2)
1Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, the brother of James, to those who are beloved and called in God the father and are kept safe in Jesus Christ; 2Mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.
Jude’s letter greeting, while still in keeping with Jewish salutations, is slightly distinct from Paul’s “Grace and peace,” (Rom 1:8; 1 Cor 1:4–9; Phil 1:3–11; 1 Thess 1:2–4; 2 Thess 1:3; Phlm 4–7; 2 Tim 1:3–7) but is not a typical Greek letter greeting which was simply chairein (“Greetings”), as seen in James 1:1.80 Jude replaces chairein with heleos (mercy) where Paul usually uses grace, and adds Christian love (agapē), which Paul does not usually have in his greetings. Mercy (Hebrew—chesed) and peace, likely originate from the typical Jewish salutations of shalom (“peace”), which is more than just a wish for peace but includes the notions of wellness, prosperity, and wholeness.81 And since Jude ends the epistle with two mentions of mercy (v. 24), both of which are related to the safe keeping of the believers until eternal life, then it must also serve as an inclusio that encapsulates the eschatological context of the message.82
The author of this brief letter identifies himself as Jude (Grk. Judas or Judah), a common Jewish name (and calls himself a “slave of Jesus” and “brother of James” (cf. Matt 13:55; Mark 6:3). In ancient literature, it is typical to identify oneself as son of so and so, which makes Jude’s identification with his brother rather atypical.83 The most plausible reason for doing so would be that this brother is well known and highly regarded among the recipients of the letter. James, the brother of Jesus (also called the “Just”), had risen to become a leading member of the early Church in Jerusalem (Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; Gal 2:9, 12).
If this is the case, it is also peculiar that Jude chooses not to identify himself as the brother of Jesus but instead as a slave (doulos). However, it is no more peculiar than James (1:1) who in his epistle does not call himself “brother of Jesus” but uses the same exact phrase as Jude in identifying himself as, “a slave of the Lord.” As Bauckham explains it, “Palestinian Jewish-Christian circles in the early church used the title ‘brother of the Lord’ not simply to identify the brothers, but as ascribing to them an authoritative status, and therefore the brothers themselves, not wishing to claim an authority based on mere blood-relationship to Jesus, avoided the term.”84 This may be even more perplexing for Jude, however, if the majority of his audience was Gentile.
For most scholars then, the traditional identity of Jude as the brother of Jesus (Matt 13:15; Mark 3:21, 31, 6:3; John 7:5) remains the name’s most plausible identity.85 Scholars, nevertheless, remain divided as to whether Jude actually wrote the letter or someone else did so in his name (pseudepigaphy).86 Critics have pointed at, among other things, the erudite Greek language and rhetorical skill of the letter as evidence against Jude’s authorship.87 However, these and other concerns of authorship have been fairly convincingly answered by Baulkham, and more recently by Green.88
Undoubtedly, then, the word slave is here used metaphorically, as a description of the type of commitment that the author perceives himself as having toward Jesus who is the Christ (the Greek translation of the Hebrew/Aramaic mešiah (translated as Messiah, meaning anointed one or more accurately understood as one who is anointed by God for a special mission).89 Just as a slave is fully under the master’s ownership and lordship, Jude understands his place in this relationship as one where he is fully and wholly under Jesus’ lordship.
Given that slavery was not necessarily a desired status in the Greco-Roman world it is not necessarily an appealing self-descriptor. However, it was not uncommon for those who owned slaves to use them as spokespersons on their behalf. Such occasions vicariously infused the slave with vested authority by playing the role of a quasi vicegerent. By implication then, Jude is aware that slavery to Jesus brings a certain honor by association with the glorified Lord, while at the same time allowing him a semblance of humility.90 Parallels can be seen, in an Egyptian inscription where Primos and Ioukoundos, though described as “slaves of Caesar,” were highly regarded since they occupied the office of synagogue leader and president, and head of gymnasium, respectively:
In the 25th year of Caesar, on the 22nd of the month of Hathyr, at the assembly that occurred in Paratomos of the synod (synodos) of the god emperor Caesar Augustus, whose synagogue-leader (synagōgos) and president (prostatēs) is Primos, a slave of Caesar, and whose priest is Ioukoundos, a slave of Caesar, and whose head of the gymnasium is Alexandros, with most of the members assembled.”91
The same interplay between the honor and humility found in Jude is also present here. A biblical parallel is in Luke 14:15–24, depicting a parable of Jesus where the slave, acting on behalf of the master, is able to act violently against freepersons. The authority the slave exercises emanates not from himself, but from his master who invests him with authority.92
Besides connection with Jesus, Jude also claims to be a sibling of one with significant repute within the larger Christian community, and a leader of the church in Jerusalem—James (Acts 12:17; 15). Jude once again manages to stake a claim of authority while all the time retaining an air of humility.
The only difficulty with the title doulos (slave) would depend
