![\"Jude\"](\"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Jude.jpg\")
The author of the epistle simply identifies himself as “Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James”<\/span>. The word used here is “Ioudas” (\u1f38\u03bf\u03cd\u03b4\u03b1\u03c2)<\/a>\u00a0and is the Greek form of the Hebrew name “Judah”. Unfortunately, there are quite a few people in the New Testament with the name “Jude”<\/span>\/“Judas”<\/span>:<\/p>\n1. The Betrayer (& Apostle)<\/strong> 2.\u00a0The Apostle<\/strong> 3.\u00a0The Christian Prophet\u00a0<\/strong> 4. Kinsman of Jesus<\/strong> (a) He’s the only “Judas”<\/span>\u00a0that we know<\/a> of with a brother named “James”.<\/span><\/p>\n (b) It explains why the author doesn’t identify himself any further, since his brother James was the well-known leader of the Jerusalem Church<\/a>\u00a0after Peter’s departure.<\/p>\n In opposition to this identification, some have said that the text of Jude is too well-written to have been written by a \u00a0blue collar worker from Galilee. However, it should be noted that:<\/p>\n (a) First Century Galilee was almost certainly thoroughly bilingual, with tradesmen speaking both Aramaic and Koine Greek.<\/p>\n (b) We don’t know about the particulars of Jude’s education or aptitude for language.<\/p>\n (c) This letter may well have been written with the help of a scribe.<\/p>\n Not only is the authorship of the letter unclear, there’s not any easily dateable historical information within the letter. As a result, scholars suggest authorship dates ranging from 50s to the early Second Century. There are four\u00a0pieces of information which are significant in dating this document:<\/p>\n (a) Literary\u00a0Dependence\u00a0<\/strong> (b)\u00a0Indications of the end of the apostolic age<\/strong> (c)\u00a0Identifying the opponents<\/strong> (d)\u00a0Jewish themes<\/strong> For the purpose of this guide, we will assume that the epistle was authored\u00a0sometime in the 50s and 60s.<\/p>\n The recipients of this epistle are not explicitly identified.\u00a0The text does seem to suggest that the community to which Jude writes was one which was originally founded by apostles<\/a>. This, coupled with the strong Jewish flavour of the letter and references to apocryphal Jewish literature<\/a>, allows us to hypothesize that Jude was probably writing to a\u00a0community in Palestine.<\/p>\n What we can gather from the text is that the community to which he writes is\u00a0facing false teachers<\/a>. Jude warns his readers against them\u00a0and exhorts them to\u00a0hold fast to their faith by\u00a0deepening their understanding and wait patiently for the Lord.<\/p>\n To drive his point home, Jude draws on a examples from a number of different sources:<\/p>\n (a)\u00a0Old Testament<\/a><\/p>\n (b) Old Testament Apocryphal Documents<\/a><\/p>\n
\nJudas Iscariot (Mark 10:4<\/a>). Since he killed himself during the Passion, it can’t be this\u00a0man.<\/p>\n
\nJude Thaddaeus (Luke 6:16<\/a>,\u00a0Mark 3:18<\/a>). Some scholars suggest that he is the author of this letter.<\/p>\n
\nIn Acts of the Apostles we encounter a prophet named “Judas called Barsabbas”<\/span> (Acts 15:22<\/a>) sent by the Council of Jerusalem back to Antioch. Some scholars suggest that he\u00a0is the man behind this letter.<\/p>\n
\nOne of the four men identified in the New Testament as a “kinsman”<\/span> of Jesus is called “Judas”<\/span> (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3<\/a>). The majority of scholars think that this is the author of the letter. They\u00a0do this for two main reasons:<\/p>\nDate<\/h2>\n
\nThere’s a close relationship in content between this letter and 2 Peter.\u00a0Most scholars conclude that\u00a02 Peter drew material from\u00a0Jude. If we assign a probable authorship date of\u00a02 Peter to the early to mid-60s, Jude must have been written no later.<\/p>\n
\nThere are statements in the letter\u00a0<\/a>which could be understood\u00a0to suggest that the apostolic age has either ended or is\u00a0drawing to a close. If that is the case, it would push the date of composition later. However, these verses don’t necessarily have to be interpreted in this manner.<\/p>\n
\nIf the opponents described in the letter are Jews or Judaizing Christians, then the letter would be given an earlier date, when that was the main controversy in the Church. However, if the enemies mentioned in the letter are Gnostics, it would push the date later since this gnosticism didn’t arise until later in Church history.<\/p>\n
\nThe contents of the epistle assumes good knowledge of both the Old Testament<\/a> and extra-canonical Jewish writings<\/a> (1 Enoch<\/em> and The Assumption of Moses<\/em>). This suggests that the recipients of this letter were primarily of Jewish extraction, thus indicating\u00a0an earlier period of the Church’s history when the Church was still predominantly populated by Jews.<\/p>\nDestination<\/h2>\n
Themes<\/h2>\n