JUDE 9

Q: Jude refers to the archangel Michael disputing with the devil about the body of Moses. What’s that about? Should I know this story?

You should only be expected to know that story if you are a student of Old Testament pseudepigrapha.

Let me back up to explain.

The epistles of Jude and 2 Peter form an interesting pair. Peter lifts large portions of his letter directly from Jude since they are both dealing with the same problem of heretics and dissidents in the church body. Peter's letter is addressed to a mainly Gentile audience and he makes a reference to Tartarus in 2 Peter 2:4. According to Greek mythology, Tartarus was the lowest and worst part of hell reserved for the Titans, superhuman beings who rebelled against God. Does that mean that Peter actually believed in the Titans and other characters in Greek lore? Not at all, but it did form a common point of reference so that his audience could better understand what Peter was saying.

When we come to the Book of Jude, however, we are dealing with a document written for Jewish Christians. Thus, when Jude wishes to describe the behavior of some in the church who reject and slander all authority (verses 8 and 10), he gives the contrasting example of the archangel Michael who refused to condemn even the devil. This story comes from a Jewish tradition, perhaps found in the Testament of Moses, that when Michael came to bury Moses' body, Satan tried to claimed it because Moses was a murderer. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the Testament of Moses is pretty much limited to one 6^th century AD Latin translation of a document probably written much earlier.

There is one additional place where Jude quotes from a non-biblical tradition. Verses 14-15 are taken from I Enoch 1:9 (a collection of stories dating from 3^rd to 1^st Cent. BC). These non-canonical books are called pseudepigrapha – spurious or pseudonymous writings, especially Jewish writings ascribed to various biblical patriarchs and prophets but composed within approximately 200 years of the birth of Jesus.

Jude's practice is not that different from that of Paul, who quotes from pagan poets, philosophers and playwrights when talking to a Roman audience (“to the Greek I became as a Greek”). It can also be compared to a preacher mentioning a fictional character from a book or movie as a sermon example.

Some take the view that the story of Michael and the quotation from the patriarch Enoch must be historically accurate since Jude treats them as such. That is certainly a valid way to interpret these passages. However, that does not imply that Jude is endorsing everything written in these non-canonical books since they contain a great deal of historical and scientific nonsense as well.