JUDE: INTRODUCTION TO THE LITERARY ANALYSIS

The complete analysis of this letter, of which the following is an abstract, may be obtained on request by contacting me at elmerphd21@hotmail.com.

Although this is a small letter, it contains a disproportionate number of difficulties: its relationship to II Peter is much debated, its authorship and date of composition are in doubt, almost a third of its verses contain textual problems, it quotes non-biblical texts authoritatively, some doubt its character as a general epistle, and the literary skill of the author has been variously assessed.

Regarding Jude’s literary abilities, the following can be offered in his defense. Neyrey remarks on the “stylistic sophistication of the letter...carefully crafted, with a skill and intent that commands attention and respect.” Two instances that may be cited as examples of this sophistication are (a) his extensive use of catchwords throughout the letter to tie together the various parts and (b) the presence of triplets, or triple elements, in practically every verse of the epistle. The question remains as to whether this attention to literary craft carries through to its structure. Such a study properly begins with division of the letter into its component parts.

 Section Divisions

 On the basis of the strong consensus found in the literature, any scholars proposing general divisions for Jude deviating from those shown below would be well advised to have persuasive evidence to back up their contentions. These divisions are based mainly on changes in subject matter, not on literary markers. They can also be correlated with the general elements found in ancient Greek letters as well as with accepted rhetorical categories.

    Section I: Jude 1-2 (opening)

    Section II: Jude 3-4 (body opening)

    Section III: Jude 5-16 (body of letter)

    Section IV: Jude 17-23 (body closing)

    Section V: Jude 24-25 (doxology)

However, two significant variations on this proposed structure should be noted (in addition to the expected combinations and/or subdivisions of these five sections). Neyrey includes v. 4 with Section III, and others see vv. 20-23 as constituting a distinct section.

Jude addresses his audience directly using the words “you” and/or “beloved” in vv. 1, 2, 3, 5, 17, 18, 20 and 24 (siding with the reading “beloved” in place of “sanctified” in Jude 1). These positions coincide reasonably well with the beginnings of the five sections shown in Fig. 1, and two of these opening verses (Jude 5 and 17) contain the related verbs “remind” and “remember.” The only unexpected feature is the phrase “you, beloved” in v. 20, which one would expect to also signal the start of a major section, but may be used to begin a new subsection instead.

Symmetry in Jude

Symmetrical elements in this letter have not gone unnoticed by commentators. In the first place, the sections that bracket the core of the letter (I- II and IV-V) possess certain stylistic and thematic similarities. Another form of symmetry proposed by Bauckman, later expanded by Towner, is that in which the two statements describing the theme of the letter are mirrored in the two major subsections of the letter’s body:

I. Occasion and theme of letter (vv. 3-4)

A. Appeal to contend for the faith (v. 3)

B. Background to the appeal; false teachers (v. 4)

II. Body of Letter (vv. 5-23)

B. Background to the appeal; false teachers (vv. 5-19)

A. Appeal to contend for the faith (vv. 20-23)

Adoption of this proposal would, however, lead to a complete reconsideration of the basic divisions of the letter.

Variations on divine names are sometimes chosen as literary markers, and a study of their distribution in Jude is indicative, if not totally determinative, of a chiastic relationship between the five sections.

Section I: “Jesus Christ” at start

Section II: “Lord Jesus Christ” at end

Section III: “Lord” at start, middle and end

Section IV: “Lord Jesus Christ” at start (and in middle)

Section V: “Jesus Christ” at end

Neyrey also detects “hints of a chiastic structure” in which Jude 4a is to be paired with v. 17.  Similarly, he characterizes Jude 3 and 17-23 as “exhortation[s] to agapetoifor faithfulness.”  The close connection between Jude 3 and vss. 20-23 is similarly noted by Green, among others. Specific words of theological import occur in these sections as additional evidence of their interrelationship: “saint/holy” and “faith” (in Jude 3 and 20), and “ungodly” (closely related Greek words at vv. 4 and 18 bracketing the four variant occurrences in v. 15). These identified parallelisms fit well the more completely formulated structure for Jude proposed by Kinser and shown in Fig. 1.

Figure 1: Chiastic Structure of Jude

I. Introduction and Greeting (vv. 1-2)

II. Statement of Problem (vv. 3-4)

A. Beloved, contend for the faith (v. 3)

B. False brothers, long ago designated, have come (v. 4)

III. Description of False Brothers (vv. 5-16)

II'. Solution to Problem (vv. 17-23)

B. False brothers were prophesied to come (vv. 17-19)

A. Beloved, build yourself up on your faith (vv. 20-23)

I'. Doxology (vv. 24-25)

Section III

It remains to flesh out the structure in Fig. 1 by investigating the body of the letter. Kinser detects a fourfold outline to the body of the letter but admits that it is derived from reading certain unstated concepts into the text. The present reading of Section III has much in common with that of Kinser in terms of division points but arranges the subsections so as to better bring out the literary relations between them.

                                                    Figure 2: The Structure of Section III

A. First Cycle (Jude 5-11)

1. Three OT examples of disobedience (vv. 5-7)

2. Description of the present ungodly men (vv. 8-10)

a. “these men” defile, reject and revile (v. 8)

b. Michael did not revile the devil (v. 9)

a'. “these men” revile and corrupt themselves (v. 10)

1'. Three OT examples of disobedience (v. 11)

A'. Second Cycle (Jude 12-16)

2. “These are”... [five metaphors] (vv. 12-13)

1. Enoch’s threefold prophecy against the ungodly (vv. 14-15)

2'. “These are”...[five descriptions] (v. 16)

(a) The center unit in each cycle quotes from an extra-canonical source.

(b) The enemies of the church are called “these” three times each in cycles 1 and 2.

Structure and Meaning

Beasley-Murray states that “ the structure is simple and pertinent to the theme announced in verses 3-4.”  The main problem is that these verses present two themes, one negative and one of a positive nature, and each has its champions. The emphasis in terms of number of verses is fairly obvious: “ It seems to be little but a string of denunciations.” (Green) On the other hand, Guthrie’s judgment is that Jude considered his epistle an exhortation of a positive nature. 

What does the present structural analysis say about this controversy? The chiasm pictured in Fig. 1 would appear to first focus the reader’s attention on Section III with its unrelenting criticism of the ungodly in the midst of the faithful. However, this section itself has no true center point (see Fig. 2). It also seesaws back and forth between past writings and present circumstances, in effect denying a midpoint to the letter. The end result is that one’s focus moves progressively from the middle of the epistle through the paired sections to the true points of emphasis in the opening and closing verses.

Thus, reading Jude from the middle outward, the train of theological thought can be reconstructed as follows:

1. “(The) alternative of unbelief was there from the beginning and is nothing new.” (14) However, God has reserved judgment for those who behave in such a godless manner (Section III).

            2. Although such men have now appeared in the midst of the believers, this is not an event that has caught God unawares, but was predicted long ago (IIB and II'B).

            3.Therefore, as believers, contend with these false teachers for the faith while building yourselves up spiritually (IIA and II'A).

            4. You can, however, have complete confidence in this struggle since the same God who called you is equally able to keep you (I and I').