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Jude and 2 Peter. Andrew M. MbuviЧитать онлайн книгу.

Jude and 2 Peter - Andrew M. Mbuvi


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epistle, and perhaps a second; for it is questioned.”

      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


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