The Two-Hundred-Seventy-Third (Jude Part 1)

We’re going to start a study on Jude this week, and as a part of the study we’re going to take a look at the differences between the Hebrew manuscripts and the Greek version that we all know from our bibles.  We’ve talked about these manuscripts before, but we’ll remind ourselves of their background as well.  The letter from Jude is quite an interesting one, but short, so hopefully there will be something in our study that is new or interesting to you!

As far as a background on the Hebrew manuscripts, they have been around for centuries.  You may have heard about the Hebrew Shem Tov versions of the gospels, which actually manipulate verses and words to make Yeshua out as not the Messiah.  You also may have heard about the Syriac Peshitta version of the New Testament, which is actually translated from the Greek version.  The Hebrew manuscripts we’re looking at today are neither of these.  

These manuscripts were ignored for the longest time for various reasons.  One of these reasons is believed to be because they used the Catalan names to hide their true origin, which is a dialect from Spain.  These Catalan names made it look like the Hebrew manuscripts were translated from some other language vice being originally Hebrew, during a time in which having non-Latin translations of scripture was an act punishable by death.  They also included introductions that made them seem like they were translated from some other language for the same reason.

These Sephardic (from Spain/Portugal) manuscripts were found in libraries in various parts of the world, including the Vatican.  They have been studied closely and transcribed and translated into English so we now have the opportunity to study them alongside our Greek versions.  What I’ve found through my studies is that these manuscripts help to alleviate some confusion we find in our Greek versions.  It’s not that they should completely replace what we have on our shelf, but should be brought alongside for our studies just like we bring alongside other English translations that have been made over time.  If you want more information on these manuscripts or want to download your own copy of their translations, you can do that here.  

The first thing to recognize about Jude’s letter is that not only does it include apocalyptic type language, it also has some interesting references in it.  Some of these references seem a bit random and out there, but they all coalesce into one message that Jude was trying to get across to his audience: there is evil infiltrating the body of believers and they need to recognize that, strengthen themselves against it through the Holy Spirit, and continue to spread the gospel until Yeshua returns.  He also alludes to being in the “last times,” the definition of which is still hotly debated by believers today.

As with any letter, Jude begins with a greeting (Jude 1-2) and ends with a closing (Jude 24-25), usually called a doxology among Christians.  In his greeting, we find out that he is actually the brother of, in the Greek version, James, who was one of Yeshua’s disciples that then became an apostle and wrote his own letter to believers that’s contained in what we typically call the New Testament.  This is where we find our first major difference between the Greek and Hebrew because James’ actual name is Jacob.  It’s believed that King James desired to “write himself in” to scripture, so he had all the instances of Jacob’s name translated to James instead, and that translation has stuck for centuries through tradition.

Regardless, we also find another difference in this greeting in that the Greek version provides a much different description for the believers to which Jude is writing.  While the Greek states that Jude’s audience is the called ones, loved by YHWH and kept in Yeshua, the Hebrew describes them as set apart in YHWH and hidden in Yeshua.  It’s interesting because the Greek seems to align more with the Greek ideas in the New Testament of being called out and being kept, while the Hebrew seems to align more with the Hebrew ideas that trace back to the Old Testament of being a people set apart by YHWH and being in the hiding place, or shelter, of YHWH (Psalm 32:7, Psalm 61:4).

The other minor difference in this greeting is that the Greek omits the source of the mercy, peace and love which Jude desires the audience receive.  In the Hebrew, it’s made very clear where it comes from.  The wording desires that YHWH provide the reader with love, faithfulness, peace and mercy.  

The next verse is where things start to get very interesting (Jude 3).  The overall message in this verse is the same idea between the Greek and Hebrew versions, however the Hebrew expresses it in a much more harsh tone.  Apparently, Jude had originally decided to write about the truth of their salvation (or sanctification, in the Hebrew), but had to change his mind and instead write about strengthening in their faith.  In the Greek, the tone is much softer, saying he “felt it necessary” to change the topic, but in Hebrew it says instead that he had to rebuke them through scriptures regarding strengthening their faith.  We’ll get more into what that statement means in a minute.

The question is why he felt the need to change his message, and he explains in the next verse (Jude 4).  There were wicked people, in the Greek called ungodly, that had come into a certain group (which we’ll define later) and they didn’t believe (we’ll specify that later as well).  These false believers, according to both versions, were already designated for condemnation, or punishment.  

This is the first example in Jude’s letter where there is a significant difference between the Greek and Hebrew versions.  Starting with the Greek, it seems that Jude is talking about the group of believers he’s writing to and that these ungodly people had infiltrated them.  The Hebrew however, provides a much different message.  

First, we have to take a moment to jump to the next verse (Jude 5).  In both the Greek and Hebrew versions, Jude talks about the exodus of Israel from Egypt.  The problem is that in the Greek version this transition and the follow on verses seem to be a drastic change in subject.  First, Jude is talking about the body of believers in his time, then he jumps back a millennium to talk about Israel for some reason.  Not only that, he starts talking about destroying the unbelievers, locking up rebellious angels, and the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah (Jude 5-7).  

The tie in of unbelievers being common between all these things is weak at best.  I mean, why would he focus so much on just that?  He’s writing to the true believers, not these unbelievers, so why would he then focus so hard on the punishment of unbelievers?  To try and convince them not to go down that path?

The Hebrew version ties all these things in much more soundly in that Jude is talking about the body of true believers of Israel at the time of the exodus to begin with, not the believers alive in his time.  He states that these false believers didn’t even believe in YHWH, let alone His Messiah, and because of this they hindered YHWH’s love in their arrogance.  This aligns with the account of multiple groups among Israel having the judgment of death imposed upon them because of the actions they took from their unfaithfulness (Exodus 32:26-30, Numbers 16).  

To be clear, this does not negate the idea presented in the Greek version at all.  Jude was obviously trying to send a warning to the believers of his time about unbelievers infiltrating them and spreading unfaithfulness and false doctrine, and I’m sure he was doing this based on seeing that it was happening already.  His message is just as true today as it was then and in ancient Israel, maybe even more so.  The point is that what we read in the Hebrew version provides more clarity in the message because the examples Jude provides better tie in together.  Additionally, this clarity extends all the way back to verse 3, because according to the Hebrew version, Jude stated he was going to give the message to his audience by using examples from scripture.

Now, fully moving to the next verse in our study, we’ve got a couple more examples of minor differences between the Greek and Hebrew, and in one of those there is an indication that the Hebrew version is actually the original language this letter was written in (Jude 5).  Before we get to that one though, the other difference is that in the Hebrew version Jude specifies that YHWH killed the unbelievers two times, which is an interesting detail to add.  It’s not clear what he’s specifically referring to, but the notes of the translators suggest the possibility of either referring to the second death in the final judgment or events like the Korah rebellion we referenced earlier, where the leaders were killed and then the people that complained about this judgment were killed the next day.  Whatever the reference is, it’s interesting to note this difference between the two versions.

The difference that seems to indicate the Hebrew version is the original is where the subject of this sentence is gapped, meaning not included, in the Hebrew but in Greek it is included.  Gapping, in various forms, is common in ancient Hebrew, and requires the reader to use deduction, through context, in order to determine what has been gapped.  Translators, in general, desire to create translations that are not confusing though, so they have a tendency to include things that are gapped, based on what they interpret those things to be.  This is seen in many places when you compare the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament with the original Hebraic manuscripts.    

The fact that the Greek provides a subject in this verse is highly suggestive of it not being the original version, but there’s something else about it that essentially confirms this hypothesis.  You may find, depending on the version of your bible, a footnote stating that some Greek manuscripts include Yeshua here, while others say “the Lord.”  Still others say God, and in fact the very oldest Greek manuscript says “God Christ.”  If Greek was the original language this letter was written in, why so many variations among Greek versions regarding who verse 5 is talking about?  None of these Greek words could be confused with each other, so it can’t be a transcription error.  The most likely, and logical, explanation is that the Greek was translated from some writing in which the subject was not included, and in an effort to provide more clarity about who Jude was talking about they inserted who they thought it was.

In terms of the Hebrew version, where this subject is gapped, is there any context provided in order to understand who Jude was referring to?  We know from Exodus that YHWH was in direct communication with Moses as far as leading Israel out of Egypt.  However, there is also a case to be made that a being referred to throughout the Old Testament as the “Messenger (Angel) of YHWH” is actually the pre-incarnate Yeshua, and that He was involved in leading Israel out of Egypt.

Unfortunately, both YHWH and Yeshua were referenced in the Hebrew of the previous verse, the version where the subject is gapped, so there’s no definitive answer from the text.  This is likely why there are multiple versions in Greek, to include a combination of God and Christ.  Personally, I take the view that Jude is referring to YHWH in this verse, not only because Exodus doesn’t specifically indicate the presence of the Messenger of YHWH during the account of the actual exodus, but also because the previous verse in Hebrew talks about YHWH and “His” Messiah.  To me, while the Messiah is referenced, the object of this sentence is YHWH and the fact that this sentence has YHWH as the possessive of the Messiah keeps YHWH as the main focus.

In either case, Jude’s point here is that the true believers of Israel were led out of Egypt, with the unbelievers among them destroyed based on their unbelief, and he’s painting a picture of those loyal to YHWH being saved while at the same time those disloyal having judgment placed upon them.  The next example Jude provides is similar as he connects the disobedient messengers to a future day of judgment (Jude 6).  The only difference between the Greek and Hebrew in this verse is that the Greek makes it seem like those messengers chose to leave heaven on their own accord, while the Hebrew states that they sinned and then they were thrust down from heaven.

The Greek initially seems to avoid the more harsh imagery, but then goes on to talk about those messengers being held in eternal chains, which is something the Hebrew does not include.  Instead, it just states that they are being hidden in darkness until that judgment day.  These differences, ultimately, are minimal, and we can see references to both the Greek and Hebrew versions of this verse elsewhere in scripture.  In the case of the Greek, we find that Peter talked about heavenly messengers being held in chains (2 Peter 2:4), and in the case of the Hebrew, we find that in Revelation the rebellious messengers were thrown out of heaven with Satan (Revelation 12:7-9), an event which Yeshua also alluded to (Luke 21:5-11).  

Moving on to the next verse, Jude provides another example of rebellion against YHWH.  In this case, he mentions Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities that were so evil that YHWH destroyed them with fire and brimstone from heaven (Genesis 19).  This reference is actually quite interesting, because in both the Greek and Hebrew versions the statement is made that these cities are still suffering the punishment of fire, and will forever.  The key difference between the two versions here is that the Hebrew uses the name Gei-Hinnom for the location, or maybe origin, of the fire, and this name may sound more familiar in the Greek transliteration of Gehenna.    

The reason this is interesting is not just that it connects the Gehenna fire to Sodom and Gomorrah, which is a reference to the Valley of Hinnom of the Old Testament where rebellious Israelites sacrificed their children to pagan gods (Jeremiah 7:30-33, Isaiah 30:33, 66:24), but it also seems to suggest that the idea of the eternal fire manifested in the physical is simply a destruction that is complete.  In other words, while the idea of eternal fire, and suffering in it, seems to sound continuous to us, this verse suggests that a complete destruction of a physical thing, a destruction in which it never returns, is the fulfillment of the judgment of eternal fire.  This Gei-Hinnom fire, by the way, is the same fire in Revelation into which Satan and his messengers will be thrown (Matthew 25:41, Revelation 20:10).  

I know you thought we’d get through all of Jude in one shot since it’s such a relatively small book, but we’re going to have to stop at the next verse which finishes the thought associated with Sodom and Gomorrah.  This is another verse where the Hebrew and Greek versions differ greatly, and it again has to do with the idea in the Greek that Jude is talking about ungodly people among the believers.  In Greek, these people are associated with the evil people from Sodom and Gomorrah, and to me, this verse further proves that the Greek is an interpreted translation of some original text.

First, the word used for these people is “dreamers” and the only other place we find this Greek word is in Acts where the prophet Joel is quoted talking about old men dreaming dreams in the last days when the Holy Spirit is poured out (Acts 2:17).  There’s no other instance of this term being used for ungodly, immoral, and evil people.  Second, the Greek has some weird reference to slandering “glorious beings,” or blaspheming glorious ones depending on what translation you have.  By the way, there are quite a few different ideas provided by English translators on who these “glorious beings” are, with the King James Version and NKJV even saying that they are dignitaries.  Whatever beings are being referenced here, you’d have a hard time finding any talk in scripture condemning blaspheming of anyone other than YHWH, Yeshua, or the Holy Spirit, and especially of any angels, assuming that’s what’s meant by “glorious beings.”  In fact, Paul even condemns the worship of angels (Colossians 2:18).  So why, all of a sudden, do we get this idea here?

My personal opinion is that the Greek translators were trying to connect this verse to the next verse which references the messenger Michael (Jude 8).  The Hebrew version on the other hand, simply finishes the idea of Sodom and Gomorrah’s judgment by stating that those that despise the authority and curse the kingship, obviously referring to YHWH, suffer the same fate as Sodom and Gomorrah.  They bear the fire of Gei-Hinnom.

Unfortunately, we’ll have to stop the study there for this week.  We’ll pick up again next week with Jude talking about a dispute between Satan and the messenger Michael.  I hope you have a great week!

Shabbat shalom and YHWH bless you!  

-Rob and Sara Gene

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The Gospel

We are born sinful as a result of Adam and Eve's sin (Genesis 2:17, 3:6, 1 John 1:8)

The consequence of sin, which is unavoidable through our own works, is death (Romans 6:23)

Yeshua, the Son of YHWH, lived sinless and was put to death (Hebrews 4:15)

His death, therefore, cleanses us of sin that would have required our death

(2 Corinthians 5:21)

He rose on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:4)

Because of His resurrection, we are confident in our future resurrection and eternal life

(1 Corinthians 15:17-18, John 3:16)