[14–15] While the letter of Jude is filled with partial quotes and
allusions to sacred texts, these verses introduce the only quotation identified
as such. Furthermore, this citation is fundamental to the theology of the
letter. Debates about whether Jude considered 1 Enoch to be canonical are anachronistic. It is unlikely that Jude
had a working notion of canon. What is clear is that 1 Enoch is the most important and powerful text for the author of
Jude. This does not mean it has more authority than the Pentateuch or Isaiah,
all of which are treated as sacred by Jude. It simply means that 1 Enoch is the text that Jude cites most
frequently.
In 1 Enoch 1.2 the prophet insists that his vision is not for his own
time but for the future. This view of prophecy becomes the standard one in
early Christianity and is explicitly announced here. Jude insists that Enoch
was speaking “about these.” Jude seems to give Enoch special status among the
prophets by noting that he is “seventh from Adam.” The absence of a noun with
the adjective “seventh” indicates that it is the number, not the just the
antiquity of Enoch, that demonstrates this status.
The quotation itself is, as noted
above, a combination of our Ethiopic and Greek versions. In 1 Enoch the opening judgment begins with
blessings for the elect (1.8) and issues in the condemnations of this verse. In
all extant versions of the text, God is clearly the one who comes. Thus the
introduction of the subject “the Lord” raises the question of the identity of
the Lord and the origin of Christian imagery of final judgment. Language of the
Lord coming with his angels certainly becomes one of the most common ways that
early Christians will refer to the return of Jesus as judge (e.g., Matt 16:27;
25:31; 2 Thess 1:7). Though it is therefore likely that most Christian readers
would have heard “the Lord” as a reference to Jesus, it is not clear what the
author of Jude intended. Uncertainty over the meaning of “Lord” in Jude 4 (and
the variants that the word “Lord” inspired) suggests a similar uncertainty
here. In Jude, it is God who seems to keep people safe for final glory (vv. 1,
24–25). Furthermore, it is likely that the author of Jude intended “Lord” in
verse 4 to refer to God. Thus the naming of the one who comes as “the Lord” may
not be an attempt to affirm Jesus and not God as judge. In the theology of
Jude, it does not seem to matter whether it is God or Jesus who acts as judge.
What matters is that judgment occurs.
In 1 Enoch “judgment on all” includes blessings on the elect. When
Jude cites texts, it usually does so in a way that assumes some knowledge of
the text. The reader is expected to recall things that are not explicitly said.
In this case, however, Jude seems to focus judgment upon the specific
condemnation of the impious that is quoted in the text. Various forms of aseb- build an account of impious people
doing impious things. To this account of deeds is added that of “hard” words
spoken “against him.” Imagery of God as judging deeds and words is common not
only to 1 Enoch but also to Judaism
and early Christianity. This imagery thus provides little in terms of a
description of the behavior of these “impious sinners.” Again, what matters is
the reality of the coming judgment. (Lewis R. Donelson, I & II Peter and Jude: A Commentary [The New Testament Library [Louisville,
Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010], 190-91)
