Loading...In my previous two posts I’ve tried to show why the short letter of Jude appears to be forged in the name of Jesus’s own brother Jude. That naturally leads to the question of why someone would do that – not just in general (why write a forgery!): there were lots of early Christian forgeries, just as there were lots of Jewish, Greek, and Roman forgeries, all done for a range of reasons, which I lay out in my book Forged. But why was this particular book forged, and when, and how would we know?
I deal with that problem here based on (and sometimes lifting from!) my discussion in my book Forgery and Counterforgery (Oxford University Press, 2013), reworked and reworded to avoid some of the crazy jargon and in-house talk that scholars often use in order to show that they are … scholars.
It would be helpful, first, though,
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Are there extra-Biblical stories of Balaam that give him a bad rap? In the Bible story Balaam obeys God at every turn.
Ah, probalby so, but off hand I don’t remember. Maybe someome else can help us out on that one….
Another OT story about Balaam definitely gives him a bad rap:
Numbers 31:15-16
Moses said to them, “Have you allowed all the women to live? These women here, on Balaam’s advice, made the Israelites act treacherously against the Lord in the affair of Peor, so that the plague came among the congregation of the Lord.”
Earlier in the same chapter, Balaam is among those put to the sword in battle against the Midianites which God commanded from Moses.
One thing I greatly appreciate is Professor Ehrman’s self deprecating sense of humor. His comment about scholars writing for scholars is one reason I greatly respect him. He in a sense cuts to the chase for us non-scholars!
Given the Jewish theological conviction that deceit is incompatible with righteousness, it is implausible that an author grounded in this worldview would employ deliberate falsehood to advance a call for moral integrity. Unlike some later pseudonymous writings that rationalize their fiction as pedagogical, Jude’s tone conveys prophetic sincerity and covenantal accountability. His warnings against corruption and false teachers presuppose a commitment to truth consistent with Jewish ethical norms. Thus, within its cultural and theological context, the hypothesis that the Epistle of Jude is a forgery not only lacks textual motivation but would demand an act of hypocrisy nearly inconceivable for a writer so clearly shaped by Jewish moral sensibilities.
Yes, I deal with this at length in my books Forged and Counterforgery. For one thing, deceit is a common feature throughout the Bible among Israelites, Christians, and the deity itself. Also, I’m not sure where you’re getting this idea of “Jewish theological conviction from.” As you probably know, talking about “Jewish morality” is kinda like talking about “American morality.” Which Jew? Which American? (
there’s certainly a long history of deceit in biblical narrative (e.g., Jacob/David). Texts like 1 Kings 22/Ezekiel 14 even portray God authorizing deception. But by the Second Temple period, Jewish understanding of God’s character had developed in a distinct direction. Across virtually all strands of late Judaism, God’s truthfulness was taken as axiomatic.
At Qumran, even though God “appointed the spirits of truth and deceit,” deceit was portrayed as temporary, subordinate, and destined for destruction; only truth reflected God’s nature. Philo goes further, insisting that God cannot deceive because deceit implies deficiency, and God’s essence is perfect truth/reason. Josephus describes the Jewish God as morally impeccable and wholly truthful, a contrast to pagan gods known for trickery. And the early rabbinic tradition (e.g., Shabbat 55a, Sotah 42a) codifies emet (truth) as the “seal of God,” urging humans to imitate divine honesty. By this stage, any suggestion that God acts deceitfully would have been morally/theologically scandalous within Judaism.
Given that background, it’s unlikely Jude was written under false pretenses. It appeals to Jewish authority/moral integrity to condemn false teachers. Forging apostolic authorship would contradict the very ethics he’s defending. Deliberate deception would not only undermine the message but render the letter hypocritical.
I hope my comments never come across as irritating. I know I can sound a bit argumentative at times, but I genuinely enjoy our discussions. You always give me a lot to think about, and our exchanges really help sharpen my understanding of the early Christian world. Thanks for that! Also, happy birthday!
I’m an irritable guy, but Blog comments are almost never irritable to me. I see them as … opportunities….
According to the Gospel of John, even Jesus practiced deceit:
John 7:8-10
8 “Go to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee. 10 But after his brothers had gone to the festival, then he also went, not publicly but, as it were, in secret.
Hello Sir, question unrelated to this blog – I’m writing a book (Faith to Truth: Deconstructing Christianity to Rediscover Israel). What is your suggestion for this first time author’s book to get published? Here is a quick synopsis: Faith to Truth is a work of historical, theological, and personal deconstruction. It tells the story of how, after more than a decade of deep commitment to Christianity, I discovered that the New Testament was never written for me—or for the church as it exists today.
The book blends memoir with rigorous research, showing readers how doctrines such as sin, salvation, heaven, hell, and prophecy collapse when examined in their historical context. Instead of offering another version of faith, Faith to Truth clears away centuries of theological invention and challenges readers to face the simplest conclusion of all: the Christian God may never have existed.
Faith to Truth challenges one of the most deeply entrenched assumptions in Western culture: that Christianity speaks to everyone. By returning the New Testament to its historical context, it strips away layers of dogma and exposes a simpler, harder truth.
BTW, I cite 9 of your books in my manuscript!
THese days the easiest way to publish a book is to do it electronically or to self-publish..
Dr Ehrman,
So it seems often the gospels contain perjorative statements against early Christians by early Christians later to have the larger society condemn all Christians. Did these internal complaints play into the hands of those who were critical and would persecute from outside the new religion?
Most outsiders weren’t aware what was going on intramurally (just as today, but moreso since there not news outlets)
Could this letter be addressing perceived sinful nature? Verse 7 points to Sodom and Gomorrah, a story that many believe condemns homosexuality (I know some scholars disagree with this, but many do view it this way). Could the author be condemning homosexuality, in a manner similar to how more conservative Christians condemn homosexual acceptance in mainline churches?
THe idea of a “sin nature” did not arise until centuries later (laid out most influentially by Augustine). Within the Sodom and Gomorrah story itself in Genesis, the problem is not that the men were intersted in sexual relations with other men but that they wanted to violate the hospitality codes accepted by all moral people.
I can only agree with Dr, Ehrman’s comment on the reason for God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. While one might conclude correctly that the mob of men threatening the angels wanted to assault them sexually, the big point was that the angels were the honored guests of Lot and not to be mistreated in any way. The nature of this threatened mistreatment was clearly secondary to the big taboo against any kind of mistreatment.
Happy Birthday Dr Bart! I’m glad you were born 🎉