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Jud_1:14-15. The threatening contained in the preceding verses is confirmed by a saying of Enoch.
ἐπροφήτευσε δὲ καὶ τούτοις ] καί refers either to τούτοις : “of these as well as of others;” according to Hofmann, of those who perished in the deluge; or it is designed to render prominent ἐπροφ . τούτοις in reference to what has been before said: “yea, Enoch also has prophesied of them.” Hofmann, in an entirely unwarrantable manner, maintains that there can be no question that καί puts its emphasis on the word before which it stands.
προφητεύειν generally with περί here construed with the dative, as in Luk_18:31, in reference to these.
ἕβδομος ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ Ἐνώχ ] ἕβδομος has hardly here the mystical meaning which Stier gives it: “The seventh from Adam is personally a type of the sanctified of the seventh age of the world, of the seventh millennium, of the great earth Sabbath.” Also in the Book of Enoch, he is several times expressly designated as “the seventh from Adam” (60:8, 93:3); not in order to characterize him as the oldest prophet (Calvin, de Wette, and others), but to mark his importance by the coincidence of the sacred number seven (Wiesinger, Schott). The saying of Enoch here quoted is found, partly verbally, at the beginning of the Book of Enoch (Jud_1:9): “And behold He comes with myriads of saints to execute judgment on them, and He will destroy the ungodly and judge all flesh concerning all things which the sinners and ungodly have committed and done against Him.”[41] These words are taken from a speech in which an angel interprets a vision which Enoch has seen, and in which he announces to him the future judgment of God.
[41] The passage thus stands in de Sacy’s version: et venit cum myriadibus sanctorum, ut faciat judicium super eos et perdat impios et litigat cum omnibus carnalibus pro omnibus quae fecerunt et operati sunt contra eum peccatores et impii.
The question, from what source Jude has drawn these words, is very differently answered by expositors. It is most natural to conceive that he has taken them from the Book of Enoch; but then this presupposes that this book, although only according to its groundwork, is of pre-Christian Jewish, and not of Jewish Christian origin, which is also the prevailing opinion of recent critics. Hofmann, who denies the pre-Christian composition of the book, says: “Jude has derived it, in a similar manner as the incident between Michael and Satan, from a circle of myths, which has attached itself to Scripture, amplifying its words.” Yet, on the other hand, it is to be observed that it is difficult to conceive that oral tradition should preserve such an entire prophetic saying. F. Philippi thinks that Enoch in Gen_5:22 is characterized as a prophet of God, and as such prophesied of the impending deluge; and that Jude, by reason of a deeper understanding of Genesis 5, could add the exposition already become traditionary, and speak of a prophecy of Enoch, the reality of which was confirmed to him by the testimony of the Holy Ghost; or that this prophecy of Enoch was imparted to the disciples by Christ Himself, when the already extant tradition concerning Enoch might have afforded them occasion to ask the Lord about Enoch, perhaps when he was engaged in delivering His eschatological discourses. But both opinions of Philippi evidently rest on suppositions which are by no means probable. As an example of the method by which the older expositors sought to rescue the authenticity of the prophecy, let the exposition of Hornejus suffice: haec quae Judas citat, ab Enocho ita divinitus prophetata esse, dubium non est; sive prophetiam illam ipse alicubi scripsit et scriptura ilia vel per Noam ejus pronepotem in arca, vel in columna aliqua tempore diluvii conservata fuit sive memoria ejus traditione ad posteros propagata, quam postea apocrypho et fabulosa illi libro autor ejus inseruerit, ut totum Enochus scripsisse videretur.
ἐν ἁγίαις μυριάσιν ] comp. Zec_14:5; Deu_33:2; Heb_12:22; ( μυριάσιν ἀγγέλων ) Rev_5:11.
Jud_1:15. ποιῆσαι κρίσιν ] see Gen_18:25; Joh_5:27.
τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς ] The pronoun αὐτῶν , according to the Rec., would refer to the people of Israel.
ὧν ἠσέβησαν ] the same verb in Zep_3:11; 2Pe_2:6; here used as transitive; comp. Winer, p. 209 [E. T. 279]. The frequent repetition of the same idea is to be observed: ἀσεβεῖς , ἀσεβείας , ἠσέβησαν , and finally again ἀσεβεῖς ; a strong intensification of ungodliness.
τῶν σκληρῶν ] σκληρός , literally, dry, hard, rough; here in an ethical sense, ungodly, not equivalent to surly (Hofmann); in a somewhat different sense, but likewise of sayings, the word is used in Joh_6:60.
κατʼ αὐτοῦ ] is by Hofmann in an unnecessary manner attached not only to ἐλάλησαν , but also to ἠσέβησαν , in spite of Zep_3:11, where it is directly connected with ἠσέβησαν , which is not here the case. The sentence emphatically closes with ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἀσεβεῖς , which is not, with Hofmann, to be attracted to what follows.