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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadCambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Jude 1:11 - 1:11
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11. Of the three examples of sin punished which Jude uses 2 Peter only adopts one, Balaam. Cain is perhaps chosen as an instance of one who defied the simplest and most obvious laws of God by murder, or else as having consulted only his own natural instincts in choosing an offering for God. Balaam is chosen as having prostituted the prophetic gift for gain (and the false teachers made money one of their objects). Korah rebelled against divinely appointed authority.
The phrase used of Balaam is not lucid. πλάνῃ is susceptible of two meanings, active, in the sense of deceiving others, and passive, in the sense of being deceived. ἐξεχύθησαν is used of indulging unrestrainedly in pleasure: Sir 37:29 μὴ ἐκχυθῇς ἐπʼ ἐδεσμάτων. The whole sentence may be paraphrased: they have let themselves go in the deceiving course of Balaam, for gain. We learn what is meant by the deceit of Balaam from Rev 2:14 “thou hast there some that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication.” The laxity of the false teachers is here again in Jude’s mind.