Awaiting Mercy: Structural Commentary on the Epistle of Jude by Kalina Wojciechowska and Mariusz Rosik

Abstract

Reviewed by: Awaiting Mercy: Structural Commentary on the Epistle of Jude by Kalina Wojciechowska and Mariusz Rosik Dominik Tomczyk kalina wojciechowska and mariusz rosik, Oczekując miłosierdzia. Komentarz strukturalny do Listu św. Judy [Awaiting Mercy: Structural Commentary on the Epistle of Jude] ( Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe ChAT, 2020). Pp. 458. PLN 92, 40. The Epistle of Jude is one of the four shortest NT writings (following the Epistle to Philemon and the Second and Third Epistles of John). The 456-word text contains 227 unique words (Philemon consists of 328 words of which 141 are unique). In the mid-1970s, D. J. Rowston suggested that "the most neglected book in the New Testament is probably the book of Jude" ("The Most Neglected Book," NTS 21 [1975] 554). Even Martin Luther considered it merely an "extract" of 2 Peter (p. 43), although today quite the opposite view is held. It is therefore not surprising that in biblical studies this letter has attracted little attention, which led to the neglect of Jude's theological message. Does this mean that the twenty-five verses of this epistle are bereft of theological meaning for the church and believers? The present book is not the first time that Polish Bible scholars Kalina Wojciechowska (Lutheran; Christian Theological Academy in Warsaw) and Fr. Mariusz Rosik (Catholic; Pontifical Faculty of Theology in Wrocław) have jointly reflected on NT texts. In 2018, they published a structural commentary on the Epistle of James, in which they highlighted the theme of wisdom in their exegesis (Mądrość zstępująca z góry: Komentarz strukturalny do Listu św. Jakuba [Wisdom that Comes from Heaven: Structural Commentary on the Epistle of James] [Wydawnictwo Naukowe ChAT; Warsaw, 2018]; English translation in preparation by Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht). In the present work, they seek to restore the Book of Jude to its rightful place in contemporary biblical reflection (p. 33). An individual commentary on the Epistle of Jude "is rare" (p. 33). This commentary is divided into two parts. The first part presents a typical introduction to the main topics concerning the epistle: its contents and canonicity, authorship and date, recipients, vocabulary and style, literary genre, and structure. The second part of the monograph is an extensive structural commentary. In contrast to the proposals of other commentators (Richard Bauckham, G. L. Green, F. D. Watson, Ernst R. Wendland, and C. D. Osburn), W. and R. propose their own chiastic structure of the epistle, in which Hebrew rhetoric "overlaps the Hellenistic rhetorical structure" (p. 94). With this approach, "it is possible to view the text in a more holistic way and to draw out not only its alarming and paraenetic (protreptic) aspects but the theological aspect as well" (ibid.). [End Page 340] The table below presents the general organisational structure of the commentary as adopted by the authors (p. 94). Structure of classical rhetoric Epistle of Jude Structure of Hebrew rhetoric 1. Prescript 1–2 1–3 Salvation A 2. Exordium/prooimion 3–4 4 Godlessness and judgment B 3. Narratio 5 5ab Salvation A′ 5c Godlessness and judgment B′ 4. Probation/argumentatio 6–19 6–19 Godlessness and judgment B″ 5. Peroratio/epilogos 20–25 20–25 Salvation A″ In contrast to commentaries that take a linear approach to the structure of Jude, W. and R.'s concept of the concentric structure of the epistle allows its full theological message to be extracted. In the view of the authors, if the correct literary structure of the book is not grasped, its theological depth remains unrevealed. According to W. and R., vv. 14–15 (eschatological judgment announced from the beginning of salvation history) are the axis of the text in their synthesis of the main "elements of Jude's soteriology, Christology and hermeneutics" (p. 34). This is in contrast to S. M. Coder and Wendland, who see v. 11 as the center, or C. D. Osburn, who argues for vv. 17–19. The chiastic structure of the book clearly shows the "hidden" elements of Jude's teaching on salvation in the face of eschatological judgment (p. 95). Verses 14–15 of the epistle, according to the W. and R.'s structure, are a "culmination of theological...