Who was Jude (Judas/Yehudah)?

The Letter of Jude E1 — Jude is one of the shortest writings in the New Testament. It comes from one of Jesus’ own brothers (or cousins, or stepbrothers, depending on the tradition). Written in the early years of the Jesus movement, the letter addresses a Jewish community in Jerusalem or Galilee, made up of disciples who likely grew up with Jesus and knew his family. Jude (or Judah in Hebrew or Judas in Greek) is deeply rooted in the Hebrew Bible. His writing shows these roots through consistent biblical language and tons of hyperlinks. But who was Jude, and what do we know about his family and ancestors? In this episode, Jon and Tim introduce the background of this short letter and the larger world surrounding its author.

FULL SHOW NOTES

For chapter-by-chapter summaries, referenced Scriptures, and reflection questions, check out the full show notes for this episode.

CHAPTERS

1. Jude’s Identity and the Brothers of Jesus (0:00–8:29)
2. Jesus’ Brothers in the Gospels and Early Church (8:29–24:01)
3. James, Jude, and Their Descendants (24:01–44:15)

OFFICIAL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

View this episode’s official transcript.

BIBLEPROJECT JUDE TRANSLATION

View our full translation of the Letter of Jude.

REFERENCED RESOURCES

• Panarion by Epiphanius of Salamis
• The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary: Against Helvidius by Jerome
• Proto-Gospel of James
• Commentary on Matthew by Origen
• Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus
• The Church History by Eusebius of Caesarea
• Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.

SHOW MUSIC

• “afternoon reads.” by Lofi Sunday, PAINT WITH SOUND.
• “date night” by Lofi Sunday, Cassidy Godwin
• BibleProject theme song by TENTS 

SHOW CREDITS

Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today’s episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty writes the show notes. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie. Powered and distributed by Simplecast.

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