Jude Chapter 1, Verse 8/commentary
From BibleWiki
outoi. the false teachers of Jude 1:4
enupniazestai, "to dream." Their dreams may be those of prophecy; these false teachers being also false prophets (2 Pet 2:1), who support their evil doctrines by pretended revelations; cf. Deut 13:1ff. This explanation is favoured by von Soden and Spitta, and is much the best. Or possibly, as some hold, "dream" may be used in the sense of "vain imagination." The difficulty is that, though the Latin somnium is used in this sense, the Greek emipnion is not. Nevertheless this is the interpretation of Clement of Alexandria, Strom. iii. 2. 11, enupniazomenoi (ho gar hupar te aletheia epiballousin. epiballousin most probably means "attack," and ho should be corrected to ou. So also Adumb. in Ep. Judae, "hi somniantes, hoc est, qui somniant imaginatione sua libidines et reprobas cupiditates." The meaning involved in the "filthy dreamers" of the A.V. may be confidently rejected, because, as Alford points out, the participle belongs not only to sarka mianousi, but equally to kuristeta athetousi and doxas blasphemousi.
sarka miainousai. Here Jude is adapting 2 Pet 2:10, and the passages should be carefully compared. Peter says, "the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of trial, and keep the unjust under punishment till the day of judgment, but especially those who walk after the flesh . . . and despise lordship. Self-willed daring ones, they fear not to blaspheme dignities." He has passed away from Sodom, and is speaking of the False Teachers ; it is they who despise lordship and rail at dignities. Jude says that the false teachers are like the people of the cities of the plain in that they despise lordship and blaspheme dignities. But it is only by a great effort of exegesis that we can fasten these two charges on the people of Sodom. Jude has abbreviated and confused his text. For juristes and doxa see notes on 2 Peter.
Likewise also. In the same way do these persons defile the flesh, or resemble the inhabitants of Sodom; that is, they practise the same kind of vices. What the apostle says is, that their character resembled that of the inhabitants of Sodom; the example which he adduces of the punishment which was brought on those sinners, leaves it to be clearly inferred that the persons of whom he was speaking would be punished in a similar manner. These filthy dreamers. The word filthy has been supplied by our translators, but there is no good reason why it should have been introduced. The Greek word (enupniazw) means to dream; and is applied to these persons as holding doctrines and opinions which sustained the same relation to truth which dreams do to good sense. Their doctrines were the fruits of mere imagination, foolish vagaries and fancies. The word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, except in Acts 2:17, where it is applied to visions in dreams.
Defile the flesh. Pollute themselves; give indulgence to corrupt passions and appetites. See Barnes "2 Pet 2:10".
Despise dominion. The same Greek word is used here which occurs in 2 Pet 2:10. See Barnes "2 Pet 2:10".
And speak evil of dignities. See Barnes "2 Pet 2:10".
