NON-CANONICAL REFERENCE IN NEW TESTAMENT WRITINGS
A CASE STUDY OF JUDE 9
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37368/ja.v9i1.791Keywords:
canon, Jude 9, Assumption of MosesAbstract
This paper investigates the use of non-canonical references in New Testament writings. Although the 27 books from Matthew to Revelation are widely accepted as authoritative and canonical, the epistle of Jude includes quotations from non-canonical sources, specifically the Apocryphal Book of Enoch and the Assumption of Moses. This raises important questions about the integration of non-canonical texts within canonical scripture. Through a literary analysis approach, this study examines the background of the quotation in Jude 9 from the Assumption of Moses, explores the debates surrounding this apocryphal text, and assesses the implications of incorporating non-canonical works into canonical texts. The paper aims to determine whether Jude’s authoritative status is affected by its use of such sources and to reevaluate the criteria for canonical acceptance in light of these practices.
References
Bauckham, R. J. Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1990.
Bauckham, Richard. Jude, 2 Peter. Word Biblical Commentary 50. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983.
———. Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church. Edinburg: T&T Clark, 1990.
Calmet, Augustin. “Dissertation Sur La Mort, et La Sépulture de Moyse.” In Dissertation Sur La Mort, et La Sépulture de Moyse: Commentaire Littéral Sur Tous Le Livres de l’Ancien et Du Nouveau Testament, Vol. VIII. Paris: chez Pierre Emery, 1726.
Charlesworth, James H., ed. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Apocalyptic Literature & Testaments. Vol. 1. New York: Doubleday, 1983.
———. “Writings Ostensibly Outside the Canon.” In Exploring the Origins of the Bible: Canon Formation in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective, edited by Craig A. Evans and Emanuel Tov. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008.
Constantinou, Eugenia Scarvelis. “Banned from the Lectionary: Excluding the Apocalypse of John from the Orthodox.” In The Canon of the Bible and the Apocrypha in the Churches of the East, edited by Vahan S. Hovhanessian, 2:51–61. Bible in the Christian Orthodox Tradition. New York: Peter Lang, 2012.
deSilva, David A. The Jewish Teachers of Jesus, James, and Jude: What Earliest Christianity Learned from the Apoctypha and Pseudepigrapha. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Green, Gene L. Jude and 2 Peter. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008.
Gundry, Robert H. A Survey of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.
Marshall, I. Howard. New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004.
Muddiman, John. “The Assumption of Moses and the Epistle of Jude.” In Moses in Biblical and Extra-Biblical Traditions, edited by Axel Graupner and Michael Wolter, 169–80. Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Für Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 372. Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2007.
Muszytowska, Dorota. “The Meaning of the Motif of Michael the Archangel’s Dispute with the Devil (Jude 9). A Socio-Rhetorical Perspective,” The Biblical Annals, 10, no. 4 (2020): 677–706. https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.9602.
Origen. On First Principles. Translated by G. W. Butterworth. Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 2013.
Santo, Charles De. “The Assumption of Moses and the Christian Gospel,” Interpretation, 16 no 3 (1962): 205–310.
St. Athanasius. The Festal Epistles of S. Athanasius. Translated by Members of the English Church. A Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church. London: John Henry Parker, 1854.
Stokes, Ryan E. “Not Over Moses’ Dead Body: Jude 9, 22-24 and the Assumption of Moses in Their Early Jewish Context,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 40 no 2 (2017): 192–213.
Tenney, Merrill C. New Testament Survey. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967.
Tov, Emanuel. “The Interpretative Significance of a Fixed Text and Canon of the Hebrew and the Greek Bible.” In The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: The History of Its Interpretation, edited by M. Sæbø, 1:49–66. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1996.
Tromp, Johannes. The Assumption of Moses: A Critical Edition with Commentary. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1993.
Bauckham, Richard. Jude, 2 Peter. Word Biblical Commentary 50. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983.
———. Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church. Edinburg: T&T Clark, 1990.
Calmet, Augustin. “Dissertation Sur La Mort, et La Sépulture de Moyse.” In Dissertation Sur La Mort, et La Sépulture de Moyse: Commentaire Littéral Sur Tous Le Livres de l’Ancien et Du Nouveau Testament, Vol. VIII. Paris: chez Pierre Emery, 1726.
Charlesworth, James H., ed. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Apocalyptic Literature & Testaments. Vol. 1. New York: Doubleday, 1983.
———. “Writings Ostensibly Outside the Canon.” In Exploring the Origins of the Bible: Canon Formation in Historical, Literary, and Theological Perspective, edited by Craig A. Evans and Emanuel Tov. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008.
Constantinou, Eugenia Scarvelis. “Banned from the Lectionary: Excluding the Apocalypse of John from the Orthodox.” In The Canon of the Bible and the Apocrypha in the Churches of the East, edited by Vahan S. Hovhanessian, 2:51–61. Bible in the Christian Orthodox Tradition. New York: Peter Lang, 2012.
deSilva, David A. The Jewish Teachers of Jesus, James, and Jude: What Earliest Christianity Learned from the Apoctypha and Pseudepigrapha. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Green, Gene L. Jude and 2 Peter. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008.
Gundry, Robert H. A Survey of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.
Marshall, I. Howard. New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004.
Muddiman, John. “The Assumption of Moses and the Epistle of Jude.” In Moses in Biblical and Extra-Biblical Traditions, edited by Axel Graupner and Michael Wolter, 169–80. Beihefte Zur Zeitschrift Für Die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 372. Berlin/New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2007.
Muszytowska, Dorota. “The Meaning of the Motif of Michael the Archangel’s Dispute with the Devil (Jude 9). A Socio-Rhetorical Perspective,” The Biblical Annals, 10, no. 4 (2020): 677–706. https://doi.org/10.31743/biban.9602.
Origen. On First Principles. Translated by G. W. Butterworth. Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 2013.
Santo, Charles De. “The Assumption of Moses and the Christian Gospel,” Interpretation, 16 no 3 (1962): 205–310.
St. Athanasius. The Festal Epistles of S. Athanasius. Translated by Members of the English Church. A Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church. London: John Henry Parker, 1854.
Stokes, Ryan E. “Not Over Moses’ Dead Body: Jude 9, 22-24 and the Assumption of Moses in Their Early Jewish Context,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 40 no 2 (2017): 192–213.
Tenney, Merrill C. New Testament Survey. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967.
Tov, Emanuel. “The Interpretative Significance of a Fixed Text and Canon of the Hebrew and the Greek Bible.” In The Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: The History of Its Interpretation, edited by M. Sæbø, 1:49–66. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1996.
Tromp, Johannes. The Assumption of Moses: A Critical Edition with Commentary. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1993.
Downloads
Published
18-05-2025
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
“NON-CANONICAL REFERENCE IN NEW TESTAMENT WRITINGS: A CASE STUDY OF JUDE 9”. Jurnal Abdiel: Khazanah Pemikiran Teologi, Pendidikan Agama Kristen dan Musik Gereja 9, no. 1 (May 18, 2025): 14–26. Accessed September 17, 2026. https://journal.stt-abdiel.ac.id/index.php/JA/article/view/791.
