Abstract:
After a brief discussion of the performative functions of persuasive discourse
in general, the socio-historical context of the letter of Jude is constructed.
This is followed by a literary analysis of the rhetorical
strategies in the letter in order to persuade the intended readers to reject
a group of teachers in their midst with conflicting perceptions of reality.
In this regard, the author's transtextual reinterpretation and contextual
application of well-known motifs, persons and groups from Jewish history,
who all serve as types of divine intervention and punishment,
receive particular attention. Jude applies the principles of identification
and association to villify his opponents. By hermeneutically shifting the
emphasis from his present context to the past, Jude, through various textual
strategies, identifies the opponents with the notorious 'archetypes of
sinners' from history who defined the nature of sin and disobedience to
God. But, at the same time, the present 'chaos' caused by these
teachers are also related to the final eschatological events in the divine
calender.
