Jude 1:9 is difficult to understand on more than one count: it lends itself to supporting the idea of the devil as a person and seems to arbitrarily alter the words of Zechariah 3:2. The verse reads:
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. (Jude 1:9).
In the previous article (Tidings, 1/01) this verse was shown to be parallel to Peter: “Angels do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings (other angels) in the presence of the Lord” (2 Peter 2:11). In that article it was reasoned that Peter alludes to a current Jewish myth taken from 1 Enoch 9:1, and exposes the myth to be erroneous by way of challenging those who were using the myth to upset some in the ecclesia. In his reference, Jude changes “angels” to “Michael” and “such beings” to “the devil” and adds reference to “the body of Moses.”
To continue reading this Bible article, click here.
Author: Steven Cox
Keywords: Jewish fables, Enoch, Enoch myth, Body of Moses, Michael, Devil, Railing accusation, Assumption of Moses, Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel, Shemihazah, Joshua high priest, Filthy garments, Dirty garments, Contending with devil
Bible reference(s): Exodus 4:24, Zechariah 3:1-5, 2 Peter 2:11, Jude 1:9
Source: “Not Giving Heed to Jewish Fables: Michael, the Devil, and the Body of Moses,” Tidings of the Kingdom of God, April & May 2001.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.