Jude Series: Jude 10b-The Unregenerate Jewish Zealots of Judaea Comprehended Instinctive Animal Behavior Instinctively Like Irrational Animals

Jude 10 But these on the one hand are disrespecting these things, they are totally ignorant of, on the other hand, they are for their own selfish interests comprehending other things instinctively, like irrational animals. They are destroying themselves because of these things. (Lecturer’s translation)

Like Jude 4 and 8, Jude 10 is describing the unregenerate Jewish Zealots in Jude’s day and age in the first century A.D. who were rebelling against Rome in order to bring in the kingdom of God on earth.

The referent of the nominative masculine plural form of the demonstrative pronoun houtos (οὗτος), “these” is referring to the nearest antecedent in the author’s mind rather than the nearest antecedent in the context since the referent of this word are the unregenerate Jewish Zealots who were last mentioned and described in Jude 4 and 8.

Jude 10 is composed of a correlative clause which is the followed by a declarative statement.

The correlative clause is composed of two declarative statements and a comparative clause, which modifies the second declarative statement.

The first declarative statement asserts that these unregenerate Jewish Zealots were totally ignorant of the authority of Satan and his angels, and which authority they exercise over all human governmental authority with the exception of the nation of Israel.

The second declarative statement asserts that these individuals for their own selfish interests were comprehending instinctive animal behavior instinctively like irrational animals.

Therefore, this correlative clause is uniting the concepts of these Jewish Zealots disrespecting the authority of Satan and the fallen angels by rejecting human governmental authority, which Satan and his angels exercise authority over and these Jewish Zealots comprehending instinctive animal behavior instinctively like irrational animals.

The ignorance of these individuals was manifested by leading Judaea in a rebellion of against Rome in the first century A.D. since this demonstrated their disrespect for the authority of Satan and his angels since they authority exercise over human governmental authority.

The referent of the accusative neuter plural form of the correlative pronoun hosos (ὅσος), “these things” in the first declarative statement in this correlative clause is the authority the Lord Jesus Christ delegated to Satan and the fallen angels over human governmental authority on the earth.

The word is in the plural because it refers to not only the authority of Satan and the fallen angels but also who they exercise authority over, namely the human governmental authority on the earth.

The correlation is between the Jewish Zealots ignorance of these things and that they absolutely do not understand this relationship between Satan and the fallen angels and human governmental authority.

Therefore, this word is marking the correlation between what these Jewish Zealots are totally ignorant of and that which they are not ignorant of.

Therefore, it is marking the correlation between these Jewish Zealots being totally ignorant of the fact that Satan and the fallen angels exercise their authority over the human governments of planet earth and these individuals comprehending instinctive animal behavior instinctively like irrational animals.

The correlation between these two statements is that these unregenerate Jewish Zealots are under the wrath of God.

They are under the wrath and judgment of God because they are totally ignorant of the fact that Satan and the fallen angels exercise their authority over the human governments of planet earth.

They are also under the wrath of God because they comprehend instinctive animal behavior instinctively like irrational animals.

This instinctive animal behavior of these unregenerate Jewish Zealots manifested itself by leading a rebellion against the Rome government, which ruled over Judaea.

Now, as we noted the second declarative statement asserts that these Zealots who were leading Judaea in rebellion against Rome in the first century A.D. were for their own selfish interests comprehending instinctive animal behavior instinctively like irrational animals.

The referent of the accusative neuter plural form of the correlative pronoun hosos (ὅσος), “other things” when it appears in the second declarative statement which appears in the correlative clause in Jude 10 is these unregenerate Jewish Zealots instinctive animal behavior.

This word is marking the correlation between these Jewish Zealots being totally ignorant of the fact that Satan and the fallen angels exercise their authority over the human governments of planet earth and these individuals comprehending instinctive animal behavior instinctively like irrational animals.

Again, the correlation between these two statements is that these unregenerate Jewish Zealots are under the wrath of God.

They are under the wrath and judgment of God because they are totally ignorant of the fact that Satan and the fallen angels exercise their authority over the human governments of planet earth.

They are also under the wrath of God because they comprehend instinctive animal behavior instinctively like irrational animals.

The comparative clause hōs ta aloga zōa (ὡς τὰ ἄλογα ζῷα), “like irrational animals” is comparing these unregenerate Jewish Zealots in the first century A.D. who were rebelling against Rome to irrational animals.

They are like irrational animals because their decision to rebel against Rome and their actions related to this rebellion were lacking in common sense.

Their decision to rebel against Rome and their actions associated with this rebellion were irrational because they failed to use their human faculty of reasoning or in other words, the capacity to reason or think properly.