The Jewish Annotated New Testament (300 page)

18
:
Those who are born of God do not sin
, see 1.8.

20
–21
:
Him who is true
, the “true” and only God, in contrast to
keep yourselves from idols
, This abrupt concluding statement suggests that the author understands that at least some of his readers (and perhaps the majority) are of pagan backgrounds.

1
–3:
Opening.

1
:
The elect lady
, the personification of the community as a woman (Gk “kyria,” in LXX for “geveret,” “mistress,” is the feminine form of “kyrios,” “lord” or “master”), and its members as her children, parallels the practice of personifying Jerusalem as a woman (see, e.g., Isa 54). The Greek “eklektos” (
elect
) is frequently used in the Septuagint to translate “be
ḥ
ir,” “chosen,” in reference to Israel. The congregation is thus addressed as part of the covenant community (see also 1 Pet 2.9).

3
:
The Father’s Son
, the author stresses the close relationship between Jesus and “the Father.”

4
–6:
Mutual love.

4
: The image of
walking
in good (or evil) paths echoes Prov (1.15; 2.20) and Ps (1.1,6), where path represents moral orientation.
Walking in the truth
, see Ps 25.5; 86.11. Here 2 John defines the “right” path not as a moral choice but as correct belief.

5
: The commandment to
love one another
reflects Jn 13.34; 1 Jn 2.7–11; 3.11. It is addressed to the community; the issue of care for outsiders is not dealt with here. The stress on mutual love may derive from Lev 19.18, “love your neighbor as yourself.”

6
: To
walk according to his commandments
probably refers not to “halakhah,” the way or path that one should follow with specific reference to the commands in the Tanakh, but to Jesus’ commandment (Jn 13.34). In Tanakh there is no opposition between loving God and observing the commandments, and both are equated with walking in God’s ways (see Deut 30.16).

7
–11:
Warning against deceivers.

7
: The identity of the
deceivers
is not known to us; what it means to deny that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh
is also unclear. The term
antichrist
is a neologism, used only here and in 1 Jn 2.18; 4.3 to indicate that the opponents are literally “against the Messiah.” The term does not suggest (as it does in later Christian literature [see Cyril of Jerusalem,
Catechetical Lectures
15.11–15]) that the opponents are satanic agents.

8
–9
:
Reward … has both the Father and the Son
, this implies that the goal of the community’s life is not an external goal but rather life in God’s love. This also echoes 1 Jn 2.22–23, which claims that the antichrist, who denies that Jesus is the Christ, denies both Father and Son.

10
–11
: The prohibition against giving hospitality to deceivers is supported on moral grounds: to share hospitality is to
participate in
their
evil deeds
. Both Greco-Roman and Jewish traditions considered hospitality a primary virtue. The NT word for “hospitality” (“philoxenia,” lit., “love of the stranger” in e.g., Rom 12.13) is not used here, where congregants are warned that they incur “guilt by association” if they
welcome
(Gk “chairein,” “greet with joy”) sinners (cf.
Avot de R. Natan
30: “He who joins himself to those who commit transgressions, though he does not do what they do, will nevertheless receive punishment as one of them”).

12
–13: Closing and greetings.

1:
Greeting.
Elder
, Gk “presbyter”; the term can refer to a church office (e.g., Acts 15; Titus 1.5; Jas 5.14; 1 Pet 5.1; 2 Jn 1), but it also means “old man” (e.g., Acts 2.17; 1 Tim 5.1).
Beloved
, a frequent epithet in Christian texts (vv. 2,5,11 and e.g., Rom 12.19; 16.5,8,9,12; 1 Cor 15.58; 2 Cor 12.19; Phil 1.12).
Gaius
, the addressee, is a member of a Johannine community, probably not identical to the Gaiuses mentioned in Acts 19.29; 20.4; Rom 16.23; 1 Cor 1.14.
Truth
, a major motif of the letter, related to a theme of John’s Gospel and perhaps a reference to Jesus (see, e.g., Jn 1.14; 4.23–24; 5.33; 8.32; 14.17).

2
-8:
Gaius commended for his hospitality.

2
:
Soul
, the inmost and spiritual being; it is not necessary to suppose the Greek belief in the immortality of the soul.

3
:
Friends
, Gk “adelphoi,” lit., “brothers”: the term members of the group use to refer to one another (also vv. 5,10);
testified
, Gk “martyroō,” “bore witness to,” the verbal form of the Gk word on which English “martyr” is based. The theme of testifying, or bearing witness (also vv. 6,12) is a Johannine motif.

4
:
My children
may refer to believers the elder converted; it does not have the dualistic connotation it has in other Johannine literature, like the “children of God” vs. the “children of the devil” (1 Jn 3.10). Nor does the elder assert his authority over his children. He appears to have no official role.

6
:
Church
, Gk “ekklēsia,” referring to the assembly of believers.
Send them on
, likely, provide financial support.

7
: Lit., “for they went out for the sake of the Name accepting no support from the Gentiles” (see Introduction).
Support
, see 1 Cor 9.3–12.

9
–12:
Diotrephes and Demetrius.

9
:
Diotrephes
, one in the community who snubbed the elder.
Does not acknowledge our authority
, lit., “does not welcome us,” the same verb used in v. 10. The breach of hospitality contravened social conventions. Perhaps Diotrephes rejected the elder’s teaching (see 2 Jn 9–11).

10
:
False charges
, rivalry between Christian leaders was not uncommon (e.g., 1 Cor 11.5; 12.11; Rev 2.14,20–23).
He refuses to welcome the friends
, his hostile behavior to the elder and his associates proves that he is not “walking in the truth” (see 2 Jn 4–6);
expels
, removes from the community (see Mt 18.17).

11
:
Imitate
, Gk “mimēsis,” a form of instruction (see 2 Thess 3.7,9; Heb 13.7).

12
:
Demetrius
, otherwise unknown, may be the bearer of the letter.

13
–15: Closing. 13–14
:
Rather not write with pen and ink
(lit., “ink and reed”), the elder may not be referring to his need for an amanuensis (see 2 Jn 12–13), but rather declaring his preference for
face to face
conversation (cf. 2 Jn 12, “that our joy may be complete”) over long distance communication.

15
:
Peace to you
, a Semitic rather than conventional Greek blessing, found in other Christian letters (Eph 6.23; 1 Pet 5.14; 2 Jn 3).
Friends
, a Christian address (see Jn 15.15), likely referring to the elder’s supporters.

1
–2: Salutation.
Jude
(Heb “Yehudah”), lit., “Jewish man” or “Judean,” the name of several NT figures, including Judas Iscariot (Mk 3.19) and another “Judas” who, along with
James
, is listed as one of the brothers of Jesus (Mk 6.3). Lk 6.16 and Acts 1.13 refer to “Judas son of James”; although this phrase is normally understood as “son of James” it could also be translated as
brother of James
, if
James
is a sufficiently well-known figure. The letter-writer refers to himself only as the
servant
(lit., “slave”) of Jesus; yet since
James
was well known as “the Lord’s brother” (Gal 1.19) and leader of the Christians in Jerusalem (Gal 4; Acts 15), it is likely the author is also indirectly claiming to be Jesus’ brother.
Beloved … kept safe … love
, the standard letter salutation is expanded with blessings and prayers for well-being of the recipients.

3
–4: Reason for the letter.
An otherwise commendable community must be warned against devious
intruders
. The community is “saved” from being
ungodly
and from
licentiousness
, but also
for the faith … entrusted to the saints. Salvation we share
, communal salvation was a hope shared in this period by Jews (whose covenant bound them through history) and followers of Jesus (who understood God’s saving acts as binding them together as a new people).
Long ago … designated for this condemnation
, as in many apocalyptic communities, like that at Qumran (which divided humanity into “children of light” and “children of darkness,” 1QS 1.9–11), humanity has already been divided into camps of saved and condemned.
Licentiousness
, accusations against the
intruders
are vague but suggest sexual immorality.

5
–7: Disobedience is punished.
Reminders of divine punishment from sacred history; cf. 2 Pet 2.4–6.

5
:
Destroyed those who did not believe
, see Num 14.35.

6
:
And the angels
, refers to common legends of the “fall of angels” based on Gen 6.1–4 (see Introduction).

7
:
Sodom and Gomorrah
, Gen 19.4–11, ties disobedience to licentiousness and fiery
punishment
. Although this passage has traditionally been taken as a condemnation of homosexuality, it may in fact be a further denunciation of unhealthy spiritual practices;
unnatural lust
, Gk “sarkos heteras,” “other flesh” (see translators’ note
g
), referring to those who had, or wish to have, intercourse with angels. In the Tanakh, the “sin of Sodom” was seen as injustice and economic exploitation (e.g., Ezek 16.49).

8
–13:
Accusations against intruders.