A theory on the identity of the author of 2 Timothy

[Vanished]

Hi, so, long time no see. I've been working on research behind the pastoral epistles and apocryphal scriptures, and I think I've found a very interesting piece of evidence that could be useful in both areas. I'll try to keep this concise.

So, in the Hebrew Bible at Exodus 7:10-12, there's a story of the Egyptian wise men and sorcerers trying to go up against Moses and Aaron and failing, but these wise men are never named. However, later, in 2 Timothy 3:8, Paul/Faul/the Pastor/whatever-you-call-the-author-of-2-Timothy-and-likely-also-1-Timothy-and-Titus names these characters as Jannes and Jambres, two names that never appear a single time elsewhere in the Bible. This mention had me very curious. Where did the author get these names? Tradition would probably say that they were inspired revelations from God, but that wouldn't make much sense, since Paul is writing here to Timothy, who would have no clue what Paul is talking about unless Timothy also received an inspired revelation from God when he opened the letter, and I don't think Paul packed his epistle in envelopes filled with fairy dust.

Thus, I set off to try and find the origin of the names Jannes and Jambres, and I have a few possible leads.
First and foremost, and the one that's probably most well known, is The Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres, a Greek text probably composed in Roman Egypt during early Christianity. Several arguments for a Jewish or Aramaic original text have been put forward, and it's very possible that the author of 2 Timothy - especially if it's a non-Pauline work dated later than tradition holds - used the names from this work to refer to the Egyptian magicians, marking one of the rare occasions a solid connection between scripture and apocrypha can be established. This would explain why Timothy would know the names, as they were in the title of a popular work of the times.

However, there is still another theory I've seen put forward with little attention (less so because they're not respected, and moreso because the story of Jannes and Jambres doesn't seem to have much research behind it). Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) references "Jannes and Lotapes" in Naturalis Historia, XXX.11, which scholars have generally took to refer to Jannes and Jambres. Odd transliteration from Jambres to Lotapes aside (many explanations proposed, no consensus reached), research into Pliny's usage of the name (generally believed to be pre-2 Timothy) yielded The Enigma of the Magician Lotapes by Stephen Gero - a very interesting read that gave me a very interesting lead: Artapanus of Alexandria. Artapanus was a Jewish historian living in the 2nd-3rd century BCE, and has, on several occasions, been fingered as the creator of the Jannes and Jambres legend, later yoinked by the author of 2 Timothy (along with a certain Numenius the Pythagorean, commented on by Origen in Contra Celsus c.51).

Thus, we're left with 3 potential solutions to the problem of the origin of "Jannes and Jambres".
First, the author of 2 Timothy may have made use of The Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres in one of few direct New Testament references to the apocrypha.
Second, and most probable in my own humble opinion, the author instead referred to a Jewish historian from centuries prior, suggesting our mystery man was very likely a highly educated Jew who would've had knowledge and access of Artapanus' works, unlike a Greek man or a Jew with a lower level of education (in the same way that I, even with far greater and easier access to information than those in the 1st century, couldn't name a single work on the history of Canada, nor am I remotely familiar with the works of David Ramsey on the American Revolution. But who knows, maybe I'm just a dumb American ). It might be well-known and agreed upon that the author of the pastoral epistles is an educated Jew, I'm not sure, but this is a very interesting piece of evidence to add to the discussion.
Third, the names Jannes and Jambres originated far earlier in Jewish oral tradition or a lost work we have no knowledge of, and Artapanus is simply the earliest attestation to their names that we have. This is both my least favorite and the least likely, I believe.

TL;DR, the author of 2 Timothy got the names "Jannes and Jambres" either from an apocryphal work or from a Jewish historian several centuries his senior, which are both very interesting to know.

[Peter Kirby]

Hi, so, long time no see.

...

First, the author of 2 Timothy may have made use of The Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres in one of few direct New Testament references to the apocrypha.

Good to see you again!

Relevant here:

Edward T. Babinski has posted this to his Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/edbabinski

INSPIRED WRITINGS THAT CITE NON-INSPIRED WRITINGS FOR INSPIRATION
The apostle Paul–in both his speeches and writings–made extensive use of the late apocryphal work known as The Wisdom of Solomon--not to be confused with the Book of Proverbs, but instead, a late non-canonical apocryphal work attributed to “Solomon” that contained some odd ideas:
Romans 1:19-23 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 13:1-5)
Romans 1:24-23 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 14:22-31)
Romans 5:12-21 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 2:23-24)
Romans 9:19-23 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 12:12-18 and 15:7)
Romans 13:10 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 6:18)
1 Corinthians 2:9 (compare the non-canonical Ascension of Isaiah 11:34; also note that the early church father Origin said this verse in 1 Cor. was from the non-canonical, Apocalypse of Elijah–-Origen, Commentary on Matthew 27.9. Origin’s idea was bitterly disputed by Jerome (Letter 57 [to Pammachius] §9 [NPNF, 2nd series, vol. 6, p. 117]), who claimed the verse was taken from Isaiah 64:3-4 “according to the Hebrew text.” In fact, however, the Hebrew is only a very rough approximation of Paul’s language in 1 Corinthians 2:9, so Jerome may well have been wrong on this point. So, compare the Ascension of Isaiah 11:34 as originally noted.)
1 Corinthians 6:2 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 3:8)
1 Corinthians 10:4 (Jewish tradition)
2 Corinthians 11:14 (Life of Adam and Eve)
Galatians 3:19 (Jewish tradition; cf. also Acts 7:38, Acts 7:53, and Hebrews 2:2)
Ephesians 5:14 (Apocalypse of Elijah–So identified by Epiphanius, Against Heresies 1.3.42; see also Jerome, Commentary on Ephesians 3.5.15.)
Ephesians 6:11-17 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 5:17-20)
The authors of the New Testament employed—and even appealed to the authority of—non-canonical ideas, oral traditions, deuterocanonical, extracanonical writings, and varying textual recensions (like the Greek Septuagint Bible where it said something different from the Hebrew Bible):
Matthew 2:23 (unknown prophecy)
Matthew 23:2-3 (rabbinic tradition)
Matthew 27:24 (“Story of Susanna” = Daniel 13:46 LXX)
Mark 10:19 (“do not defraud” = Sirach 4:1 LXX)
Luke 11:49 (unknown scripture)
John 7:38 (unknown Scripture)
Acts 7:14 (vs. Exodus 1:5)
Acts 7:16 (cf. Genesis 50:12-14, Joshua 24:32)
Acts 7:20-30 (Jewish traditions about the early life of Moses)
Acts 7:36 (Testament of Moses)
Acts 17:27 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 13:6)
Acts 17:30 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 11:23)
2 Timothy 3:8 (Book of Jannes and Jambres),
Hebrews 1:6 (Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls),
Hebrews 10:5-6 (Septuagint),
Hebrews 11:4–5 (Book of Enoch),
Hebrews 11:35-37 (2 Maccabees 6-7, Martyrdom of Isaiah),
2 Peter 2:4 (Book of Enoch),
James 1:19 ( = Sirach 5:13),
James 4:5 (unknown Scripture),
Jude 9 (Assumption of Moses),
Jude 14-15 (Book of Enoch),
Revelation 15:3-4 (the Song of the Lamb--Note also that John 10:22 places Jesus at the Temple during the Feast of Dedication (i.e., Hanukkah), a religious celebration whose only scriptural justification is in the Books of Maccabees. [1 Maccabees 4:36-59; 2 Maccabees 1:18-2:19, 10:1-8])
Also, the structure of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 most likely was familiar to many Jews in the first century BCE, since they were already evidence in the Dead Sea Scrolls before Jesus' day:
“[Blessed is he who walks] with a pure heart” (Dead Sea Scroll 4Q525 2:1); compare, “Blessed are the pure in heart” (Matt 5:8)
“Bles[sed] are those who rejoice in her” (Dead Sea Scroll 4Q525 2:2); compare “Blessed are you when men revile you... rejoice and be glad” (Matt 5:11–12)
Blessed is the man who... in the distress [or ‘meekness’] of his soul, does not despise her” (Dead Sea Scroll 4Q525 2:3–6), and, “In the meekness [or ‘meekness’] of righteousness bring forth [your] words...” (4Q525 4:20); compare “Blessed are the meek” (Matt 5:5).
Of course there's also the book of Enoch, mentioned by Jude and passages of which are cited by the author of Revelation. In fact recently scholars are acknowledging that the "Son of Man" figure mentioned in Enoch probably influenced early Gospel authors: http://www.amazon.com/Parables-Enoch-Pa ... ref=sr_1_1 And the Dead Sea Scrolls even mention a fascinating "Melchizadek" figure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11Q13 who is to "judge the holy ones of God, executing judgement."

Referring to this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Parables-Enoch-Pa ... ref=sr_1_1

Very interesting. I've never seen a list this extensive compiled.

Of course the categories (canon, not canon) themselves are somewhat superimposed instead of being defined in the text itself. So the division can be at times artificial.

[Vanished]

Hi, so, long time no see.

...

First, the author of 2 Timothy may have made use of The Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres in one of few direct New Testament references to the apocrypha.

Good to see you again!

Relevant here:

Edward T. Babinski has posted this to his Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/edbabinski

INSPIRED WRITINGS THAT CITE NON-INSPIRED WRITINGS FOR INSPIRATION
The apostle Paul–in both his speeches and writings–made extensive use of the late apocryphal work known as The Wisdom of Solomon--not to be confused with the Book of Proverbs, but instead, a late non-canonical apocryphal work attributed to “Solomon” that contained some odd ideas:
Romans 1:19-23 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 13:1-5)
Romans 1:24-23 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 14:22-31)
Romans 5:12-21 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 2:23-24)
Romans 9:19-23 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 12:12-18 and 15:7)
Romans 13:10 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 6:18)
1 Corinthians 2:9 (compare the non-canonical Ascension of Isaiah 11:34; also note that the early church father Origin said this verse in 1 Cor. was from the non-canonical, Apocalypse of Elijah–-Origen, Commentary on Matthew 27.9. Origin’s idea was bitterly disputed by Jerome (Letter 57 [to Pammachius] §9 [NPNF, 2nd series, vol. 6, p. 117]), who claimed the verse was taken from Isaiah 64:3-4 “according to the Hebrew text.” In fact, however, the Hebrew is only a very rough approximation of Paul’s language in 1 Corinthians 2:9, so Jerome may well have been wrong on this point. So, compare the Ascension of Isaiah 11:34 as originally noted.)
1 Corinthians 6:2 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 3:8)
1 Corinthians 10:4 (Jewish tradition)
2 Corinthians 11:14 (Life of Adam and Eve)
Galatians 3:19 (Jewish tradition; cf. also Acts 7:38, Acts 7:53, and Hebrews 2:2)
Ephesians 5:14 (Apocalypse of Elijah–So identified by Epiphanius, Against Heresies 1.3.42; see also Jerome, Commentary on Ephesians 3.5.15.)
Ephesians 6:11-17 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 5:17-20)
The authors of the New Testament employed—and even appealed to the authority of—non-canonical ideas, oral traditions, deuterocanonical, extracanonical writings, and varying textual recensions (like the Greek Septuagint Bible where it said something different from the Hebrew Bible):
Matthew 2:23 (unknown prophecy)
Matthew 23:2-3 (rabbinic tradition)
Matthew 27:24 (“Story of Susanna” = Daniel 13:46 LXX)
Mark 10:19 (“do not defraud” = Sirach 4:1 LXX)
Luke 11:49 (unknown scripture)
John 7:38 (unknown Scripture)
Acts 7:14 (vs. Exodus 1:5)
Acts 7:16 (cf. Genesis 50:12-14, Joshua 24:32)
Acts 7:20-30 (Jewish traditions about the early life of Moses)
Acts 7:36 (Testament of Moses)
Acts 17:27 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 13:6)
Acts 17:30 (compare Wisdom of Solomon 11:23)
2 Timothy 3:8 (Book of Jannes and Jambres),
Hebrews 1:6 (Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls),
Hebrews 10:5-6 (Septuagint),
Hebrews 11:4–5 (Book of Enoch),
Hebrews 11:35-37 (2 Maccabees 6-7, Martyrdom of Isaiah),
2 Peter 2:4 (Book of Enoch),
James 1:19 ( = Sirach 5:13),
James 4:5 (unknown Scripture),
Jude 9 (Assumption of Moses),
Jude 14-15 (Book of Enoch),
Revelation 15:3-4 (the Song of the Lamb--Note also that John 10:22 places Jesus at the Temple during the Feast of Dedication (i.e., Hanukkah), a religious celebration whose only scriptural justification is in the Books of Maccabees. [1 Maccabees 4:36-59; 2 Maccabees 1:18-2:19, 10:1-8])
Also, the structure of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 most likely was familiar to many Jews in the first century BCE, since they were already evidence in the Dead Sea Scrolls before Jesus' day:
“[Blessed is he who walks] with a pure heart” (Dead Sea Scroll 4Q525 2:1); compare, “Blessed are the pure in heart” (Matt 5:8)
“Bles[sed] are those who rejoice in her” (Dead Sea Scroll 4Q525 2:2); compare “Blessed are you when men revile you... rejoice and be glad” (Matt 5:11–12)
Blessed is the man who... in the distress [or ‘meekness’] of his soul, does not despise her” (Dead Sea Scroll 4Q525 2:3–6), and, “In the meekness [or ‘meekness’] of righteousness bring forth [your] words...” (4Q525 4:20); compare “Blessed are the meek” (Matt 5:5).
Of course there's also the book of Enoch, mentioned by Jude and passages of which are cited by the author of Revelation. In fact recently scholars are acknowledging that the "Son of Man" figure mentioned in Enoch probably influenced early Gospel authors: http://www.amazon.com/Parables-Enoch-Pa ... ref=sr_1_1 And the Dead Sea Scrolls even mention a fascinating "Melchizadek" figure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11Q13 who is to "judge the holy ones of God, executing judgement."

Referring to this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Parables-Enoch-Pa ... ref=sr_1_1

Very interesting. I've never seen a list this extensive compiled.

Of course the categories (canon, not canon) themselves are somewhat superimposed instead of being defined in the text itself. So the division can be at times artificial.

Thanks for the reference - I well knew the possible connections with the Wisdom of Solomon and The Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres (both unconfirmed, which is why I went down this rabbit hole of research) but several of those I had not seen proposed before. Would love to look into them, as I'm gathering my own list of concrete NT allusions to apocrypha - after all, most of the lists I've seen are hundreds of "ehhh, maybe" instead of a few dozen "oh wow, definitely"

[Peter Kirby]

2 Peter is probably one of the latest texts now in the 27 books called the NT now, and it was itself listed among disputed books many times for not necessarily being written by Peter (eg by Eusebius and by omission when only one letter of Peter is mentioned in some earlier writers).

I am mentioning it here because it is one of the only texts now in the NT that might demonstrate a concern with excluding certain Jewish texts as non scriptural. If we think it used Jude, then it removed two references to texts on the margins (certain books, like the five of Moses, were very clear), which could be excluded as "apocryphal." But then this allows that a concern for excluding these kinds of texts, a concern that requires defining the canon of (Judeo-Christian) scripture by Christians, might itself be late and post-date the other writings now in the NT.

If I had to reckon, then starting only in the second half of the second century, but the topic of the definition of a canon is a complex and contentious one that can't be dispatched in a brief forum post. Fortunately this isn't just my view and there's plenty of literature on the topic.

[Peter Kirby]

On 2 Peter and Jude:

I have viewed synopses of 2 Peter and Jude before, but do not recall ever having made one for myself... until today:

2 Peter	Jude
1.1 Symeon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ;	[1.]1 Judas, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of Jacob, to those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ;
2 grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,	2 may mercy and peace and love be multiplied to you.

2 Peter

3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, 4 through which things He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self control, and in your self control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or shortsighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; 11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

12 Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. 13 I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such a voice as this was brought to Him by the Majestic Glory: “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well pleased” — 18 and we ourselves heard this voice brought from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

19 We have the more sure prophetic word, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

2 Peter	Jude
-	3 Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
2.1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.	4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.	-
-	5 Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, the second time destroyed those who did not believe.
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;	6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day,
5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly;	-
6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;	7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after different flesh, are exhibited as an example of eternal fire in undergoing punishment.
7 and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men 8 (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,	-
10a and especially those who go after the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority.	8 Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile glories.
-	9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
10b Daring, self willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic glories, 11 whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed,	10 But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are corrupted.
[Refer to verses 15-16 below.]	11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have poured themselves out into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
13a suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime.	-
13b They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, 14 having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children.	12a These are the men who are stains in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves;
15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.	[Refer to verse 11 above.]
17 These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved.	12b clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shameless deeds like foam; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever.
-	14 It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with His holy ten thousands, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
18 For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error,	16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; their mouth speaks arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.
19 promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. 20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. 22 The thing of the true proverb has happened to them: “A dog returns to its own vomit,” and: “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.”	-
3.1 This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. 3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”	17 But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18 that they were saying to you, “In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.” 19 These are the ones who cause divisions, natural, not having the Spirit.
5 For they are willfully ignorant of this fact, that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. 7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.	20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

2 Peter

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and the works in it will be burned up.

11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

14 Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, 15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 18a but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2 Peter	Jude
18b To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.	24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and to all the ages. Amen.

Most of the epistle of Jude is represented in 2 Peter; the same cannot be said in reverse. The few items in Jude which are not represented in 2 Peter are the quite innocuous statement of intent in verse 3, the extremely difficult textual issue in verse 5, the extracanonical allusion to the Testament or Assumption of Moses in verse 9, and the extracanonical quotation of 1 Enoch in verses 15-16.

Just wanted to get this synopsis posted for convenience.

Ben.