Use of the Letter of Jude by the Second Letter of Peter 49 Jude 5-7 is a single sentence reminding readers of historical precedents for God’s condemnation of sinners, as a prelude to critique of its opponents in v. 8. 2 Pet 2,4-10a revised this material considerably. Apart from what may be an oblique reference to it in 2 Pet 2,1, 2 Peter passed over the precedent in Jude 5. 2 Pet 2,4-10a begins with the precedent in Jude 6, i.e., God’s condemnation of the sinful angels. Jude 5-7 simply narrates its precedents; 2 Pet 2,4-10a incorporates them into a long and elaborate conditional sentence. After beginning “If God” in v. 4, there follow three conditional clauses in vv. 4, 5 and 6-8; vv. 9-10 (which incorporate part of Jude 8) provide the conclusion, “then the Lord” (17). In this way the author of 2 Peter transformed Jude’s list of precedents for punishment of sinners and critique of its opponents, into a refutation of the false teachers’ denial of a final judgment. At the same time this refutation served as a warning that the false teachers will be condemned. The author of 2 Peter began 2,4-10a with the word “for” to indicate that this section is the basis for the assertion in 2,3b that the condemnation of the false teachers is not idle or asleep. The first two conditional clauses in vv. 4 and 5, have the same verb, “If God did not spare”. In v. 4 the author speaks about God’s not sparing the angels, in v. 5 about God’s not sparing the ancient world at the time of the flood. The former is taken from Jude 6. The author of 2 Peter added the latter, both because it serves his present purpose, and because it prepares for a reference to the flood in 3,5-6. The author may also have added it in view of the following reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (2 Pet 2,6). The two constitute precedents for destruction of the world by water and fire (cf. 2 Pet 3,5-7)(18). Jude 6 describes the angels in two participial phrases as ones “who did not keep their own position, but left their proper dwelling”, referring to Genesis 6,1-4 as elaborated in extra-biblical writings like 1 Enoch (19). 2 Pet 2,4 replaced these phrases with a single participle describing the angels as ones who had sinned. This gives much less information about exactly what they did wrong, but also makes the reason for their condemnation (i.e., their sin) clearer to someone who (17) According to Bauckham (Jude, 2 Peter, 246-47) and Neyrey (2 Peter, Jude, 196-197) , the author of 2 Peter here relies not only on Jude but also on the tradition that underlies Jude. This tradition also underlies Sir 16,6-23. (18) FORNBERG, Early Church, 41; BAUCKHAM, Jude, 2 Peter, 252; WATSON, Invention, 113. (19) For a parallel to this language see 1 Enoch 12,4.