QUICK FACTS: JUDE 1:5
WHO SAVED ISRAEL OUT OF EGYPT — THE LORD OR JESUS?
Jude 1:5 contains a genuine and important textual variant.
Some modern Bible translations read “Jesus”, while others read “the Lord.” Because the difference can affect how the verse is understood theologically, this is a passage where we should follow the example of the Bereans:
Acts 17:11 — Berean Literal Bible
“...receiving the word with all readiness, every day examining the Scriptures, whether these things were so.”
So rather than beginning with a doctrine, let's examine the evidence.
TWO DIFFERENT READINGS OF JUDE 1:5
Some modern translations essentially read:
“JESUS...SAVED A PEOPLE OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT.”
The ESV, for example, uses “Jesus.”
This reading has naturally been used as evidence that Jesus personally existed before His human birth and was active during the Exodus.
But many other translations have:
“THE LORD”
rather than:
“JESUS.”
So which reading did Jude originally write?
THE GREEK MANUSCRIPTS DO NOT ALL AGREE
This point is extremely important.
The textual evidence for Jude 1:5 contains several readings, principally:
Ἰησοῦς — Iēsous — “Jesus”
and:
κύριος — kyrios — “Lord”
There are also other manuscript variations.
Therefore, we should not claim that “Jesus” was simply invented by modern translators. There really are ancient Greek witnesses supporting that reading.
At the same time, “Lord” is also an ancient manuscript reading.
This makes Jude 1:5 a genuine textual-critical question rather than a case where every ancient manuscript says “Lord” and modern translators simply changed it to “Jesus.”
That distinction makes our argument much stronger because we're presenting the evidence accurately.
WHAT ABOUT CODEX SINAITICUS?
One particularly important witness is Codex Sinaiticus, one of our oldest surviving Greek biblical manuscripts.
In Jude 1:5, Sinaiticus supports the reading:
κύριος — LORD
rather than:
Ἰησοῦς — JESUS.
That is significant evidence for the “Lord” reading.
But Sinaiticus alone cannot determine the original wording. Other important ancient witnesses support “Jesus.”
So we must look beyond one manuscript.
EVEN TEXTUAL SCHOLARS HAVE DISAGREED
The history of the critical Greek New Testament demonstrates just how difficult this verse is.
Earlier editions of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament preferred “Lord.”
The more recent Nestle-Aland 28th edition instead prints “Jesus.”
Bruce Metzger reported that the textual committee had previously preferred “Lord”, even though “Jesus” had very strong manuscript support.
Metzger himself actually argued that normal textual-critical principles favored “Jesus.”
This is important because it means the evidence is more complicated than simply saying:
“LORD IS THE ORIGINAL AND JESUS IS A FALSE TRINITARIAN TRANSLATION.”
There is a real textual dispute.
But that still leaves us with another extremely important question.
EVEN IF JUDE WROTE “LORD,” WHO SAVED ISRAEL?
For that answer, we can go directly back to the Exodus account itself.
Exodus 12:51 — World English Bible
“It happened the same day, that Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.”
Who does Exodus explicitly identify?
YAHWEH.
This is not an inference from Jude.
This is the Exodus narrative itself.
Yahweh brought Israel out of Egypt.
THE OLD TESTAMENT REPEATS THIS
The same truth appears repeatedly.
Exodus 20:2
“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
And again:
Deuteronomy 5:6
“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
The identity of Israel's deliverer is therefore explicit:
YAHWEH, THE GOD OF ISRAEL.
That is the biblical background against which Jude 1:5 must be interpreted.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IF JUDE ORIGINALLY SAID “THE LORD”?
Then Jude's statement fits the Old Testament account naturally:
JUDE:
The Lord saved the people out of Egypt.
EXODUS:
Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of Egypt.
The identification is straightforward:
THE LORD = YAHWEH
in reference to the Exodus deliverance.
BUT WHAT IF “JESUS” IS ACTUALLY THE ORIGINAL READING?
This is the harder question, and it should not be avoided.
If Ἰησοῦς (“Jesus”) is original, then Jude 1:5 becomes genuine evidence used by scholars who believe Jude identifies Jesus with the divine Lord active in Israel's Exodus.
That would be a serious argument for pre-existence.
However, one disputed textual variant should not be interpreted in isolation from the rest of Scripture.
We would still need to ask how this reading relates to the explicit Old Testament statements that:
YAHWEH DELIVERED ISRAEL.
And we would need to examine whether Jude intended to identify Jesus personally with Yahweh, whether “Jesus” arose through textual transmission, or whether some other explanation best accounts for the evidence.
The manuscript question must therefore come before building doctrine upon the verse.
JUDE'S NORMAL WAY OF NAMING JESUS IS ALSO INTERESTING
Elsewhere in Jude, the writer normally uses expressions such as:
“JESUS CHRIST”
rather than simply “Jesus.”
That observation was one of the considerations historically raised in discussions over the reading of Jude 1:5.
It does not prove that “Jesus” cannot be original.
But it is legitimate internal evidence to consider alongside the manuscripts.
SIR ANTHONY BUZZARD'S VIEW
Bible teacher Sir Anthony Buzzard argued in correspondence concerning this passage that “the Lord” should be preferred.
His argument included the fact that Exodus explicitly identifies YHWH as the One who delivered Israel and that Jude elsewhere normally says “Jesus Christ.”
His conclusion was therefore that Jude 1:5 should not be used to identify Jesus as the Yahweh who brought Israel out of Egypt.
That represents one side of the textual and theological debate.
Other textual scholars, including Metzger in his personal dissent, have preferred “Jesus.”
So readers should know that serious scholars have disagreed over this verse.
THIS IS WHY ACTS 17:11 MATTERS
We should not choose “Jesus” merely because it supports the pre-existence or deity of Christ.
But neither should we choose “Lord” merely because it supports a Unitarian interpretation.
Instead:
EXAMINE THE MANUSCRIPTS.
EXAMINE THE CONTEXT.
EXAMINE THE OLD TESTAMENT SOURCE.
EXAMINE THE REST OF SCRIPTURE.
That is exactly the Berean approach.
THE UNDISPUTED FACT
Whatever conclusion we reach about the original reading of Jude 1:5, one statement is beyond dispute:
Exodus 12:51 says:
“YAHWEH BROUGHT THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT.”
The Old Testament repeatedly identifies Yahweh as Israel's deliverer.
Therefore, anyone using the variant “Jesus” in Jude 1:5 as a proof text must explain how that reading relates to those explicit statements.
It cannot simply be assumed that:
“Jude says Jesus; therefore Jesus is Yahweh.”
That is a theological conclusion that requires further argument.
QUICK FACT CONCLUSION
Jude 1:5 is not as simple as some presentations make it appear.
There is an ancient textual variation:
JESUS
versus:
THE LORD.
Codex Sinaiticus supports:
THE LORD.
Other ancient witnesses support:
JESUS.
Earlier critical Greek editions preferred Lord, while the current Nestle-Aland text prefers Jesus.
Therefore, the strongest case is not to pretend the manuscript dispute doesn't exist.
Instead, return to the Scriptures Jude was referring to.
And there we find:
Exodus 12:51
“YAHWEH BROUGHT THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT.”
So before anyone uses Jude 1:5 to prove that Jesus personally existed during the Exodus—or that Jesus is Yahweh—we should first establish which reading Jude originally wrote and then interpret that reading in harmony with the biblical context.
DON'T BUILD A MAJOR DOCTRINE ON A DISPUTED WORD WITHOUT FIRST EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE.
That is not unbelief.
THAT IS BEING A BEREAN.
OLD RESEARCH ARTICLE
The Translations of Jude 1:5 — Who Saved Israel Out of Egypt: The Lord or Jesus?
https://wwwrealdiscoveriesorg-simon.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-false-translations-of-jude-15-who.html
Research by Simon Brown
wwwrealdiscoveriesorg-simon.blogspot.com
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