Book of 1 Peter
Summary of the Book of 1 Peter
This summary of the
book of 1 Peter provides information about the title, author(s), date of
writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the
chapters of the Book of 1 Peter.
The author identifies
himself as the apostle Peter (1:1), and the contents and character of the letter support his
authorship (see notes on 1:12; 4:13; 5:1-2,5,13). Moreover, the letter reflects the history
and terminology of the Gospels and Acts (notably Peter's speeches). Its themes
and concepts reflect Peter's experiences and his associations in the period of
our Lord's earthly ministry and in the apostolic age. That he was acquainted,
e.g., with Paul and his letters is made clear in 2Pe 3:15-16(see notes there); Gal 1:18; 2:1-21 and elsewhere. Coincidences in thought
and expression with Paul's writings are therefore not surprising.
From the beginning, 1
Peter was recognized as authoritative and as the work of the apostle Peter. The
earliest reference to it may be 2Pe 3:1 (see note there), where Peter himself refers to a former
letter he had written. 1 Clement (a.d. 95) seems to indicate acquaintance with
1 Peter. Polycarp, a disciple of the apostle John, makes use of 1 Peter in his
letter to the Philippians. The author of the Gospel of Truth (140-150) was
acquainted with 1 Peter. Eusebius (fourth century) indicated that it was
universally received.
The letter was
explicitly ascribed to Peter by that group of church fathers whose testimonies
appear in the attestation of so many of the genuine NT writings, namely,
Irenaeus (a.d. 140-203), Tertullian (150-222), Clement of Alexandria (155-215)
and Origen (185-253). It is thus clear that Peter's authorship of the book has
early and strong support.
Nevertheless some
claim that the idiomatic Greek of this letter is beyond Peter's competence. But
in his time Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek were used in the Holy Land, and he may
well have been acquainted with more than one language. That he was not a
professionally trained scribe (Ac 4:13) does not mean that he was unacquainted with Greek; in fact, as
a Galilean fisherman he in all likelihood did use it. Even if he had not known
it in the earliest days of the church, he may have acquired it as an important
aid to his apostolic ministry in the decades that intervened between then and
the writing of 1 Peter.
It is true, however,
that the Greek of 1 Peter is good literary Greek, and even though Peter could
no doubt speak Greek, as so many in the Mediterranean world could, it is unlikely
that he would write such polished Greek. But it is at this point that Peter's
remark in 5:12 (see note there) concerning Silas may be significant. Here
the apostle claims that he wrote "with the help of" (more lit.
"through" or "by means of") Silas. This phrase cannot refer
merely to Silas as a letter carrier. Thus Silas was the intermediate agent in
writing. Some have claimed that Silas's qualifications for recording Peter's
letter in literary Greek are found in Ac 15:22-29. It is known that a secretary in those days
often composed documents in good Greek for those who did not have the language
facility to do so. Thus in 1 Peter Silas's Greek may be seen, while in 2 Peter
it may be Peter's rough Greek that appears.
Some also maintain
that the book reflects a situation that did not exist until after Peter's
death, suggesting that the persecution referred to in 4:14-16; 5:8-9 is descriptive of Domitian's reign (a.d.
81-96). However, the situation that was developing in Nero's time (54-68) is
just as adequately described by those verses.
The book can be
satisfactorily dated in the early 60s. It cannot be placed earlier than 60
since it shows familiarity with Paul's Prison Letters (e.g., Colossians and
Ephesians, which are to be dated no earlier than 60): Compare 1:1-3 with Eph 1:1-3;2:18 with Col 3:22; 3:1-6 with Eph 5:22-24. Furthermore,
it cannot be dated later than 67/68, since Peter was martyred during Nero's
reign.
In 5:13 Peter indicates that he was "in Babylon" when he
wrote 1 Peter. Among the interpretations that have been suggested are that he
was writing from (1) Egyptian Babylon, which was a military post, (2)
Mesopotamian Babylon, (3) Jerusalem and (4) Rome. Peter may well be using the
name Babylon symbolically, as it seems to be used in the book of Revelation
(see Rev 14:8; 17:9-10 and notes). Tradition connects him in
the latter part of his life with Rome, and certain early writers held that 1
Peter was written there. On the other hand, it is pointed out by some that (1)
Babylon is known to have existed in the first century as a small town on the
Euphrates; (2) there is no evidence that the term Babylon was used figuratively
to refer to Rome until Revelation was written (c. a.d. 95); (3) the context
of 5:13 does not appear to be figurative or
cryptic.
Although 1 Peter is a
short letter, it touches on various doctrines and has much to say about
Christian life and duties. It is not surprising that different readers have
found it to have different principal themes. For example, it has been
characterized as a letter of separation, of suffering and persecution, of
suffering and glory, of hope, of pilgrimage, of courage, and as a letter
dealing with the true grace of God. Peter says that he has written
"encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God" (5:12). This is a definitive general description of the letter, but
it does not exclude the recognition of numerous subordinate and contributory
themes. The letter includes a series of exhortations (imperatives) that run
from 1:13 to 5:11.
