1st Peter 2:1-10 Analysis Assessment

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Exegetical Analysis of 1st Peter 2:1-10

The New Testament's two documents, ascribed to Peter, represent a work in contrasts. Peter's first letter depicts a writing style, which reflects most of his letters. A reason behind this statement appears in 1 Pet. 5:12, where it is stated that the brief letter is written through Silvanus, who is regarded as a devoted brother, for encouraging readers and testifying that this truly is God's grace. This implies that the letter was not written by Peter himself, but by Silvanus (Latin name for Silas), who wrote it as directed by Peter. An ancient universal system for writing formal letters was through an amanuensis (Latin for writing secretary). Predictably, an individual who spent the major part of his adulthood traveling with Paul, the apostle, and had most probably also written some letters of Paul, would write Peter's ideas with a distinct Pauline quality to them. In contrast, the writing style of 2 Peter is very different from that of 1 Peter. The former, ridden with grammatical inaccuracies, comprises some of the poorest of the New Testament in Greek. While many scholars discard the notion that Peter was linked in any way with this document, mainly due to the above reason, a simply stated idea would be that Peter could not access any writing secretary towards his mortal life's end, when the letter was scripted (Cranford n.d.).

The First Epistle of Peter represents an Apostolic Letter composed, as we know, to reassure and educate Hebrew and Gentile Christians hailing from Turkey (or Asia Minor) at the time of severe oppressions by Nero, the Emperor of Rome. First Peter, longer than the second epistle, is scripted in superior Greek and quotes frequent Old Testament references. This epistle is written for the benefit of the dejected, to offer encouragement during times of hardship and distress. First Peter secures the hopes of Christians on Jesus Christ's unparalleled sacrifice, rather than on persuasion or reasoning; Christ suffered for mankind, leaving behind an example for Christians to follow in his footsteps .

Structure of the Epistles

After greeting readers , 1 Peter starts off on an optimistic note, praising the Almighty for being blessed with "living hope" reserved by God for those who believe. This hymn in God's praise establishes an exultant mood for the rest of the epistle, which may be split into three divisions: blessings, obligations, and tribulations. The verses through speak of the blessings. Since an 'undefiled' and 'incorruptible' inheritance is reserved for man in heaven , Peter urges readers to lead a pious and righteous life, reminding people that they make a "holy nation," God's very own, special persons (Nelson n.d.).

2.a Historical

The document's compositional history itself entails raising the characteristic "reporter" queries: Who wrote the document? When and where was the document scripted? Who does it address? What was its purpose of creation? Finding the solutions to these queries directs one towards analyzing two types of information sources. Firstly, the document's contents itself offer signs and hints. Secondly, sources external to the document typically become major information sources. This implies starting with information present somewhere else in the New Testament. Nearly always, it implies combing through Church Fathers' writings, beginning from the 2nd and continuing to 6th centuries, since such matters are discussed by them from time to time (Cranford n.d.).

This letter claims that it was written by Christ's Disciple, Peter (1:1). As only one Apostle of Christ went by the name Peter, one can be certain of the writer's identity. The whole of the New Testament mentions only one individual named Peter. For similarities between 1 Peter and his discourses in Acts, one can compare 1 Peter 1:20 with Acts 2:23; 1 Peter 2:7-8 with Acts 4:10-11 (cf. Matt. 21: 42); and 1 Peter 4:5 with Acts 10:42. Biblical scholars did not doubt Peter's authorship until the 19th century, in which destructive criticism of the Bible became popular. Ever since, most accepted views about the document are that the epistle was written by Silvanus, or co-authored by Peter, or that some anonymous author wrote and ascribed it to Peter, after the death of Peter. The letter has been popular and recognized consistently as Petrine, right from the 2nd century up to the modern age. On the other hand, much controversy revolves around 2 Peter's authorship. This letter was initially sent by Peter to believers residing in Northern Asia Minor (1:1).

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To the best of our knowledge, this region wasn't one evangelized by Paul. These Christians' locations, in addition to insinuations in the letter, signify that they largely comprised of Gentiles, as well as Jews (cf. 1:14, 18; 2:9-10, 25; 3:6; 4:3-4) (Constable 2015).

A popular practice of early biblical Church commentaries was identifying the purpose behind a particular biblical book from the very beginning. Therefore, what was 1 Peter intended for? Peter addresses churches in 5 areas (see 1:1), preparing them to undergo sufferings like Christ did. As they belong to God's household, churches must be aware of their fresh identity in Christ, understand how they can relate to people internal and external to the Church, as well as be prepared to suffer hardship for their belief. This epistle's characteristic feature is, in fact, the clear contrast of the earnest call for suffering in Christ's imitation with the intense joy (1:8) experienced because of one's fresh standing in Christ. Similar to a symphony, which oscillates between minor and major keys, First Peter also moves in the extremes: between the demonstration of extreme joy and the invitation to bear hardships. Peter aims at revealing that the life of Christians, while characterized by intense joy and living hope, will also involve suffering for Christ's sake (Keating 2011).

The questions 'from where' and 'when' are tougher to resolve. The assumption that the epistle has been authored by Peter limits its dating to somewhere before the 1st century's mid-60s when Roman Emperor Nero executed Peter. The answer to 'from where' appears in 1 Pet. 5:13: "Your sister church in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings..." This implies that the letter originates from 'Babylon.' This may be assumed by most as an obscure allusion to Rome, such as is seen in the book of Revelation. This was the interpretation made by a majority of Church Fathers. Several modern-day scholars agree with the above view, though some assume the reference entirely figurative, and implying that it originates 'from a location of evil torment (Cranford n.d.).'

2.b Literary Context

At its simplest, 2:1-10 represents the letter's proper body. Its basic sections comprise of Prescription, 1:1-2; Proem, 1:3-12; Body, 1:13-5:11; Conclusion, 5:12-14. The sections outlined in the letter's body, in the United Bible Societies' (UBS) Greek New Testament, 3rd revised edition are as follows: A Call to Holy Living, 1:13-25, The Living Stone and the Holy Nation, 2:1-10 Live as Servants of God, 2:11-17, The Example of Christ's Suffering, 2:18-25 Wives and Husbands, 3:1-7 Suffering for Righteousness Sake, 3:8-22 Good Stewards of God's Grace, 4:1-11, Suffering as a Christian, 4:12-19, Tending the Flock of God, 5:1-11. The passage (2:1-10) represents the letter body's second component of material. It is related to 1:13-25 through the illative conjunction appearing in 2:1, which normally translates as 'therefore' or 'then'. This implies that 2:1-10 emerges from the ideas contained in the verse 1:13-25. Ideas implied in the 1st section are expressed directly later in the 2 ndsection. Following the verse 2:1-10, the letter clearly changes course in 2:11, "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles..." Direct address to vocative case ("beloved") combined with new metaphors "exiles" and "aliens" moves thought towards a new course with fresh emphasis. Limited relation between 2:11-17 and 2:1-10 may be demonstrated in the historic experience of Israel's children as the Lord's people, being outcasts and foreigners in Egypt prior to their Exodus. This reverberation underlies the metaphors, strangers, and God's people. However, the key emphasis of Peter in the two metaphors of outcasts and foreigners in 2:11-17 marks a contrast of earthly living with an anticipation of Heaven as one's homeland in reality (Cranford n.d.).

Flow of Verbal Structure

The refinement and superiority of Greek used in First Peter has been disputed by scholars; however, nobody can doubt that the letter offers readers a unique and novel description of Christian life and the gospel. In a little over one hundred verses, sixty words can be found which are not used anywhere outside of First Peter, while a further 74 words can be seen mentioned only once in the New Testament outside of First Peter. The occurrence of such a large number of rare or new terms typifies a writer who can confidently proclaim Christ through his own style and words, without attempting to imitate another's writing style. Although 1 Peter isn't a rigidly ordered letter, it has a.....

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