Introduction
As always, before we begin a book of the Bible, or indeed any document, we must answer some basic questions…
Who was the author?
The author of this epistle identifies himself as the Apostle Peter:
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ… – 1 Peter 1
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings… – 1 Peter 5:1
Modern scholarship, with its tendency to question everything, casts some doubt as to whether Peter is in fact the author. In general, modern scholarship suggests that it is a pseudepigraphical work, a letter written by an admirer of Peter or a member of his “school” in Rome. The problem with this stance is that it has to completely disregard the testimony of the Early Church which universally held to its authenticity. This is the assertion of Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History. Other early witnesses to this letter include:
- 2 Peter
- Epistle of St. Clement to the Corinthians (AD 95)
- Epistle of St. Polycarp to the Philippians (AD 110-140)
- Irenaeus of Lyons (AD 140-203)
- Gospel of Truth (AD 140-203)
- Tertullian (150-222)
- Clement of Alexandria (155-2115)
- Origen (185-253)
The objections to Peter’s authorship and their rebuttals are as follows:
1. The Greek is too good and smooth
It is asserted that a Galilean fisherman would not be able to produce the quality of Greek in this letter:
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men… – Acts 4:13
There are two main problems with this objection:
(a) Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek were all used in Palestine at the time and it’s incredibly likely that Peter would not have been unacquainted with Greek since it was the language of commerce. Also, the writing of this letter is three decades after the death of Christ. It’s perfectly reasonable to expect that after three decades of missionary preaching to increasingly Gentile audiences Peter’s fluency would have developed.
(b) At the end of the letter itself it says that:
With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it – 1 Peter 5:12
Literally, Peter says that he’s writing this letter “through” Silas. He isn’t just a letter-carrier, he could well have been a secretary, thus producing a more polished letter. It was common at the time for secretaries to “tidy up” what was dictated to them. Some have noted the Silas’ mention in relation to the letter sent following the council of Jerusalem as support for this.
2. The situation described in the letter did not exist until after Peter’s death
In the letter there are repeated descriptions of persecution. It is asserted that the letter describes the persecutions under Domitian (AD 81-96) or Trajan (AD 98-117), both of which only happened after Peter’s death. The response to this is:
(a) Nero’s persecutions (AD 54-68) fits the content of this letter just as well.
(b) The descriptions of the persecutions in this letter are really very general and could simply be applied to the opposition that Christianity has consistently faced opposition, apart from state-sponsored persecutions.
3. Affinity with Pauline theology
It is asserted that the Pauline theology expressed in the letter would not have come about during the lifetime of the two rival Apostles. To this I just say “phooy!”. This is a ridiculous idea that only becomes an objection to Peter’s authorship if you already mentally conceive Pauline and Petrine theology as competing “versions” of Christianity. Such a point of view was developed among German scholarship in the eighteenth century and has very little evidence in its favour.
Also, if the Silvanus/Silas who is referred to as the secretary of this letter, it’s hardly surprising that Pauline elements found their way into the composition of this letter since Silas was a missionary companion of Paul:
Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. – Acts 15:39-41
Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you – 1 Thessalonians 1:1
Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ – 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2
When was it written?
Those who deny that Peter is the author usually place this book’s composition date at the end of the First Century.
Those who favour Petrine composition assert that must have been written:
1. …after the Church in Asia to which this letter is addressed had time to grow. Therefore the later the better.
2. …after Paul’s Prison Letters such as Colossians & Ephesians had been written since this letter implies familiarity with those works. These letters can be dated no earlier than AD 60.
3. …before Peter’s death in AD 67/68 under Nero’s persecution.
It is therefore with a good confidence that we can therefore say that this letter was written in the early 60s.
Where was it written?
At the end of the letter Peter tells us from where he is writing:
“She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark” – 1 Peter 5:13
As with the dating of this letter, the location of this “Babylon” depends upon whether or not you believe Peter wrote this epistle. If you don’t believe that Peter wrote this letter there is much more latitude as to where the letter could have been written.
Of those who take this reference to “Babylon” literally, it is suggested that this could have been either:
1. Egyptian Babylon
A military post.
2. Mesopotamian Babylon
I would suggest though that both of these are unlikely. The “Babylon”mentioned here is almost certainly not meant to be taken literally and figuratively refers to another city. “Babylon” is referred to in the Book of Revelation:
“There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. The name written on her forehead was a mystery: BABYLON THE GREAT… I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus… The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while.” – Revelation 17:1-10
“Babylon” has is associated in the Hebrew mind with decadence, indecency and ungodliness and in the Book of Revelation appears to refer to Rome (which sits on seven hills). However, there are two different candidates are suggested for the meaning behind 1 Peter’s “Babylon”:
1. Jerusalem
The Holy City could be given this title because of the rejection of Christ.
2. Rome
The capital city of the Roman Empire, home to every kind of excess possible.
Personally, I think Rome is the most likely candidate as this fits in with what we know about Peter at this stage in his life. In the letter he says that Mark, who Paul seems to indicate was in Rome at the time of his first imprisonment in the early 60s:
My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) – Colossians 4:10
Early Church Father suchas St. Irenaeus of Lyons (“Against Heresies” 3,3) and St. Jerome (“On Illustrious Men” 1) place Peter in Rome and say that he spent his latter years there and was martyred there. Archaeological evidence also points to Peter’s execution in Rome and burial on Vatican Hill.
However, it is argued by those who prefer the literal meaning that the context Peter’s description of his location betrays no suggestion that he’s being figurative. It is also asserted that we find no other early reference to Rome being described as “Babylon”, other than in the Book of Revelation (AD 95). However, we do find its use in this capacity in Jewish texts written in the early years of Christian :
- 4 Ezra 3,1
- 2 Baruch 11, 1
- Sibylline Oracles 5, 143
To whom was it written?
The letter identifies its recipients thus:
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia… – 1 Peter 1:1
These are areas around modern-day Turkey:
At the time the terms “exile” and “Dispersion” are strongly associated with the Jews living outside of Palestine. This has caused some people such as Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History 3, 4) to conclude that this letter was specifically destined for Jewish believers. However, this might not be exclusively true. Although the Church was predominantly Jewish in the early years, after the introduction of the first Gentiles into the Church, they rapidly became the majority.
There is another reason to not necessarily limit this letter to a Christian Jewish audience is that one of the main metaphors used in the letter.
Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear…Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” – 1 Peter 1:17; 2:11-12
As Scripture does in other places, the picture is painted here of Christians being aliens, temporary visitors who are awaiting their return to their real homeland, Heaven. This concept also readily appears in the writings of the Early Church. With this interpretation, we could say that this letter is address to both Jewish and Gentile Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor. We know that Paul preached in these regions and we are told that people from these areas were present on the day of Pentecost:
“…Then how is that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome…” – Acts 2:8-11
If this is the case, statements such as at the beginning of Chapter 4 make more sense:
For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry – 1 Peter 4:3
It is unlikely that Peter would be speaking to Jews here (although possible). Finally, regardless as to who were the initial recipients of this letter, since it is included in the canon of Sacred Scripture, it is also address to us! 🙂
What are the document’s major themes?
We will get into this in more detail as we study the book, but for now it is helpful to draw a rough sketch of the letter. This document is primarily a pastoral letter. Peter is encouraging his readers to live out fully the their Christian lives. He broadly covers three main areas:
1. Dignity. He begins by describing the wonderful grace that Christians have due to their relationship with Christ.
2. Duties. He next outlines the responsibilities of the Christian Life.
3. Difficulties. Peter focuses on the persecution of Christians and exhorts them to perseverance and vigilance.
The final theme of suffering and persecution which is focused on towards the end of the epistle permeates the whole letter and I would suggest that this is the letter’s main focus, being to the New Testament what the Book of Job is to the Old Testament. Peter explains that suffering for the faith should not be a source of discouragement, but be recognised in the light of the Gospel, of God’s work of conforming His people to the likeness of Christ.
In the face of such suffering St. Peter calls his readers to the highest level of ethical living. He calls us to imitate Christ and to forgive those who persecute us, be model citizens , obedient to those in authority to be the face of Christ to the world.
So…we’ve now answered the basic questions we have to answer for any document that we read. Let’s now start first Papal Encyclical of the Catholic Church!