Introduction
In the following paper, I have been assigned the gratifying task to speak briefly on the background information on the epistle known as 1 Peter. In this brief paper, I will explore the epistle’s authorship, date, the location of the writing or provenance, and the original destination it was written to, followed by a look at its purpose, literary plan, and finally, a brief look at its theological themes. Though this will not be an extensive dive into the text, I hope that this cursory examination can give a casual reader of the Bible a sure footing as they read through the epistle.
Authorship
Let us first look at the authorship of the epistle entitled 1 Peter. The opening verse of the epistle states who the author is, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.” From the beginning, the one that claims to be the author states that he is the Apostle Peter. This would be the same apostle that we read of in the Gospels and the book of Acts. In his book, The Message of 1 Peter, Edmund P. Clowney writes, “The address of the letter claims the apostle Peter as the author, a claim that should not be discounted.” Clowney says that the early Church had rejected other works that claimed Peter as the author, yet here they do not. Yet, in David A. deSilva’s work, An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods and Ministry Formation, we are reminded that “the authorship of this letter is a matter of debate.” The reason for this debate, deSilva says, is due to at least six observations: Peter is uneducated, the Septuagint is for Old Testament quotes, no personal experiences with Jesus are shared, there is a close association with Pauline letters, Rome is equated to Babylon comparison that is brought up after Jerusalem destruction in AD 70, and the situations that are addressed in the letter seem to correspond closer to late first and early second century problems in the Church. As Clowney notes in his writing, “The issue of Peter’s proficiency in Greek has been made the key objection to his authorship.” Due to the brevity of this paper, we shall only answer this one argument with one portion of it, pointing the reader to both Clowney and deSilva for a more profound handling of the other responses. As both Clowney and deSilva point out, though Peter was uneducated, he could have learned and grown in his ability to write in the common language of his day over time. Clowney points out that the Greek is not “polished,” and deSilva argues that the writing reveals that the author’s first language “was probably Semitic.”
In her work, “The Syntax of 1 Peter: Just How Good is the Greek?”, Dr. Karen H. Jobes reveals the underlying assumption, especially of those of us in modern-day American culture. Dr. Jobes writes, “There seems to be a presumption that Galilean fisherman were uneducated, and relative to other segments of the population, this assumption is probably more true than not. However, the further assumption that only formally educated people can develop a high level of proficiency in a second language probably rings truer to North Americans, who by-and-large acquire a second language through formal academic courses.” Dr. Jobes goes on to write that there is not enough current information to make a conclusive determination of just how “pervasive” the areas of Palestine were with the Greek language.
Though there are other arguments for and against the Apostle Peter as the author of 1 Peter, a traditional view of the apostle as the epistle’s composer is a strong position until overwhelming evidence is presented to contradict this time honored view. Therefore, for this summary look, we will move forward with the understanding that the epistle of 1 Peter was written by the Apostle Peter, the eyewitness disciple who walked with Jesus in the Gospels.
Date
From the author, we now turn our attention to the date of the writing. Understanding that the Apostle Peter, who answered Jesus’ question of “Who do you say I am,” is, in fact, the author of the epistle, we have already placed the writing within a brief window of time. In his commentary I and II Peter and Jude, Lewis R. Donelson argues for a late date to the letter by pointing to the “Domitian turmoil.” Donelson uses the idea of persecution in 1 Peter (4:12-19) as a reason for connecting the epistle to the “Domitian turmoil.”
As we already established in the above section, there is no reason to reject the Apostle Peter as the author of 1 Peter. Though not writing to counter Donelson, Craig S. Keener puts the “Domitian turmoil” into perspective. Keener writes, “Three basic periods of persecution have been suggested as the background: the time of Trajan (early second century), the time of Domitian…and the time of Nero, which would be the time of Peter’s martyrdom.” Whereas Donelson sees the persecution spoken about in 1 Peter as connecting to Emperor Domitian, we see that there are two other possibilities. One could be under Emperor Trajan, which, as Keener points out, would be even later than the 80s of Donelson, into the early second century. This saw a situation in which Pliny the Younger was punishing Christians in the area of Bithynia under the rule of Roman Emperor Trajan. Though there is persecution going on in this case, in a letter to Pliny, Trajan writes, “For it is not possible to lay down any general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They are not to be sought out.” Through this correspondence, we can see that this type persecution does not seem to be proactive but rather an impassive one.
Yet, there is another time of “turmoil” that fits within in the time of Peter’s life; this would be under the rule of Emperor Nero. It is from the Roman historian Tacitus’ (c. 55-117 AD) writings that we know that a fire destroyed a large portion of the city of Rome. This fire happened in 64 AD and was rumored to be caused by Nero to rebuild Rome himself. Tacitus writes, “Therefore, in order to abolish that rumor, Nero falsely accused and executed with the most exquisite punishments those people called Christians, who were infamous for their abominations.” The turmoil for the Church following this would have a more significant impact on Christians in Rome and throughout the Roman Empire. Unlike Trajan’s persecution, which was impassive, the persecution of Emperor Nero was aggressive. By taking both the author question and the date of the writing together, we can see that a window of pre-65 AD would be acceptable. DeSilva states that “If Peter substantially wrote the letter, and if the tradition of his martyrdom under Nero is 65-55 CE is correct, a date before that would be required.”
So, though there are arguments for a later date, as is the case with Donelson, a date within the life of the Apostle Peter fits with the turmoil of the time.
Provenance
With the author and date in focus, we can now turn our attention to the location from which the letter was penned, its provenance. Keener states that “It is widely agreed that ‘Babylon’ (5:13) is a cryptic name for Rome.” Köstenberger, Kellum, and Quarles agree with Keener’s interpretation, in their book, The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament, that Rome is Babylon, by giving two alternatives that would not make sense. In The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown, we are told of a Babylon in Mesopotamia and one in Egypt. It is rightly pointed out that at this time, Babylon of Mesopotamian would be “all but deserted” and that the outpost at Babylon of Egypt was “insignificant.”
If we consider the later writing of the book of Revelation, we can see this connection between Rome and Babylon, which Keener states is “undoubtedly” there. This would then place 1 Peter earlier than Revelation, when taking into account the author and date s discussed above. In addition to this, Keener also points us towards other Jewish works that make this connection. Therefore placing the writing location in Rome would, like its dating, put it in an understandable point in time, due to Peter being in Rome in the 60s, experiencing the turmoil under Emperor Nero. With the author, date, and location in place, this organically leads us into our next topic.
Destination
In the opening of the epistle, not only do we see the authorial claim of the Apostle Peter, but we also receive the destination of the letter. The first verse of the 1 Peter reads, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.”
In this verse, Thomas R. Schreiner shares several essential data points in his commentary, I and II Peter, Jude. First, Schreiner points out that Pontus and Bithynia were a single province during the time of the writing. Still, by separating the two, “Peter probably wrote generally, designating a geographical area,” rather than by its shared province name. Schreiner puts this forth because, as he states, if Peter had been writing later, he would probably have included additional cities in the province. Secondly, Schreiner puts forward that the list is “roughly a circle” by which a currier would make his trip. The list ends in Bithynia, which Schreiner writes, “We would expect a person coming from the sea to land in Bithynia first and then go on to Pontus…Perhaps Silvanus planned his visit to conclude in Bithynia so he could sail away to his next destination after completing the journey.”
The physical destination is evident compared to the designated addressees. Köstenberger, Kellum, and Quarles write, “The more difficult question is, Who were the recipients of the letter?” This is because, within the text (1:1; 2:1), there are hints that the intended audience are Jews in the diaspora. Yet at the same time, other clues (1:18; 4:3) use terminology that, as Köstenberger, Kellum, and Quarles write, would be “improbable that Peter would have referred to Judaism is this way.” Therefore, the more likely target audience is most likely Gentile Christians that have come out of being like the Gentiles and have become grafted into the people of God.
With the background information concerning the letter now at the forefront of our attention, we focus on the epistle’s purpose.
Purpose
The importance of who the letter was written to cannot be understated; this is due to its bearing on the purpose to which it was written. Speaking of text found in 4:19 of 1 Peter, Wayne A. Grudem in his commentary, 1 Peter, writes, “Here are found the themes of suffering..and trust in God…moreover, such trust in God should also be accompanied by obedience, for they should contain to ‘do right.’” The themes that Grudem sights from the epistle speak to a universal application of Peter’s first letter. The themes of suffering and trusting in God both reach back into the Gospels, “In the world you will have tribulation,” “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.” And Grudem’s pointing out that trust must be “accompanied by obedience” is keeping with Jesus’ words, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
Rightly then, Reinhard Feldmeier, noticing the who that the letter is written to, writes, “The reference situation, which doubtless plays a decisive role in 1 Peter, is, then, a general reference: It concerns not an individual Christian community but the situation of the communities in Asia Minor altogether and even beyond this, the situation of all ‘brothers and sisters in the world’ (5:9).”
This purpose of addressing the realities of following Christ closely in obedience no matter what the situation speaks to the particular events of turmoil that we have previously referenced above and the universal task that Christians are called. Peter sends his letter to strengthen those believers who are about to enter into substantial struggles, and through the work of the Holy Spirit, this letter is given to us in our day to “Stand firm in it,” which is the grace of the true God.
By looking at the full scope of what we have covered so far in dealing with the author, the date, the epistle’s provenance, destination, and purpose, we will now turn our attention to the literary structure of the writing.
Literary Structure
Lewis Donelson believes that, next to authorship, the literary structure of 1 Peter is “the most persistent debate among readers.” The debate seems one-sided, tilting toward Donelson because Köstenberger, Kellum, and Quarles write that the opposite is true. “Remarkably, there is a rather large consensus regarding the structure of 1 Peter in recent scholarly work.” When outlining the epistle, Donelson, outlines 1 Peter very closely to how Köstenberger, Kellum, and Quarles outline the epistle. In fact, in Grudem’s work, we again see an outline that is very similar to the author’s above. All three works roughly divide the epistle into four or five sections depending on where one divides 4:7-19.
The actual “debate” seems to be, not with the outline, but rather Donelson’s view of 1 Peter’s narrative overall. Whereas Köstenberger, Kellum, and Quarles view 1 Peter as having a coherent narrative push, Donelson writes, “The narrative disorder of 1 Peter had led many readers to question its literary unity.” Donelson approaches this disunity by considering the arguments of 1 Peter as having two separate sources due to a “shift in tone between 4:11 and 4:12” and “the presence of baptismal imagery.”
Thomas Shreiner takes up these arguments more in-depth in his work on 1 Peter, concluding that “These theories were once quite popular in critical circles, but now most scholars reject them. The disfavor with such theories, which were once embraced by many, reminds us that views that lack persuasion can seem quite compelling for a period of time.”
Though still believing that 1 Peter is in “disorder,” after evaluating the two arguments, Donelson concludes that “almost all readers of 1 Peter now see the letter as a unified piece.” We can agree with this statement that, though there are scholars out there that still put forth the disunity of 1 Peter, the arguments does not hold when scrutinized. The epistle is indeed unified, and this unification comes around the purpose for which it was written.
Through our brief excursion into the background information, and the purpose and structure of 1 Peter, we can now survey several theological themes from the epistle of 1 Peter.
Theological Themes
Understanding that the Apostle Peter, writing from Rome during the time in which Emperor Nero began a persecution of the Church, we can see a clear theme of encouragement through suffering present itself. Peter calls the readers the “elect” in the opening verse, pointing them towards the understanding that God has called them to a time such as this. This is followed by Peter focusing the readers’ attention on Christ and the “living hope through the resurrection.” By calling attention to the resurrection, Peter elicits the readers to such words of Christ as, “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” The readers have assurance in Christ that even if they were to die from the persecution, that they will eventually face, they have eternal life in Christ through his resurrection. It is in the hope of the resurrection that disciples of Christ overcome fear in facing persecution.
The call to holy living in their spiritual lives, both through obedience to governmental authority and relationships, run through chapters two and three. This holy living is then followed by action. Believers are to act as Christ would, by loving one’s enemies and doing good to those who would persecute you. These actions will keep the reader from being devoured by the devil, who “prowls around like a roaring lion.” All this culminates in the encouragement to “Stand firm,” in the final greetings of the letter.
With the understanding of 1 Peter being focused on standing firm in the “context of suffering,” Donelson writes, “Suffering is a testing and refining fire. The purpose of theology in 1 Peter is to offer guidance and assurance in the fact of this test.”
In various moments throughout the Church’s history, this letter has rung true. From the time it was first sent to those Roman provinces, to the times the contemporary Church is facing today. Peter’s inspired words encourage us to stand in the face of persecution because of what Christ has done for us.
Conclusion
By understanding the author, his time, place, audience, and purpose, we can see how God continues to work through his Word today. As those first readers faced down the oncoming persecution in their midsts, we can find solace that by the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells God’s people, we too can face what is ahead. We can resist the devouring lion and stand firm in the grace of God, and we too can have the peace of Christ that the Apostle Peter points us towards. This is not due to our strength but by the power of God Almighty. Let us, therefore, thank God for the writing of the Apostle Peter, whom God used to encourage both his fellow believers in his time and those that have come to walk the narrow path in ours.
Sources Cited
Clowney, Edmund P.. The Message of 1 Peter. The Bible Speaks Today. Leicester, England: IVP Academic, 1988.
Crossway Bibles. ESV: The MacArthur Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles, 2010.
deSilva, David A.. An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods and Ministry Formation. Westmont: InterVarsity Press, 2012.
Donelson, Lewis R. I and II Peter and Jude. New Testament Library. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010.
Feldmeier, Reinhard. The First Letter of Peter: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Translated by Peter H. Davids. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2008.
Grudem, Wayne A. 1 Peter. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Nottingham, England: IVP Academic, 2009.
Jobes, Karen H. “The Syntax of 1 Peter: Just How Good is the Greek?” Bulletin for Biblical Research 13, no. 2 (2003): 159–173.
Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. 2nd ed. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2014.
Köstenberger, Andreas J., L. Scott Kellum, and Charles L. Quarles. The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament. 2nd ed. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2016.
“Pliny and Trajan letters,” Accessed June 11, 2021, https://faculty.georgetown.edu/jod/texts/pliny.html.
Schreiner, Thomas R. I and II Peter, Jude. New American Commentary, vol. 37. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2003.
“Tacitus (c. 55 -117 CE): Nero’s persecution of the Christians,” Accessed June 11, 2021, https://brians.wsu.edu/2016/11/14/tacitus-neros-persecution-of-the-christians/.
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