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St. Peter in Prison (The Apostle Peter Kneeling), Rembrandt, 1631

St. Peter in Prison (The Apostle Peter Kneeling), Rembrandt, 1631. Public domain.

New Testament · Book 60 of 66

1 Peter

1 Peter is Peter's letter to believers scattered through the provinces of Asia Minor. He encourages them to hold on to their living hope while they suffer and calls them a royal priesthood and a holy nation.

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St. Peter in Prison (The Apostle Peter Kneeling), Rembrandt, 1631

St. Peter in Prison (The Apostle Peter Kneeling), Rembrandt, 1631. Public domain.

What is 1 Peter about?

1 Peter is a letter to believers scattered through five regions of Asia Minor, who were slandered and shamed by their neighbours for their faith. Peter tells them that God has given them new birth into “a living hope” (1:3) and an inheritance no trial can touch. He gives them Israel's own titles, a chosen people and a holy priesthood built on Christ the living stone. He shows them how to live well under rulers, masters and husbands, and how to suffer for doing good as Christ did. He ends with the elders and the call to stand firm in the true grace of God.

All 5 chapters

Every chapter of the book, in one grid. Each cell opens that chapter.

  • A living hopeChapter 1
  • A holy people among the nationsChapters 2 and 3
  • The fiery trialChapter 4
  • The shepherds and the lionChapter 5

The colour is the movement of the letter the chapter stands in, and every cell opens that chapter's Study level.

1A living hope2The living stone3Suffering for doing good4The fiery trial5The Chief Shepherd

Who wrote it, where, when, for whom, and why?

The letter names its writer in its first words, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ (1:1), and he calls himself a fellow elder and a witness of Christ's sufferings (5:1). He writes through Silvanus, a faithful brother (5:12), and sends greetings from Mark, whom he calls his son (5:13). A second letter under his name calls itself the second he has written (2 Peter 3:1).

As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:

1 Peter 5:1, Berean Standard Bible.

The letter goes to Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (1:1), the regions north and west of the Taurus mountains. It is sent from the church in Babylon (5:13), and which city that name means is taken up under Where do readers disagree.

Peter writes within his own lifetime, as one who saw Christ suffer. He speaks of rulers as sent to punish wrong and praise the right (2:14) and tells the readers to honour the king (2:17), while the trial of fire has already come upon them (4:12).

The readers are elect exiles of the Dispersion (1:1), who once lived in the empty way of life of their fathers (1:18) and in the desires of the Gentiles (4:3). They include servants with harsh masters (2:18) and wives whose husbands refuse to believe the word (3:1). Their neighbours slander them as evildoers (2:12) and are surprised that they no longer join them (4:4).

Peter writes briefly to encourage them and to testify that this is the true grace of God, and he tells them to stand firm in it (5:12). He answers their shame with their hope, their calling and the example of Christ.

Through Silvanus, 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 firm in it.

1 Peter 5:12, Berean Standard Bible.

Sources. 1 Peter 1:1, 1:18, 2:12, 2:14, 2:17 to 18, 3:1, 4:3 to 4, 4:12, 5:1, 5:12 to 13; 2 Peter 3:1. Every verse is read in the Berean Standard Bible.

How is 1 Peter arranged, and what is it for?

The four movements the letter falls into, then what it teaches and what it was written to do.

  1. A living hopeChapter 1, 25 verses, the turn at 1:3

    The exiles are born again to an inheritance kept in heaven, ransomed by the blood of Christ and called to be holy.

  2. A holy people among the nationsChapters 2 and 3, 47 verses, the turn at 2:9

    Built on the living stone into God's own people, they live well under rulers, masters and husbands, following Christ who suffered.

  3. The fiery trialChapter 4, 19 verses, the turn at 4:13

    The end is near, so they love and serve, and they rejoice to share Christ's sufferings when the trial comes.

  4. The shepherds and the lionChapter 5, 14 verses, the turn at 5:10

    Elders tend the flock under the Chief Shepherd, and all stand humble and alert against the adversary.

The theme

Believers are strangers in the world because God has chosen them and given them a home in heaven. The letter binds three things together: the hope that the resurrection secures, the holy people God builds on Christ, and suffering for doing good, which Christ bore first. Suffering comes before glory for the Lord and for his people, and the grace of God holds them through it.

The purpose

Peter wrote so that the churches would not be surprised or ashamed when they suffered for the name of Christ. He wants them to keep their conduct good among unbelievers, to answer for their hope with gentleness, to love one another deeply and to cast their anxiety on God (5:7).

The stone and the people: the Scriptures of 2:4 to 10

  1. 2:6“See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone”

    Isaiah 28:16“See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone”

    Quotation

  2. 2:7“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”

    Psalm 118:22“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”

    Quotation

  3. 2:8“A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”

    Isaiah 8:14“a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”

    Quotation

  4. 2:9“a royal priesthood, a holy nation”

    Exodus 19:6“a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”

    Quotation

  5. 2:9“a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him”

    Isaiah 43:21“The people I formed for Myself will declare My praise”

    Allusion

  6. 2:10“Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God”

    Hosea 2:23“I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’ ‘You are My people,’”

    Allusion

  7. 2:10“once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy”

    Hosea 1:10“they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”

    Allusion
Read from the top. The first three rows are the stone: laid by God in Zion, rejected by the builders, a stone to stumble on. The last four are the people who come to it, whom Peter calls "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (2:9), the titles God gave Israel at Sinai. A quotation is a row the store's table of quotations holds; an allusion is a row where Peter takes up the passage's words in his own sentence. Sources: 1 Peter 2:6 to 10; Isaiah 28:16, 8:14 and 43:21; Psalm 118:22; Exodus 19:6; Hosea 1:10 and 2:23; all in the Berean Standard Bible, with the marks of the store's table of quotations.

A living hope, 1 Peter 1

What chapter 1 says, and the pages it opens on.

Peter greets the elect exiles, chosen by the Father, set apart by the Spirit and sprinkled by the blood of Christ. He blesses God for their new birth and for an inheritance kept in heaven, and he says their trials test their faith as fire tests gold. The prophets searched for this salvation, and angels long to look into it. So the readers must set their minds and their hope on the coming of Christ, and be holy because God is holy. They were ransomed with precious blood, not with silver or gold, and born again through the word of God, which stands forever.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 Peter 1:3, Berean Standard Bible. The new birth into a living hope is the ground of everything the letter asks of its readers.
  • 1 Peter 1the new birth, faith tested as gold, be holy, the precious bloodShow summary, 4 pages

    Written to elect sojourners of the Dispersion, chosen 'according to the foreknowledge of God the Father'. Then the doxology that sets the key: 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,' to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, reserved in heaven (1:3-4). Trials are the fire proving faith more precious than gold: 'Though you have not seen Him, you love Him'. The prophets searched what the Spirit of Christ in them signified, 'angels long to look into these things' (1:12). You were redeemed not with silver or gold but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish.

    On this chapter (4)

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What perishes and what lasts, in chapter 1

  1. The inheritance
    What perishes

    1:7“gold, which perishes even though refined by fire”

    What lasts

    1:4“an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you”

  2. The price
    What perishes

    1:18“perishable things such as silver or gold”

    What lasts

    1:19“the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot”

  3. The seed
    What perishes

    1:23“not of perishable seed”

    What lasts

    1:23“of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God”

Each row sets what the chapter calls perishable beside what it calls imperishable: the inheritance, the price paid for the readers, and the seed of their new birth. Gold is tested by fire and still perishes; what the readers have received lasts. Sources: 1 Peter 1:4, 1:7, 1:18 to 19 and 1:23 in the Berean Standard Bible.

Characters (3)

Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.

  • Peter

    An apostle of Jesus Christ, writing to the churches.

  • The elect exiles

    Believers chosen by God and scattered through five regions.

  • The prophets

    They searched for the time of the grace to come.

Places (3)

Where the chapters stand.

  • Pontus

    The district on the Black Sea named first in 1:1.

  • Galatia

    The central plateau of Asia Minor.

  • Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia

    The other regions the letter goes to.

Themes (3)

What these chapters raise, a door where the page stands.

Where these chapters take up the Old Testament (2)each marked as the store marks it, with James and Romans beside it
  • Explicit quotationLeviticus 19:2 at 1 Peter 1:16. The same command stands at Leviticus 11:44. Marked a quotation in the store's table of quotations.
  • Explicit quotationIsaiah 40:6 at 1 Peter 1:24. The quotation runs on through Isaiah 40:8 at 1:25. Marked a quotation in the store's table of quotations.

Beside it in James and in Romans 12 to 13: 1 Peter 1:6 with James 1:2; 1 Peter 1:6 with Romans 12:12, the store's cross references with the most votes.

A holy people among the nations, 1 Peter 2 to 3

What chapters 2 and 3 say, and the pages they open on.

Like newborn babies, the readers are to crave pure milk. They come to Christ, the living stone rejected by men and chosen by God, and are built into a spiritual house. Once they were not a people; now they are God's own people, sent to proclaim his praise. So they keep their conduct honourable among the Gentiles, submit to the emperor and his governors, and serve even harsh masters, because Christ suffered and left them an example. Wives win husbands without words, husbands honour their wives, and all repay insult with blessing. Christ suffered once for sins, preached to the spirits in prison, and brought eight souls through water in the days of Noah.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9, Berean Standard Bible. The titles of 2:9 tell the readers who they are, and the rest of chapters 2 and 3 tells them how that people lives among its neighbours.
  • 1 Peter 2the living stone, a chosen people, servants and the example of ChristShow summary, 4 pages

    Long: 'Like newborn babies,' for the spiritual milk which is without guile. Coming to Christ, a living stone rejected of men but with God elect and precious, 'you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood'. And three stone texts are stacked: Isaiah 28's corner stone, Psalm 118's 'stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,' Isaiah 8's rock of offence. Then the church's charter, borrowed from Sinai and Hosea: 'you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession' (2:9). And then Isaiah 53 pours through: 'He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”'

    On this chapter (4)

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  • 1 Peter 3wives and husbands, a reason for the hope, the spirits in prisonShow summary, 5 pages

    Wives are counselled to an adornment that is not the plaiting of hair or jewels of gold but 'the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit' (3:4); husbands, to give honor as joint-heirs of the grace of life, 'so that your prayers will not be hindered' (3:7). Then the apologetic charge: 'Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect' (3:15). Christ suffered for sins once, 'put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit, in whom He also went and preached to the spirits in prison', disobedient in the days of Noah, and read here in the house's Genesis 6 frame as the bound angelic offenders of 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6.

    On this chapter (5)

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The Scriptures Peter builds 2:4 to 10 from stand in the stone and the people, under The book as a whole.

Christ who suffered, 2:21 to 25, beside Isaiah 53

  1. 2:22“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth”

    Isaiah 53:9“nor was any deceit in His mouth”

    Quotation

  2. 2:23“When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate”

    Isaiah 53:7“He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth”

    Allusion

  3. 2:24“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree”

    Isaiah 53:12“He bore the sin of many”

    Allusion

  4. 2:24“By His stripes you are healed”

    Isaiah 53:5“by His stripes we are healed”

    Quotation

  5. 2:25“you were like sheep going astray”

    Isaiah 53:6“We all like sheep have gone astray”

    Quotation
Peter tells servants with harsh masters to follow the example of Christ, and he describes that example in the words of the Servant of Isaiah 53, in the order the rows give. A quotation is a row the store's table of quotations holds or the Berean text sets in quotation marks; an allusion is a row where Peter takes up the Servant's words in his own sentence. Sources: 1 Peter 2:22 to 25 and Isaiah 53:5 to 12 in the Berean Standard Bible, with the marks of the store's table of quotations.

Characters (4)

Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.

  • Servants

    Household slaves told to endure unjust suffering as Christ did.

  • Wives and husbands

    Wives who win husbands by conduct, husbands who honour wives.

  • Sarah

    She called Abraham lord, and believing wives are her children.

  • Noah

    Eight souls were brought through water while the ark was built.

Places (2)

Where the chapters stand.

  • Zion

    Where God lays the chosen cornerstone (2:6).

  • Among the Gentiles

    The neighbours who watch the readers' conduct (2:12).

Themes (4)

What these chapters raise, a door where the page stands.

Where these chapters take up the Old Testament (7)each marked as the store marks it, with James and Romans beside it
  • Explicit quotationIsaiah 28:16 at 1 Peter 2:6. Marked a quotation in the store's table of quotations.
  • Explicit quotationPsalm 118:22 at 1 Peter 2:7. Marked a quotation in the store's table of quotations.
  • Explicit quotationIsaiah 8:14 at 1 Peter 2:8. Marked a quotation in the store's table of quotations.
  • Explicit quotationExodus 19:6 at 1 Peter 2:9. The store's row names Isaiah 43:20 to 21 beside it. Marked a quotation in the store's table of quotations.
  • Explicit quotationIsaiah 53:9 at 1 Peter 2:22. Marked a quotation in the store's table of quotations.
  • Explicit quotationPsalm 34:12 at 1 Peter 3:10. The quotation runs on through Psalm 34:16 at 3:12. Marked a quotation in the store's table of quotations.
  • Explicit quotationIsaiah 8:12 at 1 Peter 3:14. Isaiah 8:13 follows at 3:15, the LORD regarded as holy. Marked a quotation in the store's table of quotations.

Beside it in James and in Romans 12 to 13: 1 Peter 2:24 with James 5:16; 1 Peter 3:9 with Romans 12:17, the store's cross references with the most votes.

The fiery trial, 1 Peter 4

What chapter 4 says, and the pages it opens on.

Christ suffered in the body, so the readers arm themselves with the same resolve and no longer live for the desires of the Gentiles, who are surprised and heap abuse on them. The end of all things is near, so they pray, love one another deeply, welcome one another and use every gift as stewards of God's grace. When the fiery trial comes, they should not think it strange. To suffer for the name of Christ is to share his sufferings, and the Spirit of glory rests on them. Judgment begins with the family of God, so those who suffer entrust themselves to their faithful Creator.

But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.
1 Peter 4:13, Berean Standard Bible. Peter turns suffering for the name into sharing Christ's sufferings, and so into joy at his glory.
  • 1 Peter 4the end is near, stewards of grace, suffering as a ChristianShow summary, 4 pages

    'Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve'. The past time suffices to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and old friends now 'consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion'. Then the letter tightens: 'The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray. Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins' (4:7-8). 'Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial … But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ' (4:12-13). 'But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name.'

    On this chapter (4)

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Suffering as a Christian and as an evildoer, 4:12 to 19

  1. The cause
    Suffering as a Christian

    4:14“If you are insulted for the name of Christ”

    The evildoer and the ungodly

    4:15“as a murderer or thief or wrongdoer, or even as a meddler”

  2. The verdict
    Suffering as a Christian

    4:16“do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name”

    The evildoer and the ungodly

    4:15“none of you should suffer as a murderer”

  3. The judgment
    Suffering as a Christian

    4:17“judgment to begin with the family of God”

    The evildoer and the ungodly

    4:17“what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?”

  4. The end
    Suffering as a Christian

    4:18“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved”

    The evildoer and the ungodly

    4:18“what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

What the sufferer does

4:19“those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust their souls to their faithful Creator and continue to do good”

Each row sets what the chapter says of suffering for the name of Christ beside what it says of suffering for wrongdoing and of those who disobey the gospel. Only the first is blessed, and the chapter ends by telling the one who suffers by God's will what to do. Sources: 1 Peter 4:14 to 19 in the Berean Standard Bible.

Characters (3)

Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.

  • The Gentiles

    Former companions who are surprised and heap abuse (4:4).

  • Stewards of grace

    Each believer, serving with the gift received (4:10).

  • The one who suffers as a Christian

    The one who bears the name and glorifies God for it (4:16).

Themes (3)

What these chapters raise, a door where the page stands.

Where these chapters take up the Old Testament (1)each marked as the store marks it, with James and Romans beside it
  • Explicit quotationProverbs 11:31 at 1 Peter 4:18. Marked a quotation in the store's table of quotations.

Beside it in James and in Romans 12 to 13: 1 Peter 4:7 with James 5:8 to 9; 1 Peter 4:10 with Romans 12:6 to 8, the store's cross references with the most votes.

The shepherds and the lion, 1 Peter 5

What chapter 5 says, and the pages it opens on.

Peter appeals to the elders as a fellow elder: shepherd God's flock willingly and by example, and the Chief Shepherd will give the crown of glory. The young submit to the elders, and all put on humility, because God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. They cast every anxiety on God. The devil prowls like a roaring lion, and they resist him, firm in faith, knowing believers everywhere suffer the same. After a little while the God of all grace will restore them. The letter ends with Silvanus, greetings from the church in Babylon and from Mark, and peace.

And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.
1 Peter 5:10, Berean Standard Bible. The promise of 5:10 answers the whole letter: the suffering lasts a little while, and God himself restores.
  • 1 Peter 5the elders, humility, the roaring lion, greetings from BabylonShow summary, 5 pages

    Peter writes to elders as a fellow-elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ: 'Be shepherds of God’s flock that is among you … not out of compulsion … not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock' (5:2-3), and when the chief Shepherd is manifested, you shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away. Gird yourselves with humility, for Proverbs 3 stands again. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God: 'Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you' (5:7). Then the watchword: 'Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.'

    On this chapter (5)

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The five regions of 1:1

The five regions of 1 Peter 1:1 on a schematic mapFrom east to west along the Black Sea stand Pontus, named first, and Bithynia, named last. Galatia stands in the centre, Cappadocia to its south-east, and Asia on the west coast by the Aegean. A dashed line joins them in the order 1:1 names them: Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia. A scale bar marks 200 km.Black SeaAegeanMediterranean1. Pontus2. Galatia3. Cappadocia4. Asia5. Bithynia200 km
  1. 1PontusThe district along the south shore of the Black Sea.
  2. 2GalatiaThe central plateau around Ancyra, and the province south of it.
  3. 3CappadociaThe high country east of Galatia, around Caesarea.
  4. 4AsiaThe Roman province of the west coast, with Ephesus.
  5. 5BithyniaThe north-west, on the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara.

Known: the region is named in the letter and its place is certain.

Babylon: the greeting of 5:13 comes from the church there. The city is read as Rome or as Babylon on the Euphrates, and the readings stand under Where do readers disagree.

A schematic map of the five regions. Each marker stands at the middle of a region the letter names, and the numbers and the dashed line follow the order in which 1:1 names them. The regions are Roman provinces and districts of the first century, so each is drawn as known. The scale bar marks 200 km. Sources: 1 Peter 1:1 and 5:13 in the Berean Standard Bible; the regions placed by longitude and latitude.

Characters (4)

Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.

  • The elders

    Shepherds of God's flock, with Peter as a fellow elder.

  • The Chief Shepherd

    Christ, who gives the unfading crown when he appears.

  • The adversary

    The devil, who prowls like a roaring lion (5:8).

  • Silvanus and Mark

    The faithful brother, and the one Peter calls his son.

Places (2)

Where the chapters stand.

  • Babylon

    The church there sends greetings (5:13).

  • Throughout the world

    Where believers suffer the same things (5:9).

Themes (3)

What these chapters raise, a door where the page stands.

Where these chapters take up the Old Testament (1)each marked as the store marks it, with James and Romans beside it
  • Explicit quotationProverbs 3:34 at 1 Peter 5:5. Marked a quotation in the store's table of quotations.

Beside it in James and in Romans 12 to 13: 1 Peter 5:8 with James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:5 with Romans 12:10, the store's cross references with the most votes.

Where do readers disagree?

One list: the readings with their holders, and what the evidence does not settle.

  • Did Peter write the letter, and what part did Silvanus take (5:12)?

    • Peter wrote it, and Silvanus carried it. Held by Eusebius of Caesarea in his Church History, 3.3, and by John Wesley in his Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 5:12.
    • Peter's letter, set in Greek by Silvanus. Held by Edward Gordon Selwyn, The First Epistle of St. Peter (1946).
    • Written after Peter's death, in his name. Held by John H. Elliott, 1 Peter, Anchor Bible (2000).

    What the evidence does not settle: How much of the Greek is Peter's own; the letter says that he wrote briefly through Silvanus (5:12).

    The argument in full

    Peter wrote it, and Silvanus carried it. The letter names Peter as its writer and a witness of Christ's sufferings (1:1, 5:1), the early church received it as his from the first, and "Through Silvanus" names the man who took the letter to the churches.

    Peter's letter, set in Greek by Silvanus. The polished Greek and the Greek form of the Old Testament quotations fit a fisherman of Galilee writing through a trusted helper, and 5:12 names that helper.

    Written after Peter's death, in his name. The Greek, the echoes of Paul and the setting point to a circle in Rome that carried on Peter's teaching and wrote under his name.

  • Is the Babylon of 5:13 Rome?

    Babylon→
    • Rome, named as Babylon. Held by Eusebius of Caesarea in his Church History, 2.15, reporting Papias, and by Oecumenius in his Commentary on 1 Peter, on 5:13.
    • Babylon on the Euphrates. Held by Adam Clarke in his Commentary on the Bible, on 5:13, and by John Gill in his Exposition of the New Testament, on 5:13.

    What the evidence does not settle: Which city the name stands for; 5:13 names Babylon and sends the greeting of the church there.

    The argument in full

    Rome, named as Babylon. Mark was with Peter, the early church placed Peter in Rome, and Revelation calls Rome Babylon (Revelation 17:5, 18:2).

    Babylon on the Euphrates. The letter names the place plainly, Babylon held a large community of the Jewish dispersion, and no reason is given for a hidden name.

  • Who are the spirits in prison of 3:18 to 20, and when did Christ preach to them?

    The Watchers and the Nephilim→
    • The fallen angels of Genesis 6, after the resurrection. Held by William J. Dalton, Christ's Proclamation to the Spirits (1965), by J. Ramsey Michaels, 1 Peter, Word Biblical Commentary (1988), and by Michael S. Heiser, Reversing Hermon (2017).
    • Christ preaching through Noah to that generation. Held by Augustine in his Letter 164 to Evodius, and by Bede in his Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, on 3:19.
    • Christ among the dead between his death and his rising. Held by Tertullian in his Treatise on the Soul, chapter 55, and by Hippolytus of Rome in On Christ and Antichrist, section 26.

    What the evidence does not settle: Who the spirits are and when the preaching took place; the text says they disobeyed in the days of Noah.

    The argument in full

    The fallen angels of Genesis 6, after the resurrection. The word spirits names beings other than humans, the verb "went" is used again of Christ going into heaven at 3:22, and 2 Peter 2:4 to 5 and Jude 6 set imprisoned angels beside the flood.

    Christ preaching through Noah to that generation. The Spirit of Christ spoke in the prophets (1:11), Noah was a preacher of righteousness, and the hearers are now in prison because they disobeyed while God waited.

    Christ among the dead between his death and his rising. Christ spent three days in the heart of the earth and went to the dead, as the creed says he descended, before he rose.

    This site's tradition, Wesleyan-Pentecostal, holds the first reading, the angels of Genesis 6, and names 1 Enoch as a study resource and never as Scripture.

  • What does "the baptism that now saves you" of 3:21 mean?

    Water baptism→
    • The inward grace the water signifies. Held by John Wesley in his Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 3:21.
    • The rite through which God saves. Held by Augustine in his Eight Questions of Dulcitius, question 1, and by Bede in his Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, on 3:21.
    • The answer of the conscience toward God. Held by Tertullian in On the Resurrection of the Flesh, on 3:21.

    What the evidence does not settle: How the water, the pledge and the resurrection of Christ belong together in the one sentence; every reading holds that the power is the resurrection.

    The argument in full

    The inward grace the water signifies. The same verse says it is not the removal of dirt from the body, so what saves is the grace of God received in faith, of which baptism is the pledge.

    The rite through which God saves. The verse says baptism saves, and the Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican traditions take the rite as the means God uses to join a person to the risen Christ.

    The answer of the conscience toward God. The saving element is the pledge a person makes to God in baptism, which is why the Baptist and free church traditions baptise those who answer for themselves.

  • Who are the dead to whom the gospel was preached in 4:6?

    • Believers who heard it in life and have since died. Held by Albert Barnes in his Notes on the New Testament, on 4:6.
    • The spiritually dead, the Gentiles. Held by James Macknight in his New Literal Translation of All the Apostolical Epistles, on 4:6.
    • The dead in the place of the dead, visited by Christ. Held by Cyril of Jerusalem in his Catechetical Lectures, lecture 4, and by Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae, part 3, question 52.

    What the evidence does not settle: Whether the dead were dead when they heard; the verse says that the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead.

    The argument in full

    Believers who heard it in life and have since died. The dead of 4:5 are the dead in the plain sense, and those who heard the gospel and died are judged by men yet live to God.

    The spiritually dead, the Gentiles. Dead can mean dead in sin, and the gospel came to Gentiles who were condemned by men but live to God in the Spirit.

    The dead in the place of the dead, visited by Christ. Christ went down to the dead to set free the righteous who waited there, and 4:6 speaks of that preaching.

  • Are the readers exiles in fact or in figure, Jews or Gentiles?

    A royal priesthood→
    • Christians as strangers in the world. Held by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown in their Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, on 1:1.
    • Jewish believers of the dispersion, with Gentile converts. Held by Adam Clarke in his Commentary on the Bible, on 1:1.
    • Resident aliens in the plain social sense. Held by John H. Elliott, A Home for the Homeless (1981).

    What the evidence does not settle: How far the words describe the readers' standing in their cities and how far their standing before God; the text calls them both exiles and a people.

    The argument in full

    Christians as strangers in the world. The readers are travellers passing through this world, scattered among unbelievers as Israel was among the nations, and 1:18 and 4:3 describe a Gentile past.

    Jewish believers of the dispersion, with Gentile converts. The Dispersion names Jews living outside the land, and some may have been driven there by persecution.

    Resident aliens in the plain social sense. The words of 1:1 and 2:11 name a real class of resident foreigners with limited rights in their cities, to whom the church gave a home.

  • Which suffering does the letter answer, persecution by the state or the hostility of neighbours?

    The question of suffering→
    • Slander and abuse from neighbours. Held by John H. Elliott, A Home for the Homeless (1981).
    • Persecution to death coming upon them. Held by Albert Barnes in his Notes on the New Testament, on 4:12.

    What the evidence does not settle: Whether any court had yet acted; the text names insult for the name of Christ and suffering as a Christian.

    The argument in full

    Slander and abuse from neighbours. The letter names slander (2:12, 3:16) and abuse (4:4) and calls rulers sent to praise the right (2:14), which fits hostility in the town before any court.

    Persecution to death coming upon them. The word for the fiery trial means a burning, and suffering for the name Christian (4:16) points to a severe persecution then coming upon them.

The Text and the Spade

The Greek and Roman household code

Greco-Roman, in the philosophical and legal traditionfrom Aristotle's Politics in the 4th century BC through the moralists of the 1st century AD

The parallel

Ancient writers on the household set out duties in fixed pairs: masters and slaves, husbands and wives, fathers and children. Peter's section at 2:13-3:7 follows the same sequence of relationships and uses the same vocabulary of subjection and honor.

Read honestly

The form is genuinely shared and the content moves. The Greek and Roman codes instructed the head of the household about managing the rest. Peter addresses the servants first and at the greatest length, speaks to wives as people making their own decision about their own faith, and gives husbands a command with a sanction attached to their prayers. He also grounds all of it in an example, and the example is a man who was executed.

1 Enoch 6 to 16 and the Watchers tradition

Second Temple Jewish, written in Aramaic and preserved in Greek and Ge'ezthe Book of the Watchers usually dated to the 3rd century BC, with copies among the Dead Sea Scrolls

The parallel

The book expands Genesis 6:1-4 into a full narrative: angelic beings descend, take wives, teach forbidden knowledge, are bound in a place of confinement to await judgment, and receive an announcement of that judgment carried to them by Enoch. Peter's phrase about spirits in prison who were disobedient in the days of Noah lands in the middle of that story, and Jude quotes the book by name at Jude 1:14.

Read honestly

The parallel is real and the New Testament writers assume their readers know the material. What follows from it is limited and should be stated carefully. 1 Enoch is a labeled study resource on this site and never Scripture, and a quotation or allusion establishes that the writer knew a text. What the background does establish is the vocabulary Peter's first readers brought to 3:19, which is why the letter can name the spirits in prison in one clause.

Resident aliens and the language of the Greek city

Greek and Roman civic practice across Asia Minorattested in inscriptions from the classical period through the Roman empire

The parallel

Cities distinguished citizens from long-term foreign residents and from travellers passing through, and the two words Peter uses at 1:1 and 2:11 are the ordinary terms for those categories. Such people paid local taxes, could hold property under restrictions, and left the vote in the assembly to its citizens.

Read honestly

The social colour is genuine and it sharpens the letter. Peter uses a legal condition his readers understood in their bones as the description of a Christian's standing in the world. Whether some of the readers were literally resident aliens is a separate question, argued by John H. Elliott (A Home for the Homeless, 1981) and left open here, since 2:11 makes the theological sense unmistakable either way.

The pages 1 Peter opens on

Studies101

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People and groups4

Places4

Words6

Books beside it6

Sources for this page

The movements, the chapter entries, the figures and the Context are read off the text of 1 Peter. The store's table of quotations marks 11 quotations of the Old Testament in the letter, listed under each movement, and the lines to James and Romans are its cross references with the most votes. The works behind the readings under Where do readers disagree are Tertullian, A Treatise on the Soul and On the Resurrection of the Flesh; Hippolytus of Rome, On Christ and Antichrist; Eusebius of Caesarea, Church History; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures; Augustine, Letter 164 and Eight Questions of Dulcitius; Oecumenius, Commentary on 1 Peter; Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles; Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae (1274); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746 to 1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755); James Macknight, A New Literal Translation of All the Apostolical Epistles (1795); Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible (1832); Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament (1832 to 1869); Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871); Edward Gordon Selwyn, The First Epistle of St. Peter (1946); William J. Dalton, Christ's Proclamation to the Spirits (1965); John H. Elliott, A Home for the Homeless (1981) and 1 Peter, Anchor Bible (2000); J. Ramsey Michaels, 1 Peter, Word Biblical Commentary (1988); Michael S. Heiser, Reversing Hermon (2017). Every verse quoted on this page is the Berean Standard Bible, read from the store.

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