[ 1Pe 1:1-2]. Peter the High Commissioner of Jesus, who is Messiah of Greeks as of Jews, sends greeting after the Christian fashion, in which the Greek and Jewish formulas have been combined and transformed, to the Churches of Northern Asia Minor. They are the dispersion of the New Israel, chosen out of the whole world in accordance with God’s foreknowledge of their fitness, to undergo the hallowing of His Spirit, and with a view to their reception into His Church. For the result, and therefore the purpose, of their election is that they may profess obedience and receive the outward sign of sprinkling, being baptised into the death of Jesus Christ. For them may grace (and not mere greeting) and peace (God’s peace not man’s) be multiplied! For discussion of writer and readers see Introduction.
[ 1Pe 1:2]. The three clauses κατὰ …, ἐν …, and εἰς … qualify ἐκλεκτοῖς and perhaps also ἀπόστολος (as Oecumenius) Peter himself is elect and shares their privileges but had no need to magnify his office, as had St. Paul. Yet see [ Act 15:7] ff.
κατὰ πρόγνωσιν.… The noun occurs only in [ Act 2:23] (speech of St.Peter) in reference to the slaying of Christ τῇ ὡρισμένῃ βουλῇ καὶ προγνώσει τοῦ θεοῦ, cf. [ 1Pe 1:20]. The use of nouns instead of verbs is characteristic of this Epistle. The same idea is expressed more elaborately by St. Paul in [ Rom 8:29] (q.v.). Cf. Origen, Philocalia, 15. Oecumenius infers that the Apostle is thus the equal of the prophets, especially Jeremiah (v. [ Jer 1:5]).—ἐν ἁγιασμῷ πνεύματος, subjective genitive like θεοῦ, being elect they are within the sphere of the proper work of the Holy Spirit. The context excludes the rendering hallowing of the (human) spirit. Peter uses the stereotyped phrase; cf. [ 2Th 2:13] (which corresponds exactly to the whole context) εἵλατο ὑμᾶς ὁ θεὸς ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς (κατὰ πρ. θ. π.) … ἐν ἁγιασμῷ πνεύματος καὶ πίστει ἀληθείας (εἰς ὑπ.).—εἰς ὑπακοὴν … Ι. Χριστοῦ, the goal or purpose of their election. Obedience is a technical term: sc. to God; cf. [ 1Pe 1:14], where it is contrasted with the ignorant disobedience of their past lives ([ 1Pe 1:22]). As Christians, they obeyed God and not men ([ Act 4:19]; [ Act 5:29]); God gives His Holy Spirit to them that obey Him ([ Act 5:32]). Compare the Pauline obedience of faith. This obedience implies a change of mind in Jew and in Gentile, which is effected by the sprinkling of blood of Jesus Christ. They are now cleansed from sin, which is disobedience in Jew or Gentile. Jesus Christ, the mediator of the new covenant, sprinkles those whom God selected with His own blood, as Moses sprinkled the children of Israel who had promised obedience with the blood of oxen ([ Exo 24:7] f.; cf. [ Heb 9:19]). But references to other sprinklings of the O.T., unconnected with obedience, must not be excluded. The word ῥαντισμός is appropriated, for example, to the water in which the ashes of the heifer were dissolved ( Numbers 19); and a less obvious explanation is supported by Barnabas, “that by the remission of sins we might be purified, that is in the sprinkling of His blood for it stands writte.… by His bruise we were healed ([ Isa 53:5])”. Indeed the best commentary is supplied by the Epistle to the Hebrews in which evidence of the O.T. is reviewed and the conclusion drawn that according to the law everything is cleansed by blood. All the types were summed up in the fulfilment (see especially Hebrews 9.) whether they related to the Covenant or to the Worship. So in [ Heb 12:24] the blood of Abel the first martyr is drawn into the composite picture of typical blood sheddings. It would be possible to take ὑπακοήν with Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, and to render either that ye might obey Jesus Christ (cf. [ 1Pe 1:22]; [ 2Co 10:5]) being sprinkled with His blood or that ye might obey as He obeyed even unto death (cf. [ Heb 5:8]; [ Php 2:8]). χάρις … πληθυνθείη· This full formula is found also in 2 Peter and Jude. For precedent see Dan. 3:31. Its use here is not merely a convention peculiar to the Petrine school; grace and peace are multiplied to match the growth of hostility with which the Christians addressed are confronted, lest the word of Jesus be fulfilled διὰ τὸ πληθυνθῆναι τὴν ἀνομίαν ψυγήσεται ἡ ἀγάπη τῶν πολλῶν ([ Mat 24:12]); cf. [ Rom 5:20] f. In the Pastoral Epistles ἔλεος (cf. [ 1Pe 1:3]) is inserted between χ. and εἰρ., so [ 2Jn 1:3]. From [ Gal 6:16] it appears that ἔλεος stood originally in the place which χάρις usurped (as distinctively Christian and reminiscent of the familar χαίρειν); so that the source will be [ Num 6:24-26]. κύριος … ἐλεήσαι σε … καὶ δῴη σοι εἰρήνην.
[ 1Pe 1:3-12]. Benediction of the Name. The mention of God is followed by the Benediction of the Name as Jewish piety prescribed; the formula the Holy One, blessed be He, being amplified by the Christian appreciation of their fuller knowledge. The Apostle surpasses the fervour of the Psalmist, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel inasmuch as the last mighty work surpasses all previous deliverances. It falls naturally into three divisions. [ 1Pe 1:3-5] have as their central figure the Father, [ 1Pe 1:6-9] the Son, and [ 1Pe 1:10-12] the Spirit who is at last given, who inspired the prophets of old and now inspires the Christian missionaries. From the past which preceded their acceptance of God’s choice of them and its outward sign St. Peter turns to consider their present condition and to illuminate it with the light of the future glory.
[ 1Pe 1:4]. εἰς κληρ … ἀμάραντον, as God’s sons in virtue of their regeneration they are God’s heirs ([ Gal 4:7]) and have an heavenly inheritance. The accumulated adjectives recall various images employed to describe it—and emphasise the fact that it is eternal ([ Heb 9:15]) and spiritual. It is ἄφθαρτον, incorruptible (cf. [ 1Pe 1:23], [ 1Pe 3:4]) because it belongs to the future life which the risen dead ([ 1Co 15:52]) share with God Himself ([ Rom 1:23]; [ 1Ti 1:17]). It is set where “moth doth not corrupt (διαφθείρει, [ Luk 12:33]: [ Mat 6:19] ff. has ἀφανίζει),” apart from this corruptible world (cf. [ Isa 24:3]). It is the incorruptible crown ([ 1Co 9:25]). The second epithet ἀμίαντον is applied to the great High Priest, [ Heb 7:26] (cf. [ Heb 13:4]; [ Jas 1:27]) and implies again separation from this sinful world of which it is written ἐμιάνατε τὴν γῆν μου καὶ τὴν κληρονομίαν μου ἔθεσθε εἰς βδέλυγμα ([ Jer 2:7]). Compare the description of virtue in Sap. [ 1Pe 4:2], στεφανηφοροῦσα πομπεύει τὸν τῶν ἀμιάντων ἄθλων ἀγῶνα νικήσασα. ἀμάραντον is peculiar to 1 Peter in N.T., cf. ἀμαράντινον ([ 1Pe 1:4]): it is perhaps derived from Sap. 6:12, ἀμάραντός ἐστιν ἡ σοφία, and thus presupposes the identification of eternal life with knowledge of God ([ Joh 17:3]). Compare the application of [ Isa 40:6] f. (cited infra 24) in [ Jas 1:11]. All three suit or are associated with the wreath presented to the victor in the games—a metaphor which the Lord Himself used according to the Apocalypse ([ 1Pe 2:10], cf. [ 1Pe 5:4]; [ Jas 1:12]). Origen (?) in Cramer’s Catena notes that the words contradict Chiliasm. τετηρημένην εἰς ὑμᾶς, reserved (1) with a view to you, cf. [ Joh 12:7], ἵνα εἰς τὴν ἡμέραν … τηρήσῃ, [ 2Pe 2:4], εἰς κρίσιν τηρουμένους; for same use of εἰς in similar context see [ Rom 8:18]. (2. until you came—a sense which would suit the other examples of τηρεῖν εἰς. (3) … for you, εἰς = ì = dative (so Syriac), the writer or translator being influenced by εἰς above and below. The inheritance is still, as it has always been, kept back, but the Christians are sure to succeed to it. So Enoch refers to the secrets of the righteous which shall be revealed (xxxviii. 3); the lot of the righteous which the Son of Man preserves (xlviii. 7); and says Blessed are ye ye righteous and elect for glorious will be your lo … it will be said to the holy that they should seek in heaven the secrets of righteousness the heritage of faith (lviii. 5).
[ 1Pe 1:5]. The Christians addressed are—to complete the metaphor from other passages in the Epistle—a spiritual house (2 5.), which is besieged by the devil ([ 1Pe 1:8]) but guarded and garrisoned by God’s Power. So long as they have faith ([ 1Pe 1:9]) they are safe: “our faith lays hold upon this power and this power strengthens faith and so we are preserved” (Leighton). Without responsive faith God’s power is powerless to heal or to guard (cf. [ Mar 6:5] f. and accounts of Jesus’ miracles generally, [ Jas 1:6] f.). The language seems to echo [ Rom 1:16], δύναμις θεοῦ εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι, combined with [ Gal 3:23] (cf. [ Php 4:7]) where also the distinctive φρουρεῖν occurs in similar context. The Power (âáåøúà) of God is put for Jehovah in the Targum of Isa. xxxiii. 21; and the corresponding use of ἡ δύναμις is found in [ Mar 14:62] (see Dalman, 200 f.; and add ἡ μεγαλωσύνη, a more exact rendering, of [ Heb 1:3]; [ Heb 8:1]). In Philo God’s powers are personified self-manifestations. εἰς σωτηρίαν, κ.τ.λ., is probably the third clause qualification of φρουρ. (cf. [ 1Pe 1:2-3]). Below, the salvation of souls is described as the goal of faith (9) in a passage where the ἑτοίμην, κ.τ.λ., qualify σωτηρίαν rather than κληρονομίαν which is explained by σωτ … ἐσχάτῳ. Salvation is to St. Peter that salvation which is to be revealed in the future (cf. [ 1Pe 1:9], [ 1Pe 2:2]; so [ Rom 13:11], νῦν ἐγγύτερον … ἡ σωτηρία). Partial anticipations he neglects; for them as for Christ the glory follows the present suffering. The idea of the revelation of salvation comes from [ Psa 98:2] (cf. [ Isa 56:1]) which has influenced St. Paul also ([ Rom 1:16] f.). ἑτοίμην seems to be simply the equivalent of öúéø prepared, which St. Paul renders with more attention to current usage than etymology by μέλλουσαν ([ Rom 8:18]; [ Gal 3:23]; so [ 1Pe 5:1]). This weaker sense begins with [ Deu 32:35] (LXX, πάρεστιν ἕτοιμα. as Peter here) and prevails in new Hebrew (Tarphon sai … the recompense of the reward of the righteous is for the time to come. äòúéø ìáà, Aboth, ii. 16). But the proper significance of the word is recognised and utilised in the Parables of Jesus, [ Mat 24:4]; [ Mat 24:8].
καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ, still anarthrous as being technical term—indefinite as the time is unknown as well as in accordance with authors’ custom (cf. δύναμις, πιστέως, σωτηριαν above); cf. [ Joh 2:18].
[ 1Pe 1:6-9]. Exult then. These various temptations to which you are exposed cause present grief. But they are part of God’s plan for you. Even material perishable gold is tried in the fire. So is your faith tested that it may be purged of its dross and the good metal be discovered when Jesus Christ is revealed. You love Him whom you never saw; though you see Him not you believe on Him. Exult then with joy that anticipates your future glory. You are winning the prize of your faith, the ultimate salvation of souls. St. Peter returns to the present and regards it from the point of view of those whom God is guarding—but only to advance again to the glorious future (7 fin, 9) when Jesus Christ the present object of their love and faith shall be revealed. He is the central figure of this section which is based upon two of His sayings which are appropriate to the circumstances of these His persecuted followers ([ Son 4:13]) v. [ Mat 5:12] = [ Rev 19:7] from [ Psa 21:1]; [ Psa 118:24]. Compare [ Jas 1:2-4] and John cited below.
[ 1Pe 1:7]. τὸ δοκίμιον. The evidence of the papyri (Deissmann, Bible Studies, pp. 259 ff.) shows that δοκίμιος is a bye form of the adjective δόκιμος approved; so [ Psa 12:7], ἀργύριον πεπυρωμένον δοκίμιον (cf. 1 Chron. 39:4; [ Zec 11:3], where it occurs as v.l. for δόκιμον). Hence the phrase (here and in [ Jas 1:3]?) corresponds exactly to St. Paul’s τὸ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀγάπης γνήσιον—“the genuineness of your faith or “the approvedness”). So Arethas on [ Rev 9:4], οἱ δὲ τὸ δοκίμιον ἑαυτῶν διὰ πυρὸς παρεχόμενοι. The substantive δ. = “means of trial, testing” which does not suit this context, or a specimen of metal to be tested.—πολυτιμότερον, to justify the common rendering (A.V., R.V.) according to which π. κ.τ.λ. are taken as in apposition to τὸ δοκ., ὄν, must be supplied as if omitted by haplography after πολ. But there is no need for emendation, if πολ. be taken as predicate thrown forward for the sake of emphasis.—χρυσοῦ κ.τ.λ. St. Peter adapts the familiar comparison of man’s suffering to the fining-pot of precious metal, insisting on the superiority of the spiritual to the material gold. The stress lies on διὰ πυρός. True faith is tested by trials, just as gold is proved by fire. It is more valuable than gold which is perishable. If men test gold thus, much more will God test faith which outlives the present age, cf. [ Heb 9:23]. Cf. use of πύρωσις, [ 1Pe 4:12]. For the image, [ Zec 13:9], δοκιμῶ αὐτοὺς ὡς δοκιμάζεται τὸ χρυσίον; [ Psa 66:10]; [ Pro 17:3]; [Sir 2:5], etc.—Τοῦ ἀπολλυμένου, cf. [ Joh 6:27], τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν ἀπ. (contrasted with imperishable food; here gold generally is contrasted with faith) and φθαρτοῖς ἀργυρίῳ καὶ χροσίῳ below.—εὑρεθῇ, cf. [ 2Pe 3:14], σπουδάσατε ἄσπιλοι καὶ ἀμώμητοι αὐτῷ εὑρεθῆναι ἐν εἰρήνῃ; [ Psa 17:3], ἐδοκίμασας τὴν καρδίαν μου … καὶ οὐχ εὑρέθη ἐν ἐμοὶ ἀδικία.—εἰς ἔπαινον … must be taken with the whole sentence, unless ὂν be supplied. So εἰς might introduce the predicate (better stronger) of εὑρ., cf. [ Rom 7:10]. εἰς taken as = ì expressing transition into a new state or condition (as [ Rom 7:10]).—ἔπαινον is the verdict. “Well done good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” The Christian is the true Jew and receives at last the praise which the name Judah signifies. In [ Rom 2:29], ὁ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαῖος … οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρωπων ᾀλλʼ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, Paul follows the alteration of the original ἐξομολόγησις ([ Gen 29:35], LXX, and Philo) consequent upon the transference of the praise (úåãä) from God to men (cf. [ Gen 49:8], Ἰούδα σε αἰνέσαισαν οἱ ἀδελφοί σου). The old Israel set their hope on praise from the congregation ([Sir 39:10]) or glory from men, [ Joh 5:44]; [ Joh 12:42] f. The new Israel looked for praise from God to balance the dispraise of men ([ Mat 5:11] f.); so St. Peter adds ἐπ. to the usual formula δόξαν καὶ τιμήν, [ Rom 2:7]; [ Rom 2:10] ([ Psa 8:6]) δόξῃ καὶ τιμῄ ἐστεφάνωσας ἄνθρωπον, cf. σκεῦος εἰς τιμήν, [ Rom 9:21], for the less obvious word. Hort compares Marcus Aurelius 12:11, μὴ ποιεῖν ἅλλο ἢ ὅπερ μέλλει ὁ θεὸς ἐπαινεῖν.—ἐν ἀποκαλύψει Ιυ. Χυ., when Jesus Christ is revealed. The expression is derived from the saying κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ ἔσται ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀποκαλύπτεται ([ Luk 17:30]). As Judge He will pronounce the verdict of approval and bestow glory and honour. The reference to present glorified joy in the midst of trial suggests that the writer has advanced beyond the simple belief in a final theophany and contemplates a spiritual revelation of Jesus Christ as each Christian (cf. [ Gal 1:16]) realises the meaning of His Resurrection; but cf. μὴ ὁρῶντες below.
[ 1Pe 1:9]. The connexion with mention of persecution suggests that the writer is here thinking of the saying, in your patience ye shall win your souls and perhaps also of the contrast between the persecuton who has only power over the body. Whatever happen to the body the conclusion—the consummation of their faith—is assured them.—κομιζόμενοι implies that already they are receiving what is due to them (cf. [ 1Pe 5:4]) and therefore they rejoice with Hannah in God the Saviour. In the Attic Orators who use a refined form of colloquial Greek the verb is common in the sense of recovering debts, as in [ Mat 25:27], ἐκομισάμην ἂν τὸ ἐμόν. St. Paul applies it to future recompense ([ 2Co 5:10], ἵνα κομίσηται ἕκαστος τὰ διὰ τοῦ σώματος; [ Eph 6:8]; [ Col 3:25]; cf. [2Ma 8:33], τὸν ἄξιον τῆς δυσσεβείας ἐκομίσατο μισθόν); in [ Heb 3:4], it is used of receiving promises.—τὸ τέλος. The common meaning fulfilment or consummation gives a fair sense but the connection with κομιζόμενοι is thus somewhat strange. The parallel of [ 1Pe 1:4], taken with Pindar, Ol. x(xi.) 81, Δόρυκλος δʼ ἔφερε πυγμᾶς τέλος, suggests as a possible rendering because ye receive the reward. The Septuagint, again ([ Num 31:28], etc.), uses τ. to translate îáñ = proportion to be paid, tax. And this use is well established in Greek literature for τὰ τέλη, cf. λυσιτελεῖν, etc. Accordingly Suidas defines τέλος as τὸ διδόμενον τοῖς βασιλεῦσι. The particular connotations can hardly be pressed here but these uses give some colour of support to the Syriac rendering recompense and the mercedem of Augustine; cf. [ Rom 6:22].—σωτηρίαν ψυχῶν ͂ = σωτηρίαν above. ψυχῶν is added to console the readers for their sufferings in accordance with [ Mar 8:35], ὃς δʼ ἂν ἀπολέσει τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου σώσει αὐτήν = [ Joh 12:25]; cf. [ Luk 21:19]; [ Jas 1:21]. The soul for St. Peter is the self or personality as for Jesus Himself.
[ 1Pe 1:10-12].—The ancient prophets prophesied concerning the grace which was destined for you and enquired diligently about this salvation. They were the unconscious instruments of the revelation of God and their first duty done continued to pore over the inspired descriptions of the sufferings and subsequent glories of the Messiah. They asked themselves to whom does this refer and when shall these things be. And to them the revelation was made that they were only the administrators of an estate which others—you in fact should enjoy. The subjects of their prophecies have now been proclaimed to you by your Christian teachers who, like the prophets, were inspired by the Holy Spirit—with this difference that now the Spirit has been sent from heaven whereas of old He dwelt only in minds of a few. And these are the mysteries into which angels long to peep.
St. Peter has utilised a saying of Jesus to explain the great problem of unfulfilled prophecy and expounded it. Among the prophets he includes the so-called apocalyptic writers like Daniel and his successors. Gradually the coming of the Messiah and the dawn of the new age had been pushed further and further back until the inspired prophets realised that—as the Christians held—he Messiah would only come just before the end of all. The Messiah was not Hezekiah despite the Rabbis, nor yet the best of the Hasmonean house as Enoch hoped. ἀπεκαλύφθη. Such was the revelation or Apocalypse from which the latest of the prophets derive their common name; and St. Peter credits all the line with the curiosity which characterised the last of them and his own contemporaries; cf. Acts 2. and [ Heb 11:13] ff. The saying in question on which St. Peter builds is reported differently: According to [ Mat 13:17], Jesus said, πολλοὶ προφῆται καὶ δίκαιοι ἐπεθύμησαν … according to [ Luk 10:24], προφῆται καὶ βασιλεῖς ἠθέλησαν … according to St. Peter προφῆται (10) καὶ ἄγγελοι. The mention of the righteous derives support from [ Heb 11:13-16], and [ Joh 8:56], and an original éùøéí “the righteous” would easily be altered in the course of transmission into ùøéí = princes earthly or heavenly (cf. [ Dan 10:21]; LXX, Μιχαὴλ ὁ ἄγγελος). The motive which prompted the interpretation ἄγγελοι is due to the influence of the Book of Enoch (see note below) which explains the writer’s conception of the prophets.
[ 1Pe 1:11]. The construction of εἰς τ. κ. π. καιρόν and of προμαρτ. is doubtful. ἐραυνῶντες takes up ἐξεζήτησαν κ.τ.λ. (10); the run of the sentence seems to naturally connect τὰ … δόξας with προμαρτ. and εἰς … καιρόν with ἐδήλου. So Vulgate in quod vel quale tempus significare … spiritus … praenuntians … passiones. But if εἰς … καιρὸν be unfit to be a direct object and προμαρτ., perhaps, to have one of this kind. τὰ … δόξας must be governed by ἐδήλου. It is possible also to dissociate τίνα from καιρὸν and to render in reference to whom and what time the Spirit signified …; cf. [ Eph 5:22], ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστόν, [ Act 2:25]. If τίνα be taken with καιρόν, the two words correspond to the two questions of the disciples, When?… and what shall be the sign? ([ Mar 13:4]). Failing to discover at what time, the prophets asked at what kind of time; their answer received a certain endorsement in the eschatological discourse of Jesus ([ Mar 13:5] ff. and parallels).—ἐδήλου, cf. [ Heb 9:8], τοῦτο δηλοῦντος τοῦ Πνεύματος. The word implies discernment on the part of the student ([ Heb 12:27], τὸ δὲ ἔτι ἅπαξ δηλοῖ …). What time … did point unto of R.V. is unjustifiable; a simple accusative is required, i.e., either (1.) ποῖον κ. or (2.) τίνα ἢ π. κ. (εἰς being deleted as dittography of -ες) or (3.) τὰ … δόξας.—τὸ πνεῦμα [Χριστοῦ], the full phrase is a natural one for a Christian to employ—Christ being here the proper name = Jesus Christ and not the title. κύριος in the O.T. was commonly interpreted as referring to Our Lord; and XC. is a frequent v.l. for [144] [145]. Hence Barnabas (v.q.), οἱ προφῆται ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ ἔχον τὴν χάριν εἰς αὐτὸν ἐπροφήτευσαν.—προμαρτυρόμενον only occurs here. If μαρτύρομαι (the proper sense) determine the meaning of the compound render “protesting (calling God to witness) beforehand”. It usage justify confusion with μαρτυρεῖν, be witness [of] render testifying beforehand or (publicly.)—τὰεἰς Χν παθήματα, the doctrine that the Messiah must suffer and so enter into His glory was stated by the prophets (e.g. Isaiah 3.) but neglected by the Jews of the first century ([ Joh 12:34]). Believers were reminded of it by the risen Lord Himself ([ Luk 24:26]; [ Luk 24:46]) and put it in the forefront of their demonstratio evangelica ([ Act 3:18]; [ Act 17:3]; [ Act 26:23]). The phrase corresponds exactly to the original çáìé ùìØ: εἰς standing for the ì (periphrasis for construct. state).—τὰς μετὰ ταῦτα δόξας, the plural glories implies some comprehension of the later doctrine, e.g., John, which recognised that the glory of Jesus was partially manifested during His earthly life; although the definition subsequent reflects the primitive simplicity and if it be pressed the glories must be explained as referring to the resurrection ascension triumph over angels as well as the glorious session ([ Joh 8:21] f.).—οἷς ἀπεκαλύφθη, so St. Peter argues that Joel prophesied the last things (cf. [Sir 48:24]) and that David foresaw and spoke concerning the resurrection ([ Act 2:17]; [ Act 2:31]; cf. [ Act 3:24]). Compare [ Dan 9:2]; [ Dan 12:4], etc., for examples of partial revelations of this kind proper to apocalyptic writers. Heb. l.c. supr. credits the Patriarchs with the same insight.—οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς ὑμῖν δέ, negative and positive presentation of the past for emphasis is common in this Epistle.—διηκόνουν αὐτά, “they were supplying, conveying the revelations granted to them—primary the prophecy and the revealed solution of it alike,” cf. [ 1Pe 4:10], εἰς ἑαυτοὺς αὐτὸ διακονοῦντες. The context shows, if the word διακονεῖν does not itself connote it, that herein they were stewards of God’s manifold grace—channels of communication. For Acc. with διακον. cf, [ 2Co 3:3], ἐπιστολὴ Χριστοῦ διακονηθεῖσα ὑφʼ ἡμῶν, [ 2Co 8:19], τῇ χάριτι ταύτῃ τῇ διακονουμένῃ ὑφʼ ἡμῶν, from which it may be inferred that δ. connotes what the context here suggests, cf. ἃ νῦν ἀνηγγέλη, have been at the present dispensation declared; ἀ. is taken from the great proof text relating to the calling of the Gentiles, οἷς οὐκ ἀνηγγέλη ἀκούουσιν, [ Isa 52:15] cited [ Rom 15:21]. “But St. Peter probably meant more by the word … the phrase includes not only the announcement of the historical facts of the Gospel, but, yet more, their implicit teachings as to the counsels of God and the hopes revealed for men” (Hort).—διὰ τῶν εὐαγγ. ὑμας, God spake through the evangelists (cf. [ Isa 61:1], apud [ Rom 10:15]) as through the prophets, [ Mat 1:22]; [ Mat 2:15], etc. Both are simply God’s messengers. For accusative after εὐαγγ. cf. use of áùø = gladden with good tidings ([ Isa 61:1]). So πτωχοὶ εὐαγγελίζονται ([ Mat 11:5]; [ Luk 7:22]) is substituted for the original πτωχοῖς εὐαγγελίζεσθαι ([ Luk 4:18] = [ Isa 61:1]) if the prophecy which Jesus appropriated and which forms the basis of the Christian use of the word.—πνεύματι κ.τ.λ. The evangelists preached by the Spirit, as Stephen spoke ([ Act 6:10]), τῷ πνεῦματι ᾧ ἐλάλει. In [Sir 48:24], if the Greek and Hebrew texts are trustworthy, πνεύματι the simple Dative (πνεύματι μεγάλῳ εἶδεν τὰ ἔσχατα i.e. Isaiah) corresponds to áøåç: cf. insertion of ἐν here in v. l. The visible descent of the Holy Spirit is contrasted with the indwelling Spirit which inspired the prophets. The Holy Spirit was given, when Jesus was glorified, as never before, οὐκ ἐκ μέτρου ([ Joh 3:34]). Vulgate renders by ablative absolute.—εἰς ἃ … παρακύψαι, after expanding the first part of Jesus’ saying (and its context ye see) St. Peter at last reaches the second in its secondary form. He combines with it as its proper Scripture, the prophecy of Enoch (ix. 1) καὶ ἀκούσαντες οἱ τέσσαρες μεγάλοι ἀρχάγγελοι … παρέ κυψαν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων τοῦ αὐρανοῦ. St. Paul spiritualises the idea “to me … this grace was given to preach to the Gentiles … in order that now might be made known to the principalities and the authorities in heavenly places by means of the Church the very-varied wisdom of God” ([ Eph 3:8] ff.). St. Peter reproduces faithfully the simplicity of the original and represents this longing as still unsatisfied since the Church is not yet perfect or complete. It thus becomes part of the sympathetic groaning and travailing of the whole creation ([ Rom 8:22] f.). In [ Rom 8:21] St. Peter states on the same authority that Christ preached to the spirits in prison; adding that when he ascended all angels were subjected to Him. The apparent contradiction is due to the discrepancy between the ideal and its gradual realisation and not to an imperfect coordination of these conceptions of the universal sovereignty of God. See [ 1Co 15:25] f., [ Heb 2:7] f., not yet do we see …—παρακύψαι has lost its suggestion of peeping through its use in the LXX for ù÷ó look forth though it is not employed by them in the places where God is said to look down from heaven ([ Psa 14:2], etc.). The patristic commentators seem to hold by the Evangelist rather than the Apostle in respect to the saying, as they refer exclusively for illustration to the O.T. figures, Moses ([ Heb 11:26]), Isaiah ([ Joh 12:41]). Oecumenius notes that Daniel is called by the angel a man of longings ([ Dan 9:25]). That the angels of Peter are due to Enoch and secondary seems to be borne out by the Targum of [ Ecc 1:8], “In all the words that are prepared (about) to come to pass in the world the ancient prophets wearied themselves and could not find their ends”.
[144] Codex Mosquensis (sזc. ix.), edited by Matthזi in 1782.
[145] Codex Ephraemi (sזc. v.), the Paris palimpsest, edited by Tischendorf in 1843.
[ 1Pe 1:13-21]. Practical admonitions. In this section St. Peter is engrossed with the conception of the Church as the new Israel which has been delivered from idolatry—the spiritual Egypt—by a far more excellent sacrifice. Jesus Himself endorsed such adaptation of the directions given for the typical deliverance ([ Luk 12:35]) and the principle that the worshippers of Jehovah must be like Him ([ Joh 4:23] f.; [ Mat 5:48], etc.).
[ 1Pe 1:14]. ὡς, inasmuch as you are, cf. [ 1Pe 2:2]; [ 1Pe 2:5], [ 1Pe 3:7], etc.—τέκνα ὑπακοῆς, obedient corresponds to St. Paul’s υἱοὶ τῆς ἀπειθείας ([ Col 3:6]; [ Eph 2:2]; [ Eph 5:6]). Both phrases reflect the Hebrew use of áï, “followed by word of quality characteristic, etc.” (B.D.B., s.v., 8). For τέκνα in place of usual υἱοί in this idiom, cf. Hosea 9, τέκνα ἀδικίας and [ Eph 2:3], τέκνα ὀργῆς. Here it suits better with βρέφη ([ 1Pe 2:1]).—συσχηματιζόμεναι, from [ Rom 12:2], μὴ συσχηματίζεσθε τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ. The feminine is peculiar to [146] whose scribe was perhaps influenced by the Alexandrian identification of woman with the flesh ([ Joh 1:13]) or regarded such conformity as womanish. The participle has the force of an imperative. The Christians needed to be warned against conformity to the manners and morals of their countrymen, which were incompatible with their new faith (see [ 1Pe 5:2-4]). The use of σχῆμα in [ Isa 3:17], perhaps assists the use of συσχ. in connection with lusts.—ἐντῇ ἀγνοίᾳ ὑμῶν. It was a Jewish axiom that the Gentiles were ignorant ([ Act 17:30]; [ Eph 4:17] f.). Christian teachers demonstrated the equal ignorance of the Jews (Peter, [ Act 3:17]; Paul, in Rom.). So Jesus had pronounced even the teachers of Israel to be blind and promised them knowledge of the truth ([ Joh 8:32] ff., cf. interview with Nicodemus); whereas speaking to the Samaritan woman He adopted the Jewish standpoint ([ Joh 4:22])—cf. [ 2Ki 17:29-41] with [ Isa 2:3]; [Bar 4:4], μακάριοί ἐσμεν Ἰσραὴλ ὅτι τὰ ἀρεστὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῖν γνωστά ἐστιν.
[146] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
[ 1Pe 1:15] f. The command Ye shall be holy for I am holy is connected originally with the deliverance from Egypt and the distinction between clean and unclean, which lays down the principle of separation involved in the Exodus ([ Lev 11:44-46], etc.; cf. [ Isa 52:11]). St. Peter combines the Scripture with the Word of Jesus for κατὰ τὸν … corresponds to ὡς of [ Mat 5:48]. Gentiles needed God’s summons before they could regard Him as their heavenly Father; hence Him that called you. Compare [ Deu 18:13] (whence τέλειος of Matt. l.c.) where also contrast with abominations of the heathen.—ἅγιον is better taken as predicate than as substantive, since ὁ καλέσας (καλῶν) is well-established as a title of God in His relation to Gentile Christians (cf. [ 1Pe 2:9], etc.).—ἐν πάσῃ ἀναστροφῇ, cf. [ 1Pe 1:18], [ 1Pe 2:12], [ 1Pe 3:1-2]; [ 1Pe 3:16]; [Tob 4:19], ἴσθι πεπαιδευμένος ἐν πάσῃ ἀ. σου. The corresponding verb, ἀναστρέφεσθαι is found as rendering of äìê in the same sense ([ Pro 20:7], ἀναστρέφεται ἄμωμος); both verb and noun are so used in late Greek authors (especially Epictetus).—γενήθητε become as you were not or show yourselves as you are; the latter sense suits ἀ. which is distinctively outward behaviour.
[ 1Pe 1:17], cf. [ Rom 2:10] f., εἰ πατέρα ἐπικαλεῖσθε, if ye invoke as Father:—reminiscence of [ Jer 3:19], εἰ πατέρα ἐπικαλεῖσθέ με (so Q[147] perhaps after 1 Peter, for εἶπα πατέρα καλέσετέ με) cf. [ Psa 89:27], αὐτὸς ἐπικαλέσεται με Πατήρ μου εἶ σύ. There may be a reference to the use of the Lord’s Prayer (surname the Judge Father); but the context of Jer. l.c. corresponds closely to the thought here: “All the nations shall be gathered … to Jerusalem, neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart. In those day.… Judah and Israel shall come together out of the land of captivity … and I said ‘My father ye shall call me’.”—ἀπροσωπολήμπτως summarises St. Peter’s inference from experience at Caesarea ([ Act 10:34]) καταλαμβάνομαι ὅτι οὔκ ἐστιν προσωπολήμπτης ὁ θεός. Adjective and adverb are formed from λαμβάνειν πρόσωπον of LXX = ðùà ôåé receive (lift up) the face of, i.e., be favourable and later partial, to. The degeneration of the phrase was due to the natural contrast between the face and the heart of a man, which was stamped on the Greek equivalent by the use of πρόσωπον for mask of the actor or hypocrite.—κρίνοντα. If the tense be pressed, compare the saying of Jesus recorded in [ Joh 12:31], νῦν κρίσις ἐστιν τοῦ κόσμου τούτου. [ Rom 2:16] is referred to the last Judgment by διὰ χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ. But the present participle may be timeless as in ὁ καλῶν, ὁ βαπτίζων, etc.—κατὰ τὸ ἑκάστου ἔργον, a commonplace Jewish and Christian, cf. Ps. 12:12 (cited [ Rom 2:6]), σὺ ἀποδώσεις ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ (Hebrew has the work). R. Aqiba used to say … The world is judged by grace and everything is according to the work (Pirqe Aboth., iii. 24). For collective singular lifework, cf. also [ 1Co 3:13-15], etc.—ἐν φόβῳ, Fear is not entirely a technical term in N.T. Christians needed the warning to fear God (so [ Luk 12:5]; [ 2Co 5:10]), although love might be proper to the perfect—Gnostic or Pharisee—[ 1Jn 4:18]. The natural and acquired senses exist side by side, as appears in the use of ἄφοβος. Compare ἄφοβος οὐ δύναται δικαιωθῆναι ([Sir 1:22]) with ἐν τούτῳ ἄφοβός εἰμι ([ Psa 27:2], Symmachus) = in Him I am confident.—τὸν τῆς παροικίας χρονον, during your earthly pilgrimage, which corresponds to the sojourn of Israel in Egypt ([ Act 13:17]). If God is their Father, heaven must be their home ([ 1Pe 1:4]); their life on earth is therefore a sojourn (see on [ 1Pe 1:1]). St. Paul has his own use of the metaphor ([ Eph 2:19]). Gentile Christians are no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow-citizens of the saints.
[147]. An eighth century version of Codex Vaticanus
[ 1Pe 1:18]. Amplification of [ Isa 52:3] f., Δωρεὰν ἐπράθητε καὶ οὐ μετὰ ἀργυρίου λυτρωθήσεσθε (cf. [ Isa 45:13] … εἰς Αἴγυπτον κατέβη ὁ λαός μου τὸ πρότερον παροικῆσαι ἐκεῖ. The deliverance from Babylon corresponds to the deliverance from Egypt. To these the Christians added a third and appropriated to it the descriptions of its predecessors.—οὐ φθαρτοῖς, κ.τ.λ. The preceding negative relief to positive statement is characteristic of St. Peter, who here found it in his original (Isa. l.c.). φθαρτοῖς echoes ἀπολλυμένου and is probably an allusion to the Golden Calf of which it was said These be thy gods O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt ([ Exo 32:14]). According to Sap. 14:8, it is the proper name for an idol: τὸ δὲ φθαρτὸν θεὸς ὠνομάσθη. So the dative represents the agent and not only the instrument of the deliverance.—ματαίας supports the view taken of φθ., for the gods of the nations are vanity, μάταια äáì ([ Jer 10:3], etc.).—πατροπαραδότου, ancestral, hereditary. The adjective indicates the source of the influence, which their old way of life—patrius mos, patriritus—still exercised over them. The ancient religion had a strength—not merely vis inertiae—which often baffled both Jewish and Christian missionaries: “to subvert a custom delivered to us from ancestors the heathen say is not reasonable” (Clem. Ac. Protr. x.). This power of the dead hand is exemplified in the pains taken by the Stoics and New Pythagoreans to conserve the popular religion and its myths by allegorical interpretation. Among the Jews this natural conservatism was highly developed; St. Paul was a zealot for the ancestral laws. But the combination of patriarch and tradition does not prove that the persons addressed were Jewish Christians. The law, according to which the Jews regulated their life, was Divine, its mediator Moses; and there is a note of depreciation in the words not that it is derived from Moses only from the Fathers ([ Joh 7:22]). πατρο is contrasted with πατέρα (17) as παραδότου with the direct calling.
[ 1Pe 1:19]. The blood of Christ, the true paschal lamb, was the (means or) agent of your redemption. The type contemplated is composite; the lamb is the yearling sheep (ùä πρόβατον, but Targum-Onkelos has àîø lamb and ùä is rendered ἀμνός in [ Lev 12:8]; [ Num 15:11]; [ Deu 14:4]) prescribed for the Passover ([ Exo 12:5]). But the description perfect (τέλειον úîéí) is glossed by ἀμώμου (cf. [ Heb 12:14]), which is the common translation of úîéí in this connection, and ἀσπίλου which summarises the description of sacrificial victims generally (v. [ Lev 22:22], etc.). ἀμωμος would be unintelligible to the Gentile, because it has acquired a peculiar meaning from the Hebrew îåí blemish. ἄσπιλος is used by Symmachus in [ Job 15:15], for æëê. Hesychius treats ἄσπιλος. ἄμωμος and καθαρός as synonyms.—τιμίῳ is set over against φθαρτοῖς as πολυτιμ. against ἀπολλυμένου; cf. [ Psa 116:15], τίμιος ἐναντίον Κυρίου ὁ θάνατος τῶν ὁσίων and λίθος … ἔντιμον ([ 1Pe 2:4]).
[ 1Pe 1:20]. As the paschal lamb was taken on the tenth day of the month ([ Exo 13:3]) so Christ was foreknown before the creation and existed before His manifestation. The preexistence of Moses is stated in similar terms in Assumption of Moses, i. 12–14, “God created the world on behalf of His people. But He was not pleased to manifest this purpose of creation from the foundation of the world in order that the Gentiles might thereby be convicted.… Accordingly He designed and devised me and He prepared me before the foundation of the world that I should be the mediator of His Covenant.” So of the Messiah, Enoch (xlviii. 3, 6) says: “His name was called before the Lord of spirits before the sun and the signs of the zodiac were created.… He was chosen and hidden with God before the world was created. At the end of time God will reveal him to the world.” Alexandrian Judaism took over from Greek philosophy (Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle) the doctrine of the preexistence of all souls. So in the Secrets of Enoch (xxiii. 5) it is said “Every soul was created eternally before the foundation of the world”. The author of Wisdom was a goodly child and obtained a good soul or rather being good came into a body undefiled (Sap. 8:19 f.); and Philo found Scriptural warrant in the first of the two accounts of Creation ([ Gen 1:26] f.). Outside Alexandria, apart from the Essenes (Joseph, B. J., ii. 154–157) the general doctrine does not appear to have been accepted. But the belief in the preexistence of the Name of the Messiah if not the Messiah Himself was not unknown in Palestine and was latent in many of the current ideals. The doctrine of Trypho was probably part of the general reaction from the position reached by the Jewish thinkers (A.D.) and appropriated by the Christians. There are many hints in the O.T. which Christians exploited without violence and the development of angelology offered great assistance. Current conceptions of Angels and Wisdom as well as of the Messiah all led up to this belief. Apart from the express declarations of Jesus recorded by St. John, it is clear that St. Peter held to the real and not merely ideal pre-existence of Christ, not deriving it from St. Paul or St. John and Heb. It is no mere corollary of God’s omniscience that the spirit of Christ was in the prophets.—προεγνωσμένου, cf. κατὰ πρόγνωσιν, [ 1Pe 1:2]; only here of Messiah, perhaps as a greater Jeremiah (cf. [ Jer 1:5])—but see the description of Moses cited above.—πρὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου. The phrase does not occur in LXX but [ Mat 13:35] = [ Psa 78:2] renders îðé ÷ãí by ἀπὸ καταβολῆς (LXX ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς) Philo has καταβολὴ γενέσεως) and αἱ καταβολαὶ σπερμάτων and uses ἐκ κ. = afresh. In [2Ma 2:29], καταβολή is used of the foundation of a house; cf. κατασκευάζειν in Heb.—φανερωθέντος, of the past manifestation of Christ. In [ 1Pe 5:1] of the future implies previous hidden existence, cf. [ 1Ti 3:16] (quotation of current quasi-creed) ἐφανερώθη ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. The manifestation consists in the resurrection and glorification evidenced by descent of spirit (21): cf. Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, risen, exalted, Jesus has sent the spirit: therefore let all the house of Israel know surely that God hath made Him both Lord and Christ. St. Paul speaks in the same way of the revelation of the secret, which is Christ in you; see especially [ Col 1:25-27]. Compare [ Joh 1:14].—ἐπʼ ἐσχάτου τῶν χρόνων, at the end of the times, cf. ἐπʼ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν ([ Heb 1:1] and LXX). The deliverance effected certo tempore by Christ’s blood is eternally efficacious, cf. αἰώνιον λύτρωσιν εὑράμενος [ Heb 9:12] and the more popular statement of the same idea in [ Rev 13:8], the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
[ 1Pe 1:21]. διʼ ὑμᾶς, for the sake of you Gentiles, i.e., ἵνα ὑμᾶς προσαγάγῃ τῷ θεῷ, [ 1Pe 3:18]. The resurrection of Jesus and His glorification are the basis of their faith in God and inspire not merely faith but hope.—διʼ αὐτοῦ. Compare for form [ Act 3:16], ἡ πίστις ἡ διʼ αὐτοῦ and for thought [ Rom 5:2]; [ Eph 2:18]—πιστοὺς εἰς θεόν. This construction occurs not infrequently in the Bezan text and is simply equivalent to π. with the Dative ([ Act 16:15]) corresponding to ðàîï ì֙. But π. keeping construction has changed its meaning. Already it is semi-technical = believing, sc. in Jesus and here πίστιν … εἰς θεόν follows immediately. So the verb πιστεύοντας is a true gloss; the addition of εἰς θεόν corrects the common conception of faith, which ultimately gave rise to a distinction between belief in Christ and belief in God.—δόξαν αὐτῷ δόντα, so e.g., the prophecy ([ Isa 52:13]) ὁ παῖς μου … δοξασθήσεται σφόδρα was fulfilled when the lame man was healed by St. Peter and St. John; ὁ θεὸς Ἁβραὰμ … ἐδόξασεν τὸν παῖδα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν ([ Act 3:13]). But the glory is primarily and generally the glorious resurrection and ascension, in which state Jesus sent the Holy Spirit (ἦν τὸ πνεῦμα ὅτι οὔπω ἐδοξάσθη, John).—ὥστε … θεόν. καὶ ἐλπίδα may be part of the subject of εἶναι εἰς θεόν, so that your faith and hope are in God, or predicate so that your faith is also hope in God. In either case ἐλπίς is rather confidence than hope, in accordance with LXX usage (= áèçä), and supplies an adequate climax—patient faith leads up to the appropriation of the Hope of Israel.
[ 1Pe 1:22-25]. The combination of purification of souls with love of the brotherhood suggests that the temptations to relapses were due to former intimacies and relationships which were not overcome by the spiritual brotherhood which they entered. Different grades of society were doubtless represented in all Christian churches and those who were marked out for leaders by their wealth and position were naturally slow to love the slaves and outcasts. As at Corinth old intimacies and congenial society led the better classes ([ 1Pe 4:3] f.) to fall back on the clubs to which they had belonged and in the company of their equals to sneer at their new brothers—“the brethren” ([ 1Pe 2:1]). St. Peter reminds them that they must purify their souls from the taint—with a side-glance perhaps at the rites proper to the associations in question. They must love the brotherhood and its members as such. Earthly relationships are done away by their regeneration; they have exchanged the flesh for the spirit. The section is full of echoes; compare ἡγνικότες with ἅγιοι (15), ἐν ἁγιασμῷ (2), τῇ ὑπακοῇ with τέκνα ὑ. (14), ἀναγεγεννημένοι with ἀναγεννήσας (3), φθαρτῆς with φθαρτοῖς (18), εὐαγγελισθέν with τῶν εὐαγγελισαμένων (12). It should be compared throughout with [ Eph 4:18-24].—τὰς … ἡγνικότες from [ Jer 6:16],“see what is the good way and walk in it and you shall find purification (ἁγνισμόν LXX) to your souls. ἁ. usually of ceremonial purification in LXX. Compare [ Jas 4:8], ἁγνίσατε καρδίας δίψυχοι (cf. ἀνυπόκριτον). The perfect participle is used as indicating the ground of the admonition, so ἀναγεγεννημένοι (23). Pagan rites professed to purify the worshipper but cannot affect the soul, the self or the heart any more than the Jewish ceremonies can ([ Heb 9:9] f.). Scripture declares ὁ φόβος Κυρίου ἁγνός ([ Psa 19:10]). They must realise that they have cleansed themselves ideally at baptism, cf. [ 1Jn 3:3]; [ 1Jn 3:15] f. above with context.—ἐν τῇ ὑπακοῇ τῆς ἀληθείας, in your obedience to the truth, cf. Jer. l.c. above. They are no longer ignorant (14) but have learned the truth (cf. [ Joh 17:17-19], and γνώσεσθε τὴν ἀ., [ Joh 8:32]) from the missionaries. They must persist in the obedience to it which they then professed, in contrast with those who are disobedient to the truth ([ Rom 2:8]; cf. [ 2Th 2:12]). Hortsays: “St. Peter rather means the dependence of Christian obedience on the possession of the truth,” relying on [ Eph 4:24], and the probability that “St. Peter would have distinctly used some such language as ἐν τῷ ὑπακούειν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ”. In regard to the latter point it should be observed that St. Peter is curiously fond of using nouns instead of verbs (e g., 2).—εἰς φιλαδελφίαν, love of the brethren, Vulgate, in fraternitalis amore, mutual love which exists between brothers. It is the primary Christian duty, [ Mat 23:8], the first fruits of their profession of which St. Paul has no need to remind the Thessalonians, [ 1Th 4:9].—ἀνυπόκριτον, unfeigned, contrasted with the love which they professed towards their fellow Christians (cf. [ 1Pe 2:1]) which was neither hearty nor eager. There was pretence among them whether due to imperfect sympathy of Jew for Gentile or of wealthy and honourable Gentiles for those who were neither the one nor the other. For a vivid illustration of this feigning see [ Jas 2:15] f. and [ 1Pe 2:1-5], etc., for the friction between rich and poor.—ἀλλήλους ἀγαπήσατε. St. John’s summary of the teaching of Jesus ([ Joh 13:34] f., [ Joh 15:12]; [ Joh 15:17]) which he repeated in extreme old age at Ephesus, till the disciples were weary of it: “Magister quare semper hoc loqueris”. His answer was worthy of him: “Quia praeceptum Domini est et si solum fiat sufficit (Hieron. in [ Gal 6:10]).—ἐκτενῶς, intentius (Vulg.), in LXX of “strong crying to God” ([ Jon 3:8] = áçæ÷ä violently, cf. [ Jdg 4:12]; [ Joe 1:14]; [3Ma 5:9]: in Polybius of a warm commendation (xxxi. 22, 12) a warm and friendly welcome (viii. 21, 1), a warm and magnificent reception (xxxiii. 16 4).
[ 1Pe 1:23]. ἀναγεγεννημένοι. So St. John ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους ὅτι … πᾶς ὁ ἀγαπῶν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγέννηται; cf. [ Eph 4:17]; [ Eph 5:2].—ἐκ σπορᾶς ἀφθάρτου, i.e., of God regarded as Father and perhaps also as Sower (cf. [ 1Pe 1:24]); the two conceptions are combined in [ 1Jn 3:9], πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ ὅτι σπέρμα αὐτοῦ μένει. Compare Philo, Leg. All., p. 123 M. Λείαν … ἐξ οὐδενὸς γεννητοῦ λαμβάνουσαν τὴν σπορὰν.… ἀλλʼ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ.—διὰ λόγου … μένοντος, the connection of ζῶντος κ. μέν. is doubtful; the following quotation might justify the abiding word and [ Heb 4:12], the living word in accordance with [ Deu 32:47]—cf. 3, ἐλπίδα ζῶσαν. On the other hand the rendering of the Vulgate, per verbum dei vivi et permanentis, is supported by [ Dan 6:26] (αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν θεὸς μένων καὶ ζῶν) and supports St. Peter’s argument: earthly relationships must perish with all flesh and its glory; spiritual kinship abides, because it is based on the relation of the kinsfolk to God living and abiding. For the word of God as the means of regeneration, cf. [ Jas 1:18], βουληθεὶς ἀπεκύησεν ἡμᾶς λόγῳ ἀληθείας. For its identification with ῥῆμα of the quotation, cf. [ Act 10:36] f.
[ 1Pe 1:24] f. = [ Isa 40:6-8], adduced as endorsement of the comparison instituted between natural generation and divine regeneration, with gloss explaining the saying of Jehovah (cf. [ Heb 1:1] f.). The only divergences from the LXX (which omits—as Jerome notes, perhaps through homoedeuton—quia spiritus dei flavit in eo: vere foenum est populus; asuit foenum cecidit flos) are that ὡς is inserted before χ. (so Targum), and that αὐτῆς is put for ἀνθρώπου (so Heb., etc.) and Κυρίου for τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν (in accordance with the proper reading of Jehovah in the omitted verse).
[ 1Pe 1:25]. τὸ εὐαγγελισθὲν comes from ὁ εὐαγγελιζόμενος Σειὼν of [ Isa 40:9] which the Targum explains as referring to the prophets.