_The Greeting_. “Simeon Peter, slave and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal honour with our own, through the justice of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you in the saving knowledge of our Lord.”... [ Continue Reading ]
The form Συμέων is only once used elsewhere of Peter in Acts 15:14. τοῖς κ. τ. λ. The question as to who are the actual recipients of the letter, is matter for discussion in the Introduction (chap. vi. 1). The presumption is in favour of a body of non-Jewish Christians. ἡμῖν. probably means, in acco... [ Continue Reading ]
χάρις … πληθυνθείη.: the same form of salutation as in 1 Peter 1:2. ἐν ἐπιγνώσει τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν. (For history of ἐπίγνωσις see Mayor's note, pp. 171 ff.; Robinson's _Excursus_ in _Ephesians_.) ἐπίγνωσις in this epistle corresponds to πίστις in the Pauline sense (Spitta, p. 522). In Romans 1:21 γνόν... [ Continue Reading ]
τῆς θείας δυνάμεως is originally a philosophic term (Plato, _Ion._ 534 C., Arist. _Pol._ vii. 4) _cf._ τὸ θεῖον as used by St. Paul in speaking to philosophers at Athens (Acts 17:29). The subject is Christ (_cf._ δύναμις κυρίου, Luke 10:17; 1 Corinthians 5:4; 2 Corinthians 12:9; and 2 Peter 1:16, of... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Promises and their Source_. “Inasmuch as His Divine Power has granted us all things that are needed for life and piety, by means of the personal knowledge of One who called us by the impression of his own glory and excellency; and through this glory and excellency have been granted promises tha... [ Continue Reading ]
διʼ ὧν. Reference is to δόξῃ καὶ ἀρετῇ (so Kühl, Dietlein, Wiesinger, Brückner, Mayor) ἐπαγγέλματα = “promised blessings”. No doubt what 2 Peter has chiefly in view is the particular comprehensive ἐπάγγελμα of His Second Coming (_cf._ 2 Peter 3:4, ἐπαγγελία and 2 Peter 3:13). The Parousia will be th... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο δὲ, a phrase that emphasises the fact of the δώρημα as having its logical outcome in character. “The soul of religion is the practick part” (Bunyan). On the other hand, 2 Peter here teaches that so-called practical Christianity without the spiritual motive is incomplete and unintellig... [ Continue Reading ]
_Faith is not only illumination but character_. “Nor is this all. On your part bring the utmost earnestness to bear, and in your faith supply moral energy, and in your moral energy understanding, and in your understanding self-control, and in your self-control patient endurance, and in patient endur... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐγκράτειαν : “self-control”: accompanied by, and arising from, knowledge, and not a mere product of fear or submission to authority. ὑπομονήν : “steadfastness” not turned aside from the faith by trial and suffering (_cf._ Luke 8:15; Romans 5:3 ff.). The desponding doctrine of the false teachers woul... [ Continue Reading ]
φιλαδελφίαν : “affection towards the brethren,” _i.e._, of the same Christian community. ἀγάπην : probably love towards all, even enemies; not directed by sense and emotion, but by deliberate choice (_cf._ Matthew 5:44). Mayor interprets: “Love to God manifesting itself in love to man and to the who... [ Continue Reading ]
πλεονάζοντα : “abound”. In classical use = “exaggerate”. The word here again emphasises the display of a regal, uncalculating and unwearied spirit in the practice of the Christian graces. ἀργοὺς. Perhaps “ineffective” or “ineffectual,” a meaning which is further emphasised in ἀκάρπους. In The Didach... [ Continue Reading ]
_Further emphasis on the connexion between faith and morality, and its reward_. “If you have these virtues, and are not sparing in your use of them, you will not be ineffective and unfruitful in the direction of deepening your Christian experience. Where these virtues are not present a man is blind,... [ Continue Reading ]
μυωπάζων : “short-sighted”. Only once elsewhere in Greek literature in Ps. Dionys. _Eccl. Hier._ ii. 3. This is one of the words to which exception has been taken in 2 Peter. It is both rare, and it seems to contradict τυφλός. Spitta and Von S. translate “wilfully blind”. Mayor (p. 61.) (following B... [ Continue Reading ]
σπουδάσατε. An Imperative. “A sharp and urgent form” (Moulton, _Proleg._ i. 173). βεβαίαν. _Cf._ Deissmann, _B. S._ pp. 105 ff. The word has a legal sense. βεβαίωσις is the legal guarantee, obtained by a buyer from a seller, to be gone back upon should any third party claim the thing. Here the reade... [ Continue Reading ]
Note the accumulation in this verse of words suggesting splendour and fulness. ἐπιχορηγηθήσεται. _Cf._ note on 2 Peter 1:5. Mayor says that here the word “suggests the ordering of a triumphal procession,” and compares Plut. Vit. 994, ὁ δῆμος ἐθεᾶτο τὰς θέας ἀφειδῶς πάνυ χορηγουμένας. εἴσοδος. _Cf._... [ Continue Reading ]
μελλήσω. What is the exact significance of the future? It can hardly be simply a periphrastic future. “The idea is rather that the writer will be prepared in the future, as well as in the past and in the present to remind them of the truths they know, whenever the necessity arises” (Zahn. _Introd._,... [ Continue Reading ]
_The aim of the writer, and the urgency of his message_. “You are already acquainted with and established in the truth, so far as revealed to you, but, in view of the great issues, I shall always be prepared to awaken you to a sense of these things. In my lifetime I feel bound to do so, especially a... [ Continue Reading ]
δίκαιον δὲ ἡγοῦμαι. “I consider it a duty.” The language in 2 Peter 1:13-14, is studiously solemn and impressive. σκηνώματι, used in literal sense of “tent” in Deuteronomy 33:18. In Acts 7:46, it is used of the Tabernacle of God. Elsewhere in N.T. σκῆνος is used in the metaphorical sense of human ex... [ Continue Reading ]
ταχινή “imminent,” _cf._ 2 Peter 2:1. A poetical word peculiar to 2 Peter in N.T. The _process_ described by ἀπόθεσις can hardly be “sudden,” Plat. _Rep._ 553 D, but there is always an impression of suddenness to the onlooker, who lifts up his eyes some morning, and finds the tent or the encampment... [ Continue Reading ]
σπουδάσω. The form is used by Polybius and later writers for the classical σπουδάσομαι. ἑκάστοτε goes with ἔχειν = “on each occasion when you have need”. The word is found apparently in the same sense in P. Gen. 31 3 _f._ (ii. A.D.), ἑκάστοτέ σοι κατʼ ἐπιδημίαν παρενοχλῶν (“causing you annoyance on... [ Continue Reading ]
σεσοφισμ. μύθ. _Cf._ σεσοφισμένη μήτηρ.: “suppositious mother”. Greg. Nyss. i. 171 D. This is evidently the character attributed to the facts of the Christian Gospel by the False Teachers. They specially sought to discredit the outlook for the Second Advent. μῦθοι is often used in the Pastoral Epist... [ Continue Reading ]
_The fact of the Transfiguration a guarantee of the writer's truthfulness_. “For we are not without facts to rest upon. Our preaching of the power and coming of Jesus Christ was not based on sophistical myths. We were eye-witnesses of His Majesty. For He received from God the Father honour and glory... [ Continue Reading ]
λαβὼν. It is well-nigh impossible to say what is the case agreement of the participle here. It is at least certain that the subject is Jesus. Dietlein, Schott, Ewald, and Mayor agree that the writer intended to go on, ἐβεβαίωσεν τὸν προφητικὸν λόγον for which he substitutes καὶ ἔχομεν βεβαιότερον, a... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν τῷ ὄρει τῷ ἁγίῳ. The phrase indicates a view of the place and incident which has been taken up into and sanctified in the religious consciousness of the Church. _The Gnostic Acts of Peter_ use the phrase “in monte sacro”. ἅγιος signifies a place where Jehovah manifested Himself, _cf._ Exodus 3:5;... [ Continue Reading ]
βεβαιότερον -g0-. Originally a legal term. See note 2 Peter 1:10; _cf._ Philippians 1:7; 2 Corinthians 1:21. τὸν προφητικὸν λόγον, _i.e._ all in the O.T. scriptures that points to the Coming of the Messiah. The prophecy is now supported by its partial fulfilment in the Transfiguration. ᾧ καλῶς ποιεῖ... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Transfiguration confirms Prophecy_. “Thus we have still further confirmation of the words of the prophets, a fact to which you would do well to give heed, as to a lamp shining in a murky place, meant to serve until the Day break and the Day-Star arise in your hearts. Recognise, above all, this... [ Continue Reading ]
τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες. “Recognising this truth above all else” (in your reading of Scripture). The False Teachers appealed to the O.T. scriptures in support of their doctrine. ὅτι πᾶσα … οὐ γίνεται. πᾶσα … οὐ need not be regarded as a Hebraism. It is as normal as in 1 John 2:21; John 3:16. ἰδίας... [ Continue Reading ]
οὐ γὰρ θελήματι ἀνθρώπου ἠνέχθη προφητεία ποτέ. With ἠνέχθη _cf._ 2 Peter 1:17-18. ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ πνεύμ … φερόμενοι, _cf._ Acts 2:2. ὥσπερ φερομένης πνοῆς βιαίας. Here we have the only reference to the Holy Spirit in the Epistle, and only in this connexion, _viz._ as the source of prophetic inspiration. T... [ Continue Reading ]