I PETER: INTRODUCTION TO THE LITERARY STRUCTURE

Below is an edited version of a chapter in my unpublished book The Structure of Scripture. I will send the complete text to anyone requesting it at elmlerphd21@hotmail.com.

Childs states that “the overwhelming majority of modern scholars postulate the unity of the epistle which stems from one author.”  The reasons for this shift are many, but Robinson’s may be the most persuasive: “The beauty of the First Epistle of Saint Peter is a sufficient argument against attempts to cast doubt on its unity.”  Even for those who accept the basic unity of the letter, “[T]he question of whether or not the author composed I Peter according to an intentionally thought-through outline continues to be disputed...” (Eugene Boring)

Possible indications that I Peter is a purposeful literary composition come from its use of key terms a symbolic number of times (and their multiples) in the text: the verb “conduct” (7x), seven images for the church in 2:1-10, grace (10x), pascho (“to suffer”) (12x), the root word for glory (14x), and 35 commands in the imperative mood.

Literary Divisions

A study of twelve commentaries on this epistle reveals that no two of them divide it in exactly the same manner. This does not mean, however, that there is a total lack of agreement. For example, the first two verses are universally accepted as the introduction to the letter, and almost all scholars treat the last three verses as the conclusion. Verbal markers for the individual sections of the letter proper are not lacking either, at least for the second half. The address “Beloved” appears to begin discrete sections at 2:11 and 4:12, and the similar doxologies “...to whom/him be praise/glory for ever and ever. Amen” at 4:11 and 5:11 obviously end their respective literary units.

Structure: Five-Part Chiasm

Both Davids and Goppert propose identical structures for I Peter which are “more or less a chiasm.”

I. 1:1-2

II. 1:3-2:10

III. 2:11-4:11

II'. 4:12-5:11

I'. 5:12-14

Note that these divisions fit the lowest common criteria described in the section above. According to this scheme the emphasis of the whole letter falls on the middle Section III. In this contention there is rough agreement from others: Stibbs calls I Peter 2:11-3:12 the main section of the epistle while Polkinghorne sees 3:13-4:19 as “the most significant part of the letter.” Although these two opinions cover the range of verses in Section III as defined by Davids and Goppert, they hardly represent a glowing endorsement.

One other test of the validity of the above chiasm is to consider the major theme of the epistle. This is overwhelmingly represented in the literature as hope in the presence of hostility and suffering. Such a thought does appear within the center section (at 2:21-24 and 3:13-17) but is by no means the major theme of these collected verses. The idea of hope during persecution actually reaches its fullest expression outside of Section III in verses such as 1:3-7; 4:12-19; and 5:6-10 so that suffering appears more frequently in the verses labeled Section II' above than in any other portion of the epistle. The other problem with this proposal is that the individual sections II, III and II' do not themselves possess any obvious confirming literary structure.

Eight-Part Structure

Beginning with (a) the recognition that the first and last sections are in a parallel relationship to one another and (b) a slight regrouping and subdivision of the five-part chiastic structure yields the proposed outline shown in Fig. 1. As in many of Paul’s epistles, the first part centers on theological issues in which God is the initiator. This sets the stage for the second half in which the believer's proper response to God is stressed. However, in a stricter sense, the six sections of the body alternate between discussions of doctrine and behavior.

Figure 1: The Structure of I Peter

Introduction (1:1-2)

I. The Mercy and Salvation Shown to Man by God (1:3-2:10)

A. Believers’ Status before God: As Individuals (1:3-12)

B. Our Behavior in Light of this Status (1:13-2:3)

A'. Believers’ Status Before God: As a Body (2:4-10)

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II. The Glorification of God by Believers’ Behavior (2:11-5:11)

A. Submission to Human Institutions (2:11-3:17)

B. Christ as Lord and Example to Believers (3:18-4:11)

A'. Submission to Persecution and to God’s Institutions (4:12-5:11)

Conclusion (5:12-14)

Further defense of these proposed divisions can be seen in the unities exhibited within each section and the parallel nature between the similarly labeled units. In addition are the many strong parallels between the two center sections IB and IIB to unite the first and second halves of the letter.

Authorship

Despite many undoubted echoes of Peter's life and speeches in Acts, many students of this letter have questioned whether someone with his relatively humble background could have produced this beautiful Greek composition unaided, or at all. The most attractive alternative theory to either (a) the traditional view of Peter as author or (b) the positing of a pseudonymous author is to consider Silvanus as the amanuensis or actual co-author of the letter. Either of these last views is consistent with the statement in 5:12 that Peter has written his letter “by Silvanus” and with the many echoes of Paul’s thoughts and vocabulary (especially the similarities with Romans and Ephesians) found in I Peter.

Does the structure developed above have any bearing on the question of authorship? Selwyn’s original development of “The Silvanus Hypothesis” relied to a great extent on the similarities in key ideas and, to a lesser extent, shared vocabulary of I Peter with I and II Thessalonians, epistles co-authored by Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, if we take their opening addresses literally. And as Davids observes, “The whole of 1 Peter is characterized by an eschatological, even an apocalyptic focus.” This characterization certainly holds for the Thessalonian epistles as well. Davids also notes the close similarity in form for the benedictions found in I Peter 5:10, I Thessalonians 5:23-24, and II Thessalonians 2:16-17.

If one examines the literary structures of these three letters as presented in the current work, an even stronger family resemblance emerges:

a. All three letters are basically eight-part compositions. Reicke notes that the author of 1 Peter finds special significance in the fact that eight people were saved from the flood (in 3:20). The number “eight” often had the symbolic meaning of perfection in the author’s contemporary world.

            b. All three letters are composed of an introduction, conclusion and two parallel ABA structures.

c. Each of the three epistles can also be viewed as a two-part composition in which the structure is made clear through the appearance of one or more of the standard elements of a ancient epistle used in an unexpected setting. Thus, the Thessalonian letters utilize two thanksgivings and two prayers to make up the four “A” elements of their structures. The two-part structure of 1 Peter, on the other hand, is defined to a great extent by the unusual appearance of a doxology well before the end of the letter (at 4:11b).

The similarities in literary structure between I Peter, I Thessalonians and II Thessalonians can best be explained by assuming that the only person mentioned in all three, namely Silvanus, had more than a passing involvement in their actual composition. In addition, the often noted similarities between I Peter and the Pauline epistles might find its logical explanation if the former was composed largely by one of Paul's close companions, Silvanus.

Parenthetically, if there was an original conclusion to Mark's Gospel which is now missing, it would also result in the same eight-part structure found in I Peter and I and II Thessalonians. This would suggest the intriguing proposal that Silvanus may have left his literary mark on that book as well.This is not outside the realm of possibility due to the close connection of Mark and Silvanus as evidenced in I Peter 4:1.