THE OLD TESTAMENT IN PETER AND JUDE

I Peter

1:1 “Exiles of the Dispersion” takes a reference to the Jews scattered during the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles and applies it to all Christians, Jewish and Gentile.

1:2 The sacramental image of “sprinkling by blood” appears in several places in the Pentateuch, especially Exodus 24:3-8.

1:10-12 contains a general reference to the prophets who through the Spirit of Christ predicted His sufferings.

1:16 The fulfillment formula “as it is written” applies to such texts as Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, and 20:7-8, 26.

1:17 contains another reference to the Exile.

1:19 Christ is called “a lamb without defect or blemish,” referring to Leviticus 23:12; Numbers 6:14; and passages found in Exodus, Isaiah, and Psalms as well

1:24-25 This citation of Isaiah 40:6-8 is introduced, as are others in I Peter, merely with a connecting word such as “and” or “thus.”

2:3 is an allusion to Psalm 34.

2:4 See Psalm 118:22 and Isaiah 28:16.

2:6-8 A combination of three OT quotations involving rocks comprises these verses (Isaiah 28:16; Psalm 118:22-23; and Isaiah 8:14-15).

2:9-10 Here is more language originally applied to Israel but now applied to Christians. See Hosea 2:23; Exodus 19:6; and Isaiah 43:20-21.

2:18-25 This example of Christ's suffering is taken from Isaiah 53:5-12. Suffering is a repeated theme in I Peter. Carson notes that there are actually four OT quotations and four OT allusions here to the Suffering Servant Song 52:13-53:12.

3:5-6 For wives' behavior, Peter cites the example of Sarah, with specific reference to Genesis 18:12.

3:10-12 cites Psalm 34:12-16.

3:14-15 See Isaiah 8 for the contrast between these two different types of fear.

3:20 This verse is found in a notoriously difficult passage. Noah is given as an example of patience to emulate.

4:8 may contain ideas also found in Proverbs 10:6-14.

4:17 Carson sees language borrowed from such OT sources as Exodus 9:5-6; Zechariah 13:9; and Malachi 3:1-3.

4:18 See Proverb 11:31.

5:5 See Proverb 3:34.

5:8 The image of an enemy as “roaring lion(s)” also appears in Psalm 22:13 and Ezekiel 22:25.

5:13 The reference to “Babylon” probably means Rome in this particular case. See my post on “Fallen, Fallen is Babylon the Great.”

II Peter

1:19-20 contains an indefinite reference to OT prophets and the source of their inspiration. In that respect it is similar to I Peter 1:10-12.

2:4-8 Examples of God's judgment on the disobedient are taken from Genesis 6, 8, and 19.

2:15-16 Balaam's rebuke by God is cited (Numbers 22).

2:22 “According to the trustworthy proverb” introduces Proverbs 26:11 which, however, only covers the first proverb.

3:5-6 In these verses we have references to the Creation (Genesis 1, especially verses 2,6-10) and the Flood (especially Genesis 7:11).

3:8 quotes Psalm 90:4.

3:10 The Day of the Lord is described in language reminiscent of Amos 5:18-20 and Joel 2, although that term appears at least eighteen more times in the OT.

3:13 Predictions of a New Heaven and Earth appear in Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22.

Jude

This letter is felt to be a source that II Peter utilizes, and so you will see certain similarities between them in their use of OT material.

5-8 Three examples of disobedience in the OT are cited, as in II Peter 2:4-8, but there it was disobedient angels, the Flood, and Sodom and Gomorrah. In Jude it is the disobedient Israelites in the wilderness, the disobedient angels, and Sodom and Gomorrah, in that order.

9 This is not a quotation from the OT at all, but from an extrabiblical Jewish source instead, referring to an interaction between the archangel Michael and Satan. But the actual rebuke that Satan receives also appears in Zechariah 3:2 in a different context.

11 Three additional OT examples are given: Cain, Balaam (as in II Peter), and Korah (see Numbers 16).

12 The allusion to false shepherds may be taken from Ezekiel 34:2-3. The image of “waterless clouds” is borrowed from Proverbs 25:14 and Hosea 6:4.

13 Here is another allusion to an extrabiblical book (Enoch) in which the phrase “wandering stars” refers to planets.

14 This is followed by an actual quotation from I Enoch 1:9.

22 contains a final phrase, “a person saved from fire,” found in the OT (Zechariah 3:2-4.