3. Historical situation. — What, more exactly, were the conditions under which the readers were living? They are addressed Jis ' .sojourners of the Dispersion ' {irapeTn5r)i.iois Siaairopas). This expres- sion has sometimes been taken to mean that they were converts from the Jewish Diaspora.* But more probably the language is figurative, used of Christians in general, who are temporarily exiled from their heavenly home and scattered abroad upon the earth, t just as the Jews were exiled from their holy city and dispersed in strange lands. In this sense these Christians may have been converts from both Judaism and paganism, but certain incidental references in the Epistle suggest that they belonged mainly to the latter class. Before conversion they had been in a state of 'ignorance ' (1'^; cf. Eph 4'") and had followed their passions as their Gentile contemporaries continued to do (J 14 4=ff.). in time past they were in 'darkness,' they were ' no people,' and they had not obtained mercy, but now their situation is completely re- versed (2^'-) ; at the outset they had been furthest from God, and now they are nearest to Him — all of which seems to point to Gentile antecedents. They are dwelling in different parts of Asia Minor — Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Probably the geographical designations are used in the official sense of the territorial rearrange- ment into provinces under tlie Romans. Tlie bearer of the Epistle is thought of as starting his journey from the eastern portion of the province of Bithynia-Pontus, and swinging in a circle back to the western end of it. But the readers will have lived in much the same territory, whether the geographical terms are taken in the technical or in the popular sense. The letter is so uniform in its emphasis upon suffering, and it makes so much of t\\e hope that Christ will soon appear to remedy the present evil, that the writer evidently thought Christians generally throughout this terri- tory were actually enduring, or were soon to ex- perience, very severe persecution. For some of them at least it was already a stunning reality (4'-), but they are exhorted not to shrink from this affliction. They should, however, make sure that they are not guilty of any of the evil deeds which their enemies allege against them (2'-- '* 3""- 4J. 14-iB) They are admonished to refrain from needlessly provoking the authorities, recognizing in the latter Divinely appointed guardians of the civil order (2"-"), and they are to suffer willingly
* So E. Kiihl, Die Briefe Petri wnd Judce, p. 21 ff. The same opinion has been affirmed more recently by C. F. G. Heinrici, Der liltemrische Chamkter der neutcstamintUchen Schri/ten, Leipzi;;, 1908, p. 75 1.
t Ct. 1 P 11' 2", He 1113 1314, Eph 219; also the salutations of Clement of Rome, ad Cor., Polycarp, ad Phil., and Martyrdom of Poll/carp. This is the view held by the majority of modern scholars, e.g. E. Knopf, Die Briefe Petri und Jttdd, p. 3ff.
for righteousness' sake ; that is, they are to stand loyal to their confession of Christ and to atlirm unhesitatingly their hope of salvation, and thus they may congratulate themselves on suffering for the name of Christ, although formally they are being punished for crimes with which their oppon- ents are — falsely, the author hopes — charging tlieni (313-17 4i4-i»). Sloreover, their situation is not unique, but is characteristic of the brotherhood throughout the worlil (f)'').
4. Date. — There is much difference of opinion as to the date of comiiosition (see J. Moffatt, LNT, pp. 338-342). A most important question in this connexion is, When were the Christians of northern Asia Minor suffering this type of affliction ? Of the various answers which h.ave been given in the past, only three demand detailed consideration." According to one hypothesis, these events took place in the latter part of the reign of Nero (54-68), a second view locates them under Domitian (81-96), while still another refers them to the time of Trajan (98-117). Notwithstanding numerous discussions of the subject, there is still much uncertainty regarding the exact extent and character of the persecutions which are commonly supposed to have occurred under these three Emperors, t Our first explicit information outside the NT about the persecution of Christians in Asia Minor is found in the extant correspondence which Pliny the Younger and Trajan carried on about the year 1 1"2 (Ep. xcvi. f. ). When Pliny became governor of Bithynia he soon found himself in conflict witli the Christians, of whom he put a number to death, or, if Roman citizens, held them for transportation to Rome. Pliny had not started out with any well-defined anti-Christian policy, and so he was much perplexed by the situation which early developed. When he found that the Christians were not guilty of the crimes usually charged against them, he was in doubt as to whether it was proper to punish them merely for their loyalty to the name of Christ, and he did not know what dis- position ought to be made of those who were willing to recant. Further, he wanted to know to what extent Christians were to be deliberately sought out for punishment. To Pliny's inquiries the Emperor replied that (1) flagrant cases were to be punished, but (2) no active search for Christians was to be made, nor (3) were anonymous accusa- tions to be entertained, and (4) all who recanted, proving their sincerity by denying the name of Christian and observing the rites of the State religion, were to be pardoned regardless of any former suspicions against them. This, so far as our extant information is concerned, is the first time in history when the mere confession of the name 'Christian' itself constituted a punishable offence in the eyes of the law, but lienceforth persecution for the ' Name ' was the ordinary form of procedure.}: In earlier times the name ' Chris-