Ver. 11. Liturgical formula, adapted
αὐτοῦ δόξαν ἐν τῷ XO
fe. σθενώσει' αὐτῷ
pat δί ὀλίγων ἔγραψα εἶναι ἀληθῆ χάριν τοῦ
79
ὀλίγον παθόντας αὖ τὸ κράτος εἰς II
βανοῦ ὑμῖν τοῦ πιστοί 12
παρακαλῶν καὶ Θῦ εἰς ἣν
in iv. 11 (ἐστιν), which occurs in 1 Tim. vi. 16; John 25; Apoc. i. 6; v. 13.
Vv. 12-14. Postscript in St. Peter’s own handwriting, like Gal. vi. 11-18 (Sere πηλίκοις ὑμῖν γράµµασιν ἔγραψα τῃ ἐμῃ χειρί; 2 Thess. ili. 17 {. (6 ἀσπασμὸς τῇ ἐμῇ χειρὶ Παύλου).--δι ὰ Σιλουανοῦ, by the hand of my scribe S.; so Ignatius writes διὰ Βύρρου to the Philadelphians (xi. 2) and the Smyrnaeans (xii. 1), but wishes to keep him with himself (Eph. ii. 1). That S. was also the bearer of the Epistle is indicated by the recom- mendation which follows. There does not seem to be any good reason for re- fusing to identify this S. with the com- panion of St. Paul and Timothy who wrote with them to the Church of Thessa- lonica and preached with them at Corinth (2 Cor. i. 10).--τοῦ πιστοῦ adeX- got ὥς λογίζομαι. One main object of the postscript is to supply S. with a brief commendation. He is pre- sumably the appointed messenger who will supplement the letter with detailed application of its general teaching and information about the affairs of the writer. So St. Paul’s Encyclical ends with that ye may know my circumstances how I fare Tychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord shall make known all things to you (Eph. vi. 21 f.). S. was known probably to some of the Churches as St. Paul’s companion: in case he was unknown to any, St. Peter adds his own certificate. For this use of λογίζοµαι compare 1 Cor. iv. I, οὕτως ἡμᾶς λογιζέσθω ἄνθρωπος; 2 Cor. xi. 5, λογίζοµαι yap pydev ὑστερηκέναι τῶν ὑπερλίαν ἀποστόλων.- παρακαλῶν - + « θεοῦ, motive and subject of the Epistle. St. Peter wrote exhorting as he said I exhort you (ii. 11, v. 1) and the general content of his exhortation may be given by the subordinate clause which follows: “That you stand in the grace, which I bear witness is truly God’s grace”. The acquired sense of the verb
comfort (LXX for Ὁπρ) is not directly contemplated. The Epistle is a λόγος παρακλήσεως in the sense of 6 παρα- καλῶν ἐν τῇ παρακλήσει, Rom. xii. 8.— ἐπιμαρτυρῶν, testifying to... not
. . in addition. The verb does not
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14 στῆτε" 14 Μᾶρκος ὁ υἱός µου"
γάπης : εἰρήνη ὑμῖν
occur elsewhere in Ο.Τ. (LXX has ém- μαρτύρομαι) or N.T.; but Heb. ii. 4 has the compound συνεπιμαρτυροῦντος τοῦ θεοῦ.- ταύτην . « . θεοῦ, that this is true grace of God, ἐ.ε., the grace—in the widest sense of the word which is theirs (i. 10) which God gives to the humble (v. 5). St. Peter was witness of the sufferings of Christ which they now share ; he witnesses from his experience that the grace which they possess is truly God’s grace, though sufferings are a passing incident of their sojourn nere.—ets ἣν στῆτε, paraenetic summary of τὴν προ- σαγωγὴν ἐσχήκαμεν εἰς τὴν χάριν ταύτην ἐν ᾗ ἑστήκαμεν (Rom. v. 2), from which the easier reading ἐστήκατε is derived.— ἡ... συνεκλεκτή. As the co-elder exhorts the elders so the co-elect (woman) greets the elect sojourners (i. 1). The early addition of Church represents the natural interpretation of the word, which indeed expresses the latent significance of ἐκ-κλησία, the called out, compare St. Paul’s use of ἡ ἐκλογή in Rom. xi. 7. In v. τ ff. Peter addresses bodies rather than individuals and in v. 9 he uses a collec- tive term embracing the whole of Chris- tendom. Accordingly the woman in ques- tion is naturally taken to mean the Church—and not any individual (see on Mapxos). Compare the woman Οἱ Apoc. xii. 1 f. who is Israel—a fragment which presupposes the mystical interpretation of Canticles (see Cant. vi. 10) and generally the conception of Israel as the bride of Jehovah, which St. Paul appropriated, as complement of the Parables of the Mar- riage Feast, etc., and applied to the Church in Corinth (2 Cor. xi. 2). So in Hermas’ Visions the Church appears as a woman. ἐν Βαβυλῶνι, in Rome, ac- cording to the Apocalyptic Code, the use of which was not merely a safeguard but also a password. Compare Apoc. xvii. 5, on the forehead of the woman was written a mystery, “ Babylon the great,” xiv. 8, xvi. 10, xviii. 2; Apoc. Baruch, xi. 1. So Papias reports a tradition (“they say”) that Peter composed his first Epistle in Rome itself and signifies this by calling the city allegorically Babylon. The point of the allegory is that Rome was becoming the oppressor of the new (and