A Literary Analysis of 1 Peter 3:21
This is a research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the course DR30060, Integrating Christian Faith and Practice at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Kansas City, MO) on June 3, 2023.
Introduction
As the process of biblical hermeneutics continues in the study of any given text, the interpreter needs to take into consideration issues of literature and the passage. Every book of the Bible has a literary context and understanding the literary context helps to determine the meaning of the passage itself.[1] Without proper understanding of the literary context, the interpreter is liable to make mistakes in biblical interpretation that would result in misreading of the text itself. Only when proper literary analysis is performed on a text of Scripture can an individual derive proper biblical application for the text.
The Genre of 1 Peter
1 Peter is a letter written by the Apostle Peter to Christians who had been exiled throughout Asia Minor (1 Pet 1:1). The characterization of 1 Peter as a letter brings about difficulties that are unique to New Testament letters. For instance, letters are always situational, which means that Peter is writing 1 Peter for a specific reason and determining that reason helps the modern reader better understand the passage itself.[2] In addition, because the letter is situational, the modern reader needs to be careful with their application of the text because the authorial intent for the first century reader may be different for the modern reader. Not everything written to the original audience applies in the same manner to the modern audience, but there will always be timeless truths that can be learned from the letter.[3]
Concerning 1 Peter, it is clear from the text itself that the issue being confronted by Peter involves significant persecution. Peter utilizes his letter to not only encourage the believers in general, but also to encourage them despite the situation that they are facing (1 Pet 3:8-17, 4:12-19). Attempts have been made to determine when 1 Peter was written in hopes of narrowing in what persecution he is speaking about, but regardless of if the persecution was during Nero’s reign, Domitian’s reign, or if he was speaking of persecution in general,[4] the primary reasoning for Peter’s letter is to encourage the readers to stand firm in their faith despite significant persecution. (1 Pet 5:12).[5] Overall, what 1 Peter does in the canon of Scripture is to encourage steadfastness in the faith of all who suffer from the sins of others, and it calls the readers of the letter to persevere because of the person that their faith is in.
The Context
Narrowing the focus to 1 Peter 3:21, the surrounding context is as follows. The passage is 1 Peter 3:18-22, but the immediate context extends to 1 Peter 3:8-4:19. There is an overall theme in this passage concerning suffering in a way that brings glory to Christ and resembles that of a true believer in Jesus. This line of thinking starts with 1 Peter 3:8’s statement to not only “have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind,” but also to “not repay evil for evil.” (1 Pet 3:9).[6] This logically continues in the text by encouraging the persecuted believers to be prepared to defend their faiths with gentleness and respect (1 Pet 3:15) before reminding them of a significant truth that ought to motivate their Christian living, “[because] Christ also suffered once for sins . . . that he might bring us to God.” (1 Pet 3:18). It is only when Peter reminds the reader of Jesus’ sacrificial atoning for their sins that he then utilizes the ark as a type of baptism that saves. After utilizing this example, Peter then returns to his exhortation for them to live appropriately despite the persecution that they are presently facing.
What Peter is doing as he speaks on baptism is that he is utilizing baptism to tie in the idea of the ark, which then ties the readers into an understanding of how they fit into the world that they live in. Just like Noah and his small family lived in a world in which they were ridiculed for their faith, so too do the believers in 1 Peter. Just like Noah and his family were brought to a point where they absolutely needed to rely on God for salvation, so too do the believers in 1 Peter. Just like the ark saved Noah’s family through the waters of the flood, so too does Jesus save the believers in Asia Minor through salvation symbolized through baptism.[7] In other words, the believers in Asia Minor are experiencing temporal persecution, but they will eventually experience the victory that Jesus has promised them; and thus, they can and ought to have a hope in Jesus that results in the lifestyle that Peter encourages them to live throughout 1 Peter. This understanding of the text takes into consideration the overarching context of 1 Peter with the overarching context of redemption history throughout the Old and New Testaments.
Textual Issue in 1 Peter 3:21
According to A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, there is a textual variant in 1 Peter 3:21[8] that involves the initial pronoun of v. 21. A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament gives the initial pronoun ὅ an A rating because the text is strongly and widely supported and other witnesses were clear attempts to improve the original reading. Some witnesses either change the pronoun or remove it altogether with the intent of simplifying the meaning of the text. Because ὅ has been given an A rating based on the numerous witnesses attesting to this reading, it could be assumed that the author intended for ὅ to be the initial pronoun of the text. This does lead to further interpretational difficulties; for instance, determining the antecedent of ὅ utterly changes the meaning of the text, but this is beyond the scope of this essay.[9]
Conclusion
As can be seen, the literary context of any New Testament letter plays a significant role in determining the meaning and message of a particular text within the letter. If the literary context is vaguely explored or at worst ignored, the individual seeking to understand the text will probably never actually understand the text at hand. Instead, they might have several different ideas of what the text might mean without actually understanding what the text does mean because they have not taken the time nor made the effort to determine what the authorial intent was, how the literary genre effects interpretation, and how the text fits within Scripture. Ultimately, they do not do justice to the Words of God by ignoring the literary context of any given passage.
[1] J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020), 149.
[2] Ibid., 260.
[3] Andreas J. Köstenberger and Richard D. Patterson, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2011), 495-496.
[4] Greg W. Forbes, 1 Peter, eds. Andreas J. Köstenberger and Robert W. Yarbrough, Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament. (B&H Academic, 2016), 2-3.
[5] Karen H. Jobes, 1 Peter, eds. Robert W. Yarbrough and Joshua W. Jipp, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Second Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2022), 43.
[6] Unless otherwise specified, all Scripture references in this paper are to the English Standard Version (ESV) (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016).
[7] D.A. Carson, Commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007), 1039.
[8] Bruce Manning Metzger, United Bible Societies, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, Second Edition a Companion Volume to the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament (4th Rev. Ed.) (New York, NY: United Bible Societies, 1994), 623-624.
[9] Greg W. Forbes gives multiple options for determining the antecedent of ὅ in this text and explains how the differing antecedents could change the meaning of the text itself.
