First Peter - Lorin

home.
b. Literary
Literary Form (Genre). The larger literary form here is of course the
letter body, in which Peter is sharing spiritual insights with his readers as
a substitute visit. Whether one can deduce from this that martial problems
were present in the Christian communities is questionable. What is clear from
studying the broader historical background of marital relationships in general
during this era is that Christian couples that came from either a Jewish or Roman
background would have needed careful instruction on just how to be truly
‘Christian’ in their marital relationship since the guidelines for Christians seriously
deviated from what they had been taught before coming to Christ. Making
the transition from that earlier heritage to the new Christian responsibilities
would not have been easy. And yet making this transition took on enormous
importance as a witness to their non-Christian friends and family about the
difference that Christ would make in one’s life and home. This is why several
of the passages contain purpose statements defining the goal of such values
as being to advance the Gospel of Christ.
The narrow genre of 3:1-6 is that of Haustafeln. 13 From the time of the New
Testament forward, family relationships were a significant discussion among Christian leaders. 14 This topic
was also discussed extensively in non-Christian circles of that era. 15 The Pauline Haustafeln is more tightly
arranged into three pairs of family relationships: wife to husband;
children to father; slave to master (see chart on the above right).
Responsibilities flowed both directions in each of the three sets of
relationships. These three sections covered the full range of responsibilities
inside the family. Peter’s discussion touches only on slaves
(to masters) and wife / husband relationships. The Christian slave
is given instructions on relating to non-Christian owners. He doesn’t
give instructions to Christian slave owners, as did Paul. And the
discussion of the wife’s responsibilities are focused on her winning
over to Christ her non-Christian husband, whereas the husband is
assumed to be a believer married to a believing wife. Thus Peter’s
discussion seems to be targeting some very specific needs present
in the churches of Anatolia in the mid-first century. He makes use of
the Haustafeln tradition but doesn’t feel the need for a full discussion
of it. This seems to be partially due to this section (2:11-3:7) focusing
on the believer’s relationships to non-believers. Probably other
factors motivated his distinctive emphasis, but we can’t determine
clearly what they were. 16
Literary Context. As the outline on the right illustrates, 3:1-6
stands as a part of the letter body under the second division entitled
“Obligations.” After treating various aspects of holy living in 1:13-2:10,
Outline of Contents
in First Peter:
Praescriptio: 1:1-2
• Superscriptio, 1:1a
• Adscriptio, 1:1b-2a
• Salutatio, 1:2b
Proem: 1:3-12
• Core, 1:3a
• Expansion, 1:3b-12
Body: 1:13-5:11
• Holy living 1:13-2:10
• Ideals 1:13-25
• Privileges 2:1-10
• Obligations 2:11-3:12
• Civic 2:11-17
• Haustafeln 2:18-3:7
• Social 3:8-12
• Persecution 3:13-5:11
• Encouragement 3:13-4:11
• Explanation 4:12-19
• Proper Conduct 5:1-11
Conclusio: 5:12-14
• Sender Verification, 5:12
• Greetings, 5:13-14a
• Benedictio, 5:14b
13The German term Haustafeln comes from the heading that Luther gave the passages in Ephesians, Colossians, and First
Peter in the Luther Bibel translation. Literally it means ‘rules of the house,’ and when translated into English is usually rendered
‘Household Code’ or ‘Domestic Code.’
14See Matt 5:27–32; 19:3–12/Mark 10:1–12; 22:23–28; 1 Cor 5:1–11; 7:1–40; 14:34–37; Eph 5:22–33; Col 2:18–19; 1 Thess
4:3–8; 1 Tim 2:8–15; 3:11–12; 5:9–16; Titus 2:4–5; Heb 13:4; 1 Clem. 1:3; 21:6–7; Herm. Mand. 4.1; Ign. Pol. 5:1–2; Pol. Phil
4:2.
15See Iamblichus, Life of Pythagoras 35–57; Arist., Pol. 1–2; Ps.-Arist., Oec.; Xen., Oec.; Philo, Decal. 165–67; Spec. 3. 169–
71; Hypoth. 7. 14; Josephus, Ag. Ap. 2.189–209; Hier. (in Stobaeus, books 1–5; esp. 4.22.21–24; 4.502.1–507.5; cf. also 4.24.14;
4.603.8–24; 5.5–22; 5.696.23–697.3). Sometimes this was identified in ancient Greek as the oikonomia tradition, ‘household
management’ tradition.
16This may also be connected to the much larger region covered in First Peter -- Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia
(1:1) -- than Paul’s emphasis in Ephesians, Colossians, and Titus, which covered Ephesus and Colossae in Asia along with Crete.
Bible Study: Page 142