First Peter - Lorin

inclusively, 12 Peter’s emphasis here is more specific and centers on internal relationships inside the community
of believers. 13 For his readers that were suffering unjustly simply because of their faith the pressures to
compromise loomed rather large. Tension always accompanies persecution, and that tension can turn outward
into retribution, which Peter ruled out in the previous section of 3:13-4:6. And / or, it can turn inward with unloading
on fellow church members, especially when they are perceived to not be as faithful as you consider
yourself to be. Now Peter addresses this temptation with a series of demands for healthy relationships with
fellow believers.
He begins with the vertical emphasis σωφρονήσατε καὶ νήψατε εἰς προσευχάς, “be serious and discipline
yourselves for the sake of your prayers.” Two Aorist imperative verbs issue the admonition, and both verbs are
linked to prayer. The use of the Aorist tense for commands intensifies the urgency of the admonitions. The
verb σωφρονέω stresses self control and sound thinking. 14 This verb is a part of a set of related words 15 used
in the New Testament to emphasis that believers are to be people ‘who use their minds well with rigid selfdisciplined
behavior.’ The second verb νήφω is very close in meaning with emphasis upon self-control through
being clear headed; 16 see 1:13 17 and 5:8 18 for the two other uses of this verb in First Peter. 19
12 “This sense of the impending eschaton (with all the suffering and deliverance associated with it) is well known in the NT,
whether the end is expressed in terms of the kingdom (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 10:7; Mark 1:45; Luke 10:9, 11) or in other terms (Luke
21:28; Rom. 13:12; Phil. 4:5; Heb. 10:25; Jas. 5:8; Rev. 1:3; 22:10). This expectation of the imminent inbreaking of God’s full and
final rule conditions all NT teaching, and without grasping it one can hardly understand the radical ethical stance taken within any
of the NT literature. 24 ” [Peter H. Davids, The First Epistle of Peter, The New International Commentary on the New Testament
(Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990), 156.]
13 “The Christian traditions reflected in these verses also point to their emphasis on the inner life of the community. The reference
to mutual hospitality (φιλόξενοι εἰς ἀλλήλους) is echoed in the NT, both in relation to the community itself (Rom 12:13; Heb 13:2)
and to its leaders (1 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:7), as is the centrality of love and the call to love one another (ἀγαπ-, 4:8; see John 13:34; 15:12;
Rom 12:9; 13:8; 1 Cor 13:13; 1 John 2:10; 2 John 5), and the reference to various spiritual gifts (χαρισμ-, 4:10; see 1 Cor 12:4–6, 11)
to be used for the common good (4:10; see 1 Cor 12:7). 14 Other common themes include the call to be of sound thought (σωφρον-,
4:7; see Rom 12:3; 1 Tim 3:2; 2 Tim 1:7, 8; Titus 2:2, 5, 6, 12), to be sober (νηφ-, 4:7; see 1 Thess 5:6, 8, mentioned in the context
of 5:1–3 and the impending end; 1 Tim 3:2, 11; 2 Tim 4:5; Titus 2:2), and the importance of ministering (or serving: διακον-, 4:11;
see Mark 10:45; Rom 12:7; 1 Cor 12:5; cf. 1 Cor 16:15; 2 Cor 8:4; 9:1). There are also some linguistic parallels with James (the
use of ἤγγικεν in eschatological context, 1 Pet 4:7a; Jas 5:8b; the phrase καλύπτει/καλύψει πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν; 1 Pet 4:8b; Jas 5:20b)
that probably also reflect common dependence on earlier Christian tradition. 15 On the whole, while common Christian traditions are
in evidence, it is all but impossible to locate direct literary, or even traditional, dependence. 16 Our author swims in the mainstream
of Christian tradition, a situation that he shares with the other, especially the later, authors of NT letters.” [Paul J. Achtemeier and
Eldon Jay Epp, 1 Peter : A Commentary on First Peter, Hermeneia--a critical and historical commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis,
Minn.: Fortress Press, 1996), 293.]
14 “σωφρονέω (σώφρων, via σῶς + φρήν) 1 aor. ἐσωφρόνησα (Trag., X., Pla. et al.; pap) the thematic semantic note in this and
cognate terms is the Hellenic ideal of μηδὲν ἄγαν (‘nothing to excess’).
“1. to be able to think in a sound or sane manner, be of sound mind. of mental health (in contrast to μαίνεσθαι; Pla., Phdr.
22, 244a, Rep. 331c; Ps.-Apollod. 3, 5, 1; 6; Philo, Cher. 69) to be in one’s right mind, of a demoniac who was healed Mk 5:15; Lk
8:35. Sim., 2 Cor 5:13 (opp. ἐκστῆναι; s. ἐξίστημι 2a).
“2. to be prudent, with focus on self-control, be reasonable, sensible, serious, keep one’s head (X., Cyr. 3, 2, 4; TestSol 8:8;
Philo, Det. Pot. Ins. 114; Jos., Ant. 2, 296; Just., Tat.; Ath. 32, 2; Orig., C. Cels. 2, 8, 16) Tit 2:6. W. νήφειν 1 Pt 4:7. Esp. of women
be chaste, virtuous (Musonius p. 14, 12ff H.; Arrian, Anab. 4, 20, 2; Alciphron, 4, 17, 3; Jos., Ant. 18, 66.—σωφροσύνη 2) 1 Cl 1:3;
Pol 4:3.—In contrast to ὑπερφρονεῖν and in a play on words w. it and w. φρονεῖν twice Ro 12:3 (cp. Plut., Mor. 776d φρονεῖν κ.
σωφ.; Socrat., Ep. 36 σωφρονέω … συσσωφρονέω; Iren. 1, 16, 3 [Harv. I, 164, 3])—DELG s.v. σῶς. M-M. TW. Spicq.” [William
Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature,
3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 986.]
15σωφρονέω (to be prudent), σωφρονίζω (to instruct in prudence), σωφρονισμός (the teaching of prudence), σωφρόνως
(prudently), σωφροσύνη (prudence), σώφρων, ον (prudent).
16 “The verb from which the second imperative is formed (νήφω) means literally the opposite of drunkenness, but is probably
used here, as elsewhere in the NT, in the metaphorical sense of remaining alert and in full possession of one’s ‘sound mind,’
particularly in light of the imminent eschatological events. 31 ” [Paul J. Achtemeier and Eldon Jay Epp, 1 Peter : A Commentary on
First Peter, Hermeneia--a critical and historical commentary on the Bible (Minneapolis, Minn.: Fortress Press, 1996), 294.]
17NRSV: “13 Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves [νήφοντες τελείως]; set all your hope on the grace
that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed.”
18NRSV: “8 Discipline yourselves [νήψατε], keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for
someone to devour.”
19 “νήφω 1 aor. ἔνηψα (Soph., Pla., X. et al.; ins, pap) prim. ‘be sober’; in the NT only fig. = be free fr. every form of mental
and spiritual ‘drunkenness’, fr. excess, passion, rashness, confusion, etc. be well-balanced, self-controlled (Aristot. et al.; Epicurus
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