Journal of Biblical Literature - Society of Biblical Literature

Bauman-Martin: Women on the Edge 279
because they were addressed to an elite, elect group that already knew the proper
behavior. Thus, they implied advice rather than command, and they appealed to the
positive self-identification of a community that considered itself superior, even though
oppressed. See David Daube, “Appended Note,” in Selwyn, First Epistle of Peter, 467;
and New Testament and Rabbinic Judaism, 94. An example Daube lists is from Mo>ed
Qat\an, in which the sages say, “On the new moons, Hanukkah, and Purim [women] wail
and clap their hands. On none of them do they sing a dirge” (3:9). In the original all of
the instructions are in the participle, and a literal translation would be, “On the new
moons, Hanukkah, and Purim [women] are wailing and clapping their hands. On none
of them are they singing a dirge.” Daube’s other examples include m. Šeb. 1:3; m. Sanh.
8:7; m. Demai 2:3; m. Bik. 1:4; and m. Ta>an. 4:6 (Rabbinic Judaism, 90–96).
The instructions are not forceful or prescriptive, but descriptive of the normal
activities of members of the group. The Petrine author’s use of the imperatival participle
would seem to indicate the same dynamic: a group leader speaking to those who already
understood the rules, reminding them of the customary behavior. The significance of
the imperatival participles in 1 Peter, if Daube’s theory is correct, would be formcritical:
a linguistic form arising out of social circumstances—here the preservation of
sectarian identity, consistent with Elliott’s analysis. More recently, Lauri Thurén has
suggested that the imperatival participles are part of the Petrine author’s rhetorical
strategy of using “ambiguous expressions” to address two conflicting attitudes in his
audience: to assimilate to Greco-Roman culture and to emphasize internal cohesion
(Rhetorical Strategy).