Discovery Box2 Peter 1:1-2
Context1:1 From Simeon 1 Peter, 2 a slave 3 and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God 4 and Savior, 5 Jesus Christ, have been granted 6 a faith just as precious 7 as ours. 1:2 May grace and peace be lavished on you 8 as you grow 9 in the rich knowledge 10 of God and of Jesus our Lord! 11
2 Peter 1:11
Context1:11 For thus an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be richly provided for you.
2 Peter 1:8
Context1:8 For if 12 these things are really yours 13 and are continually increasing, 14 they will keep you from becoming 15 ineffective and unproductive in your pursuit of 16 knowing our Lord Jesus Christ more intimately. 17
2 Peter 1:16
Context1:16 For we did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return 18 of our Lord Jesus Christ; 19 no, 20 we were 21 eyewitnesses of his 22 grandeur. 23
2 Peter 3:18
Context3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge 24 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on 25 that eternal day. 26
2 Peter 2:20
Context2:20 For if after they have escaped the filthy things 27 of the world through the rich knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 28 they 29 again get entangled in them and succumb to them, 30 their last state has become worse for them than their first.
[1:1] 1 tc Several witnesses, a few of them very important (Ì72 B Ψ 69 81 614 623 630 1241 1243 2464 al vg co), read Σίμων (Simwn, “Simon”) for Συμεών (Sumewn, “Simeon”). However, this appears to be a motivated reading as it is the more common spelling. Συμεών occurs only here and in Acts 15:14 as a spelling for the apostle’s name. The reading Συμεών enjoys ample and widespread support among the
[1:1] 2 tn Grk “Simeon Peter.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.
[1:1] 3 tn Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). At the same time, perhaps “servant” is apt in that the δοῦλος of Jesus Christ took on that role voluntarily, unlike a slave. The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.
[1:1] 4 tc A few
[1:1] 5 tn The terms “God and Savior” both refer to the same person, Jesus Christ. This is one of the clearest statements in the NT concerning the deity of Christ. The construction in Greek is known as the Granville Sharp rule, named after the English philanthropist-linguist who first clearly articulated the rule in 1798. Sharp pointed out that in the construction article-noun-καί-noun (where καί [kai] = “and”), when two nouns are singular, personal, and common (i.e., not proper names), they always had the same referent. Illustrations such as “the friend and brother,” “the God and Father,” etc. abound in the NT to prove Sharp’s point. In fact, the construction occurs elsewhere in 2 Peter, strongly suggesting that the author’s idiom was the same as the rest of the NT authors’ (cf., e.g., 1:11 [“the Lord and Savior”], 2:20 [“the Lord and Savior”]). The only issue is whether terms such as “God” and “Savior” could be considered common nouns as opposed to proper names. Sharp and others who followed (such as T. F. Middleton in his masterful The Doctrine of the Greek Article) demonstrated that a proper name in Greek was one that could not be pluralized. Since both “God” (θεός, qeos) and “savior” (σωτήρ, swthr) were occasionally found in the plural, they did not constitute proper names, and hence, do fit Sharp’s rule. Although there have been 200 years of attempts to dislodge Sharp’s rule, all attempts have been futile. Sharp’s rule stands vindicated after all the dust has settled. For more information on the application of Sharp’s rule to 2 Pet 1:1, see ExSyn 272, 276-77, 290. See also Titus 2:13 and Jude 4.
[1:1] 6 tn The verb λαγχάνω (lancanw) means “obtain by lot,” “receive.” A literal translation would put it in the active, but some of the richness of the term would thereby be lost. It is used in collocation with κλῆρος (klhros, “lot”) frequently enough in the LXX to suggest the connotation of reception of a gift, or in the least reception of something that one does not deserve. H. Hanse’s statement (TDNT 4:1) that “Even where there is no casting of lots, the attainment is not by one’s own effort or as a result of one’s own exertions, but is like ripe fruit falling into one’s lap” is apt for this passage. The author’s opening line is a reminder that our position in Christ is not due to merit, but grace.
[1:1] 7 tn Grk “equal in value/honor.”
[1:2] 8 tn Grk “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”
[1:2] 9 tn The words “as you grow” are not in the Greek text, but seem to be implied.
[1:2] 10 tn The word ἐπίγνωσις (epignwsis) could simply mean knowledge, but J. B. Mayor (Jude and Second Peter, 171-74) has suggested that it is often a fuller knowledge, especially in reference to things pertaining to spiritual truth. R. Bauckham (Jude, 2 Peter [WBC], 169-70) argues that it refers to the knowledge of God that is borne of conversion, but this is probably saying too much and is asking questions of the author that are foreign to his way of thinking. The term is used in 1:2, 3, 8; 2:20 (the verb form occurs twice, both in 2:21). In every instance it evidently involves being in the inner circle of those who connect to God, though it does not necessarily imply such a direct and relational knowledge of God for each individual within that circle. An analogy would be Judas Iscariot: Even though he was a disciple of the Lord, he was not converted.
[1:2] 11 tn A comma properly belongs at the end of v. 2 instead of a period, since v. 3 is a continuation of the same sentence. With the optative in v. 2, the author has departed from Paul’s normal greeting (in which no verb is used), rendering the greeting a full-blown sentence. Nevertheless, this translation divides the verses up along thematic lines in spite of breaking up the sentence structure. For more explanation, see note on “power” in v. 3.
[1:8] 15 tn The participles are evidently conditional, as most translations render them.
[1:8] 16 tn The participle ὑπάρχοντα (Juparconta) is stronger than the verb εἰμί (eimi), usually implying a permanent state. Hence, the addition of “really” is implied.
[1:8] 17 sn Continually increasing. There are evidently degrees of ownership of these qualities, implying degrees of productivity in one’s intimacy with Christ. An idiomatic rendering of the first part of v. 8 would be “For if you can claim ownership of these virtues in progressively increasing amounts…”
[1:8] 18 tn Grk “cause [you] not to become.”
[1:8] 19 tn Grk “unto,” “toward”; although it is possible to translate the preposition εἰς (eis) as simply “in.”
[1:8] 20 tn Grk “the [rich] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Verse 8 in Greek does not make a full stop (period), for v. 9 begins with a subordinate relative pronoun. Contemporary English convention requires a full stop in translation, however.
[1:16] 23 tn Grk “for we did not make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ by following cleverly concocted fables.”
[1:16] 24 tn Grk “but, instead.”
[1:16] 26 tn Grk “that one’s.” That is, “eyewitnesses of the grandeur of that one.” The remote demonstrative pronoun is used perhaps to indicate esteem for Jesus. Along these lines it is interesting to note that “the Pythagoreans called their master after his death simply ἐκεῖνος” as a term of reverence and endearment (BDAG 302 s.v. ἐκεῖνος a.γ).
[1:16] 27 sn The term grandeur was used most frequently of God’s majesty. In the 1st century, it was occasionally used of the divine majesty of the emperor. 2 Pet 1:1 and 1:11 already include hints of a polemic against emperor-worship (in that “God and Savior” and “Lord and Savior” were used of the emperor).
[3:18] 29 tn The term “knowledge” (γνῶσις, gnwsis) used here is not the same as is found in 2 Pet 1:2, 3, 8; 2:20. This term is found in 1:5 and 1:6.
[3:18] 31 tc ‡ The vast bulk of
[2:20] 36 tn Grk “defilements”; “contaminations”; “pollutions.”
[2:20] 37 sn Through the rich knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The implication is not that these people necessarily knew the Lord (in the sense of being saved), but that they were in the circle of those who had embraced Christ as Lord and Savior.
[2:20] 38 tn Grk “(and/but) they.”
[2:20] 39 tn Grk “they again, after becoming entangled in them, are overcome by them.”
