Description
The relationship between the Church and the Scriptures of Israel is fraught with complexities, particularly about how the first Christians read Scripture alongside the Gospel of Christ. Patrick T. Egan examines the text of 1 Peter in light of its numerous quotations of Scripture and demonstrates how the epistle sets forth a scriptural narrative that explains the nature and purpose of the Church. Egan argues that 1 Peter sets forth an ecclesiology based in a participatory Christology, in which the Church endures suffering in imitation of Jesus’s role as the suffering servant. The epistle admonishes the Church to a high moral standard in light of Christ’s atoning work while also encouraging the Church to place hope in God’s final vindication of his people. Addressing the churches of Asia Minor, 1 Peter applies the Scriptural narrative to the Church in unexpected ways.
About the Author
Patrick T. Egan is Dean of the Upper School at Providence Classical Christian Academy in St Louis and Research Tutor in New Testament at King’s Evangelical Divinity School in the UK.
Contents
Preface
Abbreviations
1. 1 Peter and the Modern Discourse on the Use of Scripture
2. The Hermeneutical Picture of 1 Peter
3. The Use of Scripture in 1 Peter 1:13-2:10
4. The Use of Scripture in 1 Peter 2:11-25
5. The Use of Scripture in 1 Peter 3:1-4:11
6. The Use of Scripture in 1 Peter 4:12-5:11
7. Conclusion
Bibliography
Subject Index
Author Index
Scripture Index
Endorsements and Reviews
Patrick Egan provides a sequential, detailed, and comprehensive discussion of 1 Peter’s reading of Scripture, showing how it situates its readers within the Isaianic narrative of exile and restoration. He has done much to bring Petrine hermeneutics into the field of lively study of early Christian readings of Isaiah that has focused up to now on Paul and the Gospels.
Richard Bauckham, Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies at the University of St Andrews; Senior Scholar at Ridley Hall, Cambridge
Patrick Egan’s study is a rich engagement with Christian social identity, as it is represented in 1 Peter. Christology, ecclesiology, and hermeneutics prove inseparable for the author, with the shared identity of Christians always determined by the unique identity of Jesus himself, an identity that is informed by – and in turn informs – the reading of Scripture. The study is as sensitive to the theological implications of 1 Peter as to the critical issues of text and background.
Grant Macaskill, Professor, Kirby Laing Chair of New Testament Exegesis, University of Aberdeen
Egan contributes to a growing number of studies that show how the NT alludes to the OT narrative in subtle ways as well as through direct references and quotations. A careful exegetical analysis and comparisons with Greek and Hebrew texts give substance to the case for such an intertextual reading of 1 Peter. … this is a significant study both for its contribution to our understanding of 1 Peter and to our understanding of NT hermeneutics.
Daivd Ball, in Journal for the Study of The New Testament: Booklist 2017, Vol 39, No 5
In general, the book gives a refreshingly theological reading and a clear, accessible exegetical argument. It provides a useful resource for thinking about the use of scripture in the NT, even if one disagrees with some of its claims.
Katherine M. Hockey, in The Expository Times, Vol 129, No 6
This book certainly achieves its objective in being a thorough examination of the use of the Old Testament in 1 Peter, providing a coherent narrative of the use of Isaiah throughout the letter, and stimulus for reflection on the use of scriptural allusion in the early church, and the relationship between Christology and ecclesiology.
James Hughes, in Churchman, Vol 133, No 1
Egan’s book is a very positive contribution to the theological academy, and studious ministers would also find this study very beneficial to work through, especially if they intend to teach through the epistle themselves. I heartily recommend it.
Jordan Litchfield, in Theological Book Review, Vol 28, No 2
