Abstract
Keener’s introduction to 1 Peter raises the expected questions of provenance, authorship, date, and the like, though he moves through these matters rather quickly. Indeed, in some cases, he does so without clarifying or building a case for his own position, as if a fuller consideration of such preparatory questions might delay our taking up of the real task of digging deeply into the letter itself. Keener argues for Petrine authorship of the letter, which necessarily helps to pinpoint when the letter would have been written. He is less adamant in his judgment, though, on the question of the make-up of Peter’s audience, whether primarily Gentile or Jew. In defense of what might seem to be a truncated approach to questions of introduction, it must be admitted that “the assured results of modern scholarship” is now a dated phrase that in many quarters has given way to our recognition of what little certainty we have concerning such matters. I should add that Keener’s introduction does little to sketch or expand on the letter’s theology.
Turning to the commentary proper, we find detailed, verse-by-verse discussion, much of which seems designed to transport the reader of 1 Peter into the apostle’s world. Very rarely, Keener allows himself the luxury of speaking more directly to twenty-first-century concerns. Note, though, his comments on the letter’s instruction regarding wives and husbands (3:1–7). Peter directs wives to “submit to your own husbands, so that even if any are disobedient to the message, they may be won without speech through their wives’ behavior. This can happen as they observe your pure behavior and respect” (1 Pet 3:1–2; Keener’s translation, p. 208). Having worked through the details of Peter’s counsel, Keener observes the ease with which we (that is, “armchair professors in stable settings”) might criticize “a persecuted minority’s accommodation to power” (p. 226). Then, with a nod to Shively Smith’s work on 1 Peter (Strangers to Family: Diaspora and 1 Peter’s Invention of God’s Household, Baylor University Press, 2016), he reflects on how Peter’s words promote a survival strategy, a pragmatic defense against the real threats faced by a minoritized group. However, notes like this, featuring contemporary concerns, are not at all the bread and butter of this weighty volume.
For the most part, this treatment of 1 Peter concerns itself with explaining Keener’s translation choices and, especially, situating aspects of the letter in their Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts. Keener has provided his own translation and, to mention one example, 1 Pet 1:3 tells us that God “birthed us anew,” with the result that we have a “living expectation” (p. 63; compare this with the CEB: “given us new birth . . . into a living hope”). Keener is aware that “birthed” draws on more feminine imagery yet prefers it over alternatives like “beget” or “father” (anagennao). And observing that the English term “hope” (elpis) sounds less certain than Peter’s usage warrants, he has opted instead for “expectation.” Overall, he displays an inclination toward avoiding theological jargon in his translation. Concerning the second focus of Keener’s interpretive comments—that is, his interest in shedding light on 1 Peter by discussing aspects of Peter’s socio-cultural context—Keener notes, for example, how later opponents of the Christian movement attacked the faith of Christian women (this in relation to 1 Pet 3:1–2), and how other ancient sources correlate submission and showing honor (this in relation to 1 Pet 2:17: “Honor everyone! . . . Honor the king” [p. 162]). In truth, such appeals to Peter’s wider, literary-historical world pervade the entire commentary. To these two mainstays, we might add a related, third interest that animates this reading of 1 Peter, namely, how the letter puts into play ancient rhetorical strategies. Keener apologizes in his preface for his lack of engagement with secondary sources, recent scholarship on 1 Peter in particular, so we might expect that this commentary would comprise mostly his own interpretive prose, with only occasional footnotes. Instead, copious notes occupy most ever page—sometimes referring to secondary literature but much more often documenting ancient sources. Simply put, Keener’s grasp of this ancient material is breathtaking.
We might wish for more from Keener when it comes to developing and grappling with the theology and ethics of 1 Peter, or with Peter’s theological hermeneutics for engaging Israel’s Scriptures. We might want to press him for more regarding the way Peter’s argument develops within and across sections of the letter. Even so, we would likely recognize that the volume’s many excurses themselves justify the price of admission. These mini-essays parade under the banner, “A Closer Look,” and provide amazingly detailed and reader-friendly orientations to ancient perspectives on a wide array of concerns material to reading 1 Peter: ancient Jewish views of suffering, ancient images of freedom and slavery, women’s “weakness” in ancient sources, hospitality, avoiding greed in antiquity, and much more. My guess is that all readers of this volume, from newcomers to those who have engaged this letter for years, will find much to appreciate in these asides.
One of my friends has referred to our present situation as one of “commentary glut”—referring first to the expanding waistlines of so many commentaries, as more and more (and more) is added to the basic work of making plain the message of the text, and second, to the apparent oversupply of commentaries, so many of which seem to cover the same ground as the others. Its own heft notwithstanding, Keener’s commentary stands out for the way it counters commentary glut. On the one hand, his commentary is first and foremost a commentary on 1 Peter, and not a commentary on commentaries (and other secondary literature) on 1 Peter. We find on page after page Keener’s own voice, his own reading of 1 Peter. On the other hand, we find here a focus on context, context, context that distinguishes this commentary in comparison with the others we might have on our shelves. I anticipate that preachers, students, and scholars will find themselves returning again and again to this important resource.