2 Peter 3

Contents

2 Peter 3 is the third (and final) chapter of the Second Epistle of Peter in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The author identifies himself as "Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ".[1] The epistle is traditionally attributed to Peter the Apostle, but some scholars consider it to be a work of Peter's followers, written between 60 and 90 CE.[2][3][4]

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 18 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

Old Testament references

  • 2 Peter 3:6: Genesis 7:11–12
  • 2 Peter 3:8: Psalm 90:4[5]

Relationship with the Epistle of Jude

There is an obvious relationship between the texts of 2 Peter and the Epistle of Jude.[6] Comparing the Greek text portions of 2 Peter 2:1–3:3 (426 words) to Jude 4–18 (311 words) results in 80 words in common and 7 words of substituted synonyms.[7]

The shared passages are:[8]

2 PeterJude
1:53
1:125
2:14
2:46
2:67
2:10–118–9
2:1210
2:13–1711–13
3:2-317–18
3:1424
3:1825

A reminder of the coming of the Lord (3:1–13)

2 Peter 3:1-2 reminds the addressees about the writer to re-emphasize the epistle's authority before the exposition of the central issue in verses 3–13, the timing of Jesus' second coming.[9]

Verse 1

Peter emphasizes the unity of this epistle with the first one and the consistency of his teaching with those of the prophets and apostles (verse 2).[10] Hugo Grotius (1583–1645) suggested that these are the opening words of a new letter, rather than a reference to an earlier one.[11]

Verse 2

Here Peter emphasizes the unity of the writings of the prophets in the Old Testament with the apostolic teachings in 1 Peter 1:10–12 and 2 Peter 1:19–21.[10] A reading των αποστολων ημων εντολης (tōn apostolōn hēmōn entolēs) is given in the Textus Receptus,[12] and this is described by Heinrich Meyer as (in his day) "the commonly accepted reading",[13] whereas των αποστολων υμων εντολης (tōn apostolōn hymōn entolēs) is preferred in the Westcott-Hort critical text.[14] Meyer calls the latter version "the true reading".[13] Accordingly, some English translations refer to "the command given through your apostles" (e.g. Revised Standard Version, New International Version) or others to "the commandment of us, the apostles ..." (e.g. King James Version and New King James Version).

Verse 3

  • Cross reference: Jude 18
  • "Walking after their own lusts" (NRSV: "indulging their own lusts"): doing as one pleases by thinking that there is no judgment.[15]

Verse 4

  • "The fathers": The reference to Noah's flood in verses 5–6 indicates that they are likely the Old Testament patriarchs.[10]

Verses 5–6

  • "Willingly ignorant" (KJV; NKJV: "willfully forget"; NRSV: "deliberately ignore"): 'conveniently forgotten' that God had intervened in judgment at the time of Noah's flood.[10]

Verse 8

  • "With the Lord one day is as a thousand years" indicates that God's perspective on time is very different from men's (cf. Psalm 90:4; Jubilees 4:30; Sirach 18:9-11; 2 Apoc. Bar. 48.12-13; Ps.-Philo, Bib. Ant. 19.13); and any 'delay' is the result of God's mercy to give time for repentance (cf. Romans 2:4; 2 Esd 7:33; Plut. Mor. 549b; perhaps Mark 13:10; also Habakkuk 2:3).[16]

Verse 9

The Lord is not "slack" (Greek: οὐ βραδύνει, ou bradunei), literally meaning the Lord does not delay or loiter. The same word is used in 1 Timothy 3:15 in reference to Paul's possible delay in travelling to meet Timothy in Ephesus. Marvin Vincent sees here "besides delay, the idea of lateness with reference to an appointed time".[17]

Peroratio (3:14–18)

The final five verses of the epistle contain the concluding part (peroratio) of the discourse, starting with the phrase: "Therefore, beloved" (verse 14, and used again in verse 17) and continue with a tone similar to the opening in the first chapter, echoing the 2 Peter 1:1–2 ('grace, knowledge, and Jesus as Savior') with the final words ('day of eternity') as the last reminder of this epistle's major theme, that is, 'the judgment day will come'.[16]

Verses 15–16

  • "The longsuffering of our Lord": or "God's patience", in the sense of 'giving time for unbelievers to be saved and for believers to be working out their salvation'.[18]

The reference to "all his epistles" indicates that the community of believers had started to gather Paul's epistles, although it need not imply that the collection was already complete.[18]

References

  1. 1.2 Peter 1:1: NKJV
  2. 2.Duff 2007, p. 1271.
  3. 3.Davids, Peter H (1982). I Howard Marshall and W Ward Gasque (ed.). New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Epistle of James (Repr. ed.). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans. ISBN 0802823882.
  4. 4.Evans, Craig A. (2005). Craig A Evans (ed.). Bible Knowledge Background Commentary: John, Hebrews-Revelation. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Victor. ISBN 0781442281.
  5. 5.Kirkpatrick, A. F. (1901). The Book of Psalms: with Introduction and Notes. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. Vol. Book IV and V: Psalms XC-CL. Cambridge: At the University Press. p. 839. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  6. 6.Callan 2004, p. 42.
  7. 7.Callan 2004, p. 43.
  8. 8.Robinson 2017, p. 10.
  9. 9.Duff 2007, p. 1273.
  10. 10.[10.2][10.3][10.4]Wheaton 1994, p. 1394.
  11. 11.Sutcliffe, J., Sutcliffe's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments on 2 Peter 3:1-18, accessed 2 October 2022
  12. 12.2 Peter 3:2: Textus Receptus
  13. 13.[13.2]Meyer, H. A. W., Meyer's NT Commentary on 2 Peter 3, accessed 3 October 2022
  14. 14.2 Peter 3:2: Westcott-Hort
  15. 15.Coogan 2007, p. 404 New Testament.
  16. 16.[16.2]Duff 2007, p. 1274.
  17. 17.Vincent, M. R. (1886), Vincent's Word Studies on 2 Peter 3, accessed 10 December 2023
  18. 18.[18.2]Wheaton 1994, p. 1395.