2 Peter 1:1

Simon Peter (Simwn Petro). Aleph A K L P have Symewn as in Acts 15:14 , while B has Simwn. The two forms occur indifferently in I Macc. 2:3, 65 for the same man. Servant and apostle (doulo kai apostolo). Like Romans 1:1 ; Titus 1:1 . To them that have obtained (toi lacousin). Dative plural articular participle second aorist active of lagcanw, old verb, to obtain by lot ( Luke 1:9 ), here with the accusative (pistin) as in Acts 1:17 . Like precious (isotimon). Late compound adjective (iso, equal, timh, honor, price), here only in N.T. But this adjective (Field) is used in two ways, according to the two ideas in timh (value, honor), either like in value or like in honor. This second idea is the usual one with isotimo (inscriptions and papyri, Josephus, Lucian), while polutimo has the notion of price like timh in Acts 1:7 Acts 1:19 ; Acts 2:4 Acts 2:6 . The faith which they have obtained is like in honor and privilege with that of Peter or any of the apostles. With us (hmin). Associative-instrumental case after isotimon. Equal to th hmwn (the faith of us). In the righteousness (en dikaiosunh). Definite because of the preposition en and the following genitive even though anarthrous. The O.T. sense of dikaiosunh applied to God ( Romans 1:17 ) and here to Christ. Of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ (tou qeou hmwn kai swthro Ihsou Cristou). So the one article (tou) with qeou and swthro requires precisely as with tou kuriou hmwn kai swthro Ihsou Cristou (of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ), one person, not two, in Romans 1:11 as in Romans 2:20 ; Romans 3:2 Romans 3:18 . So in 1 Peter 1:3 we have o qeo kai pathr (the God and Father), one person, not two. The grammar is uniform and inevitable (Robertson, Grammar, p. 786), as even Schmiedel (Winer-Schmiedel, Grammatik, p. 158) admits: "Grammar demands that one person be meant." Moulton (Prol., p. 84) cites papyri examples of like usage of qeo for the Roman emperors. See the same idiom in Titus 2:13 . The use of qeo by Peter as a predicate with Jesus Christ no more disproves the Petrine authorship of this Epistle than a like use in John 1:1 disproves the Johannine authorship of the Fourth Gospel and the same use in Titus 2:13 disproves the genuineness of Titus. Peter had heard Thomas call Jesus God ( John 20:28 ) and he himself had called him the Son of God ( Matthew 16:16 ).