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1 Peter 1:1
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Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Peter: Matthew 4:18, Matthew 10:2, John 1:41, John 1:42, John 21:15-17
the: 1 Peter 2:11, Acts 2:5-11, Ephesians 2:12, Ephesians 2:19, Hebrews 11:13
scattered: Leviticus 26:33, Deuteronomy 4:27, Deuteronomy 28:64, Deuteronomy 32:26, Esther 3:8, Psalms 44:11, Ezekiel 6:8, John 7:35, John 11:52, Acts 8:4, James 1:1
Pontus: Acts 2:5, Acts 2:9, Acts 2:10, Acts 18:2
Galatia: Acts 16:6, Acts 18:23, Galatians 1:2
Cappadocia: Acts 2:9
Asia: Acts 6:9, Acts 16:6, Acts 19:10, Acts 20:16-18, 1 Corinthians 16:19, 2 Corinthians 1:8, 2 Timothy 1:15, Revelation 1:11
Bithynia: Acts 16:7
Reciprocal: Isaiah 56:3 - the son Isaiah 56:7 - them will Hosea 2:23 - I will sow Zephaniah 3:10 - General Luke 22:32 - thy faith John 17:6 - thine Romans 1:7 - To all 2 Peter 1:1 - Peter 2 Peter 3:1 - second epistle 2 Peter 3:16 - in all Revelation 1:4 - to the
Cross-References
God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.
And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
And God sawe the lyght that it was good: and God deuided the lyght from the darknes.
He saw the light, and he knew that it was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness.
And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
And God seiy the liyt, that it was good, and he departide the liyt fro derknessis; and he clepide the liyt,
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God diuided the light from the darkenesse.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,.... The writer of this epistle describes himself first by his name, Peter, the same with Cephas, which signifies a rock, or stone; a name given him by Christ at his first conversion, and which respected his after firmness, solidity, resolution, and constancy; for his former name was Simeon, or Simon, as sometimes called; see Matthew 4:18 and he further describes himself by his office, as
an apostle of Jesus Christ; being one of the twelve apostles, and the first of that number; who saw Christ in the flesh, was conversant with him, had his call and commission immediately from him, and was qualified by him to preach the Gospel; and was sent out first into Judea, and then into all the world to publish it, with a power of working miracles to confirm it; and this his character he makes mention of, in order to give the greater weight and authority to his epistle; and it is to be observed, that he does not style himself, as his pretended successor does, the head of the church, and Christ's vicar on earth; nor does he call himself the prince of the apostles, but only an apostle, as he was upon an equal foot with the rest. The persons he writes to are
the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia: these Jews here intended are called strangers; not in a metaphorical sense, either because they were, as the wicked are, estranged from the womb, and alienated from the life of God, as all unconverted men are, and as they were before conversion; for now they were no more strangers in this sense: or because of their unsettled state and condition in this life; having no continuing city, and seeking one to come, an heavenly country; and living as pilgrims and strangers, in which respect they are indeed so styled, 1 Peter 2:11 but in a civil sense, and not as the Gentiles were, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, for these were Jews; but on account of their not being in their own land, and in a foreign country, and therefore said to be "scattered", or "the strangers of the dispersion"; either on account of the persecution at the death of Stephen, when multitudes of the converted Jews were scattered abroad, not only throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, but as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch; see Acts 8:1 and so it may be afterwards throughout the places here mentioned; or else these were some remains of the ten tribes carried captive by Shalmaneser, and of the two tribes by Nebuchadnezzar; or rather the dispersion of the Greeks, mentioned in John 7:35 under the Macedonians, by Ptolemy Lagus: however, there were Jews of Pontus, who inhabited that place, and of such we read in Acts 2:9 who came to worship at the feast of Pentecost, some of which were converted to the Christian faith, and being mentioned first, has occasioned this epistle to be called, both by Tertullian a, and Cyprian b, "the epistle to the Pontians". Perhaps these Jews converted on the day of Pentecost, on their return hither, laid the first foundation of a Gospel church state in this country: it is a tradition of the ancients, mentioned by Eusebius c, that Peter himself preached here, and so, very likely, formed the Christians he found, and those that were converted by him, into Gospel churches; and it appears by a letter of Dionysius, bishop of Corinth d, that there were churches in Poutus in the "second" century, particularly at Amastris, the bishop of which was one Palma, whom he commends, and Focas is said to be bishop of Syncope, in the same age; and in the "third" century, Gregory and Athenodorus, disciples of Origen, were bishops in this country e; the former was a very famous man, called Gregory Thaumaturgus, the wonder worker, and was bishop of Neocaesarea: in the "fourth" century there was a church in the same place, of which Longinus was bishop, as appears from the Nicene council, at which he and other bishops in Pontus were present; and in this age, in the times of Dioclesian, many in this country endured most shocking sufferings, related by Eusebius f; and in the same century Helladius is said to govern the churches of Pontus; and in the "fifth" century we read of churches in Pontus, reformed by Chrysostom; in this age Theodorus was bishop of Heraclea, and Themistius of Amastris, both in this province, and both these bishops were in the Chalcedon council; and in the "sixth" century there were churches in Pontus, whose bishops were in the fifth synod held at Rome and Constantinople; and so there were in the "seventh" and "eighth" centuries g
Galatia, next mentioned, is that part of the lesser Asia, called Gallo Graecia, in which were several churches, to whom the Apostle Paul wrote his epistle, called the epistle to the Galatians; Acts 2:9- : Acts 2:9- :.
Cappadocia, according to Ptolomy h, was bounded on the west by Galatia, on the south by Cilicia, on the east by Armenia the great, on the north by part of the Euxine Pontus; it had many famous cities in it, as Solinus i says; as Archelais, Neocaesarea, Melita, and Mazaca. The Jews oftentimes talk k of going from Cappadocia to Lud, or Lydda; so that, according to them, it seems to be near to that place, or, at least, that there was a place near Lydda so called; of this
Acts 2:9- :. From this country also there were Jews at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, some of whom were converted; and here likewise the Apostle Peter is said to preach, as before observed of Pontus, and who probably founded a church or churches here in the "first" century; and in the "second" century, according to Tertullian l, there were believers in Christ dwelling in this country; and in the "third" century, Eusebius m makes mention of Neon, bishop of Larandis, and Celsus, bishop of Iconium, both in Cappadocia; there was also Phedimus of Amasea, in the same country, in this age, and at Caesarea, in Cappadocia, several martyrs suffered under Decius; and in this century, Stephen, bishop of Rome, threatened to excommunicate some bishops in Cappadocia, because they had rebaptized some that had been heretics: in the "fourth" century there were churches in Cappadocia, of one of which, namely, at Sasimi, the famous Gregory Nazianzen was first bishop, and afterwards of Nazianzum, as was also the famous Basil of Caesarea, in the same country; hither the persecution under Dioclesian reached, and many had their thighs broken, as Eusebius relates n; from hence were sent several bishops, who assisted at the council of Nice, under Constantine, and at another held at Jerusalem: in the "fifth" century there were churches in Cappadocia, in several places, the names of whose bishops are on record; as Firmus, Thalassius, Theodosins, Daniel, Aristomachus, Patricius, and others: in the "sixth" century there were many famous churches in this country, whose bishops were in the fifth synod held at Rome and Constantinople; and in the "seventh" century there were several of them in the sixth synod of Constantinople; and in the "eighth" century mention is made of bishops of several churches in Cappadocia, in the second Nicene synod; and even in the "ninth" century there were Christians in these parts o.
Asia here intends neither the lesser nor the greater Asia, but Asia, properly so called; and which, according to Solinus p, Lycia and Phrygia bounded on the east, the Aegean shores on the west, the Egyptian sea on the south, and Paphlagonia on the north; the chief city in it was Ephesus, and so it is distinguished from Phrygia, Galatia, Mysia, and Bithynia, in Acts 16:6 as here from Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia, and from Pontus and Cappadocia, in Acts 2:9 though they were all in lesser Asia. Here also were Jews converted on the day of Pentecost; and here likewise Peter is said to preach; and by him, and by the Apostle John, who also lived and died in this country, churches were planted; and churches there were here, even in the "seventh" century, as distinct from the other Asia, greater or less; for out of it bishops were sent to, and were present at, the sixth council at Constantinople, whose names are recorded; yea, in the "eighth" century there were churches and bishops, one of which persuaded Leo to remove images from places of worship; and another was in the Nicene synod q. The last place mentioned is
Bithynia, of which Acts 2:9- :. And though the Apostle Paul, and his compassions, were not suffered at a certain time to go into Bithynia, and preach the Gospel there, yet it is certain that it was afterwards carried thither; and as Peter is said to preach in Pontus, Asia, and Capadocia, so likewise in Bithynia; here, according to the Roman martyrology, Luke, the evangelist, died; and, according to tradition, Prochorus, one of the seven deacons in Acts 6:5 was bishop of Nicomedia, in this country; and Tychicus, of whom the Apostle Paul makes frequent mention, was bishop of Chalcedon, another city in it; and who are both said to be of the seventy disciples;
Acts 6:5- :, and it is certain, from the testimony of Pliny r, an Heathen writer, in a letter of his to Trajan the emperor, written about the year 104, that there were then great numbers of Christians in Bithynia; not only the cities, but the towns and villages were full of them; and in the "third" century, the persecution under Dioclesian raged, particularly at Nicomedia, where Anthimus, the pastor of the church in that place, had his head cut off as Eusebius s relates: in the beginning of the "fourth" century, Nice, in Bithynia, became famous for the council held there under Constantine, against Arius; and in this century, bishops from Bithynia assisted at a synod held at Tyre, in Phoenicia; and in the "fifth" century was held a synod at Chalcedon, a city in this country, against the Nestorinn heresy; and the names of several bishops of Chalcedon, Nicomedia, and Nice, who lived, in this age, are on record; and in the "sixth" century there were bishops from these several places, and others, who were present in the fifth synod at Constantinople; as there were also in the "seventh" century, at the sixth synod held at the same place, whose names are particularly mentioned; and in the "eighth" century bishops from hence were in the Nicene synod; and even in the ninth century there were some that bore the Christian name in Bithynia t. In these places however, it seems, dwelt many Jews, who were converted to Christ, to whom the apostle inscribes this epistle, and whom he further describes in the following verse.
a Scorpiace, c. 12. b Testimon. ad Quirin. l. 3. c. 36, 37, 39. c Eccl. Hist. l. 3. c. 1. d Apud Euseb. ib. l. 4. c. 23. e Ib. l. 7. c. 14. Hieron. Script. Eccles. Catalog. sect. 75. f Ib. l. 8. c. 12. g Hist. Eccl. Magdeburg. cent. 2. c. 2. p. 3. cent. 4. c. 2. p. 3. c. 7. p. 289. cent. 5. c. 2. p. 4. c. 1O. p. 602. cent. 6. c. 2. p. 4. cent. 7. c. 2. p. 3. cent. 8. c. 2. p. 5. h Geograph. l. 5. c. 6. i Polyhist. c. 57. k Zohar in Gen. fol. 51. 3. & in Exod. fol. 33. 2. & 35. 4. l Adv. Judaeos, c. 7. ad Scapulam, c. 3. m Eccl. Hist. l. 6. c. 19. n lb. l. 8. 12. o Eccl. Hist. Magdeburg. cent. 3. c. 2. p. 2. c. 3. p. 11. c. 7. p. 117. cent. 4. c. 2. p. 4. c. 9. p. 350, 390. cent. 5. c. 2. p. 4. c. 10. p. 605, 859. cent. 6. c. 2. p. 5. cent. 7. c. 2. p. 3. c. 10. p. 254. cent. 8. c. 2. p. 5. cent. 9. c. 2. p. 3. p C. 53. q Ib. cent. 7. c. 2. p. 3. c. 10. p. 254. cent. 8. c. 2. p. 5. r Epist. l. 10. ep. 97. s Eccl. Hist. l. 8. c. 5, 6. t Hist. Eccl. Magdeburg. cent. 4. c. 2. p. 3. c. 9. p. 390. cent. 5. c. 2. p. 4. c. 10. p. 601, 602. cent. 6. c. 2. p. 4. cent. 7. c. 2. p. 3. c. 10. p. 254. cent. 8. c. 2. p. 5. cent. 9. c. 2. p. 3.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ - On the word apostle, see the Romans 1:1 note; 1 Corinthians 9:1 ff notes.
To the strangers - In the Greek, the word “elect” (see 1 Peter 1:2) occurs here: ἐκλεκτοῖς παρεπιδήμοις eklektois parepidēmois, “to the elect strangers.” He here addresses them as elect; in the following verse he shows them in what way they were elected. See the notes there: The word rendered “strangers” occurs only in three places in the New Testament; Hebrews 11:13, and 1 Peter 2:11, where it is rendered pilgrims, and in the place before us. See the notes at Hebrews 11:13. The word means, literally, a by-resident, a sojourner among a people not one’s own - Robinson. There has been much diversity of opinion as to the persons here referred to: some supposing that the Epistle was written to those who had been Jews, who were now converted, and who were known by the common appellation among their countrymen as “the scattered abroad,” or the “dispersion;” that is, those who were strangers or sojourners away from their native land; others, that the reference is to those who were called, among the Jews, “proselytes of the gate,” or those who were admitted to certain external privileges among the Jews, (see the notes at Matthew 23:15) and others, that the allusion is to Christians as such, without reference to their origin, and who are spoken of as strangers and pilgrims.
That the apostle did not write merely to those who had been Jews, is clear from 1 Peter 4:3-4 (compare the introduction), and it seems probable that he means here Christians as such, without reference to their origin, who were scattered through the various provinces of Asia Minor. Yet it seems also probable that he did not use the term as denoting that they were “strangers and pilgrims on the earth,” or with reference to the fact that the earth was not their home, as the word is used in Hebrews 11:13; but that he used the term as a Jew would naturally use it, accustomed, as he was, to employ it as denoting his own countrymen dwelling in distant lands. He would regard them still as the people of God, though dispersed abroad; as those who were away from what was properly the home of their fathers. So Peter addresses these Christians as the people of God, now scattered abroad; as similar in their condition to the Jews who had been dispersed among the Gentiles. Compare the introduction, section 1. It is not necessarily implied that these persons were strangers to Peter, or that he had never seen them; though this was not improbably the fact in regard to most of them.
Scattered - Greek, “of the dispersion,” (διασπορᾶς diasporas) a term which a Jew would be likely to use who spoke of his countrymen dwelling among the pagan. See the John 7:35 note, and James 1:1 note, where the same Greek word is found. It does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. Here, however, it is applied to Christians as dispersed or scattered abroad.
Throughout Pontus ... - These were provinces of Asia Minor. Their position may be seen in the map prefixed to the Acts of the Apostles. On the situation of Pontus, see the notes at Acts 2:9.
Galatia - On the situation of this province, and its history, see the introduction to the notes at Galatians, section 1.
Cappadocia - See the notes at Acts 2:9.
Asia - Meaning a province of Asia Minor, of which Ephesus was the capital. See the notes at Acts 2:9.
And Bithynia - See the notes at Acts 16:7.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
THE FIRST GENERAL EPISTLE OF PETER.
Chronological Notes relative to this Epistle.
-Year of the Constantinopolitan era of the world, or that used by the Byzantine historians, and other eastern writers, 5568.
-Year of the Alexandrian era of the world, 5562.
-Year of the Antiochian era of the world, 5552.
-Year of the world, according to Archbishop Usher, 4064.
-Year of the world, according to Eusebius, in his Chronicon, 4288.
-Year of the minor Jewish era of the world, or that in common use, 3820.
-Year of the Greater Rabbinical era of the world, 4419.
-Year from the Flood, according to Archbishop Usher, and the English Bible, 2408.
-Year of the Cali yuga, or Indian era of the Deluge, 3162.
-Year of the era of Iphitus, or since the first commencement of the Olympic games, 1000.
-Year of the era of Nabonassar, king of Babylon, 809.
-Year of the CCIXth Olympiad, 4.
-Year from the building of Rome, according to Fabius Pictor, 807.
-Year from the building of Rome, according to Frontinus, 811.
-Year from the building of Rome, according to the Fasti Capitolini, 812.
-Year from the building of Rome, according to Varro, which was that most generally used, 813.
-Year of the era of the Seleucidae, 372.
-Year of the Caesarean era of Antioch, 108.
-Year of the Julian era, 105.
-Year of the Spanish era, 98.
-Year from the birth of Jesus Christ, according to Archbishop Usher, 64.
-Year of the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 60.
-Year of Claudius Felix, governor of the Jews, 8.
-Year of Vologesus, king of the Parthians, 11.
-Jesus, high priest of the Jews, 1.
-Year of the Dionysian period, or Easter Cycle, 61.
-Year of the Grecian Cycle of nineteen years, or Common Golden Number, 4; or the second after the first embolismic.
-Year of the Jewish Cycle of nineteen years, 1; or two years before the first embolismic.
-Year of the Solar Cycle, 13.
-Dominical Letter, it being Bissextile, or Leap Year, FE.
-Day of the Jewish Passover, the second of April, which happened in this year on the fourth day after the Jewish Sabbath.
-Easter Sunday, the sixth of April.
-Epact, or age of the moon on the 22d of March, (the day of the earliest Easter Sunday possible,) 3.
-Epact, according to the present mode of computation, or the moon's age on New Year's day, or the Calends of January, 11.
-Monthly Epacts, or age of the moon on the Calends of each month respectively, (beginning with January,) 11, 13, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 19, 21, 21.
-Number of Direction, or the number of days from the twenty-first of March to the Jewish Passover, 12.
-Year of the reign of Caius Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar, the fifth Roman monarch, computing from Octavianus, or Augustus Caesar, properly the first Roman emperor, 7.
-Roman Consuls, the Emperor Nero Augustus, the fourth time, and Cossus Cornelius Lentulus.
CHAPTER I.
Of the persons to whom this epistle was directed, and their
spiritual state, 1, 2.
He describes their privileges, and thanks God for the grace by
which they were preserved faithful in trials and difficulties,
3-5.
The spiritual benefit they were to receive out of their
afflictions, 6, 7.
Their love to Christ, 8.
And the salvation they received through believing, 9.
This salvation was predicted by the prophets, who only saw it
afar off and had only a foretaste of it, 10-12.
They should take encouragement, and be obedient and holy, 13-16.
Thy should pray, and deeply consider the price at which they
were purchased, that their faith and hope might be in God,
17-21.
As their souls had been purified by obeying the truth through
the Spirit, they should love each other with a pure and fervent
love, 22, 23.
The frailty of man, and the unchangeableness of God, 24, 25.
NOTES ON CHAP. I.
Verse 1 Peter 1:1. Peter, an apostle — Simon Peter, called also Kephas: he was a fisherman, son of Jonah, brother of Andrew, and born at Bethsaida; and one of the first disciples of our Lord. See the preface.
The strangers scattered throughout — Jews first, who had believed the Gospel in the different countries here specified; and converted Gentiles also. Though the word strangers may refer to all truly religious people, see Genesis 47:9; Psalms 39:12, in the Septuagint, and Hebrews 11:13, yet the inscription may have a special reference to those who were driven by persecution to seek refuge in those heathen provinces to which the influence of their persecuting brethren did not extend.
Pontus — An ancient kingdom of Asia Minor, originally a part of Cappadocia; bounded on the east by Colchis, on the west by the river Halys, on the north by the Euxine Sea, and on the south by Armenia Minor. This country probably derived its name from the Pontus Euxinus, on which it was partly situated. In the time of the Roman emperors it was divided into three parts: 1. Pontus Cappadocius; 2. Pontus Galaticus; and, 3. Pontus Polemoniacus. The first extended from the Pontus Polemoniacus to Colchis, having Armenia Minor and the upper stream of the Euphrates for its southern boundary. The second extended from the river Halys to the river Thermodon. The third extended from the river Thermodon to the borders of the Pontus Cappadocius.
Six kings of the name of Mithridates reigned in this kingdom, some of whom are famous in history. The last king of this country was David Comnenus, who was taken prisoner, with all his family, by Mohammed II. in the year 1462, and carried to Constantinople; since which time this country (then called the empire of Trebizond, from Trapezas, a city founded by the Grecians, on the uttermost confines of Pontus) has continued under the degrading power of the Turks.
Galatia — The ancient name of a province of Asia Minor, now called Amasia. It was called also Gallograecia, and Gallia Parva. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the south by Pamphylia, on the north by the Euxine Sea, and on the west by Bithynia. See the preface to the Epistle to the Galatians.
Cappadocia — An ancient kingdom of Asia, comprehending all the country lying between Mount Taurus and the Euxine Sea.
Asia — This word is taken in different senses: It signifies, 1. One of the three general divisions of our continent, and one of the four of the whole earth. It is separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea, the Archipelago, the Black Sea, the Palus Maeolis, the rivers Don and Dwina; and from Africa by the Arabic Gulf, or Red Sea: it is everywhere else surrounded by water. It is situated between latitude 2° and 77° N., and between longitude 26° E. and 170° W.; and is about 7,583 miles in length, and 5,200 miles in breadth.
2. Asia Minor, that part of Turkey in Asia, now called Natolia, which comprehends a great number of province situated between the Euxine, Mediterranean, and Archipelago.
3. That province of Asia Minor of which Ephesus was the capital. It appears, says Calmet, that it is in this latter sense that it is used here by St. Peter, because Pontus, Galatia, and Bithynia, are comprised in the provinces of Asia Minor. See Calmet.
Bithynia — An ancient kingdom of Asia, formerly called Mysia, Mygdonia, Bebrycia, and Bithonia. It was bounded on the west by the Bosphorus, Thracius, and part of the Propontis, on the south by the river Rhyndacus, and Mount Olympus, on the north by the Euxine Sea, and on the east by the river Parthenius. This place is in some sort rendered infamous by the conduct of Prusias, one of its kings, who delivered up Hannibal, who had fled to him for protection, into the hands of the Romans. Nicomedes IV. bequeathed it to the Romans; and it is now in the hands of the Turks.
