1 Peter (New Testament Guides)

Description

This volume offers a concise and accessible introduction to 1 Peter, especially aimed at undergraduate-level students. It provides information on the likely historical and social setting of this letter, on its literary form and theological content, and on issues involved in its interpretation. In particular, this volume suggests that 1 Peter is an important text not least for the ways in which it both reflects and constructs early Christian identity, in its relationships with Judaism and the Roman Empire. Although 1 Peter remains neglected compared with the canonical gospels and the major Pauline letters, Horrell argues that the letter deserves much more attention for the pivotal contribution it makes to the development of early Christianity and for the ways in which it reveals this development in progress.

David G. Horrell is Professor of New Testament Studies at the University of Exeter, UK. He is the author of several books, including An Introduction to the Study of Paul (T&T Clark, Second Edition 2006) and Solidarity and Difference (T&T Clark, 2005). He was the editor of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament from 2002-2007. He is an active member of the British New Testament Society, having chaired the Social World of the New Testament Seminar from 2001-2006, and is also a member of the Society for Biblical Literature (SBL) and Society for New Testament Studies (SNTS). He completed his PhD at Cambridge on Paul's Corinthian letters and the letter known as 1 Clement.

"Horrell offers a concise and accessible introduction to 1 Peter, providing an assessment of the range of scholarly views on topics, with guidance for further reading and research." - Times Higher Education Supplement, 2008 Mention -New Testament Abstracts, 2009 'This study offers a competent and instructive overview of recent research on I Peter, continuing issues of debate, and new interpretive interests beyond the approach of social-scientific criticism. Horrell [...] is well acquainted with the petrine territory ... Horrell's grasp of the subject matter and his skill at succinctly summarizing complex problems and fairly assessing divergent views makes this a volume ideally designed for the general reader as well as for the classroom and preacher's study.' Expository Times, May 2009 "A thorough report on current research." International Review of Biblical Studies, vol. 54:2007/08 "All things considered, this is a fine contribution to the series of New Testament Guides. Readers will learn a great deal about the letter, both from Horrell's exegesis and interpretation of the text itself as well as from the numerous cited contributions of other modern commentators." Religious Studies Review, September 2009 "Horrell's work on 1 Peter is a concisely written, highly readable volume that will certainly be of interest to those who teach undergraduates...Horrell is at his best in chapter 5, where he frames his discussion around two opposing views of the strategy of 1 Peter." -J.C. Baker, Biblical Theology Bulletin, Vol. 40 'Horrell's guide to 1 Peter is a thoughtful, balanced introduction to the epistle and scholarship related to it that will serve scholars and pastors alike.' -- Trinity Seminary Review