hatsoff

Hey, all. I've read a lot of general comments by scholars to the effect that 1 and 2 Peter differ stylistically. Can you Greek speakers out there elaborate on that? Can you give specific examples, preferably communicable in English, showing these differences?

Also, some Apologists have taken to likening the relationship of 1 and 2 Peter to 1 Tim and Titus, which have similar numbers of unique and shared words. What is the range of shared words we can expect in works by the same ancient author?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: A lot of the talk about 2 Peter mentions that it is strongly Hellenistic. What does that mean? I thought the Hellenistic period ended in the 1st century. So, if the interpretations are true, wouldn't that be evidence that 2 Peter was written in the 1st century?

DCHindley

I guess that depends on what you mean by "Hellenistic period" and "1st century". "Hellenistic" refers to the influence of Greek language and thinking and in the eastern Mediterranean region, including Egypt, Greater Syria and Asia Minor, extended from the time of Alexander the Great to probably 1000 CE. The Romans were already making a cultural impact in the western Mediterranean region from about the 3rd century BCE, and started to take over the eastern Mediterranean region in the 1st centuury BCE. However, the Romans were not unappreciative of the Greeks, and both Hellenistic and Roman ways of thinking and writing flourished at the same time in the "east" for 10 centuries.

What you probably heard of were critics who think there are more uniquely Greek ideas and phrases in 2 Peter than in 1 Peter.

Dave