1–2 Peter and Jude

Pheme Perkins, the Joseph Professor of Catholic Spirituality at Boston College, is the author of over twenty-five books on the New Testament and early Christianity. She was the first woman president of the Catholic Biblical Association and served as chair of its executive board. Additionally, Perkins has served on many editorial boards and is an associate editor of the New Oxford Annotated Bible. Eloise Rosenblatt (1944-2025) was a Sister of Mercy, a theologian, and an attorney in private practice in family law in California. She held an MA in comparative literature from the University of Southern California and a PhD from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. She was the first US woman admitted to the graduate program at the École Biblique et Archaéologique Française in Jerusalem, Israel in 1981.Patricia McDonald, a member of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus, is currently academic program director and teacher of New Testament at the Pontifical Beda College, Rome, where she has been since 2012. She has degrees from Cambridge and London Universities, the Pontifical Biblical Institute, and the Catholic University of America. She has taught at Mount St Mary’s College (now University), Emmitsburg, Maryland, and at Ushaw College, Durham, England.

• ContentsList of Abbreviations ixList of Contributors xiiiForeword: “Come Eat of My Bread . . . and Walk in the Ways of Wisdom” xvElisabeth Schüssler FiorenzaEditor’s Introduction to Wisdom Commentary: “She Is a Breath of the Power of God” (Wis 7:25) xixBarbara E. Reid, OPAuthor’s Introduction to 1 Peter: Reading from the Margins 11 Peter 1:1-12 Letter Opening 191 Peter 1:13–2:10 Letter Body 1: Outsiders Are to Become God’s Holy People 271 Peter 2:11–3:7 Letter Body 2: Christ’s Example for the Oppressed 431 Peter 3:8–4:11 Letter Body 3: Love, Service, and Solidarity among the Faithful 691 Peter 4:12-19 Coda: Joy in Suffering with Christ 811 Peter 5:1-14 Letter Closing 91Concluding Reflection: Doing What Is Good in Evil Times 97 Author’s Introduction to 2 Peter: An Integrative Critical Method and Feminist Analysis 1012 Peter 1:1-2 Greeting to the Faithful, Simeon Peter as Servant 1412 Peter 1:3-11 God’s Generosity in Summoning Believers to Knowledge of Jesus Christ 1472 Peter 1:12-18 The Apostolic Witness Authorizing the Teaching: Transfiguration 1512 Peter 1:19 Morning Star 1572 Peter 1:20–2:2 The Intrusion of False Prophets and Teachers Disrupting the Community 1612 Peter 2:3 Judicial Condemnation of False Teachers Like the Prophet Hananiah 1652 Peter 2:4-10a The Lessons of the Past: Angels, Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah 1672 Peter 2:10b-22 God’s Sure Punishment of Evildoers 1772 Peter 3:1-10 Assurance of the Coming of the Day of Final Judgment 1932 Peter 3:11-17 Calling the Faithful to Holiness 1952 Peter 3:18 Closing Doxology: Knowledge of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 201Afterword 203Author’s Introduction to Jude: Attending to a Different Voice 209Jude 1-2 Who I Am and Who You Are 223Jude 3-4 A Pastor’s Concern about a Dangerous Situation 227Jude 5-7 What Is at Stake for the Community 235Jude 8-16 “These People” 241Jude 17-19 Do Not Lose Sight of the Bigger Picture 259Jude 20-23 Daily Living as God’s Beloved 263 Jude 24-25 Conclusion of the Letter 273Conclusion 2791 Peter Works Cited 2852 Peter Works Cited 293Jude Works Cited 301Other Resources 303Index of Scripture References and Other Ancient Writings 305Index of Subjects 313

“This reading from the margins makes a volume on some of the less read biblical texts into another good feminist window on the whole enterprise.”WATER