Another student, Peter Rae, came up with a chiastic outline of 1 Peter:
A. Greeting, 1:1-2
B. Rejoicing in trial, 1:3-25
C. Abstain from flesh, 2:1-12
D. Submit to those in authority, 2:13-3:17
C’. Christ the example, 3:18-4:11
B’. Rejoicing in trial, 4:11-5:11
A’. Farewell, 5:12-14
The intriguing this about this structure is the way that it highlights submission to authority. This appears to fit with Peter’s emphasis elsewhere in 1 Peter, and even more fully in 2 Peter, on the nearness of judgment and the growing intensity of persecution. A speculative reconstruction would run along these lines: With persecutions increasing, Peter’s readers were tempted to take things into their own hands and rebel outright. Peter writes to warn them off the temptation to Zealotry. In his second letter, Peter then has to assure the same readers that their patience in the face of persecution is not in vain. The Lord will come and will judge, however slow it might seem to us.
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