Peter and Silas co-author letters to displaced peoples

I Peter

We are told in Bible commentaries that Peter worked  on this letter with Silvanus.  The Greek is said to be excellent – better than Peter would be expected to be able to write, it is said. 

Silvanus is mostly referred to as Silas in the New Testament.  Ah! We say, we have heard of him before.  Silvanus is a Latinization of Silas.  We remember him in connection with Paul and his missionary travels.  My Bible Dictionary tells me, “…when Paul and Barnabas at Antioch quarreled over Mark (Acts 315:36-41) Paul chose Silas to accompany him on a mission tour in Asia Minor and ultimately into Macedonia and Achaia (Acts 15:41-18:5).”

I understand that this letter was written from Rome, so, perhaps, after Paul’s death in 67 or 68 C.E., Silas became Peter’s confidante and helper.

The Dictionary says that Silas was either co-author (in the case of Paul) or a secretary or courier (in the case of I Peter).  He was a Roman citizen (Acts 16:37-38).

Chapter 2 has me wondering when and how Peter learned the Scriptures. Were all the Christians in that first century of Christianity so familiar with the holy teachings that they could quote them so aptly?  He quotes from them so many times.  I haven’t checked thoroughly, but I would say that every verse contains at least one quote.  They are mostly from the New Testament, but Isaiah, Psalms, Proverbs, Hosea, Job, and Ezekiel are all there, though sparsely.  Isn’t it great that some Bibles provide this marvelous reference information?  Mine is in the New King James Version, and the references are in a centre column. 

Thomas Leishman has a good piece on I and II Peter: The Epistles of Peter in The Christian Science Journal August, 1942. http://journal.christianscience.com/issues/1942/8/60-5/the-epistles-of-peter (Ed. I particularly liked Leishman's opening comments, which reveal that except for the Gospel of Mark (traditionally regarded as Peter's recollections as recorded by Mark - see blogs on this site, May 2012), these two short letters are all we have from Peter. Furthermore, we are told that the recipients of the letters were "temporary residents" of Asia Minor, having fled their homelands due to persecution of Christians, and had probably heard Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost - see Acts chapter 2.)

Joyce Voysey