The First Epistle of Peter (New International Commentary on the New Testament

The New International Commentary on the New Testament

by Peter H. Davids, Peter the Apostle

The First Epistle of Peter constitutes an important work of New Testament theology and pastoral care, serves as an example of how the early church applied Jesus’ sayings and the Old Testament writings to contemporary concerns, and presents some extremely useful perspectives on living the Christian life today. This commentary by Peter Davids does an excellent job of mining the rich wealth of instruction to be found in this very significant section of Scripture. 

Davids’s commentary contains several notable features: a unique grasp of 1 Peter’s structure, a systematically arranged introduction that summarizes the commentary proper, a perceptive excursus on suffering in 1 Peter and the New Testament, Davids’s own study translation, thorough and incisive comments on each verse of the test, frequent parallels to ancient literature, an exceptionally clear and lively writing style, and one of the most comprehensive bibliographies on 1 Peter available anywhere.

Genres: Reference, Theology, Biblical Studies, New Testament, Christianity, Christian

288 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 1989

Reviews

[Rev Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first commentary by Peter H. Davids, but I hope it will not be my last. The commentary was thorough and insightful. It was also surprisingly unencumbered by useless information unrelated to the context at hand. Each Sunday as I preached through I Peter, this commentary became my preferred source for information and help on the text. If I could only purchase one commentary on I Peter, this would be it. I read 4 commentaries from beginning to end (including introductions) as I prepared and then preached through every verse of I Peter in my Bible church. David's was the best. Here are my rankings of the 4 commentaries:

1. Peter David’s NICNT The First Epistle of Peter
2. David Wall’s Holman New Testament Commentary of I & II Peter
3. R. C. Sproul’s 1-2 Peter: An Expositional Commentary
4. Joel Green’s Two Horizons: I Peter

[John Waldrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good and well-researched. A very helpful study tool.

[Cody Westcott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Davids writes clearly and persuasively. This commentary is a nice balance of technical exegetical endeavors and theological/pastoral insight. It is rather short (just shy of 300 pages), and thus Davids doesn't have the room to expand much on his arguments. This often left me wishing he'd given just a little more detail, a bit more explanation, or some added insight into what was happening in the author's world that made him write the things he did.

Overall, however, this was a great commentary that I would recommend to anyone. Though I love a technical grammatical commentary, this Davids is very light on the language work here, and thus even someone with minimum knowledge of Greek should find it very approachable.

[Matt Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The NICOT/NT is by far one of the best commentary sets. It is essential for the scholar, the Pastor teacher elder and for the Layman. That being said, I felt like I was reading 2 very different books. The introductory essay seemed to be something along the lines of higher or at least literary criticism. The actual text is more expository emphasizing on the overall topic but also dissecting the text and diving deep into the language (vocabulary and the grammar). I especially enjoyed that during debatable portions of Scripture, possible interpretations are given before the author gives the one that he agrees with. While David’s himself comes from a Baptist and Evangelical background you would not be able to detect a bias in this commentary. Overall, a fantastic commentary.

[Michael Sanelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Davids is the classic commentary for this book. Not as detailed as I️ had hoped but very good nonetheless. I️ found that I️ rarely turned to him first however. As with most in this series, he’s approachable for most.

[Peter Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good exegetically rigorous commentary on I Peter. I am a partial-preterist. Therefore I disagree with him in certain places as he pushes passages too far into the future in certain places. Still a good commentary and worth consulting if one is preaching through I Peter

[Michael Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

This commentary series is excellent, and for the most part, conservative. I read this weekly as I preached through 1 Peter. A good job wrestling with the text and discussing history.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my fav 1 Peter commentaries. Very thorough with plenty of footnotes

[Jeff Garrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read, along with Joel Green's commentary on 1 Peter, while preaching through the epistle from January through March 2023.

[J.E. Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far, this was/is my favorite commentary on 1 Peter, and the one I consulted the most. There is rich insight here for the understanding of this letter, and I think this commentary is a useful addition to any library. I first found Davids on 1 Peter in seminary, and would admit that this is not the most homiletically-oriented commentary (though it fits my preparation style very well). Davids is very occasionally on the critical/liberal side of interpretation, but when he is it is mild and he is respectful and accommodating to a more conservative/traditional interpretation.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine commentary that mixes the scholarly and the pastoral well. You might find more of each in other places, but I appreciate the mix here. "They are suffering as Christ suffered, but in baptism they are also joined to the resurrected, reigning Christ. The ability of the powers to afflict them now through their persecutors is not the last word; the reign of Jesus Christ is."