Foreknowledge and Social Identity in 1 Peter

What is the meaning and significance of foreknowledge in the book of 1 Peter, and how does the concept relate to the circumstances of its first recipients? Himes attempts to answer these questions by examining the concepts of both foreknowledge and social identity within the first century and how they fit into the theology of 1 Peter. In the process of elaborating the concepts of foreknowledge and social identity, this study provides one of the first thorough examinations of the words prognosis and proginosko in the literature of the time period when 1 Peter was composed and circulated. Himes argues that these words are linguistically relevant to how early hearers and readers would have understood the message of 1 Peter. In addition, this volume provides a thorough analysis of social-scientific criticism in 1 Peter, paying special attention to the various views about the social circumstances of the epistle's recipients. Finally, this book concerns itself with the biblical theology of 1 Peter, and with how the concept of foreknowledge functions as a word of comfort and hope to the beleaguered audience of this epistle.

Paul Himes grew up as a missionary kid from Japan and is a professor of Biblical Studies at the Baptist College of Ministry in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. He received his PhD in the New Testament under Dr. David Alan Black at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. This is his first book.

David Alan Black (ThD, University of Basel) is Professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. His recent publications include Perspectives on the Ending of Mark, Why Four Gospels?, and The Jesus Paradigm. He and his wife live on a 123-acre working farm in southern Virginia and are self-supporting missionaries to Ethiopia.