Intertextual Borrowing between 1 Peter and Hebrews: Probability of Literary Dependence and the Most Likely Direction of Borrowing

OVERVIEW: The literary relationship between 1 Peter and Hebrews has long been a topic of interest in New Testament studies. The presence of numerous verbal and conceptual parallels between the two books has raised intriguing questions about the nature of the intertextual relationship. Can this phenomenon be explained as mere coincidence or as independent reflections of a common milieu? Or might this be a case of literary borrowing by one of the authors? If so, who borrowed from whom? Scholars largely have acknowledged that 1 Peter and Hebrews exhibit a remarkable degree of parallelism, and even that one of the writings may have been significantly influenced in some way by the other. Nonetheless, there has been little support for the idea that the literary parallels between 1 Peter and Hebrews are the result of intertextual borrowing. Most NT scholars attribute the similarities to indirect sources of influence. However, the research methods employed in the past have proved neither comprehensive nor systematic, and the results are inconclusive. In this book, Elizabeth Myers presents a comprehensive systematic analysis of the literary parallels between 1 Peter and Hebrews that not only rectifies methodological shortfalls of previous studies, but also reveals the probable nature of the intertextual relationship. Through the rigorous application of an innovative assessment methodology which applies probability theory to specific features of the parallel texts, Myers clearly demonstrates that literary dependence between 1 Peter and Hebrews is highly probable and that the author of Hebrews is far more likely to be the borrower of parallel material. Thus Myers concludes with high confidence that the author of Hebrews very likely knew and used 1 Peter while crafting the epistle to the Hebrews. Such a conclusion raises important new questions about these two NT books, the answers to which may have far-reaching implications for exegetical study of both documents.

KEY FEATURES: This book presents a practical application of the assessment methodology defined in "Probability of Intertextual Borrowing: A Methodology for Determining the Likelihood of Literary Dependence and the Direction of Borrowing between New Testament Books" by Elizabeth A. Myers (Pistos Ktistes Publishing LLC, 2020). It includes a brief survey of the history of scholarly opinion regarding the literary relationship between Hebrews and 1 Peter. In preparation for analysis, Myers first identifies a comprehensive list of literary parallels between 1 Peter and Hebrews, each of which satisfies specific pre-defined selection criteria for inclusion in the probability analysis. The book then clearly explains the procedure for applying the methodology, walks through the probability analysis with each successive parallel, and ultimately demonstrates a high probability that the author of Hebrews used 1 Peter as a source. The result establishes a basis from which to launch further research in related areas of study pertaining to 1 Peter and Hebrews. It helps delimit the proper historical context with respect to the range of dates during which the books could have been written; it provides justification for interpreting parallel passages in light of one another, as Hebrews most likely reflects the author's interpretation of 1 Peter; and it raises intertextual borrowing as an important consideration for evaluating variant readings in the Greek manuscript traditions of 1 Peter and Hebrews, as well as for identifying the particular sources of common quotations from the Old Testament. The front matter includes a list of contents, a list of 63 figures, a list of 41 tables, and a list of abbreviations. The back matter includes appendices with tables of supporting data from the analysis, a list of works cited, an extensive index of Scripture and other ancient sources, and an index of modern authors.