RSV ~ 2 Peter 2 Notes
2 Pet 2:1-22 | ISB Notes
Peter cautions readers against false teachers who are out to corrupt and deceive the faithful. Lest believers be led astray by their novelties, he insists that a frightful doom awaits them (2:4-9) for their perversity (2:10-22). Many scholars maintain that 2:1-18, along with 3:1-3, draws material from Jude 4-13 and 16-18. This is certainly possible, though some think that Jude is the one who borrowed from 2 Peter, and others that Jude and 2 Peter made independent use of a common source. None of these possible scenarios need imply that Peter himself could not have written the letter, as though it were beneath his dignity as the preeminent apostle to utilize the work of a lesser figure such as Jude.
2 Pet 2:1 | ISB Notes
heresies: The Greek term can refer to such things as political parties, schools of thought, and distinctive opinions. Peter is referring to false doctrines that deviate from Christian truth (CCC 2089).
See word study: Sect at Acts 24:5.
2 Pet 2:2 | ISB Notes
truth ⌠reviled: The faith is discredited when those who profess it deny the Lord by their lawless behavior (Tit 1:16). On the other hand, the gospel can gain ground in the world when believers lead exemplary lives of honesty, integrity, and holiness (Tit 2:11-12).
2 Pet 2:4-10 | ISB Notes
To demonstrate that the wicked face certain punishment, Peter recalls Godâs judgment on the fallen angels (2:4), on the sinners of Noahâs generation (2:5), and on the perverse cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (2:6). These same Genesis stories also illustrate Godâs mercy, which reached down to deliver the families of Noah (2:5) and Lot (2:7).
2 Pet 2:4 | ISB Notes
the angels: Probably a reference to Jewish traditions I surrounding Gen 6:1-4, according to which the âsons of Godâ are rebel angels, called the Watchers, who had sexual relations with women and begot a generation of giants (1 Enoch 6-21; Jubilees 5, 1-11). See note on Jude 6.
into hell: Literally, âinto Tartarusâ, the lower region of the underworld, where, according to Greek mythology, the wicked are imprisoned. Scripture elsewhere refers to the netherworld as Sheol, Hades, the Abyss, or the Pit.
⢠The scenario described by Peter recalls one of the visions of Isaiah, in which the ungodly of heaven (angels) and earth (kings) are hurled as prisoners into a pit to await their final punishment (Is 24:21-22).
2 Pet 2:5 | ISB Notes
Noah, a herald: Sometimes, Jewish retellings of Genesis portray Noah as a preacher of righteousness before the onset of the flood (Josephus, Antiquities 1, 74; Jubilees 7, 20-39; Sibylline Oracles 1, 128).
⢠This tradition probably developed from the biblical description of Noah as a godly man favored by the Lord (Gen 6:8-9; 7:1).
seven other persons: i.e., Noahâs wife along with his three sons and their wives (Gen 7:13; 1 Pet 3:20).
2 Pet 2:7 | ISB Notes
Lot, greatly distressed: Genesis does not elaborate on Lotâs character by stating that he was outraged or offended by the depravity of Sodom.
⢠Nevertheless, his righteousness is presupposed in Abrahamâs dialogue with the Lord in Gen 18:22-33 and is later asserted in Wis 10:6.
2 Pet 2:10 | ISB Notes
indulge in the lust: The false teachers were known to engage in sexual impurity (2:14, 18). Peter implied as much when he selected the wicked angels (2:4) and the Sodomites (2:6) to exemplify sinners headed for destruction. See note on Jude 7.
the glorious ones: i.e., the angels (Jude 8). It seems the deceivers are guilty of an irreverent arrogance that presumes to denounce, not merely sinners, but even fallen creatures of a higher order of being. This is all the more shocking when we consider that not even angels pronounce judgment on sinful men (2 Pet 2:11).
2 Pet 2:12 | ISB Notes
they are ignorant: On the basis of this and similar verses, some identify Peterâs opponents as Gnosticsâheretics of the second century who claimed to possess a knowledge (Gk. gnosis) of secret revelation unknown to the Church. At most, the troublemakers in view are only forerunners of the Gnostics.
2 Pet 2:13 | ISB Notes
carousing with you: Or, âfeasting with youâ. This may be an allusion to Christian fellowship meals called âlove feastsâ (Jude 12).
2 Pet 2:15 | ISB Notes
the way of Balaam: The way of stubbornness and greed.
⢠Numbers 22-24 tell how the Moabites hired Balaam to place a curse on Israel (cf. Deut 23:5; Neh 13:2). Though Balaam was unsuccessful after several persistent attempts, his willingness to do evil for pay makes him a prototype of the false teachers, who peddle their errors in order to pocket the proceeds (2 Pet 2:3).
2 Pet 2:16 | ISB Notes
donkey spoke: Not by nature but by the miraculous power of God (Num 22:28).
2 Pet 2:19 | ISB Notes
promise them freedom: Presumably they offered freedom from the moral restraints of the gospel (1 Cor 6:12-13). The promise is empty, however, because the deceivers cannot give what they themselves do not have. Having misused their freedom, they have become slaves to sin all over again (Rom 6:15-18; 1 Pet 2:16).
2 Pet 2:20-21 | ISB Notes
Peter warns that genuine believers can fall from Godâs grace and ultimately lose their salvation. The false teachers exemplify such a danger, for they have slid back into wicked ways, even though they were âboughtâ by the Lord (2:1; 1 Cor 6:19-20) and once âwashedâ clean of their iniquities (2:22; Acts 22:16). One who has never known the Christian message is better off than one who has previously embraced it but later chooses to reject it (Mt 12:45; Lk 11:26).
2 Pet 2:21 | ISB Notes
the holy commandment: The gospel with its moral and religious demands (Jn 13:34).
2 Pet 2:22 | ISB Notes
the true proverb: The first saying comes from Prov 26:11, and the second is a variation on a familiar maxim from the Hellenistic world. In this context, the point of both is that sinners once saved can again become defiled in sin. Jewish tradition disliked dogs and swine as filthy and objectionable animals (Ex 22:31; Lev 11:7; Mt 7:6).