Terrance Callan, «The Style of the Second Letter of Peter», Vol. 84 (2003) 202-224

Readers of the Second Letter of Peter have often commented on its style, usually in negative terms. This essay examines the style of 2 Pet more thoroughly than has been done heretofore, using Cicero’s discussion of style, and that of other ancient writers, as a framework. This examination shows that 2 Pet largely conforms to ancient canons of style and should be seen as an example of the grand Asian style. Recognition of this may help readers avoid unthinking assessment of 2 Pet’s style by standards not accepted by its author, and develop greater appreciation of its style in terms of its author’s own aims and standards.

        Sixteen of 2 Pet’s sentences end in the first of the ways listed above⁸³. Fourteen of 2 Pet’s sentences end in the third way listed above⁸⁴. None of 2 Pet’s sentences ends in the second or fourth ways listed above; these are also less frequent in the inscription than the first and third sentence endings. While all of the inscription’s sentences end in one of these four ways, fifteen of the sentences in 2 Pet end in some way other than these four.

        b) Figures of speech and thought

        Both 2 Pet and the inscription repeat words frequently. Both texts repeat about 38% of the words in their vocabulary⁸⁵. As we have seen, 2 Pet often repeats words for artistic effect. This is also the case for the inscription. As in 2 Pet, the inscription’s repetition of words can often be seen as transplacement⁸⁶ or paronomasia⁸⁷.

        Also as in 2 Pet, other instances of repetition of words in the inscription can be seen as developing certain topics. Such topics include: being just; piety; establishing; sanctification; race; being