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.

common; honor; favor; time; and law⁸⁸. Note that several of these have counterparts in 2 Pet, namely, being just; piety; establishing; sanctification; and favor.

        As is the case in 2 Pet, the development of some of these topics in the inscription constitutes inclusio. The topic of sanctification is mentioned in sentences 1 and 26, as are the topics of favor and time. The topic of piety is mentioned in sentences 2 and 26. The topic of race is mentioned in 4 and 26; the topics of honor and law are mentioned in 4 and 27.

        Waldis lists other figures in the inscription on pages 67-71.

        c) Sentence structure

        One of the most obvious ways the inscription and 2 Pet differ is in the average length, and thus complexity, of their sentences. The two texts are approximately equal in length: 2 Pet contains 1103 words; the inscription consists of 1065 words. However, I count 44 sentences in 2 Pet, and Waldis counts 27 in the inscription. Both texts include both long and short sentences, but average sentence length in 2 Pet is approximately 25 words, while average sentence length in the inscription is approximately 39 words. In this respect 2 Pet is less grand than the inscription and may be seen as falling between the grand and middle Asian styles ⁸⁹.

        One of the inscription’s elaborate sentences is sentence 5. This is a