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1 Peter

About this book
Chapter 5

1 So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you: 2 Give a shepherd’s care to God’s flock among you, exercising oversight not merely as a duty but willingly under God’s direction, not for shameful profit but eagerly. 3 And do not lord it over those entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock. 4 Then when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away.⁠ 5 In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.⁠ 6 And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand⁠ 7 by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you.⁠ 8 Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.⁠ 9 Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering. 10 And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him belongs the power forever. Amen. 12 Through Silvanus, whom I know to be a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, in order to encourage you and testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 13 The church in Babylon, chosen together with you,⁠ greets you, and so does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with a loving kiss. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 108:12 and 1 Peter 5:4

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

In 1 Peter, the faithful are promised a crown of glory, a reward echoing 1 Enoch 108, where the righteous are brought into light and seated on thrones of honor. Both depict suffering as temporary, with vindication and exaltation for the faithful.

Passages

1 Enoch 108:12

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
11 And now I will summon the spirits of the good who belong to the generation of light, and I will transform those who were born in darkness, who in the flesh were not rewarded with the honor their faithfulness deserved. 12 I will bring out in shining light those who have loved My holy name, and I will seat each one on the throne of his honor. 13 They will shine for times without number, for righteousness is the judgment of God; for to the faithful He will give faithfulness in the dwelling of upright paths. 14 They will see those who were born in darkness led into darkness, while the righteous will shine brightly.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

1 Peter 5:4

New Testament
2 Give a shepherd’s care to God’s flock among you, exercising oversight not merely as a duty but willingly under God’s direction, not for shameful profit but eagerly. 3 And do not lord it over those entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock. 4 Then when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away. 5 In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 6 And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Peter

References

"... Nickelsburg has been able to show considerable parallels between 1 Enoch 108, the very end of the Enoch corpus, and 1 Peter in general, including 1 Peter 3:18–22 in particular. For example, 1 Enoch 108 speaks of the spirits punished (verses 3–6) and this follows hard on the announcement in 1 Enoch 106:16–18 that Noah and his sons were saved. He notes the reference to perishable seed both in 1 Peter 1:23 and 1 Enoch 108:3. The reference to disdain for silver and gold in 1 Peter 1:7, 18 is like that found in 1 Enoch 108:8; the discussion of blessing and reproach in 1 Peter 3:9, 16; 4:4, 16 is like that in 1 Enoch 108:7–10; the discussion of exaltation in 1 Peter 5:4, 6 is similar to 1 Enoch 108:12; and the similarities in the discussion of righteous judgment in 1 Peter 1:17 and 2:23 should be compared to 1 Enoch 108:13. There is in addition the common use of Psalm 34 (see 1 Enoch 108:7–10 and compare 1 Peter 3:10–12). None of this is a surprise when we recognize that 1 Enoch is influential in various of these Jewish Christian eschatological works ..."
Ben Witherington, Torah Old and New: Exegesis, Intertextuality, and Hermeneutics (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2018), 399.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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1 Enoch 108:12 and 1 Peter 5:4

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