Abstract: This paper examines the Petrine household code (1 Pet 2:11–3:12) through the lens of Greco-Roman voluntary associations. Part one interprets the peculiar emphasis on slaves and wives in 2:18–3:6 through the larger context of 1 Peter, the New Testament, and Greco-Roman household codes. The focus on slaves and wives is not unusual compared to other biblical household codes, particularly in the Pastoral Epistles. Rather than assuming that slaves and wives were the primary church demographic, using these two minority groups as paradigms for the entire congregation is part of the epistle’s innovative rhetoric.
Part two undertakes a broad survey of the legal and social status of associations, especially in first-century Asia Minor, and its implications for Petrine studies. Christian congregations were not the only associations banned and persecuted by Rome. Yet local and imperial oppression did not prevent them, like other cultic associations, from flourishing and establishing themselves in Anatolian society.
The survey of literary, epigraphic, and historical data demonstrates the paradoxical position of the Anatolian congregations to whom 1 Peter is addressed. Research on associations has proven to be a promising avenue of New Testament research, but insufficient attention has been directed to 1 Peter. Hence, the paper fills a lacuna in Petrine studies, enhancing understanding of the socio-religious position of the Christ associations to whom the letter is addressed, and providing new insight into the Petrine household code (1 Pet 2:11–3:12).
Key Words: 1 Peter 2:11–3:12; household codes; slaves and wives; Balch and Elliott; Greco-Roman Voluntary Associations (θίασοι, collegia); Christian persecution; Pliny’s correspondence with Trajan; Greco-Roman law; Religion in first-century Asia Minor; Anatolian Judaism; foreign, eastern cults; the Imperial cult; Civic and domestic duty (oikonomia, politeia)