Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 178:712 (Oct 2021)
Article: Periodical Reviews
Author: John A. Adair

BSac 178:712 (October-December 2021) p. 490

Periodical Reviews

By The Faculty And Staff Of Dallas Theological Seminary

John A. Adair

Editor

“‘The Weaker Vessel’ (1 Peter 3:7): A Linguistic and Contextual Analysis of ἀσθενεστέρῳ σκεύει.” Israel A. Kolade, Presbyterion 47/1 (Spring 2021): 121–26.

In the apostle Peter’s first epistle, he tells husbands to treat their wives with consideration as “weaker vessels.” The NKJV translates the verse as follows: ^“Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7).

In this article Kolade points out that numerous scholars have speculated about what “weaker vessel” means. And indeed they have. He goes on to argue that Peter has only the wife’s physicality in view rather than a weaker spirituality, mental faculty, or socioeconomic status. While his destination is sound, the road getting there has some bumps.

The author begins by looking at the phrase “weaker vessel” in the context of the entire book of 1 Peter—generalized suffering and persecution—before focusing on the text’s more immediate context. He considers the range of possible meanings for “weaker” (ἀσθενεστέρῳ), citing classical Greek usage of the word by Euripides (480–406 BC), Plato (427–347 BC), Aristophanes (448–386 BC) and Thucydides (460–390 BC). These men all equate being “weak” with “feeble,” “sick,” or “lacking capacity for something.” Kolade finds a similar lexical range in the writings of Matthew, Luke, and Paul. But I have added something above—the dates of each cited classical Greek author’s lifespan. One would expect that an exploration of extrabiblical use of the words might include references from the time of the earliest Christians, but such uses were notably absent.

One such source is The Testament of Abraham, a pseudepigraphic text of the Old Testament. Likely composed in the first or second century AD, the work is of Jewish origin and usually considered part of the apocryphal literature. Its text addresses Abraham’s reluctance to die and the events that lead to his departure from earth. Present in the scene are Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac; Sarah affectionately calls Abraham “lord” multiple times. Sarah’s use of “lord” in reference to her husband appears in the immediate context of the phrase Kolade is considering.

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