376 Ora Deliucr Foster. 



ment, the order proposed by Professor Bacon (Intr. p. 280) has been 

 adopted with few exceptions. 



The New Testament books are treated as wholes. This method, 

 however, is not followed in discussing the Synoptic Gospels. Their 

 sources are first considered, after which the peculiarities of each are 

 reviewed in order. Though Acts is presented as a whole, attention 

 has been called to the comparative degree of probable dependence 

 with the " Petrine " and the " Pauline " divisions of the book. 

 II Peter does not receive separate treatment because it is taken as 

 direct testimony to I Peter. 



The application of the method described above has secured some 

 significant results, which are presented in tabular form at the con- 

 clusion of the thesis. 



It has been made obvious that our author was not an original 

 writer. This fact has proven very greatly to our advantage in 

 locating the Epistle by its Hterary relations. On the other hand 

 the freedom with which he used his sources makes it often difficult 

 to determine whether he was influenced by a certain document 

 or whether the agreement is due to current teaching. He was an 

 extensive reader but no slavish copyist. He was acquainted with 

 the early Christian writings as well as with the LXX. Scharfe, 

 in his "Petrinische Stromung", shows probably as clearly as anyone 

 how well at home our author was with the LXX, though it must be 

 noted that he has frequently overlooked the more obvious connection 

 with the Pauline Epistles, in his zeal to make a strong case. 



The discussion of the Pauline Epistles in the following pages, it 

 is believed, shows conclusively that our Epistle rests directly upon 

 Paul, more especially upon Romans and Ephesians. In addition 

 to the information afforded by the tables at the conclusion of the 

 thesis, it may be stated that no less than fifty percent of the text 

 of I Peter shows a possible connection with the Pauline Epistles, and 

 a great many references find parallels in as many as three of Paul's 

 letters. This fact which is represented by the 218 parallels tabu- 

 lated, is alone sufficient to show that I Peter depends upon the Pauhne 

 literature, notwithstanding the recent claim that no reference is made 

 to this Literature for a century or more.^ It can be said with a rea- 

 sonable degree of certainty that the author of I Peter both knew 

 and used Romans and Ephesians. There is much in the points 

 involved, to say nothing of historical considerations, to make it 



1 W. B. Smith in " Der vorchristliche Jesus " (1906). Ch. V. " Saeculi 

 Silentium ". 



