1 Peter 2:6

1 Peter 2:6. Because it la also contained in Scripture (or, in a scripture). The passage in Peter's mind is the section of Isaiah (Isaiah 28:16) in which the prophet's stern declaration of the fate of Samaria and unsparing invective against the official classes of Judah break suddenly into ‘words full of gentle seriousness and hope' (Ewald) addressed to the pious, and assuring them of the security which will ‘justify their faith, even as the permanence of the temple-building verifies the solidity of the foundation' (Cheyne). The formula by which the passage is introduced (not ‘wherefore also,' but, as the best authorities read, ‘because') is the same as has been found twice already in similar connections (1 Peter 1:16; 1 Peter 1:24). It indicates that Peter is not making an express quotation in order to establish, by the authority of the Old Testament, what he has just stated, but is rather giving in familiar Old Testament terms which come naturally to his pen, a reason for the case being as he has stated it to be. This is confirmed by the indefinite and impersonal phrase, it is contained in Scripture, or, in a scripture (the reading ‘in the Scripture' is doubtful), as well as by the fact that the words are given neither exactly as they stand in the Hebrew text nor exactly as the LXX. Version renders them, but (as is also the case with Paul's use of them in Romans 9:33) with a number of significant variations. The point of the passage, therefore, seems to be this: the reason why they are to be built up into a spiritual house with the view to being a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices, lies in its having been God's will, as that is expressed in Scripture, to make Christ the foundation of His Church with that object (cf. Hofmann, Schott, etc.).

Behold, I lay in Zion, So Paul, too (Romans 9:33), gives it, instead of Isaiah's more explicit statement, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation (literally, I am He that hath founded) , or, as the LXX. puts it, Behold, I lay to the foundations of Zion. The object that is thus laid is, according to Isaiah, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation. But instead of introducing the object simply as a stone, and then defining that by a series of compound epithets (which Ewald and Delitzsch agree in rendering rather, ‘a tried precious corner-stone of firmest foundation'), Peter names the object at once a chief corner-stone, and then defines it by two simple epithets, transforming Isaiah's order, and omitting some of his terms. Paul, again (Romans 9:33), seems to take the object not from Isa. 18:16, but from Isaiah 8:14.

a chief corner-stone, elect (or, chosen). honourable. The corner-stone is that stone in the foundation on which the angle of the building rests, and which is all-important to the stability of the building and the coherence of its parts. There is no reference here, however, to the union effected through Christ between Jew and Gentile (as Luther supposes), far less to Christ as ‘the connecting link of the Old and New Testaments' (Fronmüller).

and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. The Hebrew text gives simply, he that believeth, leaving the object unnamed. The phrase ‘on him' (or, as it may also be, ‘on it') which Peter introduces (as also does Paul, Romans 9:33) is found, however, in some MSS. of the LXX. The clause which appears at once in Peter, in Paul, and in the LXX. as ‘shall not be confounded' (or rather, put to shame). stands in the Hebrew text as ‘shall not make haste,' or ‘shall not flee in trepidation,' i.e shall stand firm. The clause, therefore, is not a mere parallel to the previous ‘grow unto salvation,' pointing to security in the final judgment (Schott), but gives a general assurance expressive of the confidence of those to whom the prophetic promise is fulfilled in Christ. The passage as it stands in Isaiah is set over against the Egyptian alliance which was sought at the time, and against the hurt and shame which are declared in the same connection (e.g. Isaiah 30:1-7) to be destined for those who lean on Egypt instead of Jehovah. If this was in Peter's mind, the words would suggest the difference (confidence for the one, disappointment and shame to the other) between those who hold by Christ and those who cling to old national connections, and would appeal with peculiar force to those Christians who were in danger of yielding to the power of social surroundings in times of peril. In any case, the passage was admitted by the Rabbis to be of direct Messianic import. But whether the stone immediately in Isaiah's view is to be identified with Jehovah Himself, with the Davidic King, with the theocracy, with the Temple, or with the promise made to David and his house (2 Samuel 7:12; 2 Samuel 7:16), in Peter it is Christ Himself who is that Son of David in whom the kingdom was to reach its final glory, and in whom that promise is fulfilled. In both connections faith is specified. But while in the prophet it is faith in the sense of confidence, or in the sense of belief in the future fulfilment of a promise, in the apostle it is faith in the sense of personal reliance on Him who was promised and had appeared. In both cases, too, an assurance is attached to the faith in Isaiah, that the Israelite who remains faithful instead of seeking secretly to Egypt shall not need to flee: in Peter, that the Christian who relies on Christ shall not be put to real shame, however scornfully handled. The best interpreters are practically at one in recognising the doctrinal bearings of this brief but important section. Peter here expresses what Bishop Lightfoot (Comm. on Philip, 1 Peter 1:17) holds Paul's language also to express, ‘the fundamental idea of the Christian Church, in which a universal priesthood has supplanted the exclusive ministrations of a select tribe or class.' Neander concludes that ‘when the apostles applied the Old Testament idea of priesthood to Christianity, this was done invariably for the simple purpose of showing that no such visible particular priesthood could find place in the new community.' And Huther affirms the idea which is here expounded to be opposed' not only to the catholic doctrine of a particular priesthood, but to all teaching with regard to the office of the administration of word and sacrament which in any way ascribes to its possessors an importance in the Church, resting on Divine mandate, and necessary for the communication of salvation (i.e priestly importance).'