“Jerome H. Neyrey gives us a thoroughly up to date and comprehensive study of two of the most obscure books of the New Testament. Written after the death of Jesus and his Apostles, the Epistles of 2 Peter and Jude offer a glimpse into the turbulent life of the early Christian communities. Neyrey’s fascinating study not only provides an entirely new translation of the two texts, but also stirring commentary that takes the reader inside groups located at the very edges of Christianity, in contact with the wider Roman world and Greek culture of the day. Neyrey builds upon the excellent scholarship of the past, and introduces into the discussion factors that were rarely understood or considered in earlier times: the social, political, and economic setting in which the New Testament Epistles were written and read—the church as a community within the larger context of the vast Roman Empire of the late first and early second centuries. And while these letters are often considered peripheral or marginal to the New Testament, they nevertheless reveal and interpret one of the murkier eras in the life of the church. They reflect the hard times and difficult circumstances of the faithful, beset by treacherous comrades within and malevolent enemies without. But all the while, these documents express the constancy and commitment of those who found salvation and the renewal of life in the one Lord, Jesus Christ.” – Yale University Press

“Filling a notable gap in scholarship on 2 Peter and Jude, Peter Davids artfully unpacks these two neglected but fascinating epistles that deal with the confrontation between the Greco-Roman world and the burgeoning first-century Jesus communities. Davids firmly grasps the overall structure of these oft-maligned epistles and presents a strong case for 2 Peter and Jude as coherent, consistent documents. Marked by exceptional exegesis and sharp, independent judgments, Davids’s work both connects with the latest scholarship and transforms scholarly insights into helpful conclusions benefiting Christian believers.” – Eerdmans

“One of the earliest works of ground breaking scholar Richard Bauckham, this commentary provides a detailed examination of the socio-historical context with a special emphasis on the political state of the ancient world at the end of the first century. Bauckham reviews textual data, and draws out insight and applications for contemporary life.” – Logos