humble one, given Peter’s prominence as the rock on which the church would be built (Mt 16:18–19) and the shepherd whose responsibility it was to feed Christ’s sheep (Jn 21:15–17). This could be because of the letter’s brevity, or because Peter has only two NT letters bearing his name while Paul has twelve, or because 1 Peter has long been yoked with 2 Peter, whose authenticity was disputed from the start. Or perhaps the author’s self-deprecating attitude toward his own identity as “Peter” (see 1.1
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