1 Peter and Christ's Descent to the Dead in Its Early Christian Reception

In the Christian Bible, there is a mysterious text in the First Epistle of Peter (1 Peter 3:19) which speaks about "Jesus preaching to the spirits in prison". Traditionally, this text has served as the major scriptural support for the doctrine of Christ's descent into Hades (the so-called descensus ) in Christian theology. Present scholarship, however, has rejected this traditional understanding and tends to detach 1 Peter 3:19 from the descensus . Such a critical judgment, unfortunately, remains insufficiently examined. Indeed, no previous study has specifically focused on how and why 1 Peter 3:19 came to be associated with the descensus in history, nor what bearing the descensus could have on the text of 1 Peter 3:19 itself. Thus, Chi-Kin Lei fills this lacuna by studying 1 Peter's early reception in relation to the descensus, ultimately challenging the current scholarly consensus on this issue.

Product details

• Authors: Chi-Kin Lei
• Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
• Languages: English, German
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 31.07.2025
• EAN: 9783161640414
• ISBN: 978-3-16-164041-4
• No. of pages: 249
• Weight: 564 g
• Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe; WUNT II
• Subject: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Christianity