Elemental imagery, Stoic physics, and Jewish cosmogony converge in 2 Peter 3 to create a rhetorically sophisticated vision of apocalyptic renewal. The repeated invocation of elemental terms in 2 Pet. 3 serves both as vivid imagery and as synecdoche, inviting the audience to visualize the dissolution and recreation of the cosmos. Applying conceptual blending theory to 2 Pet. 3 can describe how the author of 2 Peter brings together widespread Stoic ideas about elemental physics (fire, water, earth, air) with biblical motifs of creation and divine intervention, which allows the author to make a distinctive apocalyptic argument to a broad audience, not merely those familiar with Jewish cosmogony. Ultimately, 2 Peter’s rhetorical sophistication challenges the audience to contemplate the implications of the coming ‘day of the Lord’ for ethical living, bridging diverse cosmological traditions within early Christian thought.
Douglas Estes (Fri,) studied this question.