The authorship of 1 Peter has traditionally been attributed to the Apostle Peter because it bears his name and identifies him as its author (). Although the text identifies Peter as its author, most scholars conclude that the epistle is an expression of the Christian tradition at Rome associated with Peter rather than the apostle himself. Many scholars argue that Peter was not the author of the letter because its writer appears to have had a formal education in
rhetoric and
philosophy, and an advanced knowledge of the Greek language, none of which would be usual for a
Galilean fisherman. New Testament scholar
Graham Stanton rejects Petrine authorship because 1 Peter was most likely written during the reign of
Domitian in AD 81, which is when he believes widespread Christian persecution began, which is long after the death of Peter. More recent scholars such as Travis Williams say that the persecution described does not appear to be describing official Roman persecutions after Peter's death, thus not directly ruling out an early date for the composition of the epistle. Another dating issue is the reference to "Babylon" in , generally agreed to be a claim the letter was written from Rome. It is believed that the identification of Rome with Babylon, the ancient enemy of the Jews, only came after the
destruction of the Temple in AD 70. Others argue that it makes little sense to ascribe the work to Peter when it could have been ascribed to Paul. Alternatively, one theory supporting legitimate Petrine authorship of 1 Peter is the "secretarial hypothesis", which suggests that 1 Peter was dictated by Peter and was written in Greek by his secretary,
Silvanus (5:12).
John Elliott disagrees, suggesting that the notion of Silvanus as secretary or author or drafter of 1 Peter introduces more problems than it solves, and claims that the Greek rendition of suggests that Silvanus was not the secretary, but the courier/bearer of 1 Peter. Like English translations generally, the more recent
NRSVue (2021) translation of this verse from the Greek does not exclude understanding Silvanus as secretary: "Through Silvanus, whom I consider a faithful brother, I have written this short letter to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it." Some see Mark as a contributive
amanuensis in the composition and writing of the work. On the one hand, some scholars such as
Bart D. Ehrman are convinced that the language, dating, literary style, and structure of this text makes it implausible to conclude that 1 Peter was written by Peter. According to these scholars,1 Peter provides a positive example of early Christian pseudonymity practices. On the other hand, some scholars argue that there is enough evidence to conclude that Peter did, in fact, write 1 Peter. For instance, there are similarities between 1 Peter and Peter's speeches in the Biblical
book of Acts, allusions to several historical sayings of Jesus indicative of eyewitness testimony (e.g., compare with , with , and Matthew 5:10 with ), and early attestation of Peter's authorship found in
2 Peter (AD 60–160) and the
letters of Clement (AD 70–140), all supporting genuine Petrine origin. Scholar
Richard Carrier claims that the Epistle dates to the 60s AD and that it may be authentic: he asserts as possible that Peter being an illiterate fisherman was a later invention of the
evangelists, and that the historical Peter (attested in the authentic
Pauline epistles, which never mention Peter's economic status and education) was actually a learned Hellenized Jew. Ultimately, the authorship of 1 Peter remains contested. ==Oldest surviving manuscripts==