The referent of Egeusasthe (You have tasted) in 1 Peter 2:3

Abstract

In 1 Peter 2:2-3 the addressees are exhorted to “yearn for the unadulterated milk of God’s word ... like newborn babies” (ajrtigevnnhta brevfh). This exhortation is motivated by: “since you have tasted that the Lord is good” (ejgeuvsasqe o{ti crhsto;~ o kuvrio~). This article attempts to establish the referent of ejgeuvsasqe. Viewed as part of the “rebegetting” and resultant new birth (cf. ajnagennhvsa~ hJma`~ in 1 Pet 1:3), 1 Peter 2:3 suggests that God has given the ajrtigevnnhta brevfh “something” to sustain them in their salvation. The paper concludes that the implicit object of ejgeuvsasqe is colostrum. The referent then is that God has given the addressees colostrum as part of the beget/rebirth process, to sustain them in their salvation. Having tasted the colostrum they now know that the Lord is good. This experience of the goodness of the Lord becomes the reason why they (must) yearn for (more) milk, so that they can grow up in their salvatio