2 Clement was traditionally believed to have been an epistle to the Christian Church in Corinth written by Clement of Rome sometime in the late 1st century. However, 4th-century bishop Eusebius, in his historical work, says that there was one recognized epistle of Clement. He expresses doubt about the authenticity of a second epistle. Modern scholars believe that Second Clement is actually a sermon written around 95–140 CE by an anonymous author, one who was neither the author of 1 Clement nor Clement of Rome. Nonetheless, scholars still generally refer tothe work by its traditional name "Second Clement". 2 Clement appears to be a transcript of a homily or sermon that was originally delivered orally at a Christian worship service. For example, in ch. 19 the speaker announces that he will read aloud from scripture – something one would only expect to find in a transcript of an oral sermon. Similarly, whereas an epistle would typically begin by introducing the sender and recipient, 2 Clement starts with by addressing "Brethren", and then proceeding directly to the sermon. If it is a sermon, 2 Clement would be the earliest surviving Christian sermon. Like many early Christian texts, 2 Clement was written in Greek, the common language of the HellenizedMediterranean area. The earliest external reference to 2 Clement is found in Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History written in the early 4th century:
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Rather than trying to convert others to Christianity, 2 Clement appears to be directed at an audience of Christians who had converted from Paganism. 2 Clement seems to reference a history of idolatry: " we were maimed in our understanding - we were worshipping stones and pieces of wood, and gold and silver and copper - all of them made by humans". Despite their pagan background, the speaker and audience in 2 Clement appear to consider the Jewish texts to be scripture - the speaker quotes repeatedly from the Book of Isaiah and interprets the text. The speaker also regards the words of Jesus as scripture - for example, 2 Clement 2:4 mentions a saying of Jesus as "scripture": In addition to the canonical literature, the author of 2 Clement appears to have had access to Christian writings or oral tradition aside from those found in the New Testament. Some quotes attributed to Jesus are found only here, e.g. 4:5. In 2 Clement 5:2-4, the author quotes a saying of Jesus which is partially found in the New Testament, but the version quoted in 2 Clement is substantially longer than the version found in the New Testament. In the 20th century, a manuscript fragment was discovered that suggests this saying is a quote from the Gospel of Peter, much of which has been lost. Similarly, 2 Clement 12:2 says: He then goes on to give interpretations of these metaphors. The saying was ascribed to Cassianus and to the Greek Gospel of the Egyptians by Clement of Alexandria. A version of the saying is found in the Coptic Gospel of Thomas, which was lost until the mid-20th century:
