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PHILIPPIANS, LETTER TO THE

One of the “captivity” epistles (along with Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon), so called because of internal references to imprisonment (1:7, 12-14, 17, 19; 2:17). Philippians is one of Paul’s epistles that best reveals his own struggles and his ongoing relationships with communities he founded. While some doubts were raised about authorship in European scholarship of the last century, today the letter is universally accepted as genuine. After a typical address (1:1-2) and a prolonged thanksgiving (1:3-11), Paul launches an exposition of his present status (1:12-26) followed by an impassioned appeal for community unity (1:27–2:18), news about colleagues (2:19–3:1), a warning about opponents and appeal to follow his example (3:2–4:9), thanks for a gift received (4:10-20), and concluding greetings (4:21-23). Because the letter seems to move suddenly and jarringly from one topic to another and even to conclude several times (3:1a; 4:9, 20), many scholars consider it to be not a literary unity but a compilation of several letters. Phil. 3:1b implies a previous letter, and Polycarp, writing to the same church a century later, knows of more than one letter of Paul to them (Phil. 3.2). Phil. 4:10-20 could be an independent acknowledgement of a gift from the Philippians, perhaps written first. Phil. 1:1–3:1; 4:2-9 would be another letter written with the express purpose of exhorting the Philippians to unity. Phil. 3:2–4:1 would be a third letter to warn about judaizing opponents, who do not appear elsewhere in the letter. One of the difficulties with this theory, however, is the way parts of the letter seem to relate to other parts, e.g., the self-emptying of Christ (2:6-11) is paralleled by Paul’s account of his own self-emptying (3:4-14), but this could also be the result of later editing.

Philippi was founded under the name Krenides (“springs”) by colonists from Thasos ca. 360 b.c.e. It is situated on a plateau about 21 km. (13 mi.) N of its seaport, Neapolis (modern Kavalla) in Macedonia. It was located on the Via Egnatia, a principal Roman road linking the route from Brundisium in Italy across the Adriatic, across Macedonia, to Byzantium. Already part of the Roman province of Macedonia in the 2nd century, the city became a Roman military colony after the nearby victory of Octavian and Antony over Cassius and Brutus in 42 b.c.e., receiving the name Colonia Julia Augusta Philippensis from Augustus a few years later.

Paul writes to the Philippians during an imprisonment (1:7, 12-14, 17) whose outcome is uncertain (1:19-26). The traditional place and time of composition are Rome just before Paul died, sometime toward the end of the reign of Nero, between 64 and 68 c.e. Another possible location is Caesarea during Paul’s two-year confinement there, just before he was sent to Rome (Acts 23–27). The problem with both of these locations is the great distance to Philippi and therefore long travel time of a month or more, whereas the letter presupposes numerous visits back and forth (2:19-30; 4:16-18). A third location suggested more recently is Ephesus, from which Philippi could be reached in about one week of travel. According to Acts, Paul spent several years there (Acts 19), but there is no mention of imprisonment. Yet chance comments elsewhere by Paul (2 Cor. 1:8-10; 6:5; 11:23; and 1 Cor. 15:32, which is to be taken figuratively) indicate that he was in prison more than once before his final arrest and that something terrible happened in the province of Asia, of which Ephesus was the most prominent city. Paul’s references to the praetorium and the household of Caesar (1:13; 4:22) are often thought to compel a Roman place of origin, but they can apply to any city where there was a contingent of the Praetorian guard and the imperial civil service. Rome, Caesarea, and Ephesus all qualify. If Ephesus is the place of writing, the date would be as much as 10 years earlier, in the mid-50s.

Acts 16 narrates Paul’s dream at Troas of a Macedonian asking him to come over and help them. In two days Paul and Silas traveled by sea to Neapolis and took the Roman road up into the hills to Philippi. There on the sabbath at the river outside the western gate they encountered Lydia, a purple-dye merchant from Thyatira, the first convert, whose house became the center of the first Christian community of the city. Acts goes on to tell of Paul’s exorcism of a slave girl with a prophetic spirit, his subsequent imprisonment with Silas, their miraculous deliverance by means of an earthquake, the conversion and baptism of the jailkeeper and his household, and the departure of Paul and Silas west down the Via Egnatia to Thessalonica.

Unfortunately, none of the characters or situations narrated in Acts can be seen reflected in Paul’s letter. There his traveling companions are Timothy (Acts 16:1 suggests that Timothy also accompanied Paul, but vv. 19, 25, 29 exclude him) and his other assistant, Epaphroditus (1:1; 2:19-30). The names of Philippian Christians mentioned are Euodia and Syntyche, Syzygus (which may be not a proper name but an appellation, “partner”), and Clement (4:2-3). The presence of the Roman name Clement (Clemens) is not surprising given the heavy Roman presence in the city as witnessed by the preponderance of Latin funerary inscriptions from the Roman period.

The Philippian church shows an early tendency to organize. They were apparently the first Pauline church to adopt the secular titles epískopoi and diákonoi (here “supervisors” and “assistants”) for their collegial group of leaders (1:1). The reference to the diákonos Phoebe in Rom. 16:1 cautions us not to assume that all these figures in Philippi were male; Euodia and Syntyche, two women whose disagreement with each other is affecting the whole community, are probably among them. Syzygus is likely a male member of the same leadership group who has a gift for reconciliation. Paul asks him to intervene (4:2-3).

Paul seems to have a special affection for the first of his churches on European soil. The thanksgiving section (1:3-11) is the longest of any authentic Pauline letter. There he assures them of a special place in his heart and his longing for them because of their sharing in his apostolic work and suffering (1:7-8). Undoubtedly part of Paul’s special affection for them is owing to their extraordinary generosity in the past: they were the only Macedonian church to fund his further travel from there, and they twice sent other monetary gifts besides the present one for which he thanks them (4:15-18; probably 2 Cor. 11:9).

The central message of the letter is the appeal for union of hearts and minds in the face of several community problems, among them disagreements about the significance of circumcision and law observance for believers (3:2-3) and dissensions, such as that between Euodia and Syntyche (4:2), which may be personal or more likely between two house churches of which they are the leaders. It is out of these concerns that Paul incorporates into the letter the “Philippian hymn” (2:6-11) and the autobiographical reflection that provides valuable information about Paul’s social and religious background as well as his spiritual account of his relationship with Christ (3:4-15).

The christological hymn in 2:6-11 is one of the earliest poetic statements of the significance of Christ. There is general consensus among scholars that its composition is pre-Pauline, perhaps for liturgical use, and that Paul has incorporated it here for specific effect. There are two general directions of interpretation, depending on the meaning of “equal to God” (Gk. ísa theṓ) and self-emptying to take on the form of a slave (vv. 6-7). The traditional interpretation is that the equal status with God refers to Christ’s pre-existence, and the self-emptying to the form of a slave refers to incarnation with its result of death. A more recent interpretation that has found significant following is that the equal status with God refers rather to the immortality originally intended for humanity, but spoiled by sin which brings death (Wisd. 2:23-24; Rom. 5:12). This immortality belonged by right to the sinless Christ, who nevertheless emptied himself and took the form of a slave by taking on death as well, even the death of the Cross. The first interpretation emphasizes pre-existence; the second, immortality. There is no general agreement among scholars about the intended meaning or the precise origins of the hymn.

The self-emptying of Christ in 2:6-11 has something of a parallel in Paul’s own account of his blameless Jewish background that enables him to boast of his own qualifications in the face of rival claims (3:4-6). The security of his religious status in Pharisaism was forever altered by his encounter with the risen Christ, for whom he suffered the loss of everything (3:7-14). These verses are written, not for the purpose of self-revelation, but of inspiring his readers to imitate him by putting Christ first in their lives without reliance on Jewish ritual practices (3:15-17). While “they” (those who oppose Paul’s way of being Christian) glory in physical qualifications and satisfactions (3:19), Paul has adopted the Stoic attitude of autárkeia, the freedom by which he enjoys what he has but does not suffer when he does not have it (4:11-13). Nevertheless, his reflections in 3:7-14 are a poignant reminder of the personal cost of Paul’s apostleship and his own centering in the mystery of Christ.

Carolyn Osiek

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

PHILIPPIANS, LETTER TO THE

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)