Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Philippians 4:9

ἃ καὶ ἐμάθετε … ἐν ἐμοί. On the apparent egotism, see above on Philippians 3:17.—The aorists refer to the past days at Philippi.

παρελάβετε. In the sense of receiving a truth passed on by a teacher, who on his part παραδίδωσιν. See e.g. 1 Corinthians 11:23, ἐγὼ παρέλαβον�. Cp. Galatians 1:9, εἴ τις ὑμᾶς εὐαγγελίζεται παρʼ ὃ παρέλαβετε, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω: and 1 Thessalonians 4:1. Παραλαμβάνειν thus comes very nearly to mean “to learn” and παραδιδόναι (παράδοσις) “to teach.”

ἐν ἐμοί. Strictly, the words attach themselves to εἴδετε only. It is as if he had written ἅ ἐμάθετε κτλ. παρʼ ἐμοῦ καὶ εἴδ. ἐν ἐμοί.

πράσσετε. “Practise.” “Roughly speaking, ποιεῖν may be said to … designate performance, πράσσειν intentional … habitual performance; π. to point to an actual result, πρ. to the scope and character of the result” (Grimm, ed. Thayer, s.v. ποιεῖν).

καὶ. See above on the καὶ which introduces Philippians 4:7.

ὁ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης. Author and Giver of “The peace of God.” The phrase occurs Romans 15:33; Romans 16:20, ὁ θ. τῆς εἰρ. συντρίψει τὸν σατανᾶν: 2 Corinthians 13:11, ὁ θ. τῆς�. ἔσται μεθʼ ὑμῶν: 1 Thessalonians 5:23, αὐτὸς ὁ θ. τῆς εἰρ. ἁγιάσαι ὑμᾶς κτλ.: Hebrews 13:20, ὁ δὲ θ. τῆς εἰρ., ὁ�. And cp. 2 Thessalonians 3:16, ὁ κύριος τῆς εἰρ.: and 1 Corinthians 14:33, οὐ γὰρ�. ἀλλὰ εἰρήνης. In the last case the peace is plainly social peace rather than internal, personal peace. But the two are closely connected; the peace of God in the individual tends always to the peace of the society, for it means the banishment of the self-spirit. Here very possibly St Paul has in side-view the Philippians’ need of peace in their community, and of a higher tone of Christian thought and feeling as an aid towards it. But the whole context is so full of the inward aspects of Christian experience that it seems best to take this phrase as referring primarily to the sabbath of the soul, the peace of God in the man.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Philippians 4:9

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