Philippians 1 - Introduction
ΠΑΥΛΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΟΥ Η ΠΡΟΣ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΗΣΙΟΥΣΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΑΥΛΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΟΥ Η ΠΡΟΣ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΗΣΙΟΥΣΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ... [ Continue Reading ]
The only significance belonging to the mention of Timothy is that he was a well-known figure at Philippi (Acts 16:1-12; Acts 19:22; Acts 20:3-6), that they owed much to him, and that he was about to visit them again. The Epistle claims, of course, to be exclusively Paul's own. δοῦλοι. Already in O.T... [ Continue Reading ]
SALUTATION.... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul feels that the ordinary Greek salutation χαίρειν or the Eastern εἰρήνη σοι is too meagre for Christian intercourse. But closely connected with χαίρειν is his own great watchword χάρις, a word which, perhaps, above all others, shows the powerful remoulding of terms by Christian thought and feeli... [ Continue Reading ]
Much may be said in favour of the reading ἐγὼ μὲν εὐχαριστῶ (see crit. note) from the point of view of sense. The antithesis would then show that the letter is a direct reply to one received from Philippi, and the emphasis on Paul's own thanksgiving would be accounted for (with Zahn) by the supposit... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS THANKFULNESS, LOVE AND CONFIDENCE FOR THE PHILIPPIANS.... [ Continue Reading ]
Various divisions of these words have been proposed, some referring πάντοτε … ὑμῶν to the preceding verse, others taking πάντοτε … μου together, and regarding the remainder of the sentence as a connected whole. It seems least arbitrary to find in Philippians 1:4 a complete thought. The prominence of... [ Continue Reading ]
On what does ἐπί depend? Surely it follows χαρᾶς of preceding clause (so Chr [38], Th. Mps [39]) rather than εὐχαριστῶ of Philippians 1:3. It is, at least, awkward to take ἐπί twice with the same verb. μ. χαρᾶς has an emphatic position. Now he gives the reason for his joy. τῇ κοινωνίᾳ. At the first... [ Continue Reading ]
αὐτὸ τοῦτο. Accus. of the “inner object,” where the neuter pronoun takes the place of a cognate substantive; _cf._ 2 Corinthians 13:1, τρίτον τοῦτο ἔρχομαι (see Blass, _Gram._, p. 89). αὐτὸ τοῦτο is characteristic of Paul, “the firm touch of an intent mind” (Moule, _CT_ [46] _ad loc._). “Having this... [ Continue Reading ]
δίκαιον. = our “right” or “natural”. τοῦτο φρονεῖν ὑπ. ὑμ. Not “think this concerning you,” but “have this care on your behalf”; _cf._ chap. Philippians 4:10 τὸ ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ φρονεῖν. τοῦτο of course refers to the finishing in them of God's “good work”. φρ. seems always to keep in view the _direction_ w... [ Continue Reading ]
An exact parallel is Romans 1:9-11, μάρτυς γάρ μού ἐστιν ὁ Θεός … ὡς ἀδιαλείπτως μνείαν ὑμῶν ποιοῦμαι … ἐπιποθῶ γὰρ ἰδεῖν ὑμᾶς. Such adjuration of God he uses only in solemn personal appeals; _cf._ Galatians 1:20. Perhaps this goes to justify Zahn in supposing that the Philippians had imagined some... [ Continue Reading ]
Zahn would put this clause under the government of ὡς in the preceding sentence. No strong argument can be used against this, but it is doubtful whether the explanation is necessary. In the use of ἵνα here, “purport” (to adopt Ellicott's expression) seems to be blended with “purpose”. There are cert... [ Continue Reading ]
PRAYER FOR THEIR INCREASE IN CHRISTIAN DISCERNMENT.... [ Continue Reading ]
δοκ. τὰ διαφ. _Cf._ Romans 2:18, δοκιμάζεις τὰ διαφ. Two possible renderings. (1) “Approve things that are excellent.” (2) “Test things that differ,” _i.e._, good and bad. Lft [4] opposes (2) on the ground that “it requires no keen moral sense to discriminate between good and bad”. But was not this... [ Continue Reading ]
Critical evidence (see above) fixes καρπὸν … τόν as the correct reading. We should, of course, expect the gen. (see the _v.1._), but one of the most marked features in later Greek is the enlarging of the sphere of the accus. It is quite common to find it with verbs like κληρονομεῖν and κρατεῖν κ. τ.... [ Continue Reading ]
γινώσκ. δὲ ὑ. β. A common epistolary phrase. _Cf._ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι βουλόμεθα in a Letter to the magistrates of Oropus from the Roman Consuls, 73 B.C. (Viereck, _Sermo Graecus_, etc., Gött., 1888, p. 36). δέ, as so frequently, is transitional. τὰ κατʼ ἐμέ = my circumstances. In later Greek κατά came to... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS PRESENT SITUATION.... [ Continue Reading ]
For the skilful rhetorical structure of Philippians 1:13-17 see J. Weiss, _Beitr._, p. 17, who compares Romans 2:6-12. τὰ δεσμά is, on the whole, more common; see Luke 8:29; Acts 16:26; Acts 20:23. According to Cobet, _Mnemosyne_, 1858, p. 74 ff. (quoted in W-Sch [4], p. 85, _n._ 8), the neuter form... [ Continue Reading ]
τοὺς πλείονας. Vaughan holds that “from the universal practice of deciding matters by the vote of a majority the term comes to mean _the main body_, the society _as a whole_,” but this scarcely seems needful. τῶν ἀδ. ἐν Κ. These words surely make up one phrase (so Alf [21], Weizs., Ws [22], etc., as... [ Continue Reading ]
THE RESULT OF HIS MORE FAVOURABLE CIRCUMSTANCES: CHRIST PREACHED, WHETHER OF SPITE OR GOODWILL.... [ Continue Reading ]
τινές. Are these included in the πλείονες of Philippians 1:14 or not? We prefer to believe (so also Weizs., _Jahrb. f. deutsche Theol._, 1876, p. 294 ff.) that the Apostle has changed his point of view. For is it conceivable that those who “had confidence” in his bonds should, on the other hand, “ra... [ Continue Reading ]
οἱ μὲν ἐξ ἀγάπης. Is this a complete phrase or does ἐξ ἀγ. qualify the predicate τ. Χρ. κηρύσς. supplied from Philippians 1:15 ? The latter seems most natural, as it preserves the complete parallelism of the clauses, which would otherwise be disturbed by οὐχ ἁγνῶς. κεῖμαι has practically become perf... [ Continue Reading ]
An overwhelming mass of authority is in favour of transposing these verses as above (see crit. note). _TR._ is simply an emendation based on the order in Philippians 1:15.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐξ ἐριθείας. Here virtually = “selfishness” (rather than “factiousness”). Originally, the character of a worker for pay. Now that which degraded the hired worker, in the estimation of antiquity, was his labouring wholly for his own interests, while it was a sign of the noble to devote himself to the... [ Continue Reading ]
There seems little doubt that we should read πλὴν ὅτι, as there would be a tendency to omit either word to simplify the sense. Ws [39] holds that πλήν was inserted because copyists did not notice that ὅτι is causal, introducing a protasis. But it is difficult to imagine this misunderstanding if ὅτι... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS JOY IN THE PREACHING OF CHRIST AND EXPECTATION OF SUCCESS IN HIS CAUSE.... [ Continue Reading ]
The only apparent ground for reading δέ is its difficulty. γάρ (which has greatly preponderating authority) gives the reason for the continuance of his joy. τοῦτο. There is no need to limit this to his captivity (so Kl [48]), or his worries and trial (De W., Lft [49]). It is used generally of his pr... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀποκαραδ. The concentrated intense hope which ignores other interests (ἀπό), and strains forward as with outstretched head (κάρα, δοκεῖν). _Cf._ Romans 8:19, ἡ γὰρ ἀποκαραδοκία τῆς κτίσεως τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν τῶν υἱῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀπεκδέχεται. The verb ἀποκαραδοκεῖν is found in Polyb., Plut., Joseph., Aquila... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐμοί. Why this emphasis? He knew that, after the expression of his joyful confidence and hope, the word θάνατος would come as a shock to their minds. There could be no question as to how men in general felt concerning life and death. But _he_, the Apostle, occupies a different standpoint. This stand... [ Continue Reading ]
DEATH OR LIFE MEANS CHRIST FOR HIM.... [ Continue Reading ]
To show the diversities of interpretation to which this verse has given rise, it is enough to note that in the first clause Hpt [54] would supply ζῇν ἐστιν, while Ws [55] suggests κέρδος. Others regard the first two clauses as protasis (τοῦτο summing up the words preceding), making the apodosis begi... [ Continue Reading ]
συνέχομαι δέ (with most authorr.). δέ = “rather”. _Cf._ Romans 4:20. συνέχ. ἐκ. Apparently the idea is that of a strong pressure bearing upon him from (ἐκ the source) two sides and keeping him motionless. ἐπιθυμ. εἰς. _Cf._ Thuc., iv., 81, ἐπιθυμίαν ἐνεποίει τοῖς Ἀθην. συμμάχοις ἐς τοὺς Λακεδ. ἀναλῦ... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπιμ. seems common with Paul in a colourless sense. ἐν. It is hard to decide whether it should be retained or not. No difference is made in the sense. ἀναγκ. It is characteristic of the Apostle that the first thing which strikes him is the need of others. Wetstein quotes aptly from Seneca, _Epp. ad... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS PRESENTIMENT THAT HE WILL VISIT THEM AGAIN.... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ τ. π. οἶδα. “With this conviction (_sc._, that his life is needful for them) I know,” etc. Paul does not claim to be infallible, but he is so confident of the Philippians' need of him that he cannot doubt that this will be God's purpose too. There is every reason to believe that his hope was jus... [ Continue Reading ]
“In order that your ground of glorying may increase in Christ Jesus through me, by reason of my,” etc. Their καύχημα is their knowledge and possession of the Gospel. Christ Jesus is the sphere in which this blessing is enjoyed. _Cf._ Sir 9:16, ἐν φόβῳ Κυρίου ἔστω τὸ καύχημά σου. ἐν ἐμοί is defined b... [ Continue Reading ]
μόνον “gives the aim for which he wishes to remain alive” (Hfm [62]). ἀξίως … πολιτ. For the whole phrase _cf. Inscrr_ [63] _of Pergamon_ (after 133 B.C.), Bd. ii., 496 5, [ἀ] ναστρεφομένην καλῶς καὶ εὐσεβῶς καὶ ἀξίως τῆς πόλεως (Dsm [64], _NBS_ [65], p. 22). For ἀξίως τ. εὐαγγ. _Cf. Inscrr_ [66] _P... [ Continue Reading ]
ENTREATY TO LIVE WORTHILY OF THE GOSPEL IN THE FACE OF CONFLICTS.... [ Continue Reading ]
πτυρόμ. is apparently used esp [77] of scared horses. So Diod. Sic., xvii., 34, 6, διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν περὶ αὐτοὺς σωρευομένων νεκρῶν πτυρόμενοι. It is found in Plut., _Reipub. Ger. Praec._, p. 800, of a multitude. See Kypke _ad loc._ τ. ἀντικειμ. Who are their adversaries? In Philippians 1:30 he spea... [ Continue Reading ]
ὅτι … ἐχαρίσθη. We are inclined to join this clause immediately to μὴ πτυρόμενοι (so also Hpt [81]). The prospect of suffering was apt to terrify them. But when they view suffering in its true light, they will discover that it is a gift of God's grace (ἐχαρ.) instead of an evil. τὸ ὑπὲρ κ. τ. λ. The... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀγῶνα. For the fact, see Acts 16:19 ff. and _cf._ 1 Thessalonians 2:2. The metaphor has been prepared for by στήκετε and συναθλοῦντες. _Cf._ Epictet., iv., 4, 32 (quoted by Hatch, _Hibb. Lects._, p. 156), “Life is in reality an Olympic festival: we are God's athletes to whom He has given an opportun... [ Continue Reading ]