Philippians 1:12

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 be a regular periphrasis for the gen. W. Schmidt (de elocut. Josephi, pp. 21 22) gives striking exx. from Josephus, e.g., Antt., i., 296, τοῦ κατʼ ἐκείνους συγγενοῦς, where κατʼ ἐκ. = ἐκείνων. See also Kaelker, Quaestiones de elocut. Polybiana, p. 282. This is Paul's first reference to his own affairs, which were of the deepest concern to the Philippians. Their gift had been prompted by their apprehensions of his sore need. Perhaps, as Calvin suggests, his opponents were using his calamities as a proof of the worthlessness of his Gospel. μᾶλλον εἰς προκ.… ἐλήλ. The use of μᾶλλον seems to imply that they were looking out for bad news of the Apostle. And that would justify the supposition that, shortly before this, a change had occurred in Paul's circumstances. May not the change be connected with the ἀπολογία of Philippians 1:7 ? Is it not probable that Paul had been transferred from his hired lodging (Acts 28:30) into the prison where those on trial were kept in custody? O. Hirschfeld (Sitz. Bericht. of Berlin Academy, 1891, pp. 857 858) holds that imprisonment at Rome was of a military character, and that the barracks of various city troops served as prisons. Mommsen (op. cit., 1895, p. 500) agrees with Hirschf. in believing that the castra peregrinorum may have been used esp [1] for this purpose. The Philippians would naturally expect that this stricter custody must mean severer hardships for the Apostle. As a matter of fact it has been in his favour. προκοπή is a technical term in Stoic philosophy for “progress towards wisdom” (see Zeller, Stoics, etc., p. 294). It is condemned by Phrynichus (ed. Lobeck, p. 85) as unclassical. Frequent in later Greek, esp [2] in Plutarch and Polyb. ἐλήλυθεν. Cf. Mark 5:26, εἰς τὸ χεῖρον ἐλθοῦσα (why should Ell [3] object to this parallel?), Acts 19:27.

[1] especially.

[2] especially.

[3] Ellicott.